Back to the Damascus Road
November/2025: Lucy and I had the opportunity to swing by my old Alma Mater – Cal Poly Pomona while attending the International Calvary Chapel Association Conference in Diamond Bar, CA.
In January of 1974 I was privileged to become an Animal Science student that could live and work on one of the animal units on campus (very competitive privilege). The Dean of Agriculture gave me great favor. Although the Poultry Unit was the least desirable of all the animal units, I was glad to get my foot in the door at an Animal Unit. Little did I know that Jesus had a wonderful plan about to unfold in this place.
I was a rough soul, I was a regular drunk and smoked about 3 packs of cigarettes a week. I had rough friends that had little room for any one “religious.” I wanted nothing to do with religion, I felt pretty mishandled by previous religious experiences.
The entrance to the poultry unit where customers came to buy eggs.
I met John Wimber here once when he came to buy eggs.
Behind the curtains in the front window we worshipped Jesus every morning.
I met a young lady in the summer of 1973 that I thought was a perfect fit for me. She was visiting Coronado for the summer and a friend of mine introduced me to her. She hated religion like I did, and I thought we would be a perfect fit. I asked her to marry me before she left for Florida at the end of the summer.
There were two other fellows working, and living, at the Poultry Unit. Every day began at 5am feeding about 2000 laying hens, collecting their eggs, candling/washing/sorting and packaging all the eggs, as well as delivering most of the eggs to the Cal Poly Student Union for use with all the students. The only compensation was all the eggs you could eat and a place to sleep. No other “board” came with the “room” provided. No monetary compensation.
The two other fellows were true Christians and would wake at 4:30am each day to study the Bible and pray together, I would continue sleeping until the yelled at me to get up. Every day was this way, we had no days off, including Saturdays and Sundays. Chickens still need to eat and lay eggs on weekends!
Each night they were both gone to Bible studies around the adjoining cities. Almost every night – so, because they would not allow a television in the unit I just sat and listened to hens cackle all night. This became fairly old real quick, it got lonely with the chickens. So, I asked if I could go with them, and often the Bible studies were also Potlucks so they got food other than eggs pretty regularly. I asked several times until they agreed, and took me with them.
It was a potluck and the group was showing the 16mm film – “Future Survival” – an end times documentary by a guy named Chuck Smith from a church near Costa Mesa. The film showed him in Isreal, and Turkey, and Egypt and places very foreign to me. He talked about the book of Revelation, and the gospels and the prophecies about to be fulfilled by Jesus – it scared the spit out of me. I could barely sleep that night as all the visuals raced around my head.
The next day we went to work, and the guys didn’t ask me about any reaction to the film or the bible study the night before. It’s interesting, thinking back about it now, they didn’t present the plan of salvation to me, though I’m sure they knew I needed it. When evening came, they left again for another Bible study, I wasn’t asked to tag along, I was alone once again, questions racing through my mind, I was confused and had no one to ask about it.
I was raised in Christian Science (which is neither Christian nor Scientific in their approach to Scripture.) We never heard about Jesus; Christian Science believes that “Christ” is an office of self-sanctification that anyone can achieve. Sin is called “error” and can be ignored if you choose.
My Father was one of the official “Readers” of the C.S. church which meant he read the Scriptures to the congregation each Sunday and a woman beside him at the pulpit would read Mary Baker Eddy’s interpretation of those Scriptures. He read the Old and New Testament Scriptures every Sunday, and practiced throughout the week, but never saw Jesus in any of it! He was pious and an intellectual that prided himself in what he thought he knew, but like every Christian Scientist – in actuality, he knew nothing about God.
That night at the Poultry Center I went rifling through the drawers of literature and witnessing tracts the two guys had, looking for answers to my many questions. I was frantic that night, I knew I was missing something important in my life. Eventually I came to a little pamphlet titled “How You Can Experience God’s Love and Forgiveness”, by Bill Bright, of Campus Crusade For Christ.[1] It looked like it would answer my questions, for the Holy Spirit had led me to the right book. Interesting how many times the Holy Spirit had goaded me to repentance in the past, and I ignored it.
I read the pamphlet 3 or 4 times, and I realized I was lost in my sins and needed a Savior. I followed the instructions at the end of the pamphlet, wrote down what sins I knew, and then wrote over that list the Scripture 1 John 1:9 (that became the first Scripture I ever memorized). As instructed in the pamphlet, I went outside the Poultry Unit and burned the list on the ground giving my life to Jesus in a very tearful prayer.
I knew Jesus heard me, I knew Jesus forgave me, I knew then I was saved, I knew the weight of my sins and the burdens of my soul were released to Jesus forever. This was my Damascus Road experience, this was my new beginning, this was the first day of true life in Jesus!
The picture below is the exact spot (picture taken on November 10, 2025) I gave my life to Jesus, right by that cinder block with the white plastic pipe coming out of it. The Poultry Center is in ruin now, no hens and no upkeep at all.
I was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
Amazing Grace – how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
When morning came, and my roommates got up to read their Bibles, I got up as well – it was 4am! I had no Bible to read, and they asked what I was doing. I said, “I got up with you both to read the Bible.” They asked, “What happened last night while we were gone?” I said, “I met Jesus, I gave my life to Him, and I’m forgiven from all my sins!” We stood together, weeping together, and praised Jesus - my first time with other saints.
Life changed from the night onward, I went to every Bible study I could, forsook all my class studies, and poured myself into the Scriptures. We started attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and I learned to worship, to love everyone, and minister the truth of the gospel to anyone that would stop and listen. We attended every Tuesday night (School of Ministry), every Saturday night (Christian concerts), and every Sunday night (Chuck teaching 10 chapters of the Bible). I couldn’t attend there any other nights because, after all, gas was about $0.30 a gallon and I was poor! The other nights we attended local Bible studies which were all focused on the Book of Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24. I went to a Bookstore in Pomona and bought my first Bible – a New American Standard version (that’s what the salesperson suggested), though Pastor Chuck always taught out of the King James version (I couldn’t understand the King James Version).
In March of 1974 I called the girl I was engaged to be married to and told her that I had trusted in Jesus as my Savior. She was appalled and said it was all over. It would be 2 years later that I received the engagement ring back in the mail to my mother’s home in Coronado. I traded that ring for an old antique wooden ice box that’s still in our home today.
I worked at the Poultry unit until June/1974 and transferred to the W. Kellogg. Arabian Horse Center because there was an opening and the Horse Center paid $200 per month along with room, but no board. I became the Forman for the Horse Center in the fall of 1974. I worked at the Arabian Horse center until I graduated in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. I met Lucy in October of 1976, 2 weeks after my father died, we married in July of 1977. I don’t believe my father ever trusted in Jesus, not for lack of my witnessing to him. My mother did finally trust in Jesus many years later.
But, out of this place came young men baptized, filled and zealous to be used by Jesus, and Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa became the church I would follow the rest of my life.
