I found my way to the YMCA, paid a week's rent in advance - thanks to my new friend, and found my room. Not fancy, but more than adequate. Met some of my neighbors and left to explore downtown Tulsa. First thing I noticed was that we were directly across the street from the Public library which turned out to be a God-send, a place to study, especially about those matters I was uncovering in my study of the Bible. I had read through the Newer Testament two or three times, always stopping when I came to the book of Revelation. Something seemed to tell me, I was not ready for that, yet!
Earlier in the week, I had called each of the Methodist churches in downtown and when one merely had a recording telling about their services, I opted for the First Methodist church where a young woman had answered and enthusiastically informed me that this is where I belonged. She was right, as it turned out. I was not that impressed with what I saw in my journey around downtown, so I went back to my room and continued my study of the Bible. By this time, I had three legal sized sheets of paper with questions I needed to find answers to. Saturday, I took a bus out to explore the campus at ORU and was really impressed. The book store was open so I went in to look around. I "happened" to notice a case where they had buttons reflecting Christian thought and I chose on that appealed to me. When I took it off of the card, I noticed verse of scripture that intrigued me.
When I got back to my room, I opened my Bible and searched for the verse, Acts 1:8, which read, .."you shall have power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." What did that mean? It posed lots of questions for me, so I went back one verse and read: "He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples) It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority." Now I began to realize how much I had to learn.
Apparently, I had chosen the right church. The Pastor reminded the church that Sunday morning, that he was "called" to teach what the scriptures had to say. I decided then and there, to become one of his more serious students. The congregation fascinated me. I had been attending Methodist churches most of my life and was accustomed to enter and be seated without being recognized by others, but here, they seemed to know that I was a visitor and reached out to be certain that I knew I was welcome. And they sang songs I recognized from my youth. I felt certain that I had found a home. That was confirmed as they had a separate choir of older folks that sang, "It gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by, Oh what a love between my Lord and I." I happened to note one older fellow who really poured himself into singing that song, so I hurried to meet him as the services ended. "You sang that song as if you really meant it. Can I ask, do you?" "Oh yes, son, I meant it with everything that is within me." I knew that I knew, I was in the right place.
I found plenty of work through the Manpower office, so I began to feel very comfortable with my life - except that I knew, I would be returning to San Diego, shortly. That would change.
Out of the blue, I had a phone call from Janice. She was asking me, .."what are you doing in Tulsa?" I was asking her, "What are you doing out of prison?" She didn't answer. When she asked me if I was coming back to San Diego, I needed to have an answer to my question, first. Apparently, she was not going to tell me. I guess I got my answer when an officer met me in the lobby of the YMCA with an order to pay $600 for child support. Fortunately, I had the money, but I responded to the order by appearing in court with the payment and my question, "How could she be asking for support when the last I knew of her whereabouts, she was in prison?" The Judge had no answers, of course, this was a matter for the California courts to settle. I obtained an address of the "Family" courts in San Diego and wrote to them, asking the question I had posed in court. I never received a response, nor did I hear from her for several weeks.
My life continued on with no problems finding a job. My best experience was going to work for an Engineering firm to work in their mail room. I loved it, learning new skills, and fortunately catching the eye of a VP who told me they were about to move. I told him of my experience working with other companies in a similar situation and I would up with a new task, and much more money. It was a real opportunity for me as we wound up "celebrating" our move by having the employees take their personal items and walking a few blocks to their new office. It helped that the move made the front page of the Tulsa papers and I now had visual proof of my ingenuity.
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