Trailer Park

The move to Pittsburgh was filled with both anxiety and excitement. I kept my job with the insurance company that I was working for in West Virginia. They transferred me to a Pennsylvania location close to Midland, Pa. So off we headed to the great unknown. Dar and I and our baby boy Aaron were on our way to a new home in Curtisville, Pa. Someone in Pastor Ron's church found us a home to rent in a trailer park. It was called Deer Lakes Mobil Home park. Our home was a modular house and not a trailer. It's strange when I think about that house. I really can't remember much about it. I can't remember sleeping or eating there. I only remember playing football in the hallway with my little boy. I also remember him taking a nose dive off the front porch and cutting his chin.

I had to travel almost 90 miles back and forth everyday to my job. That was a bit frustrating at first but I began to adjust. I had no idea what the Lord had for us in Pittsburgh. I was just trying to survive and keep the family afloat financially. I have to admit that the move initially caused me to invest more time in my insurance career. I was not about to let my family starve. I felt such a great responsibility toward them. I didn't have any aspirations to do ministry like I did in Follansbee. I thought that I was coming to Pittsburgh to learn how church was to be done and so I felt that I should just offer my time to what ever Pastor Ron was doing. Ron had left the Christian Missionary Alliance church long before I arrived. He was planting a new church in the North Hills. I was just trying to get to know the people. It was kind of exciting. It seemed that most folks wanted to hear my music initially. They also were very interested in the Nashville story and so Dar and I were welcomed into this new community by all. I didn't know what to expect. I had very little background in church. I can look back now and see my focus changing from the God-centered passion that I originally had in Follansbee to becoming more of an observer. I felt that I was out of my element. I was somewhat intimidated actually.

There were many more professional types in Ron's church. The cultural was much different than West Virginia. I didn't feel as free. I felt constrained. It wasn't anything that the people did. It was all inside of me. At the same time I could see that my music was going to be in high demand and that I would be doing a great deal of singing during the Sunday services. I felt like a cowboy on a bucking bronco. I was in the saddle and it was my job not to get thrown off the horse. I was just trying to hang in there. I was way too young to evaluate what was actually taking place.

My quiet times with the Lord were filled with why's and how's and what do I do next Lord? This was a whole new world to me.

Next up....

The Recording Studio