Meet Your New Neighbors

Tehachapi Valley United Methodist Church has a new pastor. Reverend Robin Wells began her new assignment on July 1 and the itinerant pastor said that this is her ninth move in ten years. Her prior assignment was Outreach Chaplain at Church of the Wayfarer in Pacific Grove, California, near Monterey. While on the coast she was also Staff Chaplain at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She said that was where she first heard of Tehachapi, when one of her coworkers was from here.

Robin grew up in San Diego and her mother still lives there. She has a brother who now lives in Arizona. She graduated from Fresno State and spent seven or eight years teaching high school English in Visalia and a year at Soledad High School in the Salinas Valley. She said that she actually had her spiritual calling at the age of 18 and talked to her pastor about it but she didn’t pursue it since “women weren’t pastors”. She finally realized her dream in 2012 when she graduated from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio and completed her internship there.

Reverend Wells returned to California. Among her varied assignments have been Chaplain for Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego and Spiritual and Bereavement Counselor for Silverado Hospice working with patients with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. She discovered that she has what she feels is a real gift for healing. She is looking forward to continuing to use this gift here in Tehachapi.

Robin has a son, Eric, who grew up in Visalia and who now lives in Chinatown in San Francisco. He is a Captain with San Francisco city parks and is in charge of the magnificent gardens in such locations as Golden Gate Park. Her constant companion is her rescue Chihuahua, Vinnie. The 11 year old pooch has a space in her office and loves it when she has visitors.

Hiking and reading are some of her favorite pastimes. She also likes backgammon and paddle boarding. She added that the paddle board is one of the things she will miss the most about living away from the ocean.

She is delighted with her new town and has opened her church as a cooling center during these last hot summer days. Tehachapi is delighted to welcome Reverend Robin Wells.

Tehachapi is a long way from Crescent City, but Vanessa Villanueva said that she is adjusting well. She moved here last fall with her husband Joshua and their one year old son, Jaiden RiNaye. Although it was her husband’s work that brought them here, it didn’t take long for Vanessa, an accomplished hair stylist, to find a niche at HiLightz Salon.

They had been in Crescent City for about 18 months and lived only two blocks from the ocean but when Jaiden arrived, Vanessa wanted to be closer to her family in the Los Angeles area. She was born in Pasadena but was raised in Fontana where her family still lives. She is the oldest of four and has three younger brothers. She told me that her oldest brother is a makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics and the other two are still in school. Her father commutes daily to Beverly Hills. Vanessa said that he loves the commute especially since he has a company car. He is a supervisor with Mitsubishi Elevators and is assigned to Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She is delighted to now be within a short drive of her family.

Vanessa graduated from beauty school in 2009. She loves working with color and it has become her specialty along with techniques like ombre and bayalage (hair color shading and blending). Of course, she does great cuts as well. She said that she met her husband on an online dating website and is a testament to the fact that they can work.

When she is not at work, Vanessa is chasing after Jaiden who is the fastest crawler I have ever seen. Usually following at his heels is Zoey Raye the family Yorkie and , yes, even the dog has to have a middle name. She said she loves doing hair and considers it a hobby as well as a profession. Taking long walks and playing with Jaiden are her other favorite things to do.

Welcome Vanessa, Joshua, Jaiden RiNaye and Zoey Raye.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call (661) 822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.