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SUNDAY WORSHIP
Address 10 Goodyear, Irvine (map/directions)
Service times 10:30 a.m. – noon (English) 10:30 a.m. – noon (Korean) 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Spanish)
PRESCHOOL INFO
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 For as long as I can remember, I always felt God's presence. I didn't actually
know Him, but I did know about Him because my parents raised me in the Catholic
faith.
In my early twenties, I indulged in a life of partying, going to
clubs, abusing alcohol and experimenting with drugs. Although I did not have a
relationship with God, I believe he kept me safe through those times.
I
eventually grew tired of my empty life and decided that the small town I lived
in did not offer me what I was looking for. I didn't actually know what I was
looking for, but I knew it wasn't there. There had to be more to life, so I
moved to San Diego with friends.
However, my friendships were shallow. I
soon made new friends and started dating men, looking to fill my emptiness. I
often thought I was in love, but I was na?ve. I grew tired of the games people
play in relationships and lost hope that I would ever find a steady boyfriend. I
finally told God that I would be fine with remaining single for the rest of my
life if that was His plan for me. Having this attitude brought me peace. Two
months after saying that prayer, I met Travis -- the man who would later become
my husband!
Little did I know that meeting Travis would change my life
forever -- not because of what he had to offer me, but because God would work
through him to bring us both to Himself.
Travis and I began a sexual
relationship and moved in together. We knew it was wrong, but it did not bother
us because people in our lives thought it was normal. I had heard that it is
sinful to live in a sexual relationship with someone who is not your spouse. But
to actually apply that standard to my life? Now that would be
strange.
Travis eventually proposed to me, but we could not afford a
wedding. We became great friends and roommates with a man named Shane. About a
month after we moved into Shane's home, Shane was baptized as a Christian. He
had met some members of the San Diego Church of Christ, who showed him in the
Bible how God wanted him to live.
Shane's new life intrigued Travis, and
we soon had friends in Shane's church. Travis began studying the Bible with some
of them, but I had no desire to learn more about God. I was, after all, a
Catholic. I thought I was right with God and would go to heaven. As time went on
Travis\' convictions grew and he wanted me to come to church with him. I was not
interested, but I started attending each week anyways because he wanted me
to.
Slowly, my heart began to soften and I started to study the Bible
with some of the women from the church -- my newfound friends. I learned that
God wanted my relationship with Travis to be pure, even though we weren't yet
ready to make a complete commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of our
lives.
The Scriptures began to sink into our hearts and minds, so we
stopped having sex. We decided to get married even though we did not have the
money for a nice wedding. In order to avoid the temptation to have sex and to
show God that we were serious about being right with Him, Travis and I stopped
living together. We got married in June 2001, and two weeks later Travis was
baptized as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Two weeks after that, I made my own
decision to follow Jesus and Travis baptized me as a true Christian. I love the
fact that my husband was the one who baptized me. It is such a beautiful time
that I love reflecting on.
Over the years, I have come to realize that
life with God is exactly what I had been looking for all along -- I just didn't
know it until He found me. God has given me an incredible, spiritual husband and
an amazing, beautiful daughter -- Isabella. They both love God with all their
hearts. Travis and I now lead a small group here in the Los Angeles Church and
we are always trying to learn how we can serve God and love others more deeply
-- the way He loves us so deeply.
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