The Little Church In San Marcos

During the time we were in San Marcos, we attended a small evangelical, community church where Josh, Courtney, and Althea occasionally worship. The 55 members are warm, friendly, and dedicated to the Lord’s work. The worship service is on Sunday evening with the morning being reserved for Sunday school. Ruth, the diminutive pastor (see photo bottom right with Jerry), is an excellent presenter. She adds humor to every message and uses a big whiteboard to outline the Sunday school lesson. Participation is encouraged during the latter. Carlos, a tall man from Pennsylvania, is one of the elders and translated the Spanish for us. He has been in San Marcos for 17 years and owns a wonderful local restaurant and Internet service. His wife, Katerina is one of the cooks and also is one of the music leaders. Another pretty, young, dedicated song leader is Rebecca, whose photo is shown above as she works at Holistic Center. Other worship leaders are Drew and Tom, Virginians who sometimes go back home for a few months but are property owners of lakeside property. Twice while we were there, the members engaged in a cleanup effort after Sunday school to rid the main street near the church of trash. Jerry and Althea participated in one of these community service activities.

On Easter Sunday, instead of Sunday school, it is the church’s tradition to have a family outing at the beach. Jerry attended, as Gloria was a bit afraid to traverse the long rocky path from the main road to the beach. What a wonderful time we had! The kids played in the water and had great fun chasing Carlos’s golden lab in and out of the water. Most of the adults sat around talking and enjoyed the great view and weather. The picnic was a sumptuous feast. The women prepared the meal with Katerina using her culinary skills to cook the chicken over an open woodburning fire. Ruth led in a short devotional. She even asked Jerry to come forward so members could pass by and say goodbye. They were so grateful that we are contributing to their new building effort.