NorCalUrban

Pascal Gomez came by for a visit yesterday. He brought his parents with him. Moses and Melissa are very close, old friends. Melissa was a student in a youth group I led and (my wife) Melissa used to babysit little baby Moses. I was honored to perform their wedding four years ago.  The Gomez family serves with  YWAM Amsterdam . Melissa works with prostitutes and sex slaves in the infamous red light district and Moses is doing innovative ministry through DJing. He goes by the name DJ Osmoses. Sam and he had a great time spinning some wax. They head home on Wednesday after a four month furlough. A long time ago I wanted to move to the YWAM base in Amsterdam. At least I can live vicariously through them. I've been encouraging them to blog more - hopefully my nagging will take! 

Our partner church Peninsula Covenant Church's young adult Pastor Tony G. has a great blog called Tony's 2 Cents.

OK - I know I haven't been posting much lately. After the  CCDA conference, then a week of vacation I came back to a whirlwind. I hope I still have some readers! Here's a few things that has been going on to catch you up on the randomness of my life: - Andy Hartwell, founder and former Executive Director of my former employer Bayshore Christian Ministries attended Max Torres' funeral. Here's some of Andy's reflections "I went to Max' funeral. It was pretty amazing. We got there a little before 10 and still ended up sitting in the gymnasium. The sanctuary and overflow room were already packed. Later, the little passageway between the 2 got packed out as well. I think there were 1000 people there, certainly 800+. Lots of bikers. The speakers were great. They really knew Max and reflected well on his personality and his legacy. It was really positive without being at all shallow. It wasn't happy-happy; it was really moving. His oldest son got up to thank...

Our beloved friend, lifetime servant of Christ, pastor, respected 'urban' leader and Sam's adopted uncle Max Torres passed last night after a fatal motorcycle accident. Max has been a close friend of mine for well over a decade. I've had lots of wonderful memories flooding back from my times with Max including a retreat on Lake Meade in the 90's, a visit to the White House in the Clinton days and many laughs during his season serving in East Palo Alto with  Bayshore Christian Ministries. One of the picures I posted was from a summer intern retreat where he was the speaker. My thoughts are prayers are with Dalia and their sons. Max, well done - a life well lived. You are missed... Every day is a gift. I'll post more information as I become aware.