rest in peace sing and dance in joy!

last night was my father's memorial services, and this morning we have the graveside service. it was good to hear so many good things said about my dad.

it had been 11 years ago that he got his liver transplant; and kidney failure soon after that. and so for over a decade of his life he was very different than what he was like before. it was good to remember his personality before. and it was really good to see the picture of him (the one in the previous post - in color) shown up on the screen for most of the service. he looked young, vivacious, and happy.

so dad it's good to know what a wonderful legacy you've left behind. and it's even better to know that you're not suffering from disease anymore. you're singing and dancing with joy in heaven right now.

for those who didn't know my dad, here's his obituary that ran in the local papers:

Reverend Isaias Lara, a Prosser, Washington resident for 27 years, at the age of 75 died in his home on September 19, 2007.

Surviving are his wife, Virginia Lara of Prosser and his former spouse, Consuelo Lara of Fresno, CA and eight children: David and Priscilla Lara of Fresno, CA; Daniel Lara of West Covina, CA, Deborah Moore of Whittier, CA; and Elizabeth (Lisa) Jack of Arcadia, CA; Abraham Lara of Grandview, WA; Magdalena Najera of Prosser, WA; and Elia Belmares of Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. He is also survived by his only sister Neomi Hall of Downey, CA and 15 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents Juan and Elia Lara and granddaughter; Abigail Najera.
Reverend Lara was born in Galveston, TX on October 22, 1931. He grew up as the son of Reverend Juan Lara, an evangelist, who raised the church Mission Belen in Los Angeles, CA. He married Consuelo Lara on March 1, 1957. Together they had 5 children.

After many years of prayer from his family, he accepted the Lord while at the Men’s Honor Ranch in Saugus, CA. Upon his release, after 11 months, he returned to Fresno where he preached and witnessed through the rugged streets of China Town.

After the death of his father he founded his own church, Templo Belen, in East Los Angeles. The church merged into the Santa Pentecostes Conference where he became Assistant Supervisor until 1975. He ministered in southern California and also traveled to Baja California as an evangelist.

Later in life he married Virginia Trujillo, together they had 3 children. They moved to Washington in 1980 to help build the Principe de Paz church in Grandview, WA.
He pastored a Hispanic congregation, Full Gospel Assembly, for 14 years in Prosser. He also ministered through a weekly radio program. Isaias enjoyed raising cattle on a 10 acre ranch he owned. During this time he maintained his own upholstery business. He also pastored La Nueva Jerusalem church in Caldwell, Idaho in 1996.

In addition to his diabetes, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of his liver and in 1996 he received a transplant. Today he stands with the Lord free from disease and pain.
A viewing will be held on Friday, September 28 at the Grandview Assembly of God from 3 to 7 pm; with a memorial service beginning at 7 pm. On Saturday, September 29 at 10 am there will be a graveside service at the East Prosser Cemetery.

// today i'm thankful for:
1. his leadership
2. his legacy
3. his laughter
4. his love
5. his life

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9/19/2007

Rev. Isaias Lara (1931-2007)

my father passed away this afternoon. he was a month shy of his 76th birthday. his condition has been frail for the last few years so it wasn't really a surprise. but as is the case with any death, it catches you off guard.

it's hard to describe what my feelings were when i first found out (by a call from my sister) or even in the hours afterward. i mean for the past 10 years or so there have been various times that i've thought about what my reaction should be when i first heard and now it's finally here.

i felt my heart sink. not because my father had died necessarily but because the time i knew had been on the horizon, was finally here and i would have to face all the feelings that come along with that in the days, weeks, and years to come.

i didn't really feel like breaking down and crying the moment i heard. in fact i don't think it really hit me what had happened until i had to explain it to some of the school staff as to why i was leaving early. it was actually saying the words out loud. "my father just passed away." i said those words and i felt my voice start to quiver. and a lump in my throat swell.

but i think my highest point of grief (thus far) came when we got to my dad's house. we were all in my parent's bedroom; my dad lying dead on his recliner chair. none of us were really sure what to say. besides our family some paramedics and a police officer were in the room. but there was a moment that deborah left the room and went to the piano and began playing the old hymn: "i'll fly away." and some other hymns like "it is well with my soul".

i started to cry, others in the room began to cry as well. it was very fitting.

we have family in southern california and minnesota that will be coming to the funeral. so it will probably be next week sometime.





// today i'm thankful for:
1. family
2. faith
3. memories
4. friends
5. my dad

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lifegroup, grouplife, and grouplink

if the title of this post confuses you hopefully i can sort it all out for you.

first of all grouplife is the overall name of our small groups ministry at grandview assembly of God. since last january my position at the church has shifted from youth pastor to associate pastor. as associate pastor my job description includes 1) media ministry and 2) small groups ministry.

lifegroup is the name of the individual small groups that will meet weekly in various homes and days. (okay so right now we actually have 2. one that will be meeting on sunday nights and the other on thursday nights.

and grouplink is the name of the event by which people who are interested in joining a lifegroup can get more information and then actually sign up for one.

anyways all that to say that today was our first grouplink. and we had 23 people there for most of it and then 1 more showed up towards the end of it. out of those 18 actually signed up for a lifegroup. so i'd say that was pretty good. there are actually a few more that told me they had to think about it a little bit more and would get back to me. and then there was a couple who told me in advance that they'd like to join but weren't going to be able to make it to the grouplink today.

so i'm glad this first phase is over and now am looking forward to the next few weeks and then months ahead to see what becomes of this whole grouplife stuff. i've spent the last 9 months preparing, studying, praying, and thinking about the launch of these groups and now that day is here.

the first group meets on thursday and the other one will start next sunday.

"God, i pray for your blessing on each persons life as they take another step towards you by joining a lifegroup for authentic community and spiritual growth. thank you for all you've already done in people's lives and for the life change you will bring in the weeks and months to come. in Jesus name i pray, amen."

// today i'm thankful for:
1. grouplink
2. lifegroup
3. dried cranberries
4. our au pair
5. air conditioning

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old and new news

well time for my monthly post.  :-)

let's see . . . since the last post my sister has gotten married.

we went to idaho. to visit our friends.

and school has begun for me. and i was greeted by deborah with this selection of pictures today.

oh and in case any of you can't read what it says . . . she was basically telling me that she's pregnant!


oh and school for the girls begins tomorrow. i don't have any pictures of this yet. but probably tomorrow. for those who don't know our kids will be doing school through achieveonline.org this year. so technically it's an online "public" school, but we'll get all their assignments online and we'll be the ones who make sure they have their assignments done. so we tell everyone we'll be homeschooling. but technically it's not. (oh and we got a used eMac for the kids to use)

oh and we hired an au pair! although she's not really foreign and she only stays the night with us 3 nights a week. her name is vernice and she's a young person that goes to our church. we had her babysit for us this past summer overnight when we were on our staff trip. she did such a great job with the kids, and cleaned the house, and our kids loved her too. so we decided to ask if she'd be willing to stay with us 3 nights a week. we can't afford to pay her that much considering all the help she is to us. but she was eager to do it and we love it. she started with us sept. 1st and is here sat, tues, and thur. nights. today deb and i went on a date to see "the bourne ultimatum" because we had 'built in babysitter!

anyways it's late now and i've got work tomorrow.



// today i'm thankful for:
1. new beginnings
2. an internet connection at home again
3. life groups launching at our church next week
4. grape nuts flakes
5. buffalo wings (deb's been craving them for like 3 weeks)

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