Growth

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When we last left, my dad had just passed away........I was devastated and mourning deeply as I had been very close to both my parents.......turned to my pastor Mike but he didn't give me much comfort or counsel...in fact, it seemed as if he was very uncomfortable and didn't know how to deal with grief. Perhaps that is why I still have a hurt spot in my heart....I did take much comfort in my faith knowing that the Lord is faithful and Dad was with Him. Mom was heartbroken also and leaned on myself and my brother heavily. My brother had joined the Air Force and was married at 19 with a young daughter and a baby son.
Life went on......
in the late 70s, Mike and Bev outgrew their house as again, the neighborhood complained about all the traffic, meetings, etc going on so they sold their house, Bev's parents sold their house also and pooled their money. They bought a large piece of property out in the Oceanside valley with an orange grove, a fruit stand. one large house, and two smaller homes. By this time, I had quit working and worked full time for the church.....I first worked at a small thrift store they started, then worked at the fruit stand for several years and later at the small school they started in one of the large out buildings.....its was a commune, everyone who lived there, pooled their incomes and shared. We studied the book of Acts and tried to imitate the early Christians. We grew a very large garden on the property, had the orange groves , even had bees and extracted honey to sell at the fruit stand. There were about 50 families involved and as children started coming, a school was formed. There was lots of music always, fun and laughter as well as serious prayer and teaching going on at all hours. It was like being in a huge noisy family...as many of the young people had been on the street, Mike and Bev became like parents to them, something they had never known. At the time, famous evangelists, missionaries would come to rest and recoup.
If you are reading this, and have always wondered what it was like to live in a commune..feel free to ask!
This was a good time but like all good things, it didn't last.....I think human nature, and good intentions got in the way.