Shareholders

Tonight, instead of our usual Staff Meeting, we were joined by the Lost Valley Ranch shareholders. They are lovely people, who believe in and support (financially, and through prayers) the mission we all work towards... to love each other and our guests so well, that they see God's love through us.

Each crew had 10 minutes to share how the spring has been so far... and my crew leader, Heidi, made each of the waitrii share for 2 minutes. Ugh. My stomach was in knots all through dinner worrying about what to say.

In the end, I shared about how God has challenged the way I view myself. I've always thought of myself as pretty Americanized, having lived here most of my life, but after coming to the ranch, I can see how I think and react differently than other people around me. I thought, at first, it was because most of the staff are home-schooled or had a private school education... but it goes beyond that to culture as well. Many people are from the south or mid-west... they don't eat fish (something I don't understand), but hunt deer and shoot at rabbits... and own guns, as in... they have them in their car... right now. Er? So many cultural/regional/family differences! It's so much fun to compare experiences and probe each others' minds, and I've been so challenged seeing how I operate in a different context. I guess it's the "college experience" I never had, having gone to university only 30 miles away from home with a 40% Asian population.

Truly, I can say that I've been blessed, that God has really challenged me, and I will miss this place and the people that have changed my life. I look forward to serving the shareholders this weekend, and show them how much I appreciate all the good they are doing by supporting this ranch. Ooooo-aaah!