The Gathering Place

Saying goodbye is not an area in my life that is comfortable for me. This Sunday my family will be saying "goodbye" to our church family at The Gathering Place in San Bernardino. I have attended church at TGP since July 1995. I wouldn't have known what to do at that point in my life without Pastor Larry and Sue Lee. They helped my family (5 kids and me) through the loss of my first husband, Steve. God puts people in your life at just the right time. TGP became my family's home and the love of God was poured out on our lives. It was there that love grew and the Lord brought my husband, Pat and I together.

Pat had gone through divorce and I was a widow. Funny how the Lord works - he brought two hurting people together, first as friends and then as a couple. My life was never the same. Pat and I married and had our daughter, Rebekah in 1997. She has always been such a blessing to our lives. At The Gathering Place, Rebekah grew up and is now 16 years old. The fellowship that our family had for so many years has been very rich. People have come and gone. 18 years is a long time.

When we first started there, there were two kids that we took under wing. They may have watched our love grow a little two closely and perhaps it did rub off on them a bit. Eric and Qi had their first child, Isaiah, just 22 days after Rebekah was born. Also born in October of that year was Hannah. Mike and Gloria were very good friends to Pat and I. We laughed alot with them. Then there were so many others that deeply touched our lives also. I would like to mention a few. Dave and Cyndi, Logan and Gabe; Gina, Nathan, Alona, and Ziann; Ed and Cathy; Mike and Rocio; Don and Maria; Mark, Tiffany; Gene and Lori; Patty and Bud; Rod and Carol; Erika, Toby, Lizzy and the boys; Tracy; Monique, Yaseer and their family; Suzanna and Leo; Lindi, Ashley, Desiree, Zachary; Pastor Tim, Georgeann, Sarah Grace, TK; Duncan; Mama Nancy; Bonnie, Bernice; Greg and Tammy; Larry & Bonnie Reeder; Tony and Dixie; Millie; Yvonne & Larry; Tammi, Tatum, Tyler; and the list goes on and on. I know I have skipped some important people, but it is late right now.

One thing I will always remember is that our pastor prays for everyone in the church. The 5:30 a.m. prayer times on Mondays and Fridays show the dedication of a pastor who loves the people he shepherds and the city where he lives. Pastor Larry is dedicated to the people at TGP and the people in the city of San Bernardino. He travails in the Spirit and does not give up.  He is not afraid to share his life experiences to help someone to know the Lord.

It has been the highlight of my life for the past 16+ years to be part of the worship team at TGP. When I first started on the team, I was scared to death of being in front of anyone much less singing. Thank you to everyone who is on the team for blessing me with this opportunity. I will miss singing praises and worshiping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords with you. Qi, I will especially miss you. You have taught me so much. I love you my sweet little sister. May the Lord continue to bless everyone and may he bring new life onto the team.

In case anyone is wondering why we are leaving. It has been six years since we moved to Victorville. We commute 70 miles every day to work and also to church on Sunday. We have attended services at Horizon Church (Foursquare also) in Victorville on occasion, and a few years back Pat committed to a Pastor's In Training program there. We believe that we could be more involved in the community where we live if we attend church locally. We don't really have any friends where we live, they are all down the hill. As much as we love our church family, we believe the Lord has a mission for us here.

When we turned the calendar to February, the scripture on it said "You shall go out with joy and be led back in peace." Amazing that Yahweh would speak to us even through a calendar. We are excited to move on to the next phase of our journey and ask that you would please pray for us.

All my love, Stephanie