VIRGINIA'S BIO

          I spent the first 20 years of my life in Florence, Alabama.  I was not raised in church. My biggest religious experience as a child was to go to church on Christmas with my grandmother to get a sack of candy.  I knew about God but I did not know God.

          I don’t remember meeting my husband because we had known each other from infancy.  John was not the boy next door; he was the boy across the street.  It was when I moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to work at NASA that a spark aroused in him.  Later his family moved to another section of town and that spark fanned into a flame.  Although I lived away all week, I had to come home on weekends and John and I began dating.   

           John was raised in a Pentecostal Church but he was not where he should be with the Lord.  During a revival, he invited me to church with him.  We sat on the back bench (not a padded pew, a wooden bench).  Early in the service the Holy Spirit began to move.  I knew something was happening but I did not know what. As I gripped that wooden bench I remember saying, "No God."  The next thing I knew I was dancing in the Spirit across the front of the church and speaking in other tongues. How I got there or how long I had been there is still a mystery to me. Everyone in church was up there.  From that night on my life has never been the same. Church was not over until 11:00 p.m. but not one sinner left the building that night. My newfound “religion” did not interest my parents and my father forbid me to see John again while I was "living under his roof."

          Fortunately for me I had a great friend who had wonderful parents that I loved and secretly “adopted” as my own.  They invited me to stay with them on weekends. After a couple of months John and I got married. (Hey, it's not like I didn't know him.) Although we had a large wedding, my “adopted” parents were the only family I had there. Words cannot express what that meant to me both then and now. I named my youngest son after the father.

We moved to Escondido, California, arriving there on my 21^st birthday.

My parents said it would never last.  We were married 40 years July 2001, have 3 sons (the eldest a pastor in Oregon), 8 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren. For 34 years I tried to find God’s special calling by doing practically everything there is to do in a church except pastor. John and I even helped build 3 churches. While at a women's retreat, I heard God's say, "teach them."  I knew in order to teach others I had to prepare myself. I enrolled in I.M.I. Bible College and Seminary.   

           Unable to decide what I wanted as my major,  I took all the courses for both ministry and theology through the Bachelor’s Degrees.  I also threw in a few Christian Counseling courses just to be prepared.  I finally settled on ministry for my Master’s Degree. I plan to start studies for my Ph.D in ministry. 

          As an ordained minister, I occasionally preach and I teach the Wednesday night Bible class at our church.  Everything I teach I back up with Scripture.  This means putting in several hours of study and searching the Bible.  I am not just teaching the people, I am “teaching” myself.  If I should have only one person to teach at the Bible study, I would still be obeying God because He said, "teach them."  I am part of "them."