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God Brought Us Together
Living Out Our Hymn of Praise
By Pamela Dykes
Many years ago, at Travis Air Force Base, God arranged the meeting
between Hank and Sandy Mauer.
"God definitely put us together," Sandy said as she fondly reflected upon their tender beginnings.
Fresh out of nursing school, Sandy decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother (an army nurse) and join the Air Force. Feeling it was time to venture out of Ohio, Sandy told her recruiter that she would like to be stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. The recruiter laughed and said "Oh you'll never get stationed there, I'm sure you will get sent some where else." What the recruiter didn't know was that God had something else in mind because Travis Air Force Base is exactly where Sandy ended up.
In the meantime, Hank had just completed pilot training and was supposed to report to Norton Air Force Base in Southern California when God reassigned him to Travis Air Force Base. When Hank arrived, the Chaplin asked Sandy to show him around the base. This union has blossomed into a wonderful relationship. Hank and Sandy have now been married for 25 years and they are the proud parents of two handsome sons: Allen, 23, a senior at the University of Colorado, and Nathan, 20, a sophomore at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama.
The couple moved to Memphis in 1998 when Hank retired from the Air Force after 21 years of service, and he took a job as a Federal Express pilot. They first became familiar with Central Church through Sandy's involvement with the women's Bible study. During this time, Hank was the minister of music at a small Baptist church in Oakland, Tennessee, which was almost an hour away from their home. Although they enjoyed the church and had met many wonderful people, they believed the time had come for them to find a church that was a little closer to their home. Although Sandy liked the Bible study she attended at Central, they initially shied away from joining the church because at that time they believed "large churches were not personal enough." In spite of their feelings, God lead them to Central. One weekend in 2000, Hank was asked to help out with praise and worship during the Kentucky Lake Retreat. During the retreat they met many nice people who made them feel at home. After this experience, they started to attend Central Church regularly and eventually decided to join.
Hank and Sandy are very excited about the changes that are happening at Central and they will continue to use their gifts, talents and experiences in the church. Sandy is active in the Salt Shakers ministry, women's Bible study and she sings in the choir. Hank will continue sharing his passion for music with the congregation as one of the church's worship leaders. Hank is a self-trained musician of 30 years and has more than 12 years of choir directing experience. He can be seen faithfully sharing his gift on Wednesdays and Sundays singing, playing his guitar or directing the choir.
Pamela Dykes works with the Communications Ministry and has been a member of Central Church for 3 months. She is married to Wesley Dykes and has three children Braelen (5), Brysen (3) and Belicia (11mos.).
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