I looked for work locally, but there was nothing that paid anything close to what I was making. My mother was loving in San Bernardino, CA and suggested we go there to find work. We moved there and I tried selling cars for a while. I worked for two companies doing that, unsuccessfully for all practical appearances. We became convinced to start keeping the seventh day Sabbath, and we sought out a church to fellowship with. We settled with the Church of God Seventh Day, in Bloomington.
We befriended many brethren there. When I lost the second job: we got kicked out of our apartment. We stayed with a family for a while from the Bloomington church. When it got crowded there, we moved into the empty parsonage of the church. That is when God started telling me I was going to Oakland, CA for a job in missions. It was looking pretty bad. We had an old van that we just put an engine into, and it turned out to have some cracked rings. It ran okay but it smoked and had nearly bald tires.
All the brethren tried to talk us out of heading North for fear we wouldn’t make it. I saw their point and started doubting whether I was listening to the right spirit. When it appeared we would not even have enough gas money to make it up there, I took a walk to pray. During my walk, God really stated talking to me. He told me to imagine myself with the children of Israel in the Jordan river valley. Moses had left and Joshua was about to lead them across the river. He told me to look that up when I got back.
I am back from my walk and I look up Joshua 3. God commands that everyone stay back 2000 cubits (1000 yards). The Jordan, it says, was in flood stage: over the banks. God reminded me what that looked like: a death trap. He told Joshua to send the Ark of the Covenant carried by Levites toward the river. They started into the river and halted. God said he did not tell the people He would intervene, just Joshua. He asked me to view that and tell Him what I think. I said it looks like the end of our Ark and the Levites carrying it. The Lord said it was supposed to look bad, how else were they to exercise their faith. I said okay God, as long as I am sure you are with me: I am going. We head North and had previously agreed to stop in Fresno and visit my cousin. My cousin palmed me $20, as we were leaving, giving us just enough gas money to get there.
We get into Oakland and God leads us to a church just inside the city limits. It was a Wednesday night, so we go into their service. It was an all black church. I stood up to testify on why we were there for missions. They had an empty parsonage and let us stay there. The pastor later introduces us to a lady running a mission there. It took a little while, but we eventually started staying and working with that mission. It was an offshoot mission called the Young Voice Mission.
It was working on the charter of the Voice of Africa Mission based in Oakland. It was run by a dear old sister that had a school in the brush of Liberia. The Young Voice Mission had not yet been incorporated, by the time I got there. With the help of the full Gospel Businessmen's Assn. we set up and incorporated our own charter. The YVM worked mostly within the Oakland community. We went on to open drug rehab homes, which I ran. This is even more interesting: I almost went to Liberia when I worked with the Voice of Africa Mission. It just never became stable enough during my missionary years. The VOAM had a K-8 school there and wanted a high school. I guess they never finished that project because Liberia is still not stable.
We befriended many brethren there. When I lost the second job: we got kicked out of our apartment. We stayed with a family for a while from the Bloomington church. When it got crowded there, we moved into the empty parsonage of the church. That is when God started telling me I was going to Oakland, CA for a job in missions. It was looking pretty bad. We had an old van that we just put an engine into, and it turned out to have some cracked rings. It ran okay but it smoked and had nearly bald tires.
All the brethren tried to talk us out of heading North for fear we wouldn’t make it. I saw their point and started doubting whether I was listening to the right spirit. When it appeared we would not even have enough gas money to make it up there, I took a walk to pray. During my walk, God really stated talking to me. He told me to imagine myself with the children of Israel in the Jordan river valley. Moses had left and Joshua was about to lead them across the river. He told me to look that up when I got back.
I am back from my walk and I look up Joshua 3. God commands that everyone stay back 2000 cubits (1000 yards). The Jordan, it says, was in flood stage: over the banks. God reminded me what that looked like: a death trap. He told Joshua to send the Ark of the Covenant carried by Levites toward the river. They started into the river and halted. God said he did not tell the people He would intervene, just Joshua. He asked me to view that and tell Him what I think. I said it looks like the end of our Ark and the Levites carrying it. The Lord said it was supposed to look bad, how else were they to exercise their faith. I said okay God, as long as I am sure you are with me: I am going. We head North and had previously agreed to stop in Fresno and visit my cousin. My cousin palmed me $20, as we were leaving, giving us just enough gas money to get there.
We get into Oakland and God leads us to a church just inside the city limits. It was a Wednesday night, so we go into their service. It was an all black church. I stood up to testify on why we were there for missions. They had an empty parsonage and let us stay there. The pastor later introduces us to a lady running a mission there. It took a little while, but we eventually started staying and working with that mission. It was an offshoot mission called the Young Voice Mission.
It was working on the charter of the Voice of Africa Mission based in Oakland. It was run by a dear old sister that had a school in the brush of Liberia. The Young Voice Mission had not yet been incorporated, by the time I got there. With the help of the full Gospel Businessmen's Assn. we set up and incorporated our own charter. The YVM worked mostly within the Oakland community. We went on to open drug rehab homes, which I ran. This is even more interesting: I almost went to Liberia when I worked with the Voice of Africa Mission. It just never became stable enough during my missionary years. The VOAM had a K-8 school there and wanted a high school. I guess they never finished that project because Liberia is still not stable.
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