Faces at Lord of Life

Rob Siessenbuettel and Veronica Urtiaga

I would like to introduce you to Rob and Veronica. Rob and Veronica are taking part in Lord of Life’s new member class at 11am on Sunday mornings and look forward to becoming members of Lord of Life in the very near future.

Rob and Veronica are from St. Charles and both work for At&t where they met a few years back and began dating. Veronica is responsible for updating 911 records. She makes sure that when you call 911 your call is directed to the appropriate municipality. Rob is a technician for the company. When asked about what he does he says, “I am the guy at the top of the pole on the 10 degree day with a sorry look on his face.” When your phone service is down, Rob is the guy they call.

When Rob and Veronica first met, Veronica did programming for the technicians. At the time she was preparing for some competency tests which tested her technical knowledge. Rob helped her prepare and with this help, she was able to pass the tests.

Rob has been attending Lord of Life for a number of years. He comes from a Lutheran background, having been a member and attended a number of Lutheran Churches in the Chicago area. When Rob moved to this area his sister and brother-in-law, who were members of St. Mark’s in St. Charles (Lord of Life’s mother church), suggested he try Lord of Life.

Rob appreciates the contemporary nature of the worship of Lord of Life and the way that the Word of God is taught by Lord of Life’s Pastors. Rob says, “The message always seems to be right on. I didn’t see them following me around last week, but Pastor Phil and Pastor Barry always seem to know what is going on in my life. I need to make a note to myself to look over my shoulder next week, to make sure they are not following me.”

Veronica comes to Lord of Life having been invited to attend by Rob. Veronica says, “I did not grow up in church and did not know anything about church. I think I believed in God, but I really didn’t know who God was.” That has changed since coming to Lord of Life.

Veronica was baptized last summer in response to one of Pastor Phil’s messages. About her baptism she says, “being baptized was something so special, especially coming from a background of not knowing God. I am looking forward to confirming my new found faith and receiving communion.”

When asked about how they have seen God at work in their lives, Rob says, “God is always there. I once fell twelve feet off a telephone pole. Walked away without a scratch. God’s hand protected me. Everything I have needed God has taken care of. He just seems to have put everything in place. He has prepared me every step of the way for every situation.”

Both Rob and Veronica are seeking to discover God’s will for their lives. Their prayer is that the Lord would lead them and guide them. Veronica says, “I am learning there is a plan and it may take awhile to discover what it is.” We thank the Lord that he has brought them to our church and that we can walk together on this journey.

Rob has one son Nathan who attends Lord of Life’s Junior High Morph on Wednesday nights. Veronica has two daughters, Natalia, who lives and attends college in Chicago. Her other daughter, Elisa, lives in Baltimore and also attends college there.

Outside of work and church, Veronica enjoys bicycling and exercise, while Rob is a model radio controlled airplane enthusiast. Rob bought his son Nathan a plane and it was not long before he was hooked himself. He says, “it has been a fun thing to do together with my son and has also given me the opportunity to meet other Christians.” He recently discovered an organization called the Fellowship of Christian Modelers which he hopes to get involved with.

Both Rob and Veronica like to travel. When asked about their most interesting trips, Veronica looks back to a trip to Spain. Veronica is bilingual and speaks Spanish. This ability has come in handy for her in a number of different ways in a number of different situations.

Rob is an outdoors type person. His favorite trips have been fishing and wilderness trips where he can kick back and enjoy God’s creation.

We are blessed to have Rob and Veronica at Lord of Life. If you see them around make sure to take the time to introduce yourself and share the love of Jesus.