Lauro Teran and Lupita Grijalva both grew up in Agua Prieta, just across the border from Douglas.  Their families were well acquainted, and although not especially close at that time, these two children attended Fray Pedro de Gante Catholic school one year apart.  Their lives led them individually to the United States, then to each other, and eventually to a loving marriage now in its 20th year.

Lauro was the ninth and last surviving child of his parents Gustavo and Maria Alicia.  A still younger child died shortly after birth.  About the time Lauro became high school age, the family moved to Douglas, and he attended Douglas High.  From there he went on to the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering.  After that, he was employed successively by Hughes Aircraft, a startup called Thermosonics and a microelectronics firm, Burr-Brown.

Lupita was the middle of three daughters of parents Ruben and Guadalupe.  A grandmother, also named Guadalupe, also lived in the home.  Our subject, also named Guadalupe, was called Lupita, and the name stuck.  Lupita, after 9 years of school, went directly to Cochise College in Douglas where she earned an associate’s degree in applied science.  After that she worked as a secretary at Zenith Electronics in Agua Prieta and White Knight Hospital Disposables in Douglas.

Lupita’s best friend was a cousin of Lauro’s.  They would head to Tucson on weekends to visit a friend, Lauro and another cousin of Lauro’s who were attending the university.  Lauro and Lupita become closer, and well--you know.  At Lauro’s brother Mario’s post-wedding party, Lauro proposed with a song he wrote and a dozen red roses, in front of all his family and guests.

The two were married in March of 1991 at Parroquia de Guadalupe in the same church where both had been baptized years earlier.

Early the following year, Lauro had been laid off at a time business was bad.  Lupita was late in pregnancy.  Lauro came down to our area for a job interview, stayed to knock on other doors, and soon had two job offers.  He accepted the offer from Comarco, under contract at the post, and in 2000, went to work directly for the government at the Joint Interoperability Test Center, where he still is today.  Lupita has been a stay at home mom, which enabled her to help often at son Ruben’s schools.  That’s Ruben in the photo above, with his parents.

The couple has long been active with St. Andrew’s;  he in the choir, she as a religious-ed   teacher, minister of hospitality, a cook for Good Neighbor Alliance and more recently as a noontime sacristan.  Together, they have worked in jail ministry, marriage preparation and assisting Father Marco with Spanish Mass ministry.  Now Lauro is in Deacon formation and Lupita in Lay Ecclesial Minister formation, after which their involvement with our parish and in the Faith will become even greater.

Ricardo, or Ricky, Pinzon, as he prefers to be called, admits that like many of us, he went to church out of a sense of obligation more than real zeal, and even as an adult found it easy to excuse himself from going.  That all changed, though, after making a Cursillo four years ago.  The experience opened his eyes, he says, and he had his first encounter with Christ.  “He embraced me and I embraced Him.”  Having children also made Ricky and his wife Lisi more serious.  They didn’t just want to teach their three girls that religion was an obligation, but a real opportunity to give thanks as a family for all that God has given them.  They knew it was important to be good examples of what they were teaching their family.

Jose Valle played in a Mexican/English band as a younger man, still loves music, and picks up spare cash when he gets a gig as a disc jockey. After his ordination, he envisions being able to offer a package deal. He'll officiate at your wedding, then at the reception handle the music.

That's tongue-in-cheek. Actually Jose has a higher motivation. As a younger man growing up he especially admired Deacon Bob Gonzalez in his home parish of St. Michael's Mission in Naco and felt a desire to evangelize for the Church and help the poor. Also wanting to marry and raise a family, he set dreams of being a Deacon aside at first. But as time went on, Jose found himself single, and in his late 50s, has revived his Deacon's dream. In the meantime, Jose serves our parish as a sacristan, eucharistic minister, teacher for Spanish language baptism classes and by helping serve meals at Good Neighbor Alliance.

When Father Greg first suggested the Deacon Candidate program to John Klein in 1999, John did not think it was for him. Years later, when the suggestion was made again, John considered it more seriously, prayed about it, and decided to enter the program.

Earlier in his life, John, born and raised a Lutheran, had answered the call to join his Catholic wife and family in Catholicism at the age of 40. Regarding entering the Diaconate program, John, in his own words says, “God called again--this time I listened and responded. As a convert to Catholicism, I fully believe we all called to serve. (He emphasized WE.) The challenge each of us face is figuring out where God is calling us to serve. That is where prayer must enter your life: listen to what God is saying in your heart.”

Those attending 10 o’clock Mass on Sunday know John by sight, if not by name. Tall and imposing, with a booming voice, John doubles as a lector and a minister of the Eucharist. He also serves as a sacristan, and as a facilitator for RCIA teen classes. At one time he served our parish as youth director, and sponsors catechumens in our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.

John, with his wife Linda and their two children, settled in our community after a 24-year career in the Army, in which Fort Huachuca was his last post. John was an electronic repairman NCO. John, age 54, works now as a training specialist for the Intel Center. Linda, herself a retired NCO, is a training supervisor for the same organization. John and Linda met and married in 1981, when both were stationed in Hawaii. Daughter Jayme teaches first grade at Pueblo del Sol elementary school, and is married to Robert Faust, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems instructor, and son of parishioners Mike and Ann Faust. Mike and Ann, shown on the left here with the Kleins in this photo, had facilitated John’s entering the Church when all were stationed together in Germany. Son Jakob is a junior at NAU majoring in music performance. All just welcomed a newcomer into the family last month, a baby boy Jameson, Jayme and Robert’s first.

John, the son of Charles and Gerda Klein, originally comes from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where his father worked an a mechanical engineer for the Union Carbide Corporation. John joined the Army after high school. He earned an associates degree in engineering technology through Mount Wachusett Community College, and later a bachelor’s in education, majoring in history, from the U of A. Currently, he is pursuing a masters in educational technology from East Carolina University.

Besides his Faith, John cites interests as historical reading, an eclectic mix of music, exercise and motorcycling on his BMW K12GT. With a nod to wife Linda, he also says he likes doing whatever she puts on the honey-do list.

It took Ralph Wildermuth 56 years to find Christ through the Catholic Church. When it happened, he felt as if a ton of bricks had been lifted off his shoulders. Not wanting to waste any more time in his life, as soon as Ralph was baptized he applied to be a Deacon. He wanted to help others experience the same grace that Christ had given him.

Ralph's mother Ursula, a German, was a Catholic, but being married to an non-church going American airman, did not have her son baptized. She did, however, take him sometimes to church. Ralph tells a curious story about when he was around 10 he was in some kind of trouble and was summoned to talk to the priest. Admitting to his crime, he was told by the priest that Christ has forgiven him. This confused Ralph. He didn't know much about Christ, but did know He had died long before. In the days following, the priest started teaching Ralph about Christ. Ralph was intrigued and wanted to learn more, but then his father was transferred, and Ralph's disappointment was turned against God.

Fast forward to the present. Even if you don't know their names, you've probably noticed the folks at the 10 o'clock Sunday Mass who are a little out of the ordinary, usually sitting on the right side of the center aisle. Two burly men, with beards and hair fixed in a pony-tail bob, a woman who is the wife of one, a small child and recently a baby. Two older girls are serving on the altar, obviously sisters, projecting an air of competence and self assuredness. Similar in appearance, the men seem to be brothers. They are not actually related, only very good friends. The family belongs to Sherrill and Christy Howton. The children, in order, are Josey and Jenny on the altar, and Jandee and Joleen. "Uncle" Ralph lives with the Howtons, in a dwelling of his own making, on 20 acres in High Knoll, east of the San Pedro River. A fascinating place, the Howton ranch boasts 23 horses, mules, ponies and burros, 17 goats, 16 chickens, a gaggle of geese, 5 ducks, and dogs and cats along with the humans.

Ralph and the Howtons met in 1994, when Ralph's and Christy's military careers coincided at Fort Huachuca. The common denominator was a love of horses.

In time, retired from their military careers, the Howtons and Ralph wanted a religious bearing and for a while joined an independent church here in Sierra Vista. Not satisfied, they next tried the Catholic Church, and after visiting St. Andrew's, decided ours was the place. They went through RCIA and were baptized. Ralph's request to train for the Diaconate was turned down, perhaps because he had just joined the Church, but he was allowed to enter the Lay Ecclesial Minister program.

Ralph has been active in the RCIA and jail ministries, the K of Cs and in helping organize an ecumenical effort among local Christian congregations for community service. His course project this summer will be to generate interest within our parish to further that effort. Following graduation from his training and certification as a Lay Ecclesial Minister, he will be available for any assignment, of course, but would be happy to focus on one of his present ministries.