Hi, I'm Serge

I'm a lucky husband and father of 4. I'm the Executive Director at a Skilled Nursing and Rehab Facility. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a father of 4 wonderful kids. I've been married to my beautiful wife for 18 years. I love spending time with my family. I drag them all over the place treasure hunting for geocaches and find ourselves in lots of fun places we never would have gone if we weren't out taking advantage of this free multimillion dollar satellite system looking for plastic buckets filled with happy meal toys and other treasures! I enjoy taking family vacations, hiking, camping, coaching baseball, playing racquetball and getting on the golf course when I can find a little extra time. I'm an Administrator of a Skilled Nursing and Rehab facilit but mostly I'm just a guy trying to live the dream every day as best I can.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born a Mormon but had to discover for myself that what I had been taught as a child was really true. I choose to be a member of this church because it feels right to me.
I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and my family and that he wants me to be happy. I know that He loves me because I feel it inside.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has given me a purpose, a reason for living. It gives me peace in this world of noise, chaos and distractions. It gives me focus and constantly points me in the right direction in my life.
Most of all, I know that God has a plan for me. I know that I lived with Heavenly Father before I came here. I know that He has a purpose for me here on earth. I know that if I live the best that I can while I'm here on earth, I can live with my sweetheart, my family and Heavenly Father forever.
I know that the Book of Mormon is a record of scripture written by ancient prophets on the American Continents and is another testament of Jesus Christ because I prayed about it and asked Heavenly Father if it was true and the Holy Spirit testified to me that it is true.

How I live my faith

In our local church I have worked with the Young Men in the Scouting program for the past 10 years. The Boy Scouts of America program acts as the activity arm to our Young Men's program.
I love working with the youth because I get the chance to really make a difference in the development of these young men as they grow and mature into future fathers, husbands and leaders.
There are certain life lessons that can be best learned around a campfire or hiking in the back country. I've had a chance to go with young men and their fathers on high adventure trips all over the country. We've taken 50 miler hikes through Zion National Park, week long kayaking and rafting white water trips, fishing for trophy trout and so much more. Teaching young men camping, wilderness survival and organizing skills is a great way to teach them life lessons that I hope will stay with them for life...or at least for a little while!
But, at the center of my life is my belief that God loves me and has a plan for me. Sometimes I struggle when I try to force myself down one path or another that I think is the right one. When things don't go the way I planned, sometimes I have to sit back and ask myself, "where does God want me to go?" Then I remember that I need to let go and trust that God will help me. He always has.
I realize that I still have to do the work, but if I include God in everything I do in my daily life, I always end up in a good place. And most of the time, it's a better place than where I thought I wanted to end up.
I try to teach my family and my Scouts that to have success in life is to put God first. When I read my scriptures and make sure that I go to God in prayer, every day, good things always happen. Even during the scary times.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.

What are Mormon church services like? Are visitors allowed at church meetings? Can I attend church?

Julianne! answered...

Mormon church services are dignified and simple. A sacrament meeting will be conducted by a regular guy wearing a regular business suit. The organ will be played by a regular member of the congregation who is not paid for his or her service. The singing will be led by a regular member of the congretaion. The prayers will be given by regular folks. The sacrament will be blessed and passed by regular folks, usually teenage boys. The talks will be given by members of the congregation, often teenagers. Special music might be presented by regular folks, or the ward choir. Members of the ward choir are just regular members of the congregation who like to sing, and are not paid for their service. Looking around the congregation, you will most likely see some singles but also families including little children and babies. Babies tend to be fussy so the room will not be totally silent. We try to maintain reverence, but it's a learning process. The kids are not perfectly reverent, and neither are the rest of us. People are dressed in regular clothes, usually conservative and modest. Men and boys usually wear dress shirts and ties. Women and girls usually wear dresses or skirts.

You are welcome to come and attend any of our worship services. You will not be asked to stand and sit, stand and sit, stand and sit. No one will pass a collection plate or ask you for money. You come in and sit and relax. And when you come, please sit by me!