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Who's Going to Fill Their Shoes?
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If anyone had known our father prior to
1972, the last thing they would’ve expected
him to do with his life, would be to uproot
a family and study to be a minister.
He was
absolutely not religious, and didn’t think
too highly of the Catholicism with which our
mother was raised. God gripped his heart and
life in a way that God can, and he became a
changed man.
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Challenged,
he bundled up a wife, 5 kids and a Collie
into a small VW car pulling a U-Haul. Our
parents began Bible School in St. Louis MO,
where the burden for Tacoma,WA was fueled. |
Autumn 1977. Settling in a new city, we
were able to begin having services in a
storefront on a main street. The church was
located between a barbershop and a bar.
There were many passer-bys, (many who had
drank their dinner) and would come in,
out of curiosity. Sometimes they’d want to
speak out during the preaching, or the
colorful character that would dangle and
swing his withered leg over the pew
armrest. Our father didn’t get easily
ruffled, and his humor and gregariousness
coupled with his great love for people,
would just as easily have him with an arm
around a drunk or a drug addict, telling
them of a Savior who could deliver. He knew
firsthand that deliverance was
possible.
Our dad knew from experience that the law of
sowing and reaping was something one could
expect in their lifetime. One evening as we
were leaving from church, we got in the VW
bus getting ready to go home. The bus would
not start. One our siblings, a budding
mechanic, went out to see if he could figure
out what was wrong and get the van to
start. He lifted the back to look in the
engine and lo and behold discovered that the
battery was missing. He reported to our dad
his discovery. Rather than be upset because
someone had stolen from him, he laughed and
shared how that as a sinner, he had helped
himself to someone else’s battery. How
could he be upset when he was simply
reaping? It was a good lesson for us kids
that you reap what you sow!
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Then there was the church building on the
Hilltop. For those of you who may not be
familiar with this area, it has been known
to be a crime and drug infested area. You
never knew where and when there would be a
shooting. Some may remember one fellowship
meeting where shots were heard in the
neighborhood. There was also the apartment
building that he would go in trying to reach
out to the ones that were living in sin and
squalor. The building was far from being
the Taj Mahal, and it was so bad that at one
point he no longer took our mom with him so
she would not have to endure the stench and
filth. None of that deterred our dad from
pastoring in an area that few were willing
to brave. |
There were also the humorous stories that
went right along with that. Let’s not
forget the lady who sat towards the back of
the church and as the preaching was going
on, she whipped out her bag of fried chicken
and proceeded to “throw down”. Then there
was the time when a visiting minister came
to preach. As the brother’s wife was at the
piano singing a special, out came a cat
walking across the front of the church.
Somehow the cat had gotten in the building
through the basement. Of course our dad’s
humor got the best of him and he teased the
sister about her singing that the cat didn’t
want to hear.
We remember those years; he sacrificed not
only to build a church, but worked long
hours to meet the financial demands of a
larger family while pioneering a church. We
always understood that the work of God came
first, but we were never made to feel left
out. Yes, we didn’t have the normal schedule
of the average child, but he Always found
some way to spend some kind of quality time
with us. There are not too many others that
can recall having a “watermelon picnic” at a
park at 1 a.m!
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He preached with the same passion and
fervency whether it was our family and one
or two others, or a small crowd. He was
emboldened by the Holy Spirit to take on the
Bloods and the Crips, gangs terrorizing the
neighborhood, but scattering like
cockroaches when his small team of soul
winners braved the streets to invite souls
to hear the gospel. |
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Our father went on to be with the Lord
August 1999, but the burden he felt for the
vast city of Tacoma, continues to burn in
the hearts of men who have a passion for
souls. It is Pastor’s desire to see a
lighthouse once again in this city, and
there is praying that the right man answer
the call. Who will go? And in the words
quoted in Isaiah, “Also I heard the voice of
the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us? Then said I, Here am
I; send me.” Isa 6:8
Written by
Yvonne Ramirez & Michelle Espinoza |
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Family Picture in 1998
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A List of the Ministers that were
reached at the Hilltop Church:
Sis Dobosi
Sis Davis
Bro. Waite
Bro and Sis Woods
Bro. Ed Gilman (1st convert)
Sis Nash
Sis. Dycelia
laboring with the St. Clairs in Spokane
Sis Stevens
Sis Cookie Reed
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