Although she spoke very little English, Elsa did her best to welcome me into her home.  She looked tired but was smiling.  She explained (and Daniel interpreted) that she had worked all day at the dry cleaners, and it was hot there.  I remembered the sweat I had worked up just loading my groceries into the car at the Shop Rite parking lot a few hours earlier.  Right then my heart went out to Elsa.

            We took our places around the living room - Elsa and her husband, Manuel, their daughter Jessica, Daniel and I - and chatted while we waited for the rest of the family.  One by one they filtered in.  First, Elsa's daughter-in-law, Lily, sat down with her two month old baby, Mia.  Then Mia's dad, Pepe, arrived, followed by Elsa's two younger children, Jazmin and Gonzalo.  Finally, Pastor Bob arrived.

            We sang a few hymns, me doing my best to form the Spanish words and Elsa doing her best to keep up with the English words, and then read from the Bible.  As Pastor led the discussion about what we had read, I felt myself being drawn in.  Moments ago, the Figueroas had been strangers, faces I would have passed by in the grocery store as I went about the labors of my day.  Now they were fully present to me, sharing deep thoughts, hopes and concerns that were not unlike my own - fellow travelers along the journey of faith, brothers and sisters in Christ.

            Even young Gonzalo participated in the discussion.  I was touched by the sincerity of this middle schooler, Elsa's youngest son.  Right then my heart went out to Gonzalo.  My heart went out to every member of the family, in fact, as they did their best to make me feel a part of their House Church.  This is a hard-working, good-natured family, sincerely seeking to know their Lord Jesus Christ, I thought.  I felt so honored to be with them.

            Before meeting the Figueroas, my prayers for the House Church were well intentioned.  They were prayers for, well, a House Church.  But as I sat in Elsa's family room and prayed together with her family at the end of our gathering, I knew that my prayers for them would never be the same.  Now I would be praying for Lily, Pepe and Mia, for Jessica, Jazmin and Gonzalo, for Manuel, and for my sister in Christ, Elsa.

One of our oldest members, though NOT in age, is Carrie Ruffner.

Carrie was born on September 7, 1978 in Summit, New Jersey, and is the daughter of Judy and Bill Vreeland. She began coming to SHLC when she was little and has continued ever since.

Carrie graduated with honors from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a degree in Hospitality Management. She met her husband, Ed Ruffner, at TJMaxx in Gillette, New Jersey. "We both were working together. We got to know each other and realized we had a lot in common."

After Carrie married Ed, they lived in Bernardsville, Bridgewater and with the Vreelands for a year in Basking Ridge. Now they are living in Gillette. "Our neighbors are the Meyersville Inn and Casa Maya." Needless to say, they are never without food.

Carrie enjoys scrap booking and photography. She is rarely without her camera. She also loves going to the beach and camping. Spending time with family and friends is important -- so important that she changed her career from Hospitality Management to teaching. She works at the Roseland Child Development Center which does not require being on duty nights, weekends and holidays which, to Carrie, are family time. Carrie hopes to go back to school and get a teaching degree so that she can teach Kindergarten or first grade in a Christian school.

Faith is very important to Carrie. "God has always helped me through the hard times. When Ed was going through cancer treatment, that was all I could hold on to. God was my anchor. Ever since I was a little child, I believed. As I grew up and life had its challenges, my faith did too. When I was five years old I prayed that God would send me a man of God. And he did."

You can find Carrie in church on Sundays, either sitting with Judy and Bill, or upstairs when Ed runs the projector. The next time that you see her, give her a big CONGRATULATIONS! Carrie and Ed will be the proud parents of twins come March!

Reported by Linda Vitale