63 years ago, Dean was baptized in the chapel of La Grave, trust me when I say that many members of the church now, wouldn’t know of anyone who had been baptized in the Chapel of La Grave, unless it were a family member. Dean and his wife, Tina do many, many things to help the community of La Grave; the smiles in their picture above can prove that too. Having personally known them since I was in first grade I assure you, I have never seen either of them not smiling. Tina is the leader of the Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior (GEMS) program here at La Grave CRC which is held every Wednesday with the exception of the last Wednesday of the month. While Tina is busy with GEMS, Dean is busy biking from one Faith based ministry to the next. He is the head of a three year Faith Journey that takes place at Church, and the prison ministry as well as being a former Elder! Dean and Tina have many hobbies outside of Church, like being grandparents to “pretty awesome granddaughters”.
When I asked Dean what he would change in his life he responded with “stay on the narrow path, you don’t want to stray away,” while Tina added “Be your best, even though you don’t know what is ahead in life, just do what Christ wants you to do”.
Dean and Tina love to live the healthy lifestyle, Dean is an avid bike rider, and for almost 30 years he has been riding his bike to and from church every time they need to go, which is about a minimum of twice a week. He will ride in every weather condition except for rain, because it is to heavy for the layers that he wears when he is out riding. “That reminds me of a time of when I was young, I am a shorts guy, always have been, and still am. I can’t ride my bike in nice clothes, so I would show up to church in shorts and everyone around me, even the kids my age back then were all dressed up… I was a shorts guy in a pants world, but that was ok because I knew that was who God intended me to be”.
