Roger Morton

Salvador Allende becomes President of Chile

14 November 1970

I was born on November 14, 1970 in Seattle Washington. My parents originally lived in an apartment in north Beacon Hill. But after four months, they moved to a house in south Beacon Hill, that became “home”for me as I was growing up. As a person of biracial heritage so soon after the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, I was on the cutting edge of a new wave in American race relations.

Civil War In Lebanon

1975

It must have been the summer of 1975, when I was four years old, about ready to enter Kindergarten, when I was invited to Sunday School at Dunlap Baptist Church. Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Parsons invited me and my brother Rob to Sunday school and offered to drive us. They were long-time members of Dunlap and always had an evangelist zeal to invite the little kids of the neighborhood to church.

US gives up Panama Canal

1977

One day some missionaries visited. After the presentation, the missionary asked if anyone who wanted to invite Jesus in their heart. I met with Mrs. Peterson and she led us in prayer . On the bus-ride home, I decided to do it again. Going up the hill on Beacon Avenue, I bowed my head and closed my eyes, and prayed again. When I was done, I felt a sensation in my heart, like a burning that felt really good.

First test-tube baby is born, in London

1978

One of the most important things to happen to me that helped make me who I am today intellectually was winning the spelling bee in Second Grade. When the spelling bee occurred, I wanted to do well. My mother and I rehearsed the spelling words. I remember one word in particular that she taught me--"cupboard". It was like two words combined--"cup" and "board" even though it sounds like "cubboard" because really what it is is a board to place cups.

So when the spelling competition occurred, I was ready. It came down to the last word, "cupboard." I knew it, so I won for the whole school!

For the next round of the competition for the whole school district, I was eliminated. But after winning, I had confidence that I was smart. I did well in school. Later I was in the "horizon" program for "honors students".

First woman on US Supreme Court

August 1981

At the end of Fifth grade, Mrs. Smythe gave us all a “Living Bible” for a graduation gift. I really liked the Bible since it was green, beautiful and easy to understand. In it, it said that if I read three chapters a day, I could read the whole Bible in a year. I wanted to do that, so that’s what I did. I started in Genesis and read until I finished the Bible.

Leonid Brezhnev dead

1982

I really got into Boy Scouts right and early. From age 11 to 13, I went from the beginning “Scout” to the second highest award “Life” in no time. I did the 64 mile hikes that no one else could finish, I did the monthly camping trips, I was the Senior Patrol Leader (leading boy) at age 13.

April 1982

The other thing I started doing when I was around eleven that grew my faith and made me who I am today was praying for Jews and Christians in Russia who were persecuted for their faith. That Easter, the Seattle Times newspaper had a special pull-out section talking about religious persecution under communism and how Jews and Christians were put in jail for their faith. Across the bottom of the page, there were brief biographies and a picture of individuals who were suffering for their faith. Each day, I prayed for them.

Death of Tennessee Williams

1983

I got my parakeet “Tweety Bird” and since I wanted someone to pray with. I would tell her to “bow your head and close your eyes.” I would pray for God to keep Mom, Dad, Robby and I healthy, happy and safe. I prayed for various things on my mind. Then go to sleep. I did this for a while but I stopped for a few months. Those months were horrible so I went back to praying again.

March 1983

I also realized that I wanted to be baptized. I went to the pastor and asked him how to do it. He met with me and asked me if I understood my faith. When it happened, I invited my parents and came in my brown corduroys and tee-shirt. I gave my testimony in front of the whole congregation. The pastor took me, turned me sideways and dunked me quickly backwards in the warm water and lifted me up.

Indira Ghandi Murdered

March 1984

In Seventh grade, I had Janie as my Sunday School Teacher. I learned a powerful lesson from her. She asked me what I would say if someone asked me how to become a Christian. I didn’t really know. If I don’t know, how would my friends find out? I realized then that my faith is not something I just keep to myself.

Rainbow Warrior Sunk

1985

In eighth grade, I gave up Dungeons and Dragons. Richard and I became friends in seventh grade because one day he came over to my house to play basketball and we ended up playing D&D. We liked it because we could tell stories, invent characters and stretch our imagination. But then one day, I got to thinking about how “magic” is demonic. So I just stopped playing the game. We played Intellivision football instead where Richard always won.

September 1985

Then in Ninth grade I became really interested in Biblical prophecy. All through the Bible the birth of Jesus is also foretold with exceeding accuracy. If this is accurate, then the Bible is true not because you or I or anyone say so, believe hard enough, accept the teaching of ateacher—but because it proves itself in a way that any honest person would have to accept based on the facts that anyone anywhere, could research for themselves.

Nuclear Disaster At Chernobyl

1986

Through high school, I spent lots of time in the church library and I was going to the adult classes just to be around other people in Sunday School. Then in twelfth grade I was invited to Seattle Chinese Alliance Church for a church retreat that had a profound impact on me. I liked the conference, though it seemed basic to me. But it was nice to be in a context where I was with teenagers who were Christians too!

The first plutonium pacemaker is made

1988

But this all happened right as I was about ready to leave Seattle to go to Southern California to go to college. I was nervous. Actually God had other plans. Within days after I came to Claremont McKenna orientation, I was up one night with my room-mate Mahntie and this guy Marion and we got to talking about religion. Talking about religion with my friends was exactly what college should be about! After this, I became the expert on Christianity.

Nelson Mandela Freed

1990

I continued to grow in my faith that whole year. My friend, Jonathan, and I decided that we wanted to go on a summer mission to Hong Kong. To be abroad was wonderful and provided me a lot of confidence that God could take care of me no matter where I go—even to the ends of the earth.

1992

But I ended up staying in Pomona for more than a year. The pieces for a longterm stay started falling into place when I found a summer job working as an office clerk for a marketing consultant for the fruit and vegetable industry, Dwight. This became more as I eventually worked with another member of the community, Cressida, to start our own business associating with Dwight.

Confrontation in Waco

1993

The big choice for the community in 1993 was what to do about church. The best option seemed to be to join First Presbyterian Church of Pomona since they were very supportive of our vision, had good relationships with us. I came to the conclusion then, being a part of a larger church, bigger than just whatever little fellowship we or I could put together on our own efforts is better than staying separate.

O.J. Simpson- "Not- Guilty"

1995

I became the computer lab master even, because I had a job flexible to make the time to be committed. But the computer lab partners, PVCCD was disorganized. Soon the California Wellness Foundation withdrew the money they gave to fund PVCCD. The staff that had resigned most recently from PVCCD pitched a case to the Wellness Foundation to use the Church as the fiscal agent for the money. So I became the link person to make this deal work.

Taliban takes control of Afghanistan

July 1996

However, after two years, I was getting drained doing so much. My graduate advisor, Dr. Saltztein, and I talked about this and he suggested that I do an independent study writing a term paper about one of the projects I was doing. I had such a great time doing that that my vigor for school came back. I signed up for Seminar on Metropolitan Government. In this class, I met a wonderful woman there—Regina.

August 1996

I noticed her when one day after class I saw her from behind asking the professor about some course material where statistics were presented about poverty, and he did not have statistics on poverty for Asians. She’s beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, has a sense of humor—what a great woman!

September 1996

She told me how as a refugee from Vietnam. Her family had to flee on April 30, 1975, when her Congressman father would be dead now if not for the intervention of God to provide transportation down to an island where they got to the right place where they could take a boat to a ship, “American Challenger” , climbing up rope ladders with the sea raging below them, they made it to Guam, Camp Pendleton California and a new life.

October 1996

We had a great time talking that I wanted to make sure we kept in touch. So I asked her to a movie. The movie led to more movies and then a trip to a new place in San Diego I never heard of—Mt. Soledad. Then more movies, dinner in Malibu, Knotts Scary Farm, etc. We had such a great time and I was so impressed by this wonderful lady that I wanted to date her; even marry her!

November 1996

So one night after seeing “Ransom” in LaVerne, we drove up to Mt. Baldy outside of Claremont. We were on a dark windy road where we could hardly see the road ahead of us. I made an analogy that this is just like life: we move forward, and as we move forward we see more, until we have seen it all. With that insight, at the top of the hill, we stopped, talked, and began our relationship.

Northern Ireland Peace process

April 1998

The next two years had many ups and downs throughout it. We realized that we were very different people We had serious discussions about our faith. After many discussions about how God does not contradict Himself, therefore what God said through Scripture and through the New Testament Church is continuing to be alive , I began to see that indeed God is in the Catholic Church as it has faithfully compiled, sustained the work of the Gospel through the ages.

November 1998

After two years of exploration, partnership and visioning, Regina—Ngoc, is her true name—got married November 28, 1998. We got married as the new path God was establishing for me was unfolding. As the old world in Pomona was fading away, God opened up new routes through a PhD degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Therefore, between 1997 and 1998, God had fully prepared me to begin a new life in a new place

Impeachment trial of President Clinton

1999

With that knowledge, we now both move forward in confidence that God’s perfect plan will continue to work itself out in our lives. As he has so masterfully orchestrated everything in my life thus far, we confidently await what God will do next. Even though we can only “see as far as the headlights show ahead of” we move forward anyway confidently awaiting what God will do next!

January 1999

After seven years with TRW-Experian, and even a promotion to Program Analyst, Ngoc sensed that her work should be where her passion is. She wanted to help the less fortunate. Therefore, she took a leap of faith and resigned from her position. Although the experience was difficult, in the fall of 1998, she applied for a job at Catholic Charities. She began the position in January 1999, just in time after marriage and settling down into our home in Irvine.

August 2003

I finished my PhD when I had my dissertation defense on August 8, 2003. I had been workinon my dissertation for two years. Having presented my topic on elements of faith based organizations that make them willing and able to successfully receive government funding to delivers ocial services, I had to present findings quantitatively and qualitatively about these elements. I discovered that liberal and African American organizations were most willing and able to successfully compete.

29 June 2005

On August 29 2005, we came home from Kazakhstan with our 2 year old son Jarrett. We met Jarrett for the first time at the Nezabudka baby house in Karaganda Kazakhstan on June 29, 2005 after a two day trip across 14 time zones. While we had expected a different boy, the boy we met, Ruslan, was such an incredible person, our hearts were won over and we couldn't imagine any other option than what God had done for us.