A new pastor has taken up his post at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Gorleston.

The church has been waiting for pastor Mark Borrett and his wife Norma to arrive since pastor Rio Espulgar and his family were transferred to Weston-super-Mare at the end of September.

The couple had lived in the American state of California for 22 years.

They originally came from Wales and had met each other in Cardiff at Rumney Technical College (Coleg Glan Hafryn), as it was then called, in 1983 where they helped to organize the Christian Union.

While his partner attended Sheffield University, Mr Borrett had been assigned to short-term church work in Bradford until he studied computer science at Huddersfield Polytechnic.

They were then married in Cardiff in August 1990.

They settled in Bristol where Mr Borrett was employed by Hewlett Packard and his wife entered her teaching career.

While there, their daughter was born, and Mr Borrett was invited by Hewlett Packard to occupy a post as project manager in California in 1995.

They lived in northern California for 22 years and it was there where their son was born.

During that time, they were very active in the church, holding various leadership roles, including Mr Borrett becoming a lay-pastor. He eventually completed his master’s degree in Pastoral Studies at Andrews University in Michigan.

He received the call into full-time ministry and in 2017 accepted a call to return to the UK as minister of the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft area churches from the middle of this month.

Asked what their vision was for the areas, he said: “To continue the mission of being an influence for good and for harmony.

“A church that is relevant and involved in the life of the community.

“A Christ-centred church with a no-strings-attached approach, where everyone - young and old - can find a warm welcome, friends, and the support that people so often need at different times in life.”

They were welcomed at the church on Saturday, with the church’s communications secretary Michael Walker saying they received a warm and rapturous welcome and everyone felt truly blessed by their ministry.