Chosen 2 Serve: 2nd Edition

By Sid Petherbridge

I wrote this book to share the life experiences that God has divinely helped me out of. Some situations are humorous, and some are life-threatening. But God pulled me out and guided me through every circumstance. I want the readers to be inspired by the overcoming of difficult situations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889431275

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Chosen 2 Serve

2nd Edition

Sid Petherbridge

ISBN 979-8-88943-126-8 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88943-127-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Sid Petherbridge

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Childhood in Hawaii

Healing Process

Searching to Serve

Fijian Adventure

Settling into Burbank, California, April 1990

Meeting Margaret

Dating Margaret

Marriage (Burbank, California)

Church Hunting

Praying for Family

Hawaii Family Trip

Nate and Julie's Big Bear trip.

God's Will Be Done: Rejoice in All Things

COVID-19, 2020

Inspiration

About the Author

Adventure and Suspense

Humor and Death

Struggles

Romance and Victory

Introduction

In the beginning, God created me before I was conceived, and he knew my destiny in life.

I was born on October 21, 1958, in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a twin brother. Sidney and Nathan Petherbridge—we were adopted at birth by David and Betty Petherbridge, and then we immediately moved to Hilo, Hawaii, to live for five years.

David Petherbridge was a pastor of a Christian church, and Betty was a Christian mom and leader. We were the grandsons of Southern Baptist missionaries named Victor and Lee Koon, who were foreign missionaries to China (1935–1939) and then the Hawaiian Islands before it became the fiftieth state of the United States of America.

1959

Twins on a Swing

Childhood in Hawaii

After leaving Hilo, we moved to Molokai Island in the Hawaiian chain for David to pastor a Christian church, and that is when I learned that I was adopted at birth. My dad said I was chosen by them (my parents), the same as Jesus has chosen us to be in his family.

Hilo, Hawaii

1959

Then within a couple of years, we moved again to Honolulu, Hawaii, for David and Betty to pastor a Christian church mothered by Waialae Baptist Church of Honolulu.

First bikes

Molokai, Hawaii

1963

I was about seven years of age, and we lived in a dominantly Buddhist neighborhood.

Beginning school in a Christian elementary school but living in a Buddhist neighborhood presented many challenges. I realized that my brother and I were different, not only physically but also spiritually. Family traditions were different because the primary culture was Oriental with the Buddhist faith.

Honolulu, Hawaii

1968

One day on a late afternoon, I was up around the corner of our block and on a hill just out of sight. Nathan was down on the sidewalk but closer to our home, and he, too, was out of sight. He came near the corner, and I said to him, I am hungry.

He replied, Oh, I will go ask Mom if dinner is ready. Then he turned a quick circle and headed straight to the house.

Now it seemed like a few minutes had passed, and I was getting even hungrier, so I had become impatient. Then all of a sudden, I heard my brother's voice, and it sounded like he was yelling, Dinner is ready.

So I took off, excited and ready for dinner, but Nathan said, I am coming up the hill. So I proceeded, and right on the corner where we could not see each other, we crashed and began crying at the top of our little voices. Daddy immediately heard us and ran down the block to pick us up. We were crying because not only did we crash into each other but we also fell into a sticker patch of grass, so Dad carried us home and went back for the bikes while Mom fixed our injuries