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School of Urban Ministry |
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Bloom Where You’re Planted!
Blooming Where You’re Planted Stacey Jones lives in Edwards, Colorado, a small community west of the acclaimed tourist town of Vail Colorado. She is a managing partner of her parents business, the Wildflower Garden Center Stacey, who originally came to Minneapolis from Seattle seven years ago, spent five years in Minneapolis before leaving to provide a “stable and permanent employee base for the business her father started”. She considers herself to be a “transplant from Seattle to Minneapolis”. One might say she finds herself ’rooted’ in the mountains. What were the reasons Stacey became a student of SUM? Stacey felt she was not being challenged enough and chanced to see an advertisement at her local congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church of Minnehaha Falls. She signed up as a student of SUM in the fall of 2002. Although she was not officially settled down, Stacey considered her self someone who was ‘always looking for an opportunity’. One of the reasons she came to the Minneapolis area from Seattle was her interest in the performing arts, especially the theatre. Stacey said that ‘being a part of a theatrical work helps one learn to be comfortable in new roles’. Stacey eagerly accepted the cultural challenges afforded by Pastor Wells at SUM. She found herself writing down voluminous cultural notes from Pastor Wells especially those pertaining to the Hispanic culture in Minneapolis What Stacey learned at SUM was soon to have real-life application when she returned to Colorado. Stacey’s education is in operations, training and marketing. This background enabled her to quickly establish herself in a challenging job position of empowering responsibility. Her SUM training gave her the opportunity to put into practice what she learned at SUM. The work force in and around Edwards is seasonal and not very reliable, due in part to its proximity to the tourist town of Stacey found the Edwards area to have grown in size and culture, including a growing number of Hispanics, ~40%, many who are undocumented. The schools in that area have a wide range of student demographics, from families who have much to families who have little. The demographics in Edwards are similar to what one experiences in large cities such as Minneapolis . Although the pay rate is better in Edwards, living costs are also higher. Many people commute from the rural areas to Edwards. Some of her employees live in trailer homes, where several people often share one small room. Stacey’s desire to get to a large city, like Minneapolis, afforded her the opportunity to see different cultures. After attending SUM, she could relate to the different cultural groups in her small town. She says she is now much more aware of her surroundings and those people who live and work there. After Stacey established herself in a new town and a permanent job, she felt she had time to travel. Last year she took a trip to Peru , a trip that tested and verified many of the concepts and lessons that were learned in the SUM classes and field trips.>When she arrived in Peru , she experienced much smaller kitchens, few types of beds (that were nonetheless uncomfortable), and many street markets that had little variety and selection. The people spoke predominately Spanish, but shared with her cultures and traditions far different than those in the United States . Stacey commented that many of the well-off people from her small town of Edwards are not usually willing to change their settings, such as having a less comfortable to sleep in, preparing food in a smaller kitchen or getting different food from different places. It is a situation that they often would rather not have to experience. This is unfortunate, she said, as they are missing out on a great deal of lessons and experiences that only other cultures can teach. Stacey’s family business employs people of Hispanic descent. Almost half of her employees speak English as a second language (Spanish being their first language), and the other half speak no English at all. Learning to communicate with those who speak no English is a challenge. For example, how should one introduce oneself to a person who comes from another culture? How does one shake hands or look someone in the eye without causing the other person to feel uncomfortable. The ‘cultural nuances’ taught by SUM gave her insights on what is appropriate in a dominantly speaking Spanish culture. Stacey’s interest in the theatre has afforded her much experience in learning different cultures and roles, which allowed her more versatility. But being aware of the ‘cultural nuances’ of her employees is a direct result of her time at SUM. Stacey’s ‘transplant’ from Seattle to Minneapolis to Edwards has allowed her ‘to grow’ where God has planted her. Her interest in people and other cultures, especially in interpersonal communications with her Hispanic employees, has given Stacey the opportunity to truly “bloom where she is planted”- right in her own multi-cultural garden center!
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