My sabbatical has been launched in style! On my first day (Monday), I went golfing with a friend at my favorite course, Elkins Ranch in Fillmore. It was my first round of golf in probably three years. I honestly can't even remember my last round. My expectations were low. I was just out to have a solid start to the sabbatical with one of my favorite refreshing, and missed, activities.

Lo and behold, I broke 100 on my first round back with a 98! Matter of fact, for fellow hackers among us, I only had ONE blow-up hole. Normal for me is 3-4 blow-up holes a round. Other than that hole, there was nothing worse than a double bogey on the card, and I even birdied 16! It was an absolute blast!

So now you're wondering, "If it's started so well, why are we hearing from you already?"

Well, let me get to it ..... I wanted to let you know myself that a staff transition is being processed while I am away on sabbatical. A couple of weeks ago, Jenifer Milbauer, who has served so faithfully these last three years as our Children's Ministries Director, informed me she was feeling it is time for her to move on from this position. There are lots of things pointing toward and confirming for her that this is God's direction.

She knew it was rough timing with the onset of the sabbatical, and has offered to stay through the Summer so we could process a transition after my return. That's incredibly gracious of her, and I thanked (and still thank) her for it! I was prepared to take her up on that offer unless God seemed to open a door before the sabbatical began, which is exactly what has happened.

I am excited to have you meet Leslie Hertweck, who will be serving as our new Children's Ministries Director. While she begins this new role officially on June 15, Jenifer will be staying on with us until July 31 to help Leslie get acquainted with the role and its volunteers and responsibilities.

Over the late Winter and Spring seasons, Leslie and her husband, John (a math teacher with the LA Unified School District at Monroe High School) processed a transition from Osborne Neighborhood Church in Arleta, to NewHeart. The Hertweck's live in Simi Valley and were looking for a church closer to home. It was some time ago, early in that process, that John & Leslie shared with me their sense that God was calling them to make NewHeart their church home. They have three kids, Ethan, Gabriel and Hannah. Leslie has been homeschooling them, and plans to continue doing so.

Leslie is no stranger to NewHeart, having spent her childhood years here when her Dad, Stan Taylor, was our Associate Pastor and Principal of the school we operated at the time. As a matter of fact, Leslie and her twin sister, Lisa, were a regular part of our Youth Ministry when I was the Youth Pastor here! It keeps blowing my mind how often over the years the Lord has allowed me to see some of our own past students become staff members. What a thrill and what a ride!

Stan became the Pastor at Osborne in 1988, and served there until he left that position in March. Most of you have met Stan and his wife, Daisy, who are making NewHeart their church home as well during their ministry and life transition.

Leslie graduated from Kennedy High School in Granada Hills in 1993, and Vanguard University in 2000 with a degree in Communications and Broadcast Journalism. She has recently worked for Starbucks as a barista, and as you can well imagine, this went a long way in deciding to bring her on board (I'm kidding, but it doesn't hurt!!!). While this is the first time Leslie will work as a Children's Ministries Director, she and John have taught Children's Ministries at Osborne for several years. She joins us at an exciting time in her life and in ours!

Leslie will officially start on June 15. She and Angie will be working out her schedule, which will be mixed between office and home. We will be working out details on how to forward calls to her from the office at the times she is working at home during office hours. She will be introduced, welcomed and prayed for at both services on Sunday, June 14.

Jenifer will be helping us train Leslie in the position until her last day on staff, which will be July 31. That will give the two of them six weeks to work together to get Leslie acquainted with the role, her volunteers, and some critical events like the One-day VBS in July and ramping up for Summer Camp in August.

I encourage you to friend Leslie on Facebook and welcome her to the team! She will be a fabulous addition and will build upon the great job that Jenifer has done the last three years.

Blessings!