Sharlene Rederburg

What an energetic, savvy, witty and fun woman! Sharlene was born in 1955 in the small town of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada.  She says "I was fortunate to live an absolutely charmed life, on a farm with one sister and four brothers." Her father gave her a colt to care for when she was only 9 years old. Her beloved dad taught her many things but the one Sharlene values the most is "If you want something, you must work for it!" This incredible Woman of Value plays hard and works hard. When she was 13, she begged her dad to get her out of the kitchen. She ran the tractor across the field and into her grandma's granary, her punishment? Back to the kitchen! "I am not domestic, and I still will not cook a dish for a potluck!" While in high school Sharlene admits she was highly competitive because she always hoped to make her parents proud. She rode horses and did barrel racing in the 4H club. She competed in figure skating, Curling, softball, swam, played ice hockey and broom ball. Sharlene appreciates the value of TEAM and all the life lessons that being on teams taught her. She sang in every variety nite at school and in her community. Around the kitchen table her parents shared stories from the bible and Sharlene attended Vacation Bible School and was baptized. As a public speaker she riveted the audience with dramatic readings of stories. As a quick learner, Sharlene skipped a grade and graduated early at the

age of 17. As a graduation gift, her brother took her to Calgary to get a job. "It was like a country bumpkin falling off a turnip truck!" While she was working as a telephone operator, she met her first husband. His constant verbal and physical abuse caused this vivacious woman to loose any positive sense of who she was. "You are fat, ugly, stupid and have no friends!" These lies destroyed her confidence. Sharlene recounts "I was not accustomed to failure! Giving up on my marriage was a huge challenge for me and I needed some wise counsel." The green light she got was contained in this truth "It takes greater courage to leave a bad situation than to stay. By staying, you know what you can expect." Sharlene heard that she would be BRAVE to LEAVE. For the next 15 years Sharlene dated a lot while working as a Financial Analyst for the Canada Post. She established and implemented systems to collect data, and did the budgeting. Sharlene loved her job, a place where she knew she was valued and respected. In 1993 a three year relationship ended and

even though she felt "he was not the one", she was devastated by the breakup. "I was dressed in my business suit and heels, walking down the street, at noon... sobbing. Not knowing exactly how, I ended up at the doors of a local church.  I had only been to this church once before to attend a Medieval Feast.  I was desperate for help and the door was locked. That is when I really began hysterically crying. There was a man kneeling in the garden looking at me. I had not passed him, seen him or stepped over him on my walk.  He just seemed to appear and asked "Do you need to get inside?" Yes I sobbed!"  Sharlene entered the church and prayed to God. After a year of church shopping she landed at Meewasian Valley United Church in Saskatoon. Sharlene got involved in women's ministries which included several canoe trips. Sharlene began specifically praying for certain character traits for a life mate. A friend gave her a CREDO for Relationships with Others. "You and I are in a relationship which is important to me, and I want it to be important to you, too. Each of us is a unique person with seperate needs. You have a right to meet your needs, and I have a right to meet mine.

Also, we have the right to our own beliefs and values. I'll respect your rights, and I want you to respect mine. When your actions interfere with my needs, I'll let you know so that you can listen and possibly change. When my actions interfere with your needs, I want you to tell me. Then I'll listen and change if I can. When either of us can't change to meet the other's needs, let's face our conflict and solve it together. I don't want to lose by letting you win, and I don't want to win by making you lose. I want us to find solutions that are acceptable to both of us, so that we both win. By following this Credo, we will like ourselves and each other better, and our relationship will grow stronger."  After reciting specific affirmations for a life mate, in 1995 she met Rob Rederburg. Sharlene shared that she had prayed that God would give her a sign if Rob was the "one" he chose for her.  Well, during a 4 hour telephone conversation Sharlene read her important CREDO to Rob and he shocked her when he told her that he had that same credo framed at home! They got married at their church in Saskatoon on Feb11, 2000.

Sharlene was single from age 25-40 and she had never had children. She put herself on an adoption list to give herself options, knowing it would take years. In the meantime she joined Big Sisters to see if she would like hanging out with kids.  On her own, she decided having kids alone was not for her. Her affirmation/prayer included that the man for her would be a man if he had kids, they would be welcome by me, but that he would not desire anymore kids. Well God answered my prayer and as a result of my marriage to Rob I have been blessed with three stepchildren and a granddaughter. Between them, Rob and Sharlene held 5 jobs which provided little more than an hour a day for one another.  In addition to their crazy busy work schedules they purchased fixer uppers to flip and bank the profits.  Feeling blessed Sharlene boldly questioned God. "Lord can You show me how I can serve You using whatever talents you gave me?" She tells "God responded with a question 'What do you have?" Sharlene thought about her talents and thought 'humor and singing' what can I do with that?"  On the same day she was reading the paper and saw an ad for a Clown School.  Sharlene attended 9 weeks of Clown College and served as a Raggedy Ann Clown at the local hospital for six years.  After 30 years working at the Canada Post, Sharlene retired in February 2011. In May 2012 this hard working couple moved into their custom- built-dream-lakefront-home in Meota. In 2018 God helped them sell all properties and in August 2018 they moved to "Paradise" in Ajijic.  Sharlene loves to sing karaoke, dance and have a good time!  Rob chose to take dance lessons to keep his wife happy and together they won a dance contest in Cuba!    They enjoy meeting new people and contributing in their community at Lakeside. They attend "The Lord's Church" in San Antonio. Sharlene brings lots of love, hope and FUN to Lakeside!

Joy Poteet

Women of Faith are entirely blessed at Lakeside whenever we get to welcome the wisdom of Joy Poteet. For all those who are just aching to know her better, hopefully this brief summary will satisfy that longing.  Joy was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1950.  Her daddy Sherman was enlisted in the Army and worked for years as a truck driver. Her momma Maggie stayed at home where she worked gleefully in the kitchen.  Joy has two sisters and one brother.  In 1953 the family moved to the sprawling, plowed down cornfields just outside of Chicago. The family comfortably settled into a little suburban town called Markham, Illinois. Joy remembers her momma with great respect for the bold drives she took into the city of Chicago to shop. ‘We also took the elevated train which we called the “L”.  It would eventually tunnel underground and we would emerge from the Chicago Subway and be in the midst of the busy Loop. Alongside my momma, I absolutely marveled at all the sky scrapers.’  With extra sweetness Joy shared ‘ I loved my Momma so very much.  I felt very close to her. Mom would always lock eyes with me as she listened attentively to all I had to say’.   Joy remembers having fun making mud pies and toasting them up on the surrounding cement slabs of her neighborhood. She also enjoyed hunting with her dad.  With a big grin Joy remembered  ‘all of us had rifles.’  Joy’s beloved momma died when she was nearly 10 years old. ‘After Momma died, because my Dad had promised his mom that he would ‘church’ his kids (just as dad was raised in church) Daddy sent me to a non-denominational community church, but he did not attend. Dad dealt with his grief in a private way, and as a 10 year old, Joy cried herself to sleep for over a year. Joy felt

as though she was invisible as she hid in a corner to read a Bible.  When Joy was just barely 18 she met a man and with high hopes, she got married.  In 1969 while she was worked for a Construction Company in Chicago, she gave birth to her one and only son Maurice.  Her husband was verbally and physically abusive and by 1973 they were divorced.  ‘As a divorced, single working mom, I was totally operating on empty. Without knowing who I was, or why I was alive, my hunger for God intensified.’  Without a mentor, Joy would read her bible and welcomed the Holy Spirit as her guide. She attended a group in Chicago called “Women A Glow” and she became a member of Homewood Full Gospel Church.  As Joy commuted to work and church she always had her ear tuned into the radio. She learned so much from Charles Stanley and Andrew Womack.  Working and attending school part-time Joy graduated in 1983 with a BA in Psychology and Liberal Arts.   In 1989 when Joy’s son was 19 years old, she elected to transfer to Florida with her job while Maurice opted to stay in Chicago.  While living in Florida, Joy began attending “Carpenter’s Home Church”.  Eventually she took a position at Pinellas School District as a teacher/counselor.  By 1991 Joy became licensed and ordained by “Feed My Sheep Ministries” and she founded “Regional Ministries International” a helps ministry for

women.  In 2001 Joy became a member of “Abundant Life Church” in Florida.  ‘God completely filled me as I went onto receive a BA in Ministry, a Masters in Theology, and a Doctorate in Divinity,  M.DN.’   In 2003 Joy met Joseph Poteet while working at the school district and they got married.  As of January 2009, Joy and her husband attend “New Life Assembly of God.”.  To summarize Joy’s testimony she says “I was once was empty, broken and living without a purpose, and NOW I am full of the substance of the Holy Spirit." Joy further explained "My Lord Jesus came in and re-parented me in Him." Joy’s hunger for God has been richly satisfied as she continues to grow ‘in Him’.  She has identified with various Women in the Bible over the years.  ‘During periods of my life I identified with Hagar,  the woman at the well, and today the Bible character of Deborah resonates. As I studied, I would curl up on the floor around an easy chair and imagine I was sitting at the feet of Jesus.’ When I asked Joy what would be her life Scripture she replied ‘there are so many, but Romans 5:1-9 comes to mind.’ “Therefore, since we have been justified through

faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b]boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”  Today Joy Poteet works as the Chaplain at the Fontaine Gills Family YMCA in Lakeland, Florida. After our interview, the lyrics of a song by Lauren Daigle seemed to harmonize with Joy's repeated testimony. "I once was empty...and now I am filled up." Fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know 
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, You say that I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe 
What You say of me 
I believe
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity."  joy.poteet@ymcawef.org

Frances Evans Bolanos

Frances and her happy husband Luis

Frances grew up as the middle child in a small coalmine village of Windsor Heights located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Frances was inspired to record her memoirs by the people she shared life with.  Frances reminicised "I was my Father's sidekick and right-hand man. Dad was a steel mill worker who gave me a lot of attention which made me, the middle child, feel like I fit in." Her memoirs indicate that her mother Evelyn enjoyed life as a stay-at-home mom.  Frances had an older sister named Sharon Ann, and a younger brother named Ralph. Frances remembers planting, hoeing, harvesting and canning vegetables. "Then there was butchering which included cows, pigs and chickens. I could successfully work on a vehicle, skin wild game, build a dog house, cut grass, catch night crawlers, fish and hang shingles on the side of the house." Growing up Frances is quick to confess that she was shy. "When I was 12 years old I responded to an alter call and accepted Jesus as my Savior, however, I elected not to get baptized at that time because I did not fully understand what it would mean."  In her self-description "I remember having issues with being stubborn. Announcing that I would rather be killed than give in to the demands of others!" Drawn to nature and animals, Frances spent a lot of time playing outdoors with a plethora of friends. "I guess I could be considered a Tomboy, but one that embraced her natural beauty!" Frances did not particularly like school, except for when she got to make holiday crafts. "During my Jr High days I

attempted to come out of my shell by trying out for the cheerleading squad and track team." Without experience Frances gave it her best shot! "I knew that in the future, challenging myself and living up to the expectations I placed on myself was more important than what others thought of me.  I started to work on becoming a better person and gained the knowledge of what it means to be true to ones' self."   Fast forward to high school graduation. "Graduation for me was a feeling of freedom.  I detested dealing with the structure of the academic world." Wisely Frances chose to attend The School of Technology in Pittsburg. "Pittsburg held many first time experiences." Frances made the decision to begin attending the 'Church of God' while she lived in Pittsburg. At the age of 19, Frances returned home to West Virginia and took a job as a keypunch operator.  "My father had me under a microscope and I attributed this to my mother's absence from our home. The stress of my father's scrutiny was hard to bear." Frances met her first husband, Joe Langford at a dance club. Joe had been married and divorced and he had three daughters named Michelle, Cynthia and Sherry. After a time of dating, on Christmas Eve 1971, Frances married Joe and moved to Bellaire, Ohio.  Their son Joseph Jr was born in 1972.  At the age of 22 Frances had become a wife and mother of four. "Bonding with the girls was a bit of a challenge. Battling with personalities, fear and insecurities did not stop us from becoming a family." After one particularly hard cold winter, the family moved back to West Virginia. Frances was able to stay home with the kids while Joe worked. "Hindsight is 20 20, yet the vision I used to navigate through my marriage to Joe was blurred at best." Frances

searched her heart and decided she cared about Joe, but she did not love him.  Joe had a drug addiction with fits of anger.  Various drug rehab options were tried, and in the end Joe became less dependent on drugs and it was time for a new baby. Clinton Abraham was born on May 8, 1980. "Living with Joe was one bad ride after another." Frances filed for a divorce. Finally free from Joe, Frances sampled all the world had to offer. Through the bar scene she met a man named Larry. He seemed to have a good heart along with some bad habits. Frances got married to her 2nd husband Larry in April 1983.   "While married to Larry their daughter Ashley was born. "Larry was not happy as a family man.  He started to complain and his verbal and physical abuse towards my son Clint worsened.  I was emotionally drained and my family was in ruin. Larry had gotten me to believe that I was a worthless human being." Frances went back to church and her faith was reignited. On October 22, 2002 Frances surrendered her ways and was baptized.  God was preparing Frances for what He knew was coming. In January 2003 Frances had filed for a divorce after 20  tumultuous years of marriage to Larry. "As I was sitting in church with my mother and my daughter Ashley, it became essential that I keep my daughter safe. After a brush with the law, one afternoon I called my daughter and asked her to come home. I did not know that this phone conversation would be the last I would ever have.  The last words Ashley said to me were "I love you momma!" Within an hour, on January 21, 2003 Frances got the call that no mother is prepared for. "You daughter was killed in a car accident."  Her dad attended the funeral and Larry said "Well there is nothing more between us so we may as well finalize our divorce." Shortly after the funeral God sent three timely messages of comfort from a few of Ashley's friends.

"God always sends us what we need, when we need it. One hard day I went outside and directly over my house was a double rainbow with a glowing gold ball at one end. It was a sign from God for me and I felt a comfort in my spirit that my daughter was now in heaven."  Frances took time to grieve and in 2005 she purchased a timeshare with her cousin Velma in Puerto Vallarta. "I was not interested in dating or having a relationship and I had turned off my ability to recognize subtle flirtation."  It was while touring PV that Frances met her current husband Luis.  After a few adventures Frances and Luis got married in West Virginia at the West Liberty Christian Church on July 18, 2012.  Frances got busy unloading 40 years of accumulations  to move to Guadalajara.  The newlyweds moved a few times within Jalisco before they landed at Lakeside. In  April of 2016 the eldest step-daughter of Frances, Michele.... called to inform that she had cancer. Michele insisted that she was fine and that she did not want visitors while she was taking chemo. On June 29, 2016 Michele died with her two sons Zachery and Shane nearby. "We all need to be ready to spend eternity in heaven or hell. God has given me 'words of knowledge' or a premonition about 'being ready' on several different occasions.  We are all here for a limited time, so prepare your children and your loved ones by talking to them about Jesus, now." Matthew 24:4 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." Today Frances lives without regret as a Woman of Faith who trusts in God, in His ways, and in His timing.