Laura Amaya
Episode 196

Narrator:

Welcome friends to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, welcome friends to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. I'm here in Roseville, California recording in the studio with our guests, which I'm really excited about because I see them nearly every day, which is great. They're smiling. This is a good sign. And so, if you're brand new to the podcast, we have a hundred questions. They progressively become more vulnerable closer to 100, and they're about stories and experiences that shaped this person into the leader that they are today. So now I'm going to begin with first 10, and then I'll hand it over to them and I'll start off with, could you tell us your name? Does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Laura Amaya:

My name is Laura, and no.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Good. Laura, you're Laura like Prince, like one name?

Laura Amaya:

Something like that, yeah, Laura Amaya.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah, like that. Okay. Laura Amaya, I like that. "My name is Laura. Everybody knows Laura." Well, actually everybody does know Laura. Laura, what do you do that everybody knows who you are?

Laura Amaya:

I am the receptionist here at Adventist Health Corporate Office.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, you are, welcoming all the time. And I've got to ask you, you know so many people's names. What's the secret?

Laura Amaya:

My brain.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

I don't know. I have a really good memory somehow.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it's great.

Laura Amaya:

Hopefully doesn't fade.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's a gift. It's a gift. It's nice to be... Sometimes you have called me George or no, no, I'm kidding. No, it's great, it's great, Laura, all right, so how long have you been working in this role?

Laura Amaya:

For a little bit over a year now.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. And how did you end up in this particular position? Did you do this before in another company?

Laura Amaya:

So I used to work at an optometry office where I worked for eight years.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah?

Laura Amaya:

And I decided it was time for a change. I had met my max growth potential there and I decided that it was time to move on.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's super, super. Hey, that's great. Well, lucky us, lucky us. Right. So where were you born?

Laura Amaya:

In Linwood, California.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. And did you grow up in Linwood?

Laura Amaya:

For 12 years.

Japhet De Oliveira:

For 12 years. All right. And then, when you were a child down there, what did you imagine would you would grow up to be?

Laura Amaya:

I was always told I would be a good lawyer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Did you decide to study law?

Laura Amaya:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No? Okay. All right. Maybe you did. Who knows? Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, but what made you not go for law then?

Laura Amaya:

Well, it wasn't for me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Hey, that's awesome. That's awesome. Now you grew up in Linwood and then where did you go after that?

Laura Amaya:

To Rockland.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Rockland. Oh, so you're up in this area?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, super. Well, fantastic. All right. Now, in the morning when you get up, what's your first drink of the day?

Laura Amaya:

Coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Coffee. Oh, okay, that was quick. Is that like a black coffee?

Laura Amaya:

Coffee with vanilla coffee creamer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. That's great. That's great. Hey, I like that. Now, this morning when you woke up, first thought that went through your mind was?

Laura Amaya:

Is the child awake?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, I like it. "Is the child awake?"

Laura Amaya:

I have only one.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right. That's great, great. Are you an early riser or a late night owl, Laura?

Laura Amaya:

A mixture of both.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You're a mixture of both?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it sometimes?

Laura Amaya:

It can be, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, so what's an early morning for you?

Laura Amaya:

5:00 AM.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ooh yeah, that is early. And late night?

Laura Amaya:

11:30.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay. Lucky you. That's pretty interesting. Now, personality, if people were to describe your personality, would they say you are an introvert or an extrovert and would you agree?

Laura Amaya:

People say I'm an extrovert.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah? And...

Laura Amaya:

I feel like I'm more towards the middle.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

Because I can be very outgoing, but there are times where I am very, very shy and decide to just close off.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, you do a good job downstairs making sure that people feel welcome, so that's great. Super. All right, that's great. I've got a leadership question for you now. Are you a backseat driver?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Decisive yes.

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Backseat driver. All right. Good, good. The floor is open then, Laura. No qualms about that one. Anywhere between 11 and 100, where would you like to go?

Laura Amaya:

Let's see. Let's go 20.

Japhet De Oliveira:

20. All right, here we go. Tell us about something that Laura would say, "This is rated, 10 out of 10."

Laura Amaya:

Oh, like anything?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

All right. 10 out of 10, let's see here. I would say I like food, so we're going to go ahead and go with Hawk's Restaurant. I give them a 10 out of 10.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Good, good. Nice restaurant, indeed. Okay, good. That was 20. So where next now? Up or down?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 25.

Japhet De Oliveira:

25. All right. Ooh, share about the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Laura Amaya:

Well, I would get personal and I would say my daughter, but that's kind of selective there.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ah, no, that's great. That's great. Yeah, inspirationally.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great. All right. Hey, 25 is good. Where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 35.

Japhet De Oliveira:

35. Ooh, share with us a special interest or unique talent that you have.

Laura Amaya:

I can speak really fast.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. That's good, clear enunciation and speaking quickly.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Like the speed of those adverts with the disclaimers, that speed?

Laura Amaya:

For example, when I used to work at the optometry office, there was times where I would have to go over consent forms and having people look over their information.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Laura Amaya:

So I would have to get through the check-in process really fast so that way they had enough time for their appointments sometimes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Long form. Okay.

Laura Amaya:

So I would welcome our patients and say, "Welcome in. And I'm going to have you fill out this form here. We want to get all your information, insurance, and all your medical history. And this is our HIPAA form saying that we're not giving your information out anywhere. So unless you want someone to have your information, go ahead and sign the form and we'll keep going."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Move, move, move.

Laura Amaya:

Move, move, move.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah. I just pushed them through.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well yeah, yeah. Hopefully now it's all electronic, but yes.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

My consent forms are just like, "Slide down to the bottom. Sign it. Done."

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I hope they know what they are. All right. All right, where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 77.

Japhet De Oliveira:

77. All right, here we go. Ooh. Share one of your most cup-filling experiences with us.

Laura Amaya:

I will say, as when I first started working here and as a new employee, you would think, "Okay, what's going to happen? How's everyone? How's everyone going to treat you?" type thing. And I am very pleasantly happy to say that the shoe never dropped and everyone is super friendly and amazing here at Adventist Health.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. Love it. All right, that was 77.

Laura Amaya:

All right, let's go back down to 47.

Japhet De Oliveira:

47. All right. You just met someone. What do you want them to know about you and why?

Laura Amaya:

Can I get context on where we met and how we met and what's the situation?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, you make it up. This is great. I love it. Yeah, choose the casino. No, I'm kidding. James Bond, whatever.

Laura Amaya:

Well, it depends.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Laura Amaya:

Different facts. Let's see. Well, usually when I meet someone, you know we have different questions that people ask. So one is that I am a mom of a 12-year-old girl, and that's one of the main facts that come through because usually people say, "Who are you?" And I'm like, "A mom."

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's a great privilege. That's great. Hey, that's cool. I love that. Good. All right. Where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and go 55.

Japhet De Oliveira:

55. All right. Ooh, share about something that frightens you.

Laura Amaya:

Clowns.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Wow. Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

In person or on TV or pictures of them?

Laura Amaya:

All of the above.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right.

Laura Amaya:

So when I was very young, I watched the movie It, the Stephen King's movie and yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And that did it for you.

Laura Amaya:

That did it for me. I do not like clowns.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Good movie for me not to watch. Good. All right. All right. Noted, so noted. All right, next. Where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and go 76.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Ooh, tell us about where you feel the safest and why.

Laura Amaya:

In my home.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So why in your home?

Laura Amaya:

Well, the people that I love the most are there: my husband, my daughter.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

I have my security system, doors are locked, and I can be whoever I want to be at home.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, all right. Hey, that's good. I like that. Good. All right, where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and go 78.

Japhet De Oliveira:

78. All right. Tell us about what gives you childlike joy.

Laura Amaya:

I will say different experiences like the zoo, Disneyland, just fun, things like that. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Do you have a Disney tune that goes around in your head all the time? Like when you go down there and you're like, "Oh man, that particular tune" because it does it to me.

Laura Amaya:

Well, not really.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No? Okay.

Laura Amaya:

One that usually does just get stuck in my head all the time is a Tale of Oldest Time from Beauty and the Beast.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Laura Amaya:

That's one of my favorites.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh yeah, yeah.

Laura Amaya:

But not when I'm at Disneyland.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

There's too much overload of sensory overload.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh yeah, that's true. That's fair enough.

Laura Amaya:

Now what is yours?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ooh. The great thing about this podcast is that I get to ask the questions. It's phenomenal because it's actually your story.

Laura Amaya:

Okay. Fine.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, I know. It's great. All right. So where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and do 60.

Japhet De Oliveira:

60. All right. Ooh, when in life have you felt most alone?

Laura Amaya:

When my daughter's father decided to leave me when I was seven months pregnant.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ooh, that is not easy.

Laura Amaya:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No. At seven months pregnant?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So do you mind me asking Laura, who helped you pull through all of that?

Laura Amaya:

My family.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah?

Laura Amaya:

My family, my parents, my siblings. They were my biggest support, and I'm very happy that we're so close.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's actually really good. Were you guys close before that as a family, or is this what brought you guys together really well?

Laura Amaya:

We've always been very close, and that just brought us a lot closer. But yeah, I have a very big family. I am Hispanic, so my normal family of five is my parents and my siblings and I. And then, we expand to at least 30 at a Thanksgiving gathering.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fair enough.

Laura Amaya:

So it's just a big support group there.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Does everybody get together, all 30, for Thanksgiving?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Gosh.

Laura Amaya:

All the events and birthday parties, it gets insane.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, I'm glad they were there for you. Hey, you know you're not alone in that kind of journey. I've got to ask, what advice would you give somebody who is maybe going through something like that right now?

Laura Amaya:

You have to look outside of yourself and push through and know that the journey's worth it. You have a blessing that's growing inside you, and just seeing them grow and just the love and the bond that you have between you and your child is amazing.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's a beautiful story of strength. Yeah, I like that. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for sharing.

Laura Amaya:

Of course.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. That was 60. So where next, Laura?

Laura Amaya:

I'm scared of the 60s now.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No. No, it was just that, 60. You could have said, "Where do I feel us alone? In empty room." That's good.

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 65.

Japhet De Oliveira:

65, right. Share one word that you could use to describe your past, and then unpack that word.

Laura Amaya:

Change.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, okay. All right.

Laura Amaya:

Well, starting as change for, I used to live in LA and said I grew up in LA, and then we moved to Rockland and that was a big change for me then. And as a teenager I was very rebellious because I was like, "What am I doing in Rockland? It's so quiet." There was so much to do in Los Angeles,

Japhet De Oliveira:

It still is.

Laura Amaya:

And then, becoming a mom, that changed me and just change.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Change. The MO. All right.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So are you very adaptable?

Laura Amaya:

I like to think so.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. That's good. That's good. All right. Where next?

Laura Amaya:

Nope. Just put it down. I won't look. I'm going to point at a number.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ah. No. You just have to pick a number.

Laura Amaya:

Ah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I know. It's incredible. I've done nearly 200 of these and yeah, there you go, Laura.

Laura Amaya:

All right, let's go 87.

Japhet De Oliveira:

There you go, 87. All right. When you're under incredible stress, what helps to ground you?

Laura Amaya:

Chocolate.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ooh. Okay now.

Laura Amaya:

I'm a stress eater.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, now. Then you've got to unpack chocolate. You can't just say chocolate. What type of chocolate?

Laura Amaya:

It depends.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes?

Laura Amaya:

On the level of stress.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. I guess content.

Laura Amaya:

That will be chocolate muffins with chocolate chips, preferably the mini pack.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay.

Laura Amaya:

Because then when I finish the mini pack, it's not like I ate a million big muffins.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, that's great. Do you like dark, milk, or white chocolate?

Laura Amaya:

Preferably milk.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And do you like things inside the chocolate or do you like it plain?

Laura Amaya:

I like Reese's pieces and Snickers.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

But if you were to give me a truffle, it has to be just a plain chocolate.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. All right. Good, good. Good to know. All right, super. Where next, chocolate person?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go with 90.

Japhet De Oliveira:

90. All right. Tell us about how you overcame a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Laura Amaya:

I will say that with persistence and asking for help when I needed it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You have a gift to be able to ask for help, or is that hard for you to do or easy for you to do? Some people don't like to ask for help.

Laura Amaya:

It depends on the situation.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right.

Laura Amaya:

I am very strong headed to the point where I like to try to figure everything out to myself. But there comes a point where you have to acknowledge, "Okay, I cannot do this by myself and I do need the help" or "I don't have the knowledge for this, so I need assistance."

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Good. All right. Can you teach me one example that you went through where you overcame something?

Laura Amaya:

I will say, for example, going back to the previous question with basically becoming a single mother and having to make the call for my parents saying, "Hey, this is what's going on." And let me tell you, it's sometimes a little... Pride gets in the way.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure. Yeah. No kidding, no kidding. Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's a lot. Hey. Well, well done, well done.

Laura Amaya:

Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Good. All right. Where next? That was 90.

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 85.

Japhet De Oliveira:

85. All right. Ooh, describe a role model that you aspire to be like.

Laura Amaya:

Very cliche, but in a sense, my dad.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, that's great. That's great. Oh, I love that. What are the qualities of your dad that you love the most?

Laura Amaya:

My dad is a very strong person, but even with all his strength that he holds himself with is he's very caring and very giving and will always be available to anyone who needs assistance. And even if that sometimes means having to go outside of his own means to make sure that he's able to help someone.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really good, great quality. Love that. All right, where next?

Laura Amaya:

57.

Japhet De Oliveira:

57. All right, here we go. If you had to choose to endorse a brand, what would it be and why?

Laura Amaya:

A brand?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, a brand. I laugh because you love the 10 out of 10 questions, so now you get to choose an exact brand. It's kind of fun.

Laura Amaya:

A brand.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Let's go with Lucky Brand jeans.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. Why now? Why those jeans instead of Levi's?

Laura Amaya:

Well, all right, are you ready for it?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, I'm ready.

Laura Amaya:

I still own and fit into my first pair of Lucky Brand jeans that I got freshman year of high school.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, there you go. They are lucky. All right. All right, that's great. All right. Good brand, good brand. All right, where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and do 17.

Japhet De Oliveira:

17. All right. Here we go. Share what day is the most special for you on the calendar and why? One day on the entire calendar.

Laura Amaya:

May 1st.

Japhet De Oliveira:

May 1st? Okay. Because?

Laura Amaya:

Well, it's May Day and that was my warning because that's my daughter's birthday.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. All right. Fair enough. When you said it's May Day I'm like, "I guess that's significant." That's great. Okay. It is good. All right. Where next?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and do 27.

Japhet De Oliveira:

27. Bring us into your kitchen. You're preparing a meal. What's the meal?

Laura Amaya:

Well, I don't know if it's-

Japhet De Oliveira:

A special meal.

Laura Amaya:

Can it be just a dish or does it have to be a whole meal?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, a dish is great. Yeah. Okay, special dish.

Laura Amaya:

Buffalo chicken dip.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The dip?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No chicken, just a dip?

Laura Amaya:

No, buffalo chicken dip.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'm kidding. I'm kidding. The dip. So you make it from scratch?

Laura Amaya:

Kind of, the chicken breast. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Sorry, I don't make the chicken.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sorry. You're preparing the dip?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So do you make the dip yourself from scratch?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. It's not that you bought it and just poured it out.

Laura Amaya:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Now tell us about this dip. How do you make this dip? What's the ingredients and, yeah?

Laura Amaya:

Well, you need chicken.

Japhet De Oliveira:

For the dip.

Laura Amaya:

Well, yes, shredded. You have to get the...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, the chicken's in the dip?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah, shredded chicken.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I had no idea. I'm thinking literally. I so misunderstood you. This is great. Teach me. Okay, shredded chicken. Go on.

Laura Amaya:

Shredded chicken. You're going to need ranch, cream cheese, cheddar cheese.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. That's a lot of cheese.

Laura Amaya:

And Frank's hot sauce.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh really?

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And you put that all together and then?

Laura Amaya:

In a crock pot and you cook it. Well, it depends on how fast you want it done, but I like it on low, so it can take up to four hours.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Four hours?

Laura Amaya:

Yes. And you have to stir it every 30 minutes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. That's pretty intense.

Laura Amaya:

And it's delicious.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's intense. And then what do you eat it with?

Laura Amaya:

Chips.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah?

Laura Amaya:

I like it with bread.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really?

Laura Amaya:

But I like bread.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. Never heard of that. Learning every day. Brilliant. Thank you. All right, where next?

Laura Amaya:

I'll bring you some.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Laura Amaya:

Let's go ahead and go with 37.

Japhet De Oliveira:

37. All right. Here we go. What do you like most? Oh, this is just perfect for you. What do you like most about your family?

Laura Amaya:

No matter what, even if we're arguing, fighting, whatever, it doesn't matter the circumstances really, I should say, is we are always there for one another. We drop everything and go to whoever needs something.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great. That's great. That's a.good quality. That's superb. All right, we have time for two more.

Laura Amaya:

Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Where do you want to go with the last two numbers?

Laura Amaya:

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Let's go with, did we do 97 already?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No.

Laura Amaya:

97.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Tell us about a time when you did the right thing.

Laura Amaya:

Okay, I'm going to go for the right thing as to when I was in high school, I was walking behind a teacher who happened to take out their wallet for whatever reason and they dropped maybe $200 cash in twenties.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Laura Amaya:

And it just fell right in front of me and I was like, "Okay." So I picked it up, and he had no idea that he dropped it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Laura Amaya:

So I called out to the teacher and just let him know, "Hey, you dropped your money."

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really nice. That's a lot of money to drop.

Laura Amaya:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

He must have had a lot of money inside to lose the $200 and not realize it. I'm like, "Wow."

Laura Amaya:

Yeah. So I don't know if it was outside of his wallet or just the motion of taking something out of your pocket.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. That's a good thing. Lovely. All right. Laura, last number.

Laura Amaya:

Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Where do you want to go?

Laura Amaya:

Let's go 11.

Japhet De Oliveira:

11. All right. Ooh, tell us about the most adventurous food or meal you've ever eaten in your life. And it can't be shredded chicken.

Laura Amaya:

Escargot.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, you did?

Laura Amaya:

I tried it on a cruise.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, no. I know what to pray for.

Laura Amaya:

And it was not for me. It was not for me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I'm not quite sure who escargot is for, but okay. No judgment. Glad you tried it. No, no, I take that back. I'm happy for you, not for you. Okay?

Laura Amaya:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, on that happy note, hey listen, Laura, thank you for taking the time.

Laura Amaya:

No, thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Thank you for your honesty, your transparency, and for the courage as well taking you through something difficult. It's a good word for others as well who are going through difficult times because you never know. People face all sorts of things and they still able to like you persevere, get a good job, become an incredible good force. When people come into this building, you remember their name, you make it personal. It's great. It's a great gift.

Laura Amaya:

Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thank you for that. And thank you for sharing. I want to encourage people to do the same. Sit with a friend, ask them good questions, listen to their stories, and I think we grow from it all the time.

Laura Amaya:

Yes. Thank you so much, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Absolutely. God bless you. And everybody else, we'll talk soon.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for the Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.