Meet Your New Neighbors

Taylor and Eustace Laurie arrived in Tehachapi in September from Alexandria, Va. to begin work in their new clerical positions; Eustace as the new pastor of Tehachapi's Seventh Day Adventist Church and Taylor as Director of Spiritual Care and Volunteer Services for Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley. They had both been pastoring their own church in the Washington, D.C. area. However, they realized that their future kids might have to go to two different churches so they began to search for a place where they could both continue their work and not create conflict. Besides, Eustace said that Washington traffic reminded him of a hamster wheel.

Eustace said that he contacted the General Conference of the Church to find out about openings anywhere in Southern California where he grew up. Tehachapi was it. He had never heard of Tehachapi but when he discovered that Adventist Health was looking for a chaplain for their new hospital, it seemed a perfect match for the two pastors. They flew out to California for interviews. Taylor said that she went through a series of eight or nine interviews with Adventist Health while Eustace went through one long interview but they were both hired.

Eustace was born in New Jersey but his family moved to the Los Angeles area of California when he was two years old. He has one younger sister. After high school he went to college at Oakwood University, a Seventh Day Adventist school in Huntsville, Ala. "The tech capital of the South," said Eustace. After returning to California, he became a pastor in Altadena.

Taylor was raised in Seattle, Wash. and has an older brother. She did her undergraduate work at the Adventist La Sierra University in Riverside. She later earned her MA in Clinical Theology at Loma Linda University and her Master of Divinity at the seminary at Andrews University in Michigan. She met Eustace in Ontario, Calif. because of a court appearance where he was to be a character reference for one of his parishioners who had a good friend who was a member of her church and thought they should meet since they both liked basketball. Eustace said that neither of them wanted to marry another pastor and he had always wanted to do the "hermit thing" which didn't include a wife. But they began dating and "it was a random shot that worked" he said.

In his free time Eustace says that he still loves sports and outdoor activities. He is also into video games and cars. Taylor said that she likes reading, cooking and baking, gardening and, of course, shopping.

Welcome to Tehachapi, Taylor and Eustace. We are very fortunate to have you both here.

Mabel Emadian and Uriel Guzman moved to Bear Valley Springs from Sedona, Ariz. in June of this year. They had moved to be closer to Mabel's father and aunt who were already living there.

Mable was born in Mission Viejo in Orange County and she is an only child. Mabel and her mom moved to Sedona when she was 16. While there she said that she worked as a nanny. Now in Tehachapi she is going to college and has plans to go into property management. She loves to go fishing as does Uriel.

Uriel is also originally from California. He was born in San Diego but moved to Sedona when he was in the fifth grade. He has one brother and one sister. He and Mabel met in high school. Now in Tehachapi Uriel has started a much-needed stable services business. Mabel's dad grew up in Tehachapi and was the manager of the Bear Valley Springs Equestrian Center many years ago. He is now advising Uriel with his new business.

Mabel loves animals. She came here with her Lab mix Nala, a Chihuahua named Chiquito and a Siamese cat named Momo. She is a natural caretaker and it didn't take long for her to find her niche as a foster mom for two litters of kittens that were about to be abandoned. She said that she contacted STOP (Save Tehachapi's Orphaned Pets) and they have been helping her get all of them ready for adoption.

You are definitely in the right place to be a pet rescuer, Mabel. Welcome to you and Uriel.

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.