September 2010

I greet you as the days of summer turn into fall.

For those of us who live in the South, summer is joy and misery. Sometimes it gets so hot and humid that you can poach an egg on the sidewalk. The mosquitoes and the lightning bugs filled our nights with joy and frustration.

I was born and raised in California. Actually I was born in Bakersfield and raised in a little suburb called "Oildale." The boys of Oildale were a tough group of " hoods". We had no Blacks, nor Hispanics in our neighborhood. I did attend a school that had a number of Blacks and Mexicans, but most of my upbringing was done so without learning of the beauty of other ethnic groups.

When I became a Christian, many of my philosophies had to be challenged. I met a woman (37) years ago, who I fell in love with, and guess what? She is Mexican and Italian.

When I took my bride to my grandparents house, I had not told them that she was Mexican. So bright early one morning while we were visiting, my grandpa is trying to wake up my wife to play the card game gin-rummy. (This was around 4:30 a.m.) So I whispered to her, "you better get up, he won't stop until you get up." So she got up to get a cup of coffee and something small to eat. What she did was get a biscuit (since they didn't have any tortillas) and put a yellow chili pepper in it.

The look that my grandpa gave her! He said, "girl what in the world are you eating?" I had to tell him then that she was Mexican. He just shook his head, and said to her, "deal the cards."

This is how it's been for me much of my Christian life and ministry. I've had the chance to serve and work with people that do not fit within the cookie-cutter sheet of what a Christian should be. I recently had a long conversation with a man named George. If you were to look at him, he would look like a hopeless case. Yet he has a heart that is filled with the love of God. He does not drink, and takes his medication faithfully. I know where God is, but I cannot say where God is not. I can see our Holy God works in this man's life.

This is what our ministry is. Reaching out to those who are not the cookie- cutter types of what we think a Christian should be. Please continue to pray for us.

May the beauty of heaven consume you...

Fr. David Ogan