How did I get started doing illusions, anyway?
An interesting and fun story to tell! My wife, Lisa, and I were lost and unmarried at the time, owned a home together in Philipsburg, just outside of State College, PA. With quite a travel into State College for work, we always stayed in town and waited for the other to finish working to save gas money. Directly across from where my wife worked in the Nittany Mall, East Coast Magic Shop opened up. I wandered in there one day and found an interesting and unique entertainment I had not ever considered before. I made a connection with the owner, John Blake, and he allowed me to work there as an apprentice, learning the tricks of the trade and how to read people. The skills he taught me are still remembered to this day. He also had a hand in the training of David Copperfield, and I will never forget those days spent in his shop just playing around with the illusions and the stories he would tell. There was also another guy who worked there, a college student at the time, Jon, that I became close friends with. (Jon, if you are reading this, reconnect with me! I'd love to meet up again!) Our personalities just matched up and complimented each other so well, that the owner of the shop suggested we team up and work together doing shows. So Jon and I partnered together with my wife working the music and set up behind the scenes. We have performed in the bar room, in restaurants going table to table, kids birthday parties, and a nursing home. We were having fun and making some money. The plan was to continue with what we were doing, but the Lord had other plans for us.
On May 1, 2007, my wife got saved. On June 3, 2007, I made that decision as well. Looking back at the Lord's timing, my partner, Jon, also graduated from college at about that time, and moved back home. We decided to move back to our hometown and go to the only church connection we had at the time. We closed the chapter of performing "magic," got rid of my long hair and black trench coat, and dove headfirst into a new job in construction, starting our family, and living our life for God.
Fast forward through some hard times and trials that only the Lord could bring us through, in 2014, we joined, Victory Baptist in Selinsgrove, PA. Pastor Rines encouraged us to get back into doing illusions by doing a small show for the talent show at our New Year's Eve service. It was so much fun to dust off our old tricks and get back into it. We have done a show every New Year's Eve talent show since. Then, an evangelist came to our church, John Bailey. He also has a special talent of bullwhips and knife throwing, using his talent to draw a crowd and reach the lost with the gospel, and encouraged me to do the same. A tug on my heart to use the skills and talents the Lord blessed me with, for His work, came upon me. With much prayer and support from our church, Peculiar Illusions was born. Still working full time as a construction worker, We waited for the Lord's timing on when to go full time ministry, then a dream came true.
In January of 2021 we left PA and headed south for warm weather and what ever the Lord wanted us to do. We mailed some brochures and I quit my job and headed south like Abraham and Sarah. We didn't know much about much and still feel we know nothing but we have a desire to serve the God who saved us. We had no meetings, and didn't know anyone, BUT GOD! Since then it has been an amazing story to tell of how the Lord kept us on the road with many different meetings and suppling our needs.
The Lord led us to move our residency, home / sending church to Victory Baptist Church of Thomasville, GA in February of 2024. The loving church members there, Pastor Emiratis Gary Holland and Pastor Keith Smith have been a blessing to us and the ministry. We look forward to continuing traveling the United States preaching the gospel.
Follow Peculiar Illusions on Facebook, as we plan to journal our life in this ministry through pictures and videos. Pray for our family as we go on this journey!