mjabate

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, I moved out to Los Angeles in the summer of 1999 to attend Loyola Marymount University's (LMU) MFA program in film-digital production. LA was my home ever since graduating from LMU in 2003. But the Lord has taken me on an adventure starting in 2015 that continues up to the present time. Let me explain what I mean. Between 2003-2015, I worked in the film business. My time at Otto Nemenz (the best motion camera house in Hollywood) came to an end in August 2015. I still love cameras, lenses, and high tech toys, but I'm also a born again follower of the Lord Jesus, and have been his servant ever since I was 11. Reading, studying, and writing about God's word captures my heart and imagination even more than movies and the technology that is used to make them. After I completed one year of seminary at Talbot School of Theology, I transferred my enrollment to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for the Fall of 2016. This meant relocating my wife and first-born daughter (who was 10 weeks old at the time) to Louisville, Kentucky for some intense study over the next three years. My wife is a California girl through and through, so this was a big change for her. But I must confess that it was a big change for me since I'm essentially a city person. Earlier this year, I graduated in May from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with my M.Div. The Lord used this time to deepen my love for him and his word. I moved my family again (which has grown into a family four with two precious girls) in August of 2019 in order to be the pastoral resident of Indian Trail Church (ITC) in Spokane, Washington. Needless to say, my Lord and Savior has taken me on quite the journey in his service. The residency with ITC is 2.5 years long, so we'll see where the Lord sends us next. To be continued...