Escapees... Survivors... Overcomers

[summer007]

"I had wanted to Serve the Lord, and thought I was doing so" this quote from Al. How many of us had this same heartfelt desire? Yes God can and does Redeem the time. Restoring the years that the Cankor worm has eaten. BTW Al in your Story you did'nt mention HOW you met the Saints could you elaborate on that when you have a free moment.?  Thanks...007.

[summer007]

Al,  Did you see this or are you toooo busy to answer???Summer..

[al Hartman]

Al,  Did you see this or are you toooo busy to answer???Summer..

Posted by: summer007  Posted on: July 24, 2004, 12:16:18 pm  
  ... Al in your Story you did'nt mention HOW you met the Saints could you elaborate on that when you have a free moment.?  Thanks...007.  

     Well, Sis, I am busy, but I try real hard to not be TOO busy...

     I was hoping to find one of the old posts in which I have already told the tale, but...  That's the problem when you post a lot-- I know I told it, but I can't remember where I put it...

     Anyway, I suppose it bears retelling, for those who tuned in later:

     Once upon a time, in the late 1960s, there was a small group of dropouts from various churches who the Lord led by sundry pathways to find each other.  These bewildered souls met for prayer in each others' homes, for want of a better idea of how to follow the Lord, which was what they wanted to do.

     Among them were those you may have come to recognize as the Madduxes, the Hartmans, the Ironses and the Campbells (although the Campbells were not yet "the Campbells" at that point in time).

     The weekly gathering had settled upon the Maddux residence in the San Fernando Valley when Steve and Margaret Irons introduced George Geftakys into the mix.  (I'll refer you to the Ironses for the details of how that came to pass.)

     Eventually, that weekly meeting became a Bible study, at which "chapter summary" debuted, and in the fulness of time the first workers' meeting was born (in Fullerton, of course).  Before too long, the first seminar, The Attributes of God, took place, and in due course we began to break bread at Hillcrest Park in Fullerton.  I believe the first "assembly" meeting was in 1970.

     That's the Reader's Digest version...  If there are more specific questions, I'll try to offer more specific answers.

God bless,
al :D

[summer007]

Thanks Al,  that summery was sufficient. Yes I thought it would be easier to ask you then to look through 807 posts. I dont want to assume you were a student in California or part of the Hippie movement or other. I have most of the data on everything else, and I'm satisfied with that. Summer.

[al Hartman]

Thanks Al,  that summery was sufficient. Yes I thought it would be easier to ask you then to look through 807 posts. I dont want to assume you were a student in California or part of the Hippie movement or other. I have most of the data on everything else, and I'm satisfied with that. Summer.

Summer,

     Just a couple more tidbits of info:  I came to So.CA & to Jesus Christ (in that order) as an enlistee in the U.S.Air Force in 1962.  Upon my separation from active duty in 1965, my identity as a Christian had been established.

     I met Cathy at Faith Center in Glendale, CA in January, 1966, and we were married there in November, 1967.  

     Sometime during the summer/fall of 1969 I quit my job, grew my beard, and toured the country with my pregnant wife in an old VW camper.  During that brief period, we may justifiably have been considered "Christian hippies."  I didn't think of us as such at the time, but Tom Maddux did and, in retrospect, I acquiesce to his discernment.

     Finally, I attended a trade school, followed by about two years at L.A. Pierce College in Woodland Hills, where I was involved in the campus outreach in the early 70s.

...and now you know the rest of the story...
al