We ended our migration to various churches in Columbia SC, where I began my training for ministry.  After 22 years in a variety of churches and final formal education toward my doctoral degree my focus changed. My focus now centered on helping our 4 children finish their education and get established in their new families and careers. We also cared for my mother in law for 8 years in our home. During these 20 years in Columbia I was also educated in the school of hard knocks in a variety of blue collar jobs (this will be the focus of a future podcast).

Professionally, Oak Lawn Bible church was the apex of my church ministry. The church was growing , we lived in an area of almost 10 million people and being a pastor in Oak Lawn came with a certain amount of respect from the church and community. As the church experienced some conflict in leadership I too had some inner conflicts and my wife and I needed a break after 18 years of ministry.

 After graduation from seminary we decided to accept a call to the New Orleans area. The area and the church were much different than the country  areas and churches of Ohio and Indiana. Two macro events had a major impact on the New Orleans area economy the last half of the 80's and ultimately influenced another decision to move.

This episode covers our years in seminary training. During this time I had a coffee and donut business in the seminary lounge ; preached at a small rural church on Sundays and experienced a significant birth and death.

This episode details my first experience as a full time pastor in a small rural church in southern Ohio. In this church I had my first funeral, wedding and first exposure to Appalachian  culture.

This episode details our first experience in the rural south. We discovered that the civil war was not over in rural South Carolina and the old Jim Crow south was also very much alive.

 We moved to Columbia SC to finish my BA degree at Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University). The first year back in college brought some great new experiences and friends. Our lives continued to be changed by places and people. 

This episode begins with my future wife ,our early college life  and a big move from the mid-west to  Colorado Springs.

This part of my migration covers some of the later years in Decatur. My older sister Margie marries into the Mexican community and becomes an alcoholic.  I also talk about my high school years from 1970-1974. A time of drinking, drugs ,football and a dramatic shift in the course of my life. Our live are shaped by people and places far more than we realize.

When I was 8 we moved from Ft. Recovery, Ohio to Decatur, Indiana. This was a move of 41 miles but it may as well have been 4000. Decatur was about 10 times bigger than Ft. Recovery and was more  ethnically  diverse. Our family called 2 of these groups hillbillies and Mexicans. 
My 2 older sisters brought us into direct contact with these groups that forever changed the make up of our German catholic family from small town America and influenced my migrant restless soul.