Background: I was born into an Italian family, raised in East Cleveland , and attended parochial schools through college.  Before I came to candidate at Weymouth, my mother, without my awareness or approval, visited the church to see if it was fit for her son - aren't mom's wonderful!

Family: My father, Gus, was the first person in his family to leave Little Italy.  We had a close, strict family that enjoyed many of the Italian traditions.  I have an identical twin brother, Chuck, and an older brother, Jim.  I have a wonderful wife, Launa,  of 38 years, and the Lord has blessed  us with three children, Scott and his wife, Janie and their two sons, Matthew and Joshua; Jonathan (still available), and Dathan and his wife, Kristy and their daughter, Isabella.

Education: B.A. in Psychology at John Carroll U.,  M.S. in Speech Pathology at Texas Christian U.,  and a Th.M. in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Favorite Stuff: Eating, outdoors activities especially in the mountains and seeing God change people.

Food? ITALIAN, Mexican, Steak, and I like to try new things-OK, any food, bring it on!

Movie? Magnificent Seven , anything with Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas, and some Rocky films, numbers 1,2, 7, 9?  - I think I was hit in the head one too many times

Vacation Spot? Does Costa Rica on a missions trip count?  Anywhere with my sweetheart is next to heaven.

Hobby? Outdoor activities, Bocce Ball, and teaching the Bible to eager students in foreign countries.

Books? Desiring God (Piper), Experiencing God (Blackaby) and anything by Ravenhill.

Games? Outdoor games of any kind, pinochle, Quick Wit.

Place to Be? Anywhere with all of my family present.

My Story:

This is the day that changed my life forever.

It began in a hospital room looking upon my bloated, motionless, pallid-skin-colored, two-year old son, Scott. Just a few short months previously, he had been our healthy pride and joy and the delight of our hearts. But he developed a blood condition (ITP) that caused him to bleed internally, due to a low blood platelet count. In rapid succession, he went through numerous tests and medications, experienced critically high fevers and convulsions, increasingly looked like we had beaten him black and blue; his spleen was removed, his stomach and mouth were filled with ulcers, he was bleeding internally, pumped with antibiotics, and gradually developed meningitis. Then the announcement came from the doctor.

"We've done everything that we can and it hasn't helped. Your son is going to die."      

At this point in my life, twenty-five years have gone by. By the world's standards, things were pretty good. I was born and raised into a two-parent Italian, church-going family. Although there was strict discipline, we knew that we were loved and my parents even sacrificed so that my brothers and I could have a good education. Upon graduation from college at John Carroll University , I married a wonderful high-school sweetheart named Launa. Shortly after beginning a master's program in Speech and Hearing, Uncle Sam called me to serve during the Viet Nam era. It was during my tour of service that Scott was born. Though we didn't have much money, being away from home and family caused Launa and I to grow close and then God blessed us with our first of three sons.

On the surface, everything looked great, but inside my mind questioned and my spirit was troubled. After two years of routine Army life, I wondered if this was all there is to life. What was the ultimate purpose of life? Does it matter what you do or even if you do anything with your life? I played the religious game for over twenty years, but the impotence of rituals left me disillusioned, dry and defeated. I knew there was more; I knew there was something more personal, but I didn't know where or how to find it.

God, in His mercy, brought a number of people into our lives that lovingly and consistently shared their faith with us. I blew them off for some time, but gradually the Lord began to use them and their words to prompt me to begin to read the Word of God.

When I tried to answer their questions with what I had been taught, they would continually ask me if that is what the Bible said. Of course, I had no idea, so I began to search for answers in the Bible to defend myself. However, instead of finding answers, I discovered more questions.

Over a period of time, God began to create in me a desire to know Him personally. By this time I had heard the Gospel many times, but refused it because it went against my religious background and because it would cause me to acknowledge how needy and helpless I was. My pride and rebellion against the truth I heard caused God to humble me by touching the very thing that brought Launa and I the most pleasure-our son.

It was that very night that the doctors told us that Scott would not make it that I met God personally. During that evening, He removed the blindness of my mind and broke the hardness of my heart. He showed me vividly that just as Scott's blood was killing him, it was only through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, that I could have eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

That night I realized that without the application of the shed blood of Jesus, there would be no forgiveness of my sins. It became so clear to me that my salvation was not based on anything I did or could do, but solely upon the blood of Christ. That night I experienced a personal relationship with God and His Son, Jesus which is eternal life (John 17:3).

That night, for the first time in my life, I knew that my sins were forgiven, that night God removed my guilt, filled me with His love, and gave me meaning and purpose for life.

Only because of God's marvelous grace and mercy, He restored Scott to health and today he is happily married with two sons. My love for the Word and for God grew rapidly. Almost immediately, I felt that I had to let others know about this Great God and the life-changing salvation that can be received from His Son. I wanted to do something with my life that would last for eternity and something that could have an eternal impact on others. So out of gratitude for all that the Lord had done and was doing,

I committed my life to serving God and sharing HIS GOOD NEWS with anyone that was willing to listen. There is power in His blood; there is cleansing in His blood; there is redemption through His blood; there is eternal and abundant life when you apply His blood.