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From the moment I trusted Christ as my Savior & Lord of my life have always wanted the share His love with others. My first really official witness came in the summer of 1967 when was asked to give my testimony in Hermosa Beach at 22nd St. A group of Christians were doing gospel presentations on the sand facing the strand. Hundreds of passers by watched as we preached.

When my turn came up, I was told to speak louder, so I tried. It wasn't loud enough, so after about three admonishments to speak louder I yelled my testimony across the beach! To my surprise a young girl came to Christ and I was dumbfounded at what God had done using a brand new Christian like myself to actually lead someone to Jesus. That was the first indicator of where I would be headed in future ministry.

In another occasion at the beach I saw two of my friends from school down by the water on the beach. I yelled at them from the Stand and began to run towards them, I was so excited about sharing my new found faith! But because of my past history and reputation for fighting, drinking and anger my friends thought that I was going to come down and beat them up. Their names were Gary Dweyer and Mark Bove. They began to run away. I told them to stop because I just wanted to share my faith with them. They did stop and I shared what had happened to me.

Afterwards they told me they had never, ever heard me use the name Jesus Christ other then as curse words. Subsequently they both came to Jesus Christ as their Savior as well. Gary died after having kidney failure, his last words where, "Its really OK because I am going to be with Jesus in heaven". He died peacefully and a believer in Jesus Christ. Praise God! Mark Bove went on to teach a small Bible Study in his home in Long Beach. The study grew so large that it became a church. Today it has become one of Calvary Chapels largest congregations. Calvary Chapel Anaheim. Praise the Lord!

These incidents and many, many more were happening in my life. The Lord was just allowing me to see many come to Christ through my simple testimony. After a while however I started teaching in church and being part of the Christian Education Board. Was was still excited about sharing my faith but got somehow side tracked by other things in the church. After growing in the faith for some years I was asked to be the Singles Pastor at Hope Chapel Hermosa Beach. After doing that I was sent out to plant churches for our denomination. As a result my full attention was focused on the feeding and caring for the sheep God had in my church. The problem for me was that I had forgotten about the lost an never shared my faith with them for years and years.

As a result I started to become bored and hungered for something else. I had a great job with good income and wonderful people to work with but I was still dissatisfied with what was not going on in my life. I day a dear pastor friend of mine by the name of Jay Reily called me and asked me how I was doing. I broke down and told him that I felt empty inside and that something was missing in my life. He said that I really needed to pray and seek out the Lord for what He wanted in my life because somehow something was wrong. So I did seek the Lord and He showed me what my problem was.

He told me that I had left my first love and to go back and do those things that I had done as a brand new believer. The scripture in Revelation say's it better than I could. Revelation 2:1...

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first".

For years I had been ministering in positions that God had really not called me to. My gifting is that of an evangelist. Yes, I can do all the other stuff but THE calling of my life is that of an evangelist. I really do think that many young aspiring Christians get caught in the same trap. Well meaning pastors and leaders believers will appoint young Christians in the wrong ministry. That can be extremely frustrating. Another good example of that is Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He say's that as a young pastor he was trying to do the work of an evangelist.

He would give salvation messages to his congregations that were for the most part already saved. He was preaching to the choir. When he realized like I had that his real calling was that of a teacher in the body, his church began to grow. What a difference it is to find one true gifts & calling from God. So as a result I left the pulpit and went into full time evangelistic work based on the scripture, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:5

As a result in September of 2003 I started "Following the Harvest", a non-profit outreach ministry who's soul purpose is that of reaching people for Jesus Christ by all means everywhere making disciples who will in turn share their faith with others.

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▪▪▪▪ iOur Story, by Linda Felis ▪▪▪▪

We will be celebrating our 44th Anniversary on August 19th! Our story is truly a picture of God's grace & humor. Barry and I met at a beach party in Manhattan Beach in 1965. It was like a scene from a "Beach Boys" song. I was on a date with a guy and we ended up at this wild party. Barry grew up in Manhattan Beach and I in Westchester, California.

My best friend Linda had recently moved to the South Bay and would invite me down to the beach, telling me there we're loads of cute guys and parties down here. So some of my friends from Westchester wanted to come along to these great parties. Well my girlfriend spotted this cute guy in the kitchen sitting on the counter. She said "LInda, see that guy in the kitchen?" Go out there and give him my phone number. So good friend that I was, I did. The guy looked at me and said, "forget about your girlfriend, how about you baby?" And so I slipped him my phone number!

That began a tumultuous ride of relationship issues. Lots of break ups and make ups. Nine months later I found out that I was pregnant. I had just graduated from High School. We were just kids. Much to all of our parents chagrin we got married at the Community Baptist Church in Manhattan Beach. It was 1966 and we had our first child, Shadd in March. We felt like we we're playing house. I had grown up in a Christian home but was on a long carnal break from God and the church. But when we got married all my desires changed and I got serious about God and trying to be a good wife and mother. Barry wasn't born again though and he still wanted to party, etc. It was really hard.

The day we got married he got a job at the phone Company. Eventually we started going to church. The Holy Spirit moved in his heart and he responded to the pastors invitation to make Jesus Lord of his life. There was a night & day change in him and he was really hungry for God and fellowship with other believers. God graciously provided both. At every turn He met our needs and as our family grew we soon had a darling daughter. Amber. WE stayed at the Baptist church for about five years. Then started to be hungry for more of the Lord. We started attending Calvary Chapel services and one night got baptized with the Holy Spirit. After that there was no turning back. We were hooked by Jesus Christ and we have never looked back!

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Following the Harvest! "Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Matthew 9:37