Welcome to our Family!

This article is an effort to help everyone get to know a little better two of the newest members of our church, Charles and Carol O’Rourke. The following is the questions in which I asked them and their response.

1) How long have you lived in Williamston, NC? 2 ½ years

2) How and when did you and your spouse meet? Oct 12th, 1962 at Woolworths store (Newport News, Va) lunch counter.

3) How long have you been married? 45 yrs. (April 10th ,2010). We were high school sweethearts.

4) What do/did you do in your career(s)? Carol: childcare, retail sales & Real Estate Charles: IT (Information Technology/Info Processing/Data Processing/Unit Record) & Real Estate

5) Do you have any children? Grandchildren? Yes, we have 2 sons: Chuck (34) & Ryan (31), and 3 grandchildren: Jacob (11), Brandon (3), Alyssa (9)

6) Where have you lived besides Williamston? Newport News/Hampton, Chesapeake, Fairfax County (Va), Shallotte (NC), Va. Beach.

7) When and how did you come to know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Carol: I was baptized at age 10; Charles: And I was baptized at age 9. For both of us, our coming to know the Lord has definitely been a journey that continues.

8) What brought you to West End Baptist Church? Our son bought house in neighborhood in June 2002), and then shortly later moved away. We came down to live July 2007. The church was within walking distance, and we also met some people while walking in the neighborhood. We decided to join Jan 24th, 2010.

9) How long had you been visiting before you joined? We visited off and on for over two years. During that time we attended First Baptist of Norfolk and other churches in the Williamston area.

10) What activities do you enjoy doing as a family? We enjoy visits by sons & grandchildren, eating out, seeing new places & things, meeting people, learning about this area, vacations, etc.

11) What are some of your individual hobbies? Carol: watching football & basketball; Charles: following events/issues that affect current/future generations, and staying up with the Internet’s potential as a tool, which I believe is one of the most powerful/disruptive technologies in my lifetime.

12) Do you like to read; do you have any favorite books or authors? Carol: Nicholas Sparks & Richard Evans. Charles: several mgt./leadership, Marilyn vos Savant’s Q&A articles. Both: Dr. Bob Reccord (our former pastor First Baptist of Norfolk (Va) & former Pres. of the North American Mission Board.

13) Do you like sports, what is your favorite team? Carol: football Florida State & Jacksonville (Pro). Charles: basketball… NCAA March Madness (esp. Duke & Louisville per coaches)

14) Do you have any pets? Yes, one cat “Jake” (Jackie).

15) Do you have a favorite Scripture verse or book of the Bible? Yes, 1 Cor.13:4-8, 13. (NIV): Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13