My earliest memory of being in church was when I was about 5 or 6 years old and we lived in Clayton, NM. My parents had friends that went to the Methodist church and we went occasionally. The only real memory I have is walking down stairs to the basement area where my Sunday School class was held. I remember my shoes (black paten leather) making loud clicking noises as I walked and worrying that I was making too much noise. That is not exactly a Holy Spirit memory.

My first real encounter with the Lord came when I was in 6th grade. My parents and I lived in Bunavista, TX. My dad worked for Phillips Petroleum Co. I started going to a Baptist church with a friend from school. Her parents were committed Christians. One Sunday as I sang in the choir and the call to the alter was being extended, I felt an overwhelming pull to go forward and accept Jesus as my savior. I was baptized at Bunavista Baptist.

We moved into Borger, TX. by the time I was to start 7th grade. I began to go to Calvary Baptist with a neighbor friend's family. Soon my parents started to attend as well. They eventually accepted Jesus as savior and were baptized also.

I would have always said "I am a Christian." However it would be a long time before I came to understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with the Father. It took me over thirty years for that realization to take place. During that time there were various times when our family was involved with a local church. There were more times when we didn't go to church at all.

In the early 80s I began to hear about "relationship", and about the Holy Spirit. There were many things that helped me in my growth. Reading the Word, various Christian books, television preachers, and Shady Grove church in Grand Prairie. My daughter Debbie married the pastor's son and that brought us into a personal relationship with that family. However I was still in the infant stages of my relationship with my Lord.

In 1994 my husband Loal and I moved to Grapevine, TX. This was not a move that I embraced even though it was next door to my mother. I wouldn't know until years later that the Lord was putting me in a place of protection and provision. After 38 years of marriage I was forced to go through a divorce. Needless to say this is something I never imagined. Because I had moved to Grapevine my mother and I had started to attend Abundant Life Church. This church offered a place of healing and growth to me. I learned to lean on the Lord like never before. He gave me my prayer language and baptized me with the Holy Spirit. That blessing was always there, right from the time I first accepted Jesus. I just didn't know it was available to me. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in a Divorce Care class. This was so important in my healing process. Ultimately a fellow classmate and I were Co-Facilitators for two sessions of the Divorce Care class. During this time I joined the choir. What a wonderful healing blessing it was to be part of the group leading the church in worship of our Lord.

God was so gracious to place other believers in my life during this time of singleness and preparation. There have been so many precious saints that have prayed with and for me, and my family. I was able to have a social life with an abundance of Christian friends.

It had been in my heart to find someone to share the remainder of my life. After seven years of being single, I came to the place where I told the Lord that I only wanted what He wanted for me. If that meant remaining single until He returned or called me home that was perfectly fine with me. I felt complete peace and knew that the Lord's will would be done in my life. As soon as I was able to submit my will to the Lord's He brought change in a big way.

In October 2004 I met Richard Laughlin. We were married in May 2005. The Lord released me from full time employment in June 2007 and He has called us to this ministry. I can look back at numerous instances of protection and provision. I am excited to see what the Lord will continue to do in our future.