Don’t rock the boat, rock the yacht

FLO MARTIN

This past Saturday, the Daily Pilot devoted a lot of space to a

favorite subject, Rock Harbor Church.

Rock Harbor rocks in Costa Mesa.

I have attended several of their regular services and each time

felt like dancing in the aisles. I have laughed out loud with their

teaching pastor, Mike Erre. I have been in awe of the stark Christmas

and Easter dramas that have become the earmark of Rock Harbor’s

program. Rock Harbor has planted Keith Page’s Rock Bottom mission.

Everyone is rocking, and in more places than one.

There’s also the Rock of Africa. Two weeks ago, Todd Martin, a

founding member of Rock Harbor and my No. 1 son, returned from his

fourth trip to Zimbabwe. The stories and accompanying photos that he

has shared with family and friends have served to shake me at my

roots. I have so very much. I am so very spoiled.

My comfortable lifestyle in middle-class Costa Mesa is downright

obscene when compared to what a woman my age calls life in the

shantytown of the Gwayi Valley that Rock Harbor calls its mission

home.

Let’s call this lady Angelbetter.

Angelbetter would probably have the same reaction looking at a

magazine ad that features my three bedroom with den home in College

Park that I had last night while drooling over ads that feature

Laguna Beach view-of- Catalina homes that cost $10 million. You see,

Angelbetter lives in a one-room structure.

For Angelbetter, my Toyota Camry sedan would be the equivalent of

a new Bugatti Veyron, which costs more than a cool million.

Unbelievable. In sharp contrast, Todd and the Rock Harbor team raised

$8,000 to buy a 10-year-old Land Rover to serve as a vehicle for the

mission work in the Gwayi region. Compared to a Ferrari or a

Lamborghini or a Mercedes-Benz, this Land Rover cost a mere pittance

-- $10,000 (and is not yet paid off, so if you have a few extra

nickels or dimes, send them to Rock Harbor for their Rock of Africa

mission).

Angelbetter would marvel at my local supermarket. For her, a trip

to an open-air market gets the shopping done. She would marvel at my

high-tech, high-energy church, considered a “mega-church” even by

California standards. Angelbetter worships in a one-room building.

Her pastor doesn’t even have a microphone. And forget South Coast

Plaza or Fashion Island.

Angelbetter is thankful for hand-me-downs brought by the amazing

Rock Harbor team. I say amazing because these 15 locals, most of them

half my age, each carried over 100 pounds of luggage through three

airports during a 40-hour trip. They brought clothing. They brought

school supplies.

They even brought a laptop and an LCD projector in order to show

Christian movies. Did I forget the screen, you ask? No way.

The screen turned out to be a white wall outside a local bar. No

Irvine Spectrum in Gwayi.

Seats? Not even. Everyone just stood. They stood for hours. And

they stood willingly. And, after all was said and all was done, many

stood for their newfound faith.

The United States is the land of million-dollar cars, of $500,000

pink diamond rings, of $26,550 Nokia cell phones, of $12,959 per

night Presidential Suites at the Mandarin Hotel. You and I, dear

reader, have so much. Together, let’s give thanks.

* FLO MARTIN is a retired high school teacher, lectures part-time

at Cal State Fullerton in the Foreign Language Education program and

supervises student teachers in their classrooms.