It began as a day like any other, with a pot of coffee ingested one gulp at a time that eventually propped my eyes open enough to prepare for the day ahead. There was nothing special about getting ready for work that day, doing the mundane tasks that made me look presentable enough to appear in public without being an embarrassment to my family. Life was uneventful, unexciting, and just plain boring that morning. Work began at South Coast Bobcat in Orange, California exactly like all of the other mornings. I went to the parts/service counter and asked the fellow behind the desk, “What’s next?” meaning what is the next skid steer loader to work on. When he handed me the paper that detailed the reason the loader was brought in, I studied it for a minute and shortly thereafter disappeared into the work of diagnosing and repairing the equipment. I was brought out of my work induced daze a couple of hours later by the sound of popping. It sounded almost like the lit firecrackers that somehow flew into the bathroom occasionally after people went in, but it wasn’t quite as loud. Over the next few seconds, the popping grew louder and a car screeched to a halt just as it was approaching the street corner heading in the wrong direction. The driver jumped out of the passenger side door, and using the car as a shield began shooting in the direction of the police who had pulled up behind the car and around the corner. It wasn’t long before the police had the situation taken care of, but the cost of the rampage was high. Four lives were lost (including the shooter), several people were injured physically, and many more were emotionally scarred at the loss of their loved ones’ lives.

Winter 2008

• The Meaning In the Holidays - from Pastor Tom Barlament
• Anticipating Jesus - from Assistant Pastor Andy Arrants
• Being Unrecognizable - from Assistant Pastor Gabe Skillo
• It Is What It Is... - from Mrs. Nancy Barlament
• Up and Coming Events
• Special Announcements
• Download the PDF