Carlos del Hoyo

Brother Carlos del Hoyo has been attending the White
Memorial Church for the past five years. He is a native
of the town of Santurce in Puerto Rico. His early education
took place at public schools, but he later attended the SDA
college in the city of Mayaguez, where he finished his
studies as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Even though he did
his college studies in an Adventist institution, he did not
take well to the SDA message. It was only a few years
after college, when he was 27 years old, that he was
invited by a friend to attend a small group meeting in
a very old church in Rio Piedras. He reluctantly agreed
to go as a courtesy to his friend, but he said to himself
that it would be the first and last time he would go to
such a meeting. Little did he know that just a few hours
later the word of God would be preached to him and
stir his soul. That very same night he accepted Jesus
as his Lord and savior. Jesus has been his best friend
ever since.
Later in his life he moved to Boston, where he worked
as a nurse and struggled to keep his faith.
Brother Carlos said to the WMC Talk Blog that he has
encountered some difficult times in his life, even to the
point where he stopped attending church on a couple of
occasions; but he is happy to say that his faith did not
die out completely. He points out that while he drifted
away from the Adventist church, he never did attend a
Sunday-keeping church during that period.
He began attending the White Memorial Church
because some friends told him about it upon his arrival
to Los Angeles from Boston.
He says his favorite ministry is to counsel youth.
His advice to the White Memorial Family is to show love
because the Gospel in a word is love. He also stresses
the importance of attracting youth. He explains that if
we bring youngsters to our church, their parents are
sure to follow. He believes one first step in that direction
would be for the SDA church to make inroads into non
SDA schools, so we may have a presence there.

We are happy to have brother Carlos del Hoyo in our
family. We pray that he will find love and support among
our members.

Matsuda Family

Jana, Daisy, and Jenise Matsuda
_______________________________________
The White Memorial family is happy to count among its
members, sister Daisy Matsuda and her daughters, Jana
and Jenise.

Sister Daisy Matsuda comes to us from Manila. Upon her
arrival in California she started attending a church in
Glendale, but now she has been attending our church with
her daughters for about 13 years.
She works at the Adventist Credit Union. Her daughter
Jana is 12 years old and is studying at Montebello Inter-
mediate School. Jenise is 18 years old and she will be
starting college soon. Daisy has been baptized for a long
time now. Her daughters are preparing for baptism in
the near future.
They enjoy helping cook for our potluck ministry and
teaching the little children in Sabbath school.

Brother Loren Morris

For the past year and a half the White Memorial Church
has been blessed by the presence of our dear Brother
Loren Morris.
The WMC Talk Blog had a chance to interview him; and
this is what he had to say:
Brother Loren's family moved to Las Vegas when he was
only one year old. So he grew up in that city, where he
attended public school for his elementary education. As
a child he also attended the Holiness Church, where his
grandfather was a minister and his mother was the first
pianist.
It was during his pre-teen years that his mother received
the Adventist message and she made a very momentous
decision. She enrolled her three children in the SDA Junior
Academy and she left her father's Holiness Church to
start worshiping on the Sabbath. Her minister father was
outraged at his daughter's decision not only because she
had found a new faith, but also because he had lost the
top pianist in his church. There were frequent arguments
between father and daughter and this brought lots
of tension to the family to the point that his mother was
brought to tears; but it was no turning back for
Loren's mother. Loren was batized at age 13 in his new
church in Las Vegas. He and his three brothers continued
attending Adventist schools for the rest of their education
and they saw a remarkable improvement in their
academic performance and school behavior. Moreover,
the three brothers found expanded opportunities at the
Adventist church to develop their musical talents. The
three of them joined the choir and the music groups in
school and in church and spent much of their time serving
the Lord in their music ministry. Brother Loren now
credits this influence of Gospel music in his life as a great
force that helped shaped him into a better person because
he learned structure and discipline.
As an adult, brother Loren moved to Los Angeles to pursue
some work. He has worked as a security guard for most of
his life. For the past 17 years he has been employed by USC
and he has attended the Berean SDA Church on Adams
Blvd, near the USC campus.
A couple of years ago his employer assigned him to work at
USC hospital, not far from our church. It was then that
brother Loren ran into some transportation problems and
he was having difficulty making his way to the Berean Church.
He was trying to find a solution to these transport problems
when it occured to him that he doesn't need to go to the
Berean Church when there are other SDA churches near USC
Hospital. So he decided to visit WMC and see what it's like.
He met some friendly people here. He tried out for the choir.
People in the choir were impressed with his singing and he
was encouraged to continue attending WMC. Aside from the
singing he also has found another ministry where he helps
faithfully every Sabbath: Doing the dishes after potluck.
He now comes to White Memorial not only because it is a
short walk from his job, but also because he enjoys pastor
del Pozo's sermons.
He believes our church is already doing a terrific job in our
community and we only need to improve on our current
ministries to bring more souls to Christ. He also thinks our
congregation will benefit greatly if we stress a little more
the importance of personal relationships.
For the leaders in SDA education he wants to remind them
to encourage students to be more extroverted. Teach the
children not keep so much to ourselves as SDA cliques.

We are glad to have Brother Loren in our church and we
pray that he will find love and support from our family.

WMC picnic

Click on this photo to see more...
____________________________________
On Sunday, July 25, more than 125 members and
friends of the White Memorial Church gathered at
San Marino's Lacy Park for a day of fun.

Myrna Calderon, Don Roman, Carlos Medina and Tom
Vicente prepared lots of activities, games, and prizes for
all ages. The early morning program got under way with
an informal game of baseball. This was followed by a
delicious lunch with the crowd spread out over ten or
fifteen tables. There was plenty of delicious food
contributed by several families.
Lunch was followed by an exciting program of classic
summer games, including a sack race, badminton,
water balloon toss, relay races, "pass-the-egg", and
tug-o-war.
Attendance was excellent and we look forward to
many more group outings in the future.

Gilbert

Gilberto R. Aragon attends WMC since 2005.
________________________________________
Every Sabbath while the congregation is sitting in the
sanctuary listening to the sermon, there is one man who
is busy in the kitchen adding the last touch of spices,
stirring the soup, and making sure all the dishes have
the perfect consistency and taste. His name is Gilberto
R. Aragon, affectionately known to all of us as 'Gilbert.'
He traces his family ancestry all the way back to 1692 in
the town of Atrisco, Spain. Here in America the family
established a base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which,
he explains, was originally named after the Spanish Duke
of Albuquerque. Then in 1938 some members of the
family started to make their way to California. And
that's how Gilbert ended up growing up in Los Angeles.
He attended public schools for his elementary education.
Later he received a Catholic education at Salesian High
School. From there he went on to culinary school and
he spent 30 years of his life working as a chef in Santa
Barbara; all the while attending Sunday mass at the
Catholic church wherever he went.
After his retirement he returned to the Los Angeles area
to care for his elderly father.
When his father was admitted to White Memorial
Hospital, Gilbert met Anita Tupas and Pastor Archie
Tupas who offered him friendship and support during
his father's illness and eventual death.
This was a very challenging period in Gildbert's life.
He had a difficult time coping with the absence of his
father. After the funeral Gilbert fell into a deep depression,
serious enough for him to be on constant medication.
This was around 2005.
It was at this moment that Pastor Archie Tupas and his
wife Anita invited Gilbert to come to our church so he
could at least be out of his house to meet some people.
Anita Tupas was at that time in charge of overseeing the
potluck ministry, so she suggested that Gilbert could
come to WMC to help us cook for the potluck. Gilbert
reluctantly agreed to try it. Gradually Gilbert began to
meet some of the church members and he started to
make friends. Soon he realized it was a great therapy
and it was doing him a lot of good for his downcast spirit.
He also started to develop an interest in finding out what
these Seventh Day Adventists "are all about." The next
step for him was to start taking some Bible studies with
Pastor Tupas. Brother Gilbert was very cautious and
deliberate in his approach. He wanted to make sure what
he was doing was the right thing. So he continued taking
Bible studies for five long years until he finally was able
to reach the point where he could take that great leap of
faith and be baptized. That happy occasion took place in
December of 2009. Now Gilbert had officially decided to
join the White Memorial family. We are happy to have him
with us. He is also happy to find a home at WMC because
he feels like he has so much to contribute to the potluck
ministry. He is also enthusiastic about the Community
Services Ministry as a perfect way to reach out to our
neighbors.

Robert Torres.

Robert Torres and Jeremy del Pozo celebrate their birthday.
________________________________________
It is a wonderful blessing for White Memorial Church to
count among our members brother Robert Torres.
The "WMC Talk Blog" is grateful to brother Torres for
setting aside time from his busy schedule to talk to us
for an interview.
1) How long have you been an Adventist?
Since I was five years old.
2) Is anybody else in your family SDA?
All my family is Adventist.
3) Did you always attend SDA schools?
I only attended 7th grade at White Memorial School.
4) How long have you been at White Memorial Church?
16 years.
5) What is your favorite ministry at WMC?
Pathfinders.
6) How long have you been working with the Pathfinders?
16 years.
7) What's your current role at Pathfinders?
Director.
8) How many children now in WMC's pathfinders?
We're on summer break, but our club average is 20.
9) What is the biggest challenge in working with the
Pathfinders?
Right now our biggest challenge is getting new
tents. But we're blessed to have so many people
supporting us, from parents to volunteers.
10) How can the church members help you succeed
in your position as Pathfinders director?
The involvement of church members is always
appreciated. It's always nice to see members
interacting with the youth.
11) How long have you been working at WMMC?
Since 1990. I started working there as a student.
12) How many jobs have you had at WMMC?
I've only worked in the Clinical Engineering Dpmt.
13) What is your current job at WMMC?
Now I am supervisor of the Clinical Engineering
Department.
14) How has your SDA education helped you in your work?
I only attended SDA school for 7th grade, but I obtained
my MBA degree at La Sierra University. The program at
La Sierra having a focus on business was a great learning
experience to apply what we believe in all aspects of our
lives, including our work.
15) What motivated you to go into hospital administration?
I hoped to make a difference in how I saw things being done.
16) What is the greatest challenge in your new position?
With new positions come new responsibilities. I'd say the
greatest challenge is trying to keep up with all there is to
learn.
17) What is the greatest asset WMMC has to offer to our
community?
A great-looking building, great technology and a great staff.
18) What is your advice for young people as they prepare for
jobs in the future?
Be good at something, anything.
19) If you could meet with the leaders of SDA education, what
would be your message to them?
Teach kids to be curious and hungry for knowledge.
20) Five or ten years from now, how would you measure your
success in your job at WMMC?
We are called to be good stewards. If I can keep the
equipment in this hospital working in great condition and with
a great staff and do it better than anyone else, then I'd believe
I met my calling to serve the Lord at this hospital.
21) When you were hired for your current job, were you given
a specific responsibility by your boss?
I was brought in specifically to move the medical equipment
from the old hospital to the new one.
22) Where do you see the greatest possibilty for growth in the
healthcare industry?
Find more effective ways of interacting with the community
and promote preventive medicine and staying healthy.
23) How can we improve cooperation between our church
and the hospital?
If there was a way that we leave a lasting impression on
each and every patient and their families of the fact that we are
indeed a Christian facility. That makes us different from other
health facilities.

Andaya Family.

Michelle Andaya with her parents, Mrs. Cres and Dr.
Alvaro Andaya.
________________________________________
We are happy to count among the White Memorial family
our dear brother Alvaro, his wife Cres, and their daughter
Michelle. They come to us from their hometown
of Babangonan Victoria, province of Oriental Mindoro in
the Philippines. Dr. Alvaro Andaya is now retired after
working his entire life as a dentist. Mrs. Cres opted to be a
stay-home mother to give her children the best possible
upbringing (they have a son who lives in Chicago).
Their daughter Michelle attended college at Adventist
University of the Philippines. She now works as a registered
nurse in the department of Labor and Delivery at White
Memorial Medical Center. She feels that her SDA education
has helped her in her personal life by allowing her to be a
light to others through her words and actions. At work, her
SDA education has given her a deep foundation of her faith.
Michelle was blessed to be born into an Adventist home and
to meet Jesus through the daily teachings of her parents.
She was baptized in Mindoro in 1991. Michelle has been
attending WMC regularly since 2001. Her favorite ministry
at WMC is singing songs of praise. She often participates in
the Sabbath school as the special number. She says she comes
to our church because she enjoys Pastor Ben's preaching and
she enjoys having fellowship with one another.
She sees the community services ministry and our
singing band as the best instruments for WMC to reach
out to the surrounding community.
She hopes Adventist schools will continue to spread the
word of God.

Juan Jimenez

Today WMC Talk interviews brother Juan Jimenez, who
was born and raised right in our neighborhood but never
knew about our church until just a few years ago.

Juan Jimenez was born into a Catholic family on one of
the streets running right along Cesar Chavez Ave.
His family moved around from house to house often, but
always managed to stay within the neighborhood. From
a very early age, our brother Juan was taught by his
family to believe in the Catholic faith and to attend mass
every week. As a child he not only attended church, but
he also participated in the mass, assisting the priest as
an altar boy. As he reached adolescence he gradually
began to drift away from the church and into a life of
gangs and violence. His involvement in gangs grew so
strong that he even formed his own gang and he
exercised control over a large territory of the streets
of L.A. He also ended up at the emergency room with
serious injuries to his head as a result of those
activities.
When he grew tired of gang life, Juan Jimenez opted
to get involved with the political activism prevailing in
the sixties as our nation was being swept away by the
civil rights movement. He also became a leader in this
field and he gained such notoriety that even then
President Lyndon B. Johnson came knocking on his
door one day looking for him. But Juan didn't know
who it was. He became scared when he saw the
convoy of limousines lining up in front of his house.
Juan thought it was a police sweep, so he just loaded
a gun and barricaded himself behind the sofa. The
following day he was notified that it had been the
president of the United States who had been looking
for him.
For the next few decades Juan Jimenez continued to
lead a life with no religion and he made several attempts
to get involved with politics. Juan and his family reached
a point when they realized that running for public office
was very expensive. Then Juan Jimenez remembered that
there is a God. He made a change in his life. He began to
pray. His prayer was for God to help him become a candidate
without having to pay the $500 filing fee. This wasn't easy.
Our brother Juan went through lots of red tape and was
made to jump through many hoops but the Lord is always
faithful and Juan's prayer was answered. His candidacy was
approved and he didn't have to pay a fee. Now he was able
to begin his political campaign. He determined that in his
campaign he would make it a priority to mention the name
of God. So all his campaign literature had the logo "In God
We Trust" printed on it. As he went around the neighbor-
hood asking people to vote for him, he always stressed his
trust in the Lord even though he was not connected to any
church.
Along the campaign trail, Juan met brother Dan Parra from
the SDA Tujunga Church. Dan invited him to visit White
Memorial. "What ? The hospital? " Juan asked. He had never
realized that there is a church called White Memorial even
though he grew up and spent his entire life in the neighbor-
hood. So he came to WMC and began attending some Bible
studies organized by Dr. Louis Fletcher, Thelma Pitt and
others. To his own surprise he became involved in the
Bible discussions and even had the courage to answer lots
of questions even though he had never touched a Bible, much
less read one before. Then he became hungry for the Bible
and began to attend church regularly. His wife grew curious
as to why he was coming to church so often, so she decided
to come and see for herself just what was going on at WMC.
A few months later, Juan decided that he wanted to get
baptized. His wife told him that she herself would not go
as far as getting baptized. She would just continue to
accompany him to WMC, but in no way be baptized. He
told her "no problem," but as the day of the baptism grew
nearer, his wife changed her mind and she decided to be
baptized together with him.
The baptism took place in August of 2008 and it was a
very special occasion for our church because it was a
group baptism and it happened in a natural setting.
A large group of us traveled to the Los Angeles National
Forest on a Sabbath afternoon and we made our way to
the Tujunga River. There we found a nice spot with lots
of cool and refreshing running water coming down from
the Tujunga mountains. A team of pastors joined forces
and baptized several members as we all sang "Shall We
Gather at The River?"
We are thankful to receive Juan Jimenez into our church
after such a long and difficult journey. We praise the Lord
for keeping His promise that he will give us rest.

Isaac Nevarez

Click on this photo to see more.
__________________________________
A group of WMC members got together this past
Saturday, July 17, to send greetings to our dear
brother Isaac Nevarez.
Isaac is now in the Philippines, studying theology
at Adventist University of the Philippines, in the
municipality of Silang, province of Cavite. He is dearly
missed by our congregation because Isaac was highly
visible and highly involved in a variety of activities in
our church. He was seen early every Sabbath morning
leading the singing during the first service. He is working
actively for the Lord wherever he goes.

Several members wrote the following messages for him:
(1) Isaac, te recordamos con mucho carino. Que tengas
una semana feliz.
From Luis and Esther del Pozo.
(2) What's up Isaac? We miss you all here at the White!
The gym nights miss you 2!
From Amira Paniagua (Moshi MOshi)
(3) Dear isaac: How's the student? Enjoy each moment
and study hard, too. If you have time to spare, you can
fly to Leyte and visit my home church in Ormoc City.
You will taste the sweetest pinapple in the world.
From Agnes Digman
(4) Enjoy all the tropical fruits there. Try to attend my
brother's concert on the 21st of August. Visit UP Diliman
for me.
From Cecile Cruz
(5) Hi, Isaac. We miss you. Hope you're enjoying your
life there. May God continue to bless you in every way.
From Mrs. Coo
(6) Isaac. Good luck with school! Don't forget to pray!
From Shane.
(7) Keep focused.
Anonymous
(8) Hey Isaac, do you miss the WMC potluck? Hurry!
Finish your studies, so you can join us again.
From Jae d. Pozo
(9) Yo! No one is bugging me. So my Sabbath mornings
are quiet. Peace and serenity. Downside is, no one can sing
along with me during Praise Team. Ha, ha. Hope you're
having fun there and behaving yourself. See you in April
when I go back.
From Karina and Philip
(10) Ingat ka. Mahal kita.
From Lola Alice Pacheco
(11) Isaac, we miss your singing here. Hope you're fine.
Our S.S. progress each Sabbath. Come home!
Anonymous
(12) Dear Isaac, How are you? Hope you're enjoying
your stay in AUP. We miss you here at WMC. I'll
keep on praying for you. You take care and God bless
you. I love you.
From auntie Mila.
(13) Never give up, Isaac! Keep up your faith in Jesus!
From Granville Ampong
(14) Mis mas sinceros saludos, deseando que todo te
este illendo muy bien en tus estudios y tu vida personal.
Que Dios te bendiga.
From : Lilia Medina
(15) Te amo, hijo.
From: Tu papa, Rafael.
(16) Hola muchacho. Como estas? Dios siga bendiciendo
tu trabajo y ministerio. Te queremos mucho.
From: Amy Gallegos
(17) Hey Isaac.
From Jeremy
(18) Hi! Go to Mexico next.
Anonymous
(19) Hope you're having fun in the Philippines. Thanks
for leaving us in the U.S. Ha, ha. We all miss you at the
White.
From Duncan Paniagua

Ernesto Diaz

Brother Ernesto Diaz and his two daughters, Jazmin and Joy.
__________________________________________
It is a great privilege for the White Memorial Church to
count among our members Mr. Ernesto Diaz and his
family.
Our dear brother Ernesto is a native of the town of Jalapa
del Marquez, in the state of Oaxaca (southwest Mexico).
His entire childhood and early youth was spent far from
God and with no religion at all. That changed 16 years ago
when he was introduced to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is
now his best friend and protector. For several years he
was a member of the Lincoln Heights SDA Church, not
far from us. Five years ago he started working at the
White Memorial Church as our custodian and maintenance
expert. He has since transferred his membership here.
His job requires him to do the general cleaning, upkeeping,
maintenance, and repairs of the WMC buildings. Ernesto
explained to the WMC Talk Blog that every room in the
church needs to be cleaned at least once a week. Certain
rooms require cleaning with more frequency than that.
Ernesto takes care of all routine problems dealing with
plumbing, electricity, storage, and safety. He receives
only occasional help from a gardener who works for two
hours twice a week plus another cleaning person who
comes to clean the main sanctuary every Saturday night.
Ernesto is usually finished with his work by 5:00 pm,
but on more than one occasion he has received calls to
come back to the building to help solve an urgent problem
regarding flooding or toilet failures.
Our brother Ernesto is married to Abigail, a native of the
state of Guerrero in Mexico. Abigail works in the marketing
department for a local health clinic. They have four children
altogether. Two are attending public schools, while the two
daughters seen with him on this picture are receiving a little
scholarship help to attend White Memorial School. Joy is in
third grade. Jazmin is in 6th grade and is already baptized.
They are both members of the adventurers club at Lincoln
Heights.
We encourage all of our brethren to keep Ernesto and his
family in our prayers that their blessings may be
multiplied daily.

WMC Picnic

Lacy Park - 1458 Virginia Road, San Marino 91108
Between Virginia Road and St. Albans Road.
____________________________________
Starting at 10:00 this Sunday morning the White Memorial Church
members will gather for a day of summer fun in San Marino's beautiful
Lacy Park.
This hidden corner of San Marino was set aside around 1875 and
it has been preserved as a recreational area eversince.
For children there is lots of space and open fields to run around
or play baseball near the picnic area.
For adults the park has two scenic walking loops where it's easy
to stroll down shaded paths, under ancient oak trees, and past
rows and rows of fragrant flowers. The park covers a total area
of 30 acres. The inner walking loop covers a distance of about 3/4 mile.
The outer walking loop covers a distance of about 1 mile.
Games and entertainment will be provided by WMC members to be
led out by Myrna Calderon and Tom Vicente.
Lunch will be held potluck style so, please, bring lots of food for
everyone.
Prizes will be provided by our dear friends Juan Jimenez and
Pastor Edgar Urbina.

Don't forget: The fun starts at 10:00 AM this Sunday, July 25.

Mosquera Baby Shower

The WMC fellowship hall was transformed into
a party atmosphere on the evening of July 17th.
The WMC got together to bring presents and
support for our dear friends, Tims and Jay Mosquera.
This proud couple is expecting the arrival of a baby
very soon.
Jae del Pozo and Myrna Calderon prepared lots of
fun games and activities to entertain the many
well-wishers. Lots of delicious food was prepared
by the brethren.
We pray that the Mosquera couple will be
blessed with a healthy and beautiful baby to
make their home more complete.
To see more photos of the baby shower,
please click on the photo above.

God bless you.

Vigil at WMC

On Sabbath, July 31, 2010 the WMC is

holding a vigil. all are invited.

The special guest speaker will be pastor Gerzon Gomez with Elder Juan Arias.

There will be music, prayer, testimonies, friendship and inspirational talk to uplift everyone's spirits.

The event is being organized by WMC member

Amy Gallegos.

Pastor Gerzon Gomez is a devoted servant of

the Lord who travels all around the country as a revivalist and evangelist preaching an urgent message of salvation. He is lending his talent to our beloved White Memorial Church completely free of charge. He is not demanding any fees or stipends of any kind. We are blessed and privileged at WMC to have a preacher of his caliber visit our community to reach out to non-believers.

To see a promotional video of "The Vigil," please click on the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKEX-wdky78

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOcpUd23z3w

See you all there.

Happy Sabbath!!!

Pastor Alberto Frederico

Pastor Alberto Frederico, our new associate pastor
for evangelism, comes to us from the Hacienda Heights
Adventist Church where he served 13 years as senior
pastor. All of his pastoral service since 1977 has been
assignments here in Southern California.

He sees his assignment here as one of support to
pastor del Pozo; taking on such tasks and assignments
as seem best to our senior pastor. They have worked
together on a team recently, helping plan and bring
about a series of revival meetings in West Covina.
Pastor del Pozo preached there and pastor Frederico
was in charge of the platform.
Prior to that, Pastor Ben helped pastor Albert conduct
a bi-lingual funeral service. Although pastor Albert was
born in a Mexican-American family, he was not taught
fluent Spanish. He says it was the prevailing thought
at that time and regrets not speaking Spanish more
capably. In fact, his parents were raised in Boyle Heights,
attending nearby Roosevelt High School.
Pastor Albert told the WMC Blog that he is enjoying
his various assignments at our Church and getting
acquainted with the many members. One of his most
enjoyable tasks is to teach a class on "Basics of Our
Beliefs" during Sabbath school. Also every Sabbath
morning he can be found directing the Children's
Story Hour during Worship Services. He looks forward
to begin training others to take over this duty. He is
also heavily involved in the afternoon "Praise Service"
called "Worship at the White." Then his Sabbath activities
are rounded up by going to the hospital to participate in
the singing band that brings Christian cheers to hospital
patients.

When reached for this article, he was just finished with
the Tuesday evening "Prayer Meeting." He conducts
this meeting every week and is teaching through Matthew
24 and 25, Jesus preparation of His disciples for the last
days. The attendees seem to really enjoy the meeting,
but pastor Albert thinks he gets as much from it as they
do because their questions and remarks are so "insightful
and spiritually minded."

Don Molander and Pastor Albert are collaborating on
preparations for the weekend evangelistic series featuring
Amazing Facts speaker Doug Batchelor. While it has been
announced for November 19, it was just moved up to
Friday and Sabbath, November 12 and 13.

Pastor Albert's wife is the former Linda Ludden. She
was born in Japan of missionary parents, but she is not
Japanese. She works as a nurse anesthetist at the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. She enjoys having
the church located right on her way home from work. The
Fredericos make their home in Arcadia, in the San Gabriel
Valley. They have two sons: Joel is a physics graduate
student at Stanford University; Jon is a physical therapy
graduate student at Loma Linda University.
The WMC Blog asked Pastor Albert what he believes
our strongest asset to be. He insisted that we talk first
about the strongest asset of all Seventh Day Adventist
churches. "Our message and mission is sharply defined
by the Lord Jesus, uniquely prepared for the events of
the Last Days in which we live." Specifically he sees that
we here at the WMC have a great location to meet the
needs of our neighbors. He says he has been very impressed
with the church's commitment to young people.
He told the WMC Blog: "I thoroughly enjoyed the
Adventurers and Pathfinders investiture and celebration
dinner. And I really think the Urban Embrace summer
camp is great."

End

God Bless You.

Pastor Arvy Wuysang

Pastor Arvy Wuysang with his fiancee Ailen Liogu.

WMC is pleased to welcome our new pastor for young
adults, Mr. Arvy Wuysang. He's bringing lots of energy
and enthusiasm plus his lovely fiancee Ailen to give him
constant support.
Last week Pastor Wuysang was kind enough to grant
me an interview and here's what he had to say:

(1) What was your job prior to coming to WMC?

AW: My assignment at WMC is my first real job as a
pastor. Prior to this I was doing an internship as youth
leader with the United Indonesian SDA Church in
Ontario.

(2) What do you perceive as the greatest challenge in
your new job at WMC?

AW: Achieving consistent attendance and participation
from the members in my youth group. So far the
attendance has been only sporadic.

(3) Have you ever worked with Pastor Ben del Pozo in
the past?

AW: Never. The first time I met him was when I came
to interview for the job.

(4) What part of your background do you think will be
the most helpful as you begin this new assignment?

AW: I do very well understanding and adapting to
other people's culture. That will be very helpful here
because WMC has great diversity.

(5) Have you been assigned a particular task by the
church board or by the head pastor?

AW: I have only been asked to lead the youth Sabbath
school discussion, but I would like some more ambitious
tasks.

(6) How can our church member help you succeed here?

AW: It would help me a lot if members could come up to
me and introduce themselves and also introduce their
friends and family to me.

(7) In many ways WMC fits the description of a church
in decline whose original members have moved out to
the suburbs. How do you plan to reverse this pattern?

AW: I have no immediate solution, but one suggestion
is to show organization, pray, and do a good job in our
respective positions.

(8) What do you see as the likeliest target for membership
growth in our church?

AW: The best places to draw from are the surrounding
neighborhood and WMMC. I have read that Ellen G.
White's original goal was to serve this neighborhood so
we should remain true to that goal.

(9) In your opinion what is WMC's strongest asset?

AW: The rich cultural diversity of the members.

(10) Our church has a Spanish group that has been
sputtering for years now. Would you consider helping
them grow?

AW: Yes. First I would like to learn Spanish, then I'll
try to reach out to the Spanish-speaking youth. I am
looking forward to getting a specific assignment to
help them with.

(11) We have several other adventist churches in the
neighborhood, but we have almost no interaction or
cooperation with them. How do you plan to improve
on that?

AW: I've had prior experience in helping organize an
invitational festival of praise where other churches
come to offer songs of praise while the host church
provides organization and logistics. I'd like to do
something similar here.

(12) Our neighborhood is heavily Hispanic. What
strategies do you envision using to reach out to the
Hispanic community?

AW: It's important for us to be relevant in our
neighborhood. One idea I'd like to try is offering
ESL classes.

(13) Does your fiancee Ailen have a favorite
ministry in church?

AW: Ailen has lots of experience as Children's
Ministry Director and Vacation Bible School, but
she also suports me in whatever activity I'm
involved with in church.

(14) If you were not a pastor, what would you
envision yourself doing?

AW: I did a minor in music when I was in college
so I'd probably be a singer-songwriter and play
the guitar.

(15) At the end of your assignment at WMC how
would you measure your success here?

AW: I will measure success by the number of
friends I have made because church is all about
friends and relationships.

The end.

God bless you.

Sophia's Birthday

Sophia Amor Cruz (wearing purple) and some of her friends
from WMC at Prospect Park.

Last Saturday (July 10) after worship service little Sophia Cruz
and her friends gathered at Propsect Park to celebrate Sophia's
5th birthday. Yes! It was time to eat corn on the cob, hot dogs,
watermelon, popcorn, and, best of all, cake! There was a gentle
breeze blowing from the south and plenty of shade under the
trees to enjoy the afternoon and to enjoy a Sabbath of rest and
fellowship. Praise the Lord!
Sophia is only five, and she is already displaying the sweet and
gentle character that is the trademark of her family.
I believe we have much to learn from Sophia because of the way
she clings to her mother (Cecile Cruz) even when Cecile is
performing onstage.
More and more of us should be like her in our relationship with
Jesus. Our lives would be so much better, our days much more
fulfilled, if we cling to Jesus with the same tenacity and persistence
that Sophia clings to her mom. To me Sophia is the equivalent of the
story in the book of Genesis, chapter 32: 22-32. In that passage
Jacob clings to the angel and says: "I will not let you go unless
You bless me." ... "And He blessed him there."
I am happy that our church has little Sophia to give us the great
example of how to cling to Jesus.

Happy birthday!!!

No Girls Allowed

A group of ladies from the White Memorial Church arrives in Atlanta
to attend the 59th session of the General Conference.

Machismo and sexism were the marks of the 59th session of the
General Conference in Atlanta.
Twenty five people were appointed to positions of leadership as
secretaries and treasurers in the 13 international regions of the church.
From those twenty five positions, guess how many were assigned to
women. The answer is only ONE. Yes! Only one. This was clearly
outrageous and a European delegate strongly protested this gender
imbalance. He correctly pointed out that sixty percent of the church
members are women. Therefore they deserve to be represented fairly
in the top leadership. The protests by Dutch delegate Jarrien den
Hollander were received by strong applause on repeated occasions.
He then made a motion to reject the list of appointees and to send
it back to the nominating committees. His motion was defeated. Why?
Because the great majority of the voting members are men, of course.
They want to see the SDA church as their private club for men only.
Having women in the church leadership is important not only
for reasons of fairness, but also because women bring fresh ideas and
innovative solutions while men continue to think inside the box. Also
men are not likely to make it a priority to address issues that are
relevant to women. There are some issues that women hold dear
to their hearts and those same issues are completely ignored
by men. Finally it is important to have women in the church
leadership because other women need to be able to discuss their
problems with leaders of the same sex. It is extremely difficult
for women to open up and discuss private or very personal matters
with a male pastor.
The next five years will be very challenging years for women
in the SDA church. Our leaders have shown a total lack of sensitivity.
They have demonstrated that they are absolutely blind and deaf to
the needs of sixty percent of our members. We will need to pray
earnestly and without ceasing to bring about the changes needed
at the leadership level.

God bless you all.

Golden Angels

On Saturday, July 17 the members of the White Memorial Church will
enjoy a day of great music. Our church is happy to welcome the Golden
Angels singing group from South Korea, under the direction of Pastor Joshua
Shin.
This will be the second time WMC has the honor to host this talented
group of singers and their director. The music ministry was founded by pastor
Shin in 2004 as a means to spread the gospel of Christ across the countries of
the North Asia Pacific Conference. Members of the group make a commitment
to volunteer their services for one year, starting on Jan 1 every year. They are
also able to renew their commitment after their first rotation expires.
The group has traveled countless times to the Philippines, Mongolia,
Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S., besides regular engagements in their home country.
Currently they are on a U.S. tour that has taken them to the General Conference
in Georgia, then to Chicago, and now a stay in the Los Angeles area.
To learn more about them you may visit their website at
www.goldenangels.org

Don't miss their two concerts at WMC this July 17. The first concert will be
during the morning worship service. The second concert will be in the afternoon.

God bless you.