TESTIMONIES
by Linda (Hintergardt) Soubirous
In August of 1989, my husband, Kent Alan Hintergardt, graduated from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Academy. He was so excited. Being a police officer was something Kent had dreamed of since he was a little boy. His first assignment was to the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. After two years there, Kent decided to laterally transfer to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. This enabled him to work much closer to home. Kent's first assignment was to the Elsinore Station and later to the City of Temecula, a contract city.
On the early morning of May 9, 1993, Mother's Day, our oldest daughter, Marissa, awakened me. She started giggling and laughing for no apparent reason. It was odd, as she had never done anything like that before. I went into her room to check on her, and soon she fell back asleep. Marissa was 16 months old at the time, and I was two months pregnant with our second daughter, Kena.
About two hours later, I heard a knock at my door. I looked out my window and realized there were four people from the Sheriff's Department standing on my porch. When I opened the door, I immediately knew they were there to tell me something bad had happened to Kent. They told me that Kent had been shot and killed about two hour earlier. They explained he had been sent to a domestic disturbance call and while waiting in the parking lot for his back up, the suspect appeared with his 12 year old son and shot Kent in the head. Unknown to Kent or the man's son, the suspect had just strangled and killed his girlfriend in her apartment, leaving behind her 8 year old daughter.
At the time they informed me of Kent's death, the suspect was still on the loose and there was a massive search underway for him. After dropping off his son at a freeway Call Box, the suspect parked his vehicle in a residential area and about six hours later committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. His suicide note indicated he was upset with his former employer and the direction his life was headed.
As I dealt with Kent's death, everything going on around me seemed so unreal to me. I had so many emotions. One thing that really hurt was how much I knew Kent loved Marissa. She was too young to know just how much Kent loved her and how he felt about her. The other thing was the realization that Kent would never see the child I was carrying. We were all so cheated. I wondered why God hadn't protected and spared him. A short time after Kent was killed, I received a number of guardian angel pins, as gifts, to wear. I would look at these pins and wonder what Kent's guardian angel was doing when Kent was killed.
The one and only thing I could hang onto through all of this was the decision Kent and I made just three months before his death. We had gone forward during an altar call at a Harvest Christian Fellowship service and had accepted Jesus Christ in our hearts. Because of this, I knew where Kent was. He was definitely with the Lord. And, as time went on, I began to see and understand all of the awesome changes God had accomplished in our lives prior to Kent's death. God knew this was going to happen and gave Kent a chance to accept God's promise of everlasting life before his death.
Kent had grown up in a home where there was little mention of God and no emphasis on going to church. The idea of attending any church was very foreign to Kent. But, thankfully, God sent certain people into our lives to direct us to Him. Kent's brother, Mark, had become a Christian about three years earlier and started sharing some things with us about his relationship with Jesus Christ. Kent would often laugh at Mark and make joking remarks to him about Mark's conversion.
Not long after this, God sent another man into our lives. His name was Jake. Jake was a contractor, who just happened to be in the Harvest Praise Band. We had hired him to build our patio. As Jake began working on our patio cover, he and Kent began to talk and soon Jake turned the conversation to the words of the Bible. As time went on, Jake began sharing his love of Jesus Christ with us. Kent spent many hours listening and talking to Jake.
Through all of this, we became interested in attending a church as I was pregnant with Marissa, and we wanted our child to someday go to Bible study. About the same time, Kent's brother and Jake asked us if we would go with them to the Harvest Crusade. That was the summer of 1991. We went, and really liked what we heard. As we sat there listening to the words that were spoken, I could tell that Kent was very nervous and uncomfortable just being there. He wasn't used to being in a church environment. We didn't accept Jesus Christ that night, but the words spoken that night caused Kent to begin asking Mark and Jake many questions about what he had heard at the crusade.
The following summer, we attended the Harvest Crusade a second time. This time, I could see that Kent felt a bit more comfortable, but again, we didn't go forward and accept Christ. Soon after the crusade, we felt the need to find a church. It was hard scheduling the time to go to church, as I was a nurse and we were working opposing shifts in order to care for our daughter.
We visited a few churches before finding out that Harvest Christian Fellowship was in Riverside. We were both really excited that we lived close enough to attend that church, as we had enjoyed the Harvest Crusades so much. We started attending regularly and really loved hearing the messages and learning about Jesus Christ and his plan for us. We could really feel the Holy Spirit's presence working at these services. We both discussed going forward, but at the time, Harvest rarely had altar calls during the morning services we attended.
At the end of an early morning church service one Sunday in February of 1993, Pastor Greg gave an altar call. As the first call was given, I stood up and walked down by myself. I didn't ask Kent to go with me, as I wanted him to make this important decision on his own. As I stood with a group of others near the front of the church, Pastor Greg announced that by the end of the song, we would begin praying, but if anyone else wanted to come forward, they should "do it now." I kept hoping and praying Kent would come forward, but he didn't. Then, all of the sudden, the song stopped and everyone began clapping. I suddenly felt Kent come up from behind me and wrap his arms around me. I believe he was the last person to go forward that morning.
For the next three months, Kent started reading the Bible and began changing his life so it would be pleasing to the Lord. He wanted to be the best husband and father he could possibly be. In fact, the morning Kent was killed, the New Believer's Handbook was found attached to his report box and clipped open to the last page. Kent had been reading the book of John and answering the Bible study questions. What an awesome book to be reading at the last few moments of your life!
I will never understand why God allowed this tragedy to happen, but I know that God has a wonderful plan for us. He is in full control of our lives. I also know that God uses these tragedies to bring people to Him. I have seen family, friends, co-workers, and even people Kent didn't know commit their lives to Christ because of all this. It brings me great comfort knowing that through God's presence, and the message of His Son, Jesus Christ, God had brought meaning and hope into Kent's short life. Romans 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
I thank God everyday for all of the wonderful gifts He has given to me and to Kent. My hope is that our girls, Marissa and Kena, will know the Lord and will become women of God. That they will someday have the privilege of spending eternity with Jesus Christ and also getting to see and know the dad who was taken from them at such a young age.
Whenever Marissa and Kena get a balloon at a restaurant or store, they always send it up to heaven to their daddy Kent. They tell me that someday when they go to Heaven, their daddy will be waiting for them with a huge bouquet of balloons. The very balloons they sent to him with love.
God is truly awesome! Let him run your life. And please, don't wait, THERE MAY NOT BE ANOTHER DAY for you to decide.
God bless,
Linda (Hintergardt) Soubirous
Surviving Spouse of Deputy Kent Alan Hintergardt,
Riverside County Sheriff's Department
Killed in the Line of Duty, May 9 th , 1993
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For more information,
call (951) 687-6902
Attention Juanita
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