I grew up on the Twin Lakes Church campus. We went as a family to Sunday school and main service. I was dedicated as a baby on the front steps of the sanctuary. I was baptized by Pastor Paul Barton in the baptismal. I can remember Pastor Kraft asking if anyone wanted to accept Christ or come forward to say they wanted to be baptized, walking down that aisle feeling like my heart would burst. Getting to take communion for the first time after my baptism. We would go to Pioneer Girls mid-week. I remember fun girl talk with Gloria Krom. When Molly won the lip sync trophy for singing along to Amy Grant's "Fat Baby," I thought Molly was the coolest thing EVER. (Do yourself a favor and give it a listen, it's as horrible as it sounds, but I loved it). I spent many a Sunday afternoon in the choir room with Connie Fortunato, and became lifelong friends with Kristin Herkelrath and her family. In the 4th grade we would memorize verses to earn a Lifesaver from Mr. Weeks.
In the 5th grade we got to attend Sunday school in the basement, led by the 3 funniest dads at the church, Ward Pitman, Alvin Scarborough, and Dan Kraft. They told jokes in church and I loved them for it. My mom was in leadership with BSF. We would sit next to her on the green carpet on her bedroom floor as she prepared the lessons. I played indoor soccer and cried when Coach Glenn tried to put me in as goalie. In the summer we would attend their summer camp, called Camp Hammer (where I would one day meet my husband). Greatest summer camp on earth. In junior high, we would play hide and seek in the main sanctuary building at night with all the lights out. My junior high boyfriend tried to get me to go behind the gym building on a Sunday morning for my first kiss, to which I said, "NO WAY." And it's a good thing too, because he and his wife are our dear friends to this day ;) I worked at KruzKidz, Camp Hammer, and then finally at Twin Lakes Christian School as a third grade teacher. TLC is in my blood, it is part of my culture, and it holds such a special place in my heart.
When I was 15, we went to a church, while we were vacationing at Lake Tahoe, to hear a young 32-year-old pastor speak. His name was Rene Schlaepfer.
My mom used to cook big dinners with Althea Larkin during the missions' conferences for like 800 people. She would have us all come to the church kitchen after school to prep food. Our favorite job was to use the industrial dishwasher to clean dishes. I can remember the missionaries from all over the world coming together and sharing their stories. The foyer covered in the flags of the world. Never did I imagine that one of the flags would one day represent my own family! Paul Spurlock is the Pastor of missions at Twin Lakes. My first interaction with him was as a child at Camp Hammer circa 1987, when he was known to me only as "Bazooka." I wish I could find the camp photo, but he let my friend (Jessica Fudge) and me pull the skin on the sides of his neck like some sort of iguana! So hilarious. I'll look for photo evidence of this when I'm home next. He would later become my high school pastor. Last summer we were invited to Paul's house to present to the missions' board, and they just notified us in February that our family had been chosen as one of their missionaries. My parents happened to be visiting us in Thailand when we found out this news and it was such a sweet time to reminisce about all of our fun times at Twin Lakes Church.
This means that we get to represent ZOE at the next TLC missions' conference! WORLD OUTREACH WEEK!! So surreal. Such a blessing. https://vimeo.com/153831610 You can check out a video from this year's WOW week at TLC. "You can't spell "GOSPEL," without the word, "GO."
I know that not everyone has this kind of church experience, but if you are at a great church and you are feeling lonely, sign up to serve in one way or another. I promise it makes all the difference. When you serve together you bond and form deeper relationship. The people we met at church are the ones we shared holidays with. Those Carpenter and Warren boys could eat us under the table every Thanksgiving!! We are still close with them and love them so dearly.
We are so thankful for Twin Lakes Church and the blessing that they are in our lives. Thank you for joining ZOE in the fight against child trafficking! You can check out the Twin Lakes Church Missions' page to learn more about our family by clicking here.
If you are looking for a great podcast, you can listen to the Twin Lakes Church' message each week. http://www.tlc.org/media/sermons/ or they even have an app you can download on your phone.
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