Why don't you ever have a smoke with us or go clubbing or come to parties when you are invited?" These were the questions, among others, that bombarded me while I attended school at Eisenhower High. I was raised in the church, and I spent a lot time by myself because of my beliefs.  I played in the school band because of my natural musical ability, but other students thought that the church was stopping me from having fun;  little did they realize that I came from a family of believers…

My maternal grand-father was one of the men approached by the Bishop of the (Spanish) Apostolic Assembly in the valley to help found a Spanish, apostolic work in Houston, Texas. This was in response to a request by Brother Young, of UPC.  Grandfather was a product of the apostolic movement (mostly Spanish speaking) that started in the early 1900's in California. The work that was founded turned out to be the first apostolic church on the Northside on Cochran Street. Later, with his family, he started his own work in the Highway 59 and Tidwell area.

My mother received the Holy Ghost while in her teens.  After she and my father were married, she became Minister of Music at the church. I was the first of 3 kids, we are all musically inclined. We always took part in worship services.  In the early days of the church, there was much freedom in the Holy Ghost. We had many adventures in missionary outreach. We would take the church bus to Lubbock, Hillsboro, border towns such as Reynosa, and Mexico. It was the early 1980's and women, my mother included, were