Long Beach was the most difficult place we ever left. This can only be said in retrospect. We were aware that much of the love came because I was a student with a part-time job and we had two small children. Never have we felt so loved or cared for. The church had several part time staff before, but we were the first married employees. That may have been part of the reason for the great care.
A great deal of change occurred in our short two years. It was neat to be part of it. We were around for the transition to a new pastor. They got a Godly man who was an excellent preacher. However, his wife would not let herself contribute to the church. The church wanted to embrace her, wanted her included, but she never allowed herself to adjust. She eventually withdrew completely and would not attend. That’s tough on a pastor. In time, he left the ministry to recover his marriage. If one is going to be in ministry, the couple needs to be called, not just one.
Life long friendships began in Long Beach. We were included in activities and went places we never dreamed possible. Faith and Lorraine reappeared at Della’s funeral and returned for Rhonda’s wedding to help with that important day.
I don’t remember the details of saying good-bye to the church, our church friends, and my friends from high school, but I remember the final day of loading the U-Hall. Since Bill and Jan Higgins were moving to Regina, we were going to do it together. We planned the shortest travel route possible, which was through the desert of Nevada and Utah so we made the decision to travel that stretch during the night (big mistake). None of us had air-conditioned cars, so we hoped the night trip would make the heat bearable. It didn’t, but that was the plan.
We were finishing packing the day before departure and were struggling keeping the boxes filled as both our children were taking things back out when we would turn our back. Eventually we got the neighbor girl to take them to play with the other neighborhood kids. Later that day, Bill and I went to pick up the truck. We brought it back and loaded our things the next morning. Bill then took the truck and he and Jan loaded their things at the back. We already knew they were going to have an apartment ready for them on arrival, but we were going to have to find a place. Where we were going to stay until we found a place was a big unknown.
Mixed emotions flooded us as the end was fast approaching. We talked about the offer we received to move to Ohio to be the Christian Education director. We were offered $12,000 a year. More than twice what we were going to get in Regina. There were no regrets. We believed this was God’s will. We laughed about my response to the call. When I answered the phone, the senior pastor called me “brother Walker.” I did not know what the call was about at that time, but I absolutely hated that title. It was a bad hang over from the Pentecostal church of my youth. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Be barely got out his purpose for the call of his mouth and I knew immediately I could not go there. I would not go anywhere I was going to be called “brother.” Of course, I had second thoughts when he said “$12,000 a year.”
That afternoon people came by to see us off. I doubt either of us could hold it together. When the Higgins returned we hooked up their car to tow behind the U-Hall. Bill and Jan drove the truck and our family rode in our Dodge. When we left it was with a mixture of sadness and joy. We knew what God wanted, but it was hard to leave.
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