My mothers’ family was from Little Rock Arkansas and moved to California during the 50’s. Mom graduated from Grant High School. My dad’s family was from Oklahoma. My grandfather was half Cherokee and I have some Indian blood on both sides of my family, from what I’ve been told. I’ve got quite a bit of German ancestry as well. I was born in Sacramento on May 1st 1960 at Mercy hospital. I was raised in the Sacramento area from North Highlands and West Sacramento to Loomis and then Auburn where I graduated from Placer High School. When I was 6 years old we moved for a short time to Gonzalez Louisiana, where my dad worked for a year as a carpenter. I learned later this is the Jambalaya capital of the world. It’s no wonder I like spicy hot and Cajun food to this day. In 1982 I moved to the Santa Cruz area where I attended Bethany Bible College (later renamed Bethany University) for three years and obtained my Bachelor’s Arts degree in Ministerial Studies.
I am the oldest of three boys. It was difficult growing up in a home where my dad had a problem with temper, alcohol and drugs. My parents divorced when I was eight. My dad loved his boys but wasn’t in control of his own life and was abusive to my mom. One time he came home drunk and my mom and grandmother, with whom we lived, had to call the police on him. He was handcuffed and crying in the back of the squad car. I remember crying and telling my dad everything was going to be all right. It brings tears to my eyes to think of that traumatic moment. He was a big, strong, charismatic guy with a big smile, but he had a lot of pain in his life that he never dealt with or received healing for. Growing up, we used to brag that our dad could whip anybody else’s dad, but this was just three little boys grasping onto something we saw as a positive at the time. The reality was is that he was a bully. One time he got so jealous of some guy talking to my mom that he beat him so bad his eyeball fell out of its socket. Not a pretty picture.
My most vivid memory of my father was when he broke into our house and hid under a couch. After finding blood and a broken window, we discovered his hiding place. Some relatives came over and tried to reason with him. An argument ensued between he and my mom and he attacked her wrestling on the ground and stabbing a knife into her arm. Instinctively, I picked up the phone to call the operator for help. An uncle took the phone from me and put it down, but the operator still heard and sent police. My grandmother grabbed her hand gun and shot at my dad with the bullet whizzing by his head, just missing him. This scared him enough that he broke a window and escaped out the bedroom window. We rushed my mom to emergency where she received stitches. My dad found by the police later that night at his sister’s apartment complex, trying to hide in the pool. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. During the sentencing he became violent and had to be subdued by being hit over the head with a baton.
Prison was no cake walk for him. I heard he had witnessed a correctional officer being harmed and was put in lock up for his own protection for reporting the incident. This lasted many months, until his mother got him transferred. He developed paranoid schizophrenia and became delusional, imagining that he knew famous people and had large amounts of money coming to him. After he was released from prison he was put in Napa State Mental Hospital for some years and was eventually moved to an out-patient facility. The last we have heard of him is that he was living homeless on the streets.
Without my dad around, my mom tried to get us involved in constructive activities. My cousin began taking us to her church, Carmichael Assemblies of God where I got involved in Royal Rangers. Brother Best, an elderly gentleman, would drive from Carmichael to North Highlands to pick us up for the midweek program. We would memorize scripture, sing songs and learn positive character traits. I even went on some camping and fishing trips. Little did I realize at the time how much an impact that would have on my life. When I eventually gave my life to Christ, I reflected on the love of God I felt during those early days of my life. Someday I will be able give a big hug and “thank you” to brother Best who has gone on to his reward in heaven.
I gravitated toward sports in school. I was captain of flag football team in elementary school. One game I rushed in knocking the ball out the quarterback’s hands and picked it up running all the way for a touchdown. My shoe fell off in the process, but I remember the excitement and all the kids picking me up off the ground. I got the bug. My dad told me he played fullback in high school, so I figured since I was a tough kid I would play fullback too which ended up being my main position all during high school.
My mom signed me up for a summer camp program for kids through the Salvation Army. I went to that camp for three years in a row from the ages of 11 to 13. My first year there I got in 8 fights in 7 days! I was proud because I thought I won every one of them. My last year there I was lead to the Lord by my camp counselor, Lindy Scott, who was from Ohio. He was a kind person who took a genuine interest kids. He answered all my questions. I had a definite experience with the Lord that June of 1973. I knew and confessed Jesus as my Lord. We had planned to sneak up to the girls cabins that last night at camp, but we were so touched by God we stayed in the cabin and spoke about our experience that day in chapel. Lindy sent me a bible and did correspondence Bible studies with me for quite some time after that. I have lost track of him but owe him a big thank you in heaven as well!
The next year I went back to that camp to work in the maintenance department. That continued for two summers until I started high school. Working there was a memorable experience. I developed friendships that I still have to this day.
After my eighth grade year we moved to Loomis and attended Del Oro high school. I played on JV football team as a freshman, wrestled on varsity until an injury, and competed in track in running and shot put. We were the JV champions both my freshman and sophomore years. I broke the school record for push-ups, 160! I saw the record of 155 at a school in San Francisco and decided I would do 160! I bench pressed 300 pounds, ran the mile in under six minutes, and tied in league track for longest shot put. I had some good friends and coaches at Del Oro. Being rebellious I didn’t see eye to eye with the redneck administration, vice principle and principle. They didn’t treat me with much respect and I was not very respectful either. I should have adhered to what they wanted of me, but, having no wisdom, I told them where to shove it. That sent me to the local continuation school for a short tenure. This school was traditionally known as being there for the burn outs and uncontrollable kids.
At that point I was tempted to get a GED and go in to the military. A friend I had played football with at Del Oro, Bill Denton, convinced me to go to Placer High School in Auburn. Placer was known as the football powerhouse of the region. Billy moved there and loved it. Coaches’ Bill Miller and Tom Johnson were the real deal. I visited the high school and met the coaches. I walked into the weight room and everyone on the football team was lifting weights. These people were into it just like I was. They were fanatics! The team even voted to shave their heads every year for team unity and solidarity!
Coach Johnson had played defense at USC. Coach Miller had coached at Long Beach state and had coached players who went into the NFL. When I played against Placer my sophomore year at Del Oro, I scored the winning touchdown against Placer, a fullback delay into the flat and ran it in. Needless to say, the first time I showed up to Placer’s spring practice I got raspberries and boos. It was great! I had found my new home!
I played my first game for Placer my junior year and then learned there was scuttlebutt about me changing schools in the district and from leaving Del Oro on unhappy terms. So I had to sit out the remainder of the season until the play offs. We ended up being the undefeated Sierra Foothill league champions. All season I was the dummy fullback mimicking the other teams running back against our first string defense. We were led by team captain Bob Wallace, who was one of the hardest hitting linebackers I ever went against. We clashed one time and it was one of the few times I literally saw stars. They knew I sat out all season because of the politics between schools so they gave me the ball during the play offs. I scored five touchdowns in two games, and we ended up being the AA State champs. My senior year I was second in the Sacramento area for touchdowns scored. My nickname was “Pay Dirt”. I wasn’t real fast but had strength to be a short yardage back. We had an awesome line with Tony Ward, Denny Sellers, Mike Pugh, Pat Rossito, John Rutherford and my buddy Dan Luper. Tony and Denny played in the optimist all-star game they had every year for the top performers. My senior year we lost the last game of season while going in for the winning score when an interception was thrown in the end zone on third down with a minute left in game. We had the winningest undefeated record going over three seasons. The team motto was, “Hit and have fun!” and we did.
I also had the honor and privilege of wrestling for Coach Bill Flake, affectionately known as “Wild Bill”. He had coached guys to the state championships, and was inducted a couple of years ago into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is a man with great passion and intensity whom I greatly respect to this day. I was 19-11 my first year playing for him at 191 lbs and went 24-4 as a senior at 175 lbs. I went to his hall of fame induction a few years ago and have stayed in touch with him ever since.
As much fun as I had in high school sports and with the friendships I had, I was not a happy camper at times. When we moved away from Sacramento I stopped going to church and did not walk in the things of God. I backslid. I discovered hormones and beer. I “enjoyed” myself and no one would have ever guessed I was a Christian at one time. During my senior year, part way through wrestling season, I had gotten into a scrap with my brother, John. After it was over I was sitting down he came up behind me and stuck a steak knife into my back and side. Because of the serrated end it would not have gone through me, but it did leave nasty mark. I went to the hospital; they cleaned it out and kept me overnight just for observation.
That night at hospital I was pretty upset. I started watching TV and Billy Graham was preaching. He talked about how people try to find happiness and fulfillment outside of Christ. They seek it through financial success, alcohol, drugs and sexual experiences. These experiences never fulfill and will always leave a void in your life. I was overtaken with emotion and began to cry. The nurse came in and I tried to hide it. A couple of nights later I was over at someone’s house playing cards and drinking beer. I was in the living room by myself and The Lord started speaking to me. He didn’t speak audibly but it was a clear impression to me. He said, “I want you to look at your life”. I looked into my beer thinking someone slipped me something hallucinogenic. He said, “No, You know I am real and am speaking with you now”. I acknowledged that He was speaking to me and that I had made a mess of my life. He said, “You need to give me your life 100%.” I reasoned with God to let me sow my wild oats and then I would serve Him. He told me my life would only get worse without Him running the show. I again reasoned that I was not very good at being a Christian. He said, “If you give your life to me 100% I will live My life through you and cause you to walk in victory. I have people who will love you and take care of you”. After running out of arguments, I told God He was right, but that I could not do it; He needed to bring me to the place where I could. The response I got back was that He would.
A week later, after coming home from a party, I was lying in bed and the Holy Spirit, (known by some as the hound of heaven), was convicting me of my sin. I felt a huge weight and pressure over my life. Finally, I’d had enough. I raised my hands in surrender and said, “Okay, I give up. I ask Jesus in my heart. I ask you to forgive my sins and make me the person you want to be.” At that moment I God knew I meant business. I began to cry and laugh at the same time. I felt a joy and relief that flooded my heart. In the morning I found an old Living Way Bible, dusted it off and started reading it. I told God I needed fellowship with other believers, but didn’t think there were any Christians in Auburn. I saw a poster for a band called Daniel Amos and it had a fish emblem on it. I knew enough to know it was a Christian symbol and concluded it must be a Christian band. This band rocked and was louder than any other concert I had ever been to. The summer before, I had gone to see two concerts at “Bill Graham presents Day on the Green” at the Oakland Coliseum. One concert had ACDC and the other was headlined by Ted Nugent in concert. I knew good music when I heard it and this Christian band had it. I remember this guy named Ed Demers coming up at the end of the concert who shared his testimony of living a life on drugs and how Jesus changed him. He had a glow on his face and a smile that looked like a coat hanger was stuck in his mouth. I thought to myself, I don’t know what this guy has, but I want it! I introduced myself afterward and he introduced me to his youth group. I started attending bible studies and got invited to attend some of their services at a Methodist church pastored by Milt Mead and Marty Hooper. Milt was 6’7” and was on the first cover of Sports Illustrated with the college all-stars. He played center for Michigan State. He is in heaven now, but one of the most loving men I have ever met. Marty was formerly in the Church of Christ. He came into the baptism in the Holy Spirit through Pat Boone’s influence. He is a fiery teacher and preacher; a man of great unction and boldness. Their gifts complimented each other and flowed together well. Today Marty is preaching to the nations. I took my first missionary trip to Tanzania Africa at Marty’s invitation in 1990.
I was invited to an evening service where Evangelist Tom Brock was preaching. He had a powerful testimony of how God used him for revival during the Jesus People movement in Southern California. He concluded the service by asking how many people wanted more of Jesus in their life. I raised my hand. He shared about receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I wanted all God had for me so I went forward during the altar call. He laid hands on some girls next to me and they began singing in a different language. I figured it must have been one of those Spanish songs they had in the back of the song book. I couldn’t find the song and eventually figured out they were speaking in tongues as promised in the Bible. I used to argue with people about this experience because I had prayed for it once when I was 13 and nothing happened. So I surmised it was not for today (which some people still do). At this point I didn’t care about arguments. I wanted more of God. I told God intensely that He had to baptize me in the Holy Spirit. If He didn’t I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. My whole body was tense and I had pushed all the air out of my diaphragm. When Tom laid hands on my head I physically felt the Holy Spirit fill my heart and go “whoosh” all through me. I don’t know anyone who has quite had that experience, but God knew what I needed to overcome my misconceptions. My mouth began to move and speak in a language, but I had no air in my diaphragm to speak out loud. I felt the power of God! I was so excited I went around shaking hands like I was running for political office. I knew something changed in my life. Ironically, on the way home I felt the devil telling me I had made the whole thing up. I didn’t have much teaching at that point, so I didn’t speak in tongues after that for a while.
A couple weeks after that experience I went away for a youth retreat hosted by Tom Brock where evangelist Ray Brooks was the speaker. Ray was a Roman Catholic layman who got born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit and was used mightily by God during the Catholic Charismatic renewal. He gave an altar call for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, so I responded again since I had not spoken in tongues since my previous experience. This time I got completely released in speaking in tongues, or prayer language as most call it. We were praising God that night and I felt the presence of God like never before. At that point, I too, had a coat hanger smile! I had cramps in my cheeks from smiling. Finally, I asked God to poke a hole in me to let some out so I could go to sleep. I finally fell asleep at 3AM!
After that weekend I read the Bible on a regular basis, up to 50 chapters a day. At one point I was going to a bible study, prayer meeting or church service seven days a week. I walked into a Christian bookstore and told him about my experience with the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and he turned negative. He said, “What you need is the Word of God!” I told him I was reading 50 chapters a day and going to church seven days a week and I didn’t think I could do anymore!
My life started changing. I told a friend who was growing pot plants in my basement that all the plants were his; that I was living for the Lord. Without missing a beat, he said, “Why don’t you wait until after the harvest and buy your own church?” I told him I didn’t think it worked that way. I started carrying my bible to school and Jerry Mitchell, our sophomore quarterback on varsity team, asked me if this was for an English class. I responded that I was reading it on my own. He said “Something happened to you. Tell me about it”. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to hear and he said yes, so I shared everything that happened to me. He looked a little shell-shocked at first but listened. He became a born again believer three months later. Some people thought the changes were a temporary high and soon I would be back to my normal self. That never happened.
We ended up having a revival on campus. Students were coming to bible studies, getting saved, and God provided funds for the band, Daniel Amos, to come back and play at both lunches in our high school. It was a powerful event!
I moved back to Loomis after high school and lived with my mom and grandmother while attending Sierra College, where I got an AA in Management/Supervision. I attended Penryn Foursquare church, pastored by Bob and Shirley Birch. Two great people I respect to this day. I knew when I was thirteen I had a call of God on my life to be a minister when I was at a Salvation Army Camp meeting. It all came back to me when I recommitted my life to the Lord. I preached my first sermon at Sermon at Penryn Foursquare. Alex Avila, a man I became very close to before he went to be with the Lord, bought me my first suit to preach in. I became an evangelism minister, singles minister, and headed up a campus ministry at Sierra College. Ray Salmon, who originally founded the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry there, taught me how to do street witnessing with a Four Spiritual Laws Tract.
The best thing to happen to me during all this time was to have Deedee Farinha come into my life. I had met her at Placer when she was a Senior and I a Junior. I found her very attractive then, and still do. She was the cousin of Steve, who played half back and defensive back for the Placer Hillmen when I was on the team. One encounter we had, which we laugh about today, was during her senior cut day, and everyone was partying at American River. Long story short, I ended up getting a kiss that day. A couple of years later, after I had come back to the Lord I ran into her on the street in Auburn. After hearing my testimony, she cautioned me to not going overboard. In her words, “It was Jesus this and Jesus that”. Raised a Roman Catholic her whole life with a feisty Portuguese and German heritage, she became born again at the same Charismatic Methodist Church in Meadow Vista that I returned to the Lord in. We stayed in communication and she went on to graduate from UC Santa Barbara in theatre. She is very talented and runs a theatre company called Free Fall Stage, named in homage to her deceased brother, Scott Farina, who had a passion for skydiving and theatre. The summer after graduating from Sierra and getting ready to attend Bethany in Santa Cruz, we started courting. Deedee co-wrote and directed a musical, with Marty Hooper called “Cracker, Cracker”, about a missionary who went to the streets of New York to minister to the gangs. He meets up with his old flame from college. He proposes to her and they get married and continue that ministry. The day of the closing night of the show I asked her father, Ernie, for permission to marry her. That night when the two characters embraced on stage before the proposal scene, I told her this was for real. She had to say yes because it was in the script! After the show we announced to the audience our engagement. We got married after our first semester at Bethany, where we both attended. We will be married 31 years come this January, and have four beautiful children: Delaney, Emma, Lydia and Chad. I love my wife more now than ever.
After graduating from Bethany in 1985 we settled in to a church in the Sacramento area and I began traveling as an evangelist, teacher and prophet. We did this for close to nine years, traveling to primarily northern California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Southern California. I did short term missions’ trips to Tanzania Africa, Mindanao Philippines, Moscow Russia and Bela Horizonte Brazil. In 1991, we began pastoring a church in Folsom California. I have also done professional sales for ALLDATA Corporation while pastoring. I have been in or near the top ten in sales during my tenure there.
I appreciate you reading my story. The best thing that could happen to you that happened to me is to give Jesus Christ 100% of your life. I am very thankful for what He has done in my life. I have included a couple of links at the bottom of this article. The Four Spiritual Laws, and a link to our fellowship, Victory Life Church. I encourage you to check both of them out.
