Richard D'Andrea Dover
My Testimony

I grew up in an atheist home in Los Angeles. I never saw a need for God. When I was around19 years old my family moved to another city. In my bedroom at the new house there was a little book  called "Angel Unaware" by Dale Evans. After reading it, I starting thinking there might be a God. The book was about a Mongoloid child of Roy and Dale Evans. The book touched me deeply. I started to believe there might be a God, but still did not go to church or have anything to do with Christianity.

A couple years later I moved to Southern Oregon. Because of a car accident, and the book "Evidence That Demands a Verdict", I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I was amazed of how I suddenly had a love for people and a desire to be involved in ministry. I started going to a small church, was discipled by the pastor and became a youth leader for six months before moving to Alaska.

In 1980 I moved to Anchorage, Alaska and attended Abbot Loop Charismatic Bible College. After a year of Bible College I moved to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and became very involved with a local church. Over the next several years I was involved with evangelism, home fellowships, teaching bible studies, and preaching.

During the 1980's and early 1990's I struggled with anger issues and depression. At times the depression was very serious. The contradictions in my life were hard to handle. I loved the Lord and was serving Him, but at the same time struggled with the anger and control issues that so easily entangled me. These issues had helped to lead to having divorces in my life.

Around 1996 I finally went to Minrith-Meir Clinic New Life Clinics for depression and anger. It changed my life. I was able to see the ugliness of the anger and still see God loved me (which I always had a hard time believing). It has been over 9 years that I have had victory over depression.

In 1994 I moved to Washington to be on staff with a church. I held positions as Community Development Co-Coordinator and volunteered in other capacities.

In 2001 I started ministering in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, WA. In 2002 I started a ministry called The Hill for Jesus. I currently live and minister in the Capitol Hill area and work from my home as a web designer and booking agent.

Carmelita O. Lazar
My Testimony

I  accepted  Christ as my Lord and Savior in December of 1990.  Since then, I dedicated my life for the use of God’s kingdom.  In 1993, I responded to God’s call for my first mission trip abroad.  Together with a group of believers, we smuggled bibles to Communist China.  Scared as I was while crossing the border to China, I was praying “Lord, into your hand I commit my spirit...”  God is faithful, we were able to cross safely and deliver all the bibles.

I felt like the Lord was telling me to do more for Him.  So in the succeeding years I found myself traveling to other Asian countries like Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) for short mission work.  In the year 2000 I had the opportunity to do some ministry to the Filipino churches in San Jose, California.  In that same year God opened the door for me to go to Australia.  I volunteered with the Youth With a Mission (YWAM)  to do an outreach work  during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.   During these times I was doing the work for the Lord while being in my secular job. 

Finally, in 1998, I decided to quit my secular job to serve the Lord  through the Christian & Missionary Alliance (which head offices is in Colorado Springs), serving as executive secretary to the Field Director, Philippine Mission.  Then later on I worked with the Alliance Biblical Seminary.

In the third quarter of 2002 my mom died.  Having been  married for forty-eight years, it was so hard for my dad to accept the loss of my mom.   Our whole family (which is in the Philippines) decided that I should stay with my Dad for awhile while recovering from grief.   So I came to America with no idea or specific plans on what to do (while here).  I had always desired to achieve God’s purposes wherever I am.  So I prayed that God would design my circumstances to lead me to the center of His will.

Then I heard that Hope Again needed volunteers  so I decided to apply.   During the week of  my interview with the Executive Director, my devotion in Deuteronomy 11:24, 30 “every place where you set your foot into will be yours……” “……these mountains are across the Jordan west of the road, towards the setting sun….”  These words became very much alive to me, and became a rhema.  Later on I realized that Hope Again is at West Sunset Boulevard.  Was it a coincidence or a revelation knowledge?

I was first assigned as the assistant manager of the Lighthouse, a ministry of Hope Again for women who are recovering from drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence abuse and prostitution.  My first few months in the Lighthouse were so full of struggles that I wanted to quit.  I was adjusting to the culture, a far different one from my own.  One day I found myself praying, “God, if it is by mistake that I am here, please remove me from this place.”   I wasn’t aware that I was being prepared for greater responsibility -  to become the Lighthouse manager.   After six months I was asked if I would accept the position of the manager.  I said, “accepting the position is not just a step of faith, but a big leap of faith for me; the responsibilities will be much heavier but I know my God is above all”.   When I was seeking His will regarding the new position, God confirmed His word to me again in Joshua 1:3-6, “I will give you every place where you set your foot….”  “be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land….”