Alison Myers moved a lot as a kid. In many ways, she felt like her personality was a liability -- “I was too talkative, too weird, too much,” she said. Alison didn’t feel as if she fit in, but when she was at New Life Ranch, it was as if everything that was a liability everywhere else became an asset. She felt as if New Life Ranch was a place she could belong...and if she could belong here, then she knew she could belong in Jesus’ Kingdom.
Alison said, “Belonging has a fragrance, and it smells like New Life Ranch. No, really...New Life Ranch has a smell” (at least it did when she was a camper.)
She told the Program Director about the New Life Ranch smell. They said, “Really, what is it?” Alison said, “I don’t know.” But she was determined to find out. The Program Director took the time to walk with Alison throughout camp. Was it the woods? Was it the creek? Was it the horse barn? No.
Then it was lunch time. It was here she realized, “This is it!” Was it the food? “No,” Alison said, “It’s right here!” as she stood in front of one of the bathrooms. Three times a day, campers would line up for meals in the hall outside of the dining hall in front of the boys’ bathroom.
Surprised, the Program Director said, “Really? Okay, let me see what it is?” They finally figured out that it was the urinal cakes that were in all of the boys' bathrooms at camp. This was New Life’s unique smell!
They laughed about it together at the time, but after summer, the Program Director found a fresh urinal cake from the maintenance barn, packaged it up like a present, and mailed it to Alison. Alison opened it with great surprise, and she set it on the desk where she would do her makeup each morning. When life got tough, she would take a whiff of the urinal cake, hold it to her nose, and breathe deeply.
It sounds gross, but here’s the power punchline in her story.
As Alison told the story to a group of captivated alumni, she said, “I know it sounds gross, but you have to understand...to me it smelled like belonging. I knew if I could belong here, I could belong in Jesus’ Kingdom.”
Many kids struggle to feel like they belong, but when kids know they are accepted and valued, everything changes - they thrive academically, socially, and in life. At New Life Ranch, creating that sense of belonging is something our staff strives for, and your generosity makes it possible. When you give to New Life Ranch, you’re not just supporting a camp, you are giving kids like Alison a place where they are loved, where they are seen, and where they feel they belong.
