This gives the overview of the parameters and individuals God used in reconciling me from what otherwise would have been a life of debauchery and sin. I have heard someone state, “Some people were saved from what they were; others were saved from what they would become.” I am a case of the latter. God apprehended me “prior to.”
The Lord, in His compassion, committed me to the care and nurturing of Brian and Peggy Martell, on December 27, 1968 as their firstborn and only son. Eighteen months later they had a daughter, Sherrie. In March of 1973 we moved to Washington State from New Mexico to emigrate to Canada along with four other families. In 1974 Canada closed the door to U.S. citizens homesteading, so we never made the move. The Lord used this and many other things to lead my parents to Himself through the Jesus movement of the 1970s. My parents accepted the Lord and were baptized Easter Sunday of 1974. I was then 5 years old. From that time on they began to raise my sister and me in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I accepted the Lord when I was 12 and was baptized at a Shield of Faith conference in May of 1981 at Canby, Oregon. My dad and I met with Brother Kristiansen to walk me through the fundamentals of baptism.
In August of 1982 we moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania so that Dad could be the maintenance man at WEC Int’l. In January ’83 we moved to New Jersey to America’s Keswick for Dad to be a maintenance man there. We left Keswick in April of ’83. In August of 1985 we moved to Floresville, TX for Dad to help the Shield of Faith develop their property. We were there as part of the building project as well as the fellowship in San Antonio. At this time (age 16) I began working full-time. My parents had decided this was a good opportunity for me to learn a skill and trade and felt that was as essential as any formal education—and what better setting than with brothers in the Lord. We were there for one year before moving back to our home in Washington. Our time in San Antonio really congealed a lot of things for me, rounding out my understanding of Christ, His work, and my dependence on Him and gaining confidence about abilities the Lord had given me.
In January of 1989, Dad and I went as part of a 14-member team to Jamaica to help local assemblies and Youth with a Mission (YWAM) rebuild after a hurricane. That was a two-week trip. It was very defining for me—my personal relationship with the Lord being confirmed.
That summer our house sold; New Tribes was relocating their Florida headquarters due to a freeway expansion, and it was on my folks’ heart to volunteer as help. A friend and I made inquiry as to attending the SFMI training program, (me being now 20), which didn’t happen. And so we applied to YWAM. Barry Markham, my sister and I drove down to San Antonio for the fall conference the end of August which at that time the SFMI and San Antonio fellowship was having. That weekend we met Duane Dinan, who later became my brother-in-law.
In September of 1989, Barry and I went to Salem, Oregon to attend YWAM’s discipleship training program. My sister went to Mexico to teach English and help some of the families down there along with Peggy Mott. My parents moved to Orlando, Florida.
Sometime in the spring of 1990, my parents moved back to San Antonio. Barry and I completed our training time with YWAM which consisted of three months of lecture/class time and two months of outreach. The outreach time was in Juarez/El Paso area for two weeks, two weeks in Rosario/Esquenapa (south of Mazatlan) and various other one-day settings while on the road. In April of ’90 I moved to San Antonio for the summer.
There are various other moves and trips with interactions and relationships that go with them. The Lord has given me many opportunities and enriched my life in many ways. I have resided at my current residence since July of ’92 during which time I was the youth leader at a local church for three years. I went to Ukraine in 2001, Jamaica in February 2005 and March of 2007.
I have zeal and passion for the Word of God, its preservation and dispersion. I like to encourage those that minister the Word. I enjoy learning from others the insights the Lord has given to them. I glean wherever I can and strive to maintain readiness to share with others as I can. The Word has been sown in my heart, and I must sow also.