Blessings, I’m Mr. Mattlin and I am thrilled to be part of the Hephatha Lutheran family. I was born in Lexington, Missouri and was raised in in a town called Odessa 10 miles away.  I grew up in a household that loved sports so I grew attached to baseball and football at a very young age (Go Royals and Go Broncos!).

        Although I went to a public school in Odessa K-­8, I was raised in the Lutheran Church. In high school I was fortunate to get a taste of Lutheran education for the first time in my life when my parents sent me to St. Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia, Missouri.  At St. Paul’s I experienced  the unique situation of dorm life starting at the age of 14. During high school I was fortunate to have teachers and coaches guide me and illustrate great examples of what it is to be a Lutheran educator.

         After high school God blessed me with the opportunity to attend Concordia University-­Nebraska in Seward, Nebraska. I was fortunate enough to be able to play baseball and football my first year. After my first year I decided to stick with baseball for a few more years until I decided to focus on my academics and becoming a Lutheran teacher. It was during my student teaching experience at Crean Lutheran, that I was able to get my first taste of Southern California. This experience gave me the confidence that teaching in a Christian atmosphere is what God has planned for me.

           Following student teaching, I graduated from Concordia in December of 2014. I’m very thankful and blessed for the excellent education I have received. Hephatha is my first Call as an educator; I am extremely excited to see what God has in store for me as a part of the Hephatha family.