Mai Lee
Episode 204

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 delighted with our guest today and I think you will be delighted as well when you hear her story. If you're brand new to the podcast, we have 100 questions. They progressively become more vulnerable closer to 100, and I'm going to ask the first 10. And then she gets to pick a number. Oh, she gets to pick the number between 11 and 100. I'm revealing too much already, and then we'll see where it goes. And it's about stories and experiences that made her into the leader that she is today. So, let me begin with the first one. What's your name? Does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Mai Lee:

We just had a whole conversation about this. Yes. My name is Mai Lee and I get asked if my name is May. Lots of Latins ask if my name is May, and I'll correct them and they'll still say May, because it's just the way that it's said in the Latin speaking world, right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really good.

Mai Lee:

Yes. And then Maya.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Mai Lee:

So, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

But Maya is easy.

Mai Lee:

Maya's easy.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. It's great. Yeah. Maya, what do you do for work?

Mai Lee:

Well, I am... It's a really fancy title.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, I like the titles. Okay, give us a title.

Mai Lee:

I am Administrative Director of Philanthropy and Operations. All that just to say is that I'm going to be asking people for money because we have so many amazing hospitals, clinics, programs across the West Coast that are so worthy of your generosity.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So, now, where were you born?

Mai Lee:

That could be a whole podcast itself.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, let's just do it.

Mai Lee:

Well, I mean, my family are Vietnam War refugees. I'm Hmong.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Okay.

Mai Lee:

Yes. And I'm so excited to be here at Adventist Health because the whole Central Valley has the largest population of Hmong people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. Okay.

Mai Lee:

And so, it's very exciting when you walk into a hospital and there's a brochure that's in Hmong.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. That's great. That is great.

Mai Lee:

I am Hmong. I was born in Laos.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Mai Lee:

Came here when I was two and landed in good old Chicago, Illinois. Then we migrated here in the second migration.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. To California.

Mai Lee:

To California. So, I grew up in Stockton, California.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, really? Okay. Great. Now, when you were a child growing up, what did you imagine would grow up to be?

Mai Lee:

Not a fundraiser.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. I was just wondering, maybe raising money down the street.

Mai Lee:

No, no, not a fundraiser. I didn't know. I mean, come on. I'm Asian. My parents wanted me to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher, and I had to pick one, and that wasn't it, of course. So, that's why I'm...

Japhet De Oliveira:

So you got to tell us how you ended up not being a doctor and go in this particular path.

Mai Lee:

I was very disappointing to my parents.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No.

Mai Lee:

I think they're okay now. Finally.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right.

Mai Lee:

They're okay now. So, I was in tech and I was a burnt out Silicon Valley tech worker.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

And I had just been laid off my work, let go. And I was in Hawaii eating flowers.

Japhet De Oliveira:

As you do.

Mai Lee:

And my sister calls me and says, "Dad's really worried about you. You seem to be going backwards in your life." I thought, okay, well, I'm having fun. But she worked for a nonprofit in downtown Los Angeles Skid Row called The Midnight Mission, and that's where I started my philanthropy career.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. That's fantastic.

Mai Lee:

Yes. I was hiding in a little corner until somebody said, "Hey, who are you? "

Japhet De Oliveira:

You found a natural gift set for this.

Mai Lee:

I did. I did. And it's inspiring. It's inspiring to know that you, because whether we like it or not, it really takes money to support a mission.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure, sure.

Mai Lee:

Regardless of if you're a business or you're a hospital or a homeless facility, it takes money. But that money is the generosity of people who are inspired by your work.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, yeah.

Mai Lee:

And that's what's so beautiful about being in my role.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. I just listened to a seminar last week about philanthropy, about how to big give big at the end of the year, right?

Mai Lee:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And they were trying to teach these leaders and I joined the seminar on that. And I was just curious. So, bonus question here. What's the number one secret to help people to be able to say, "Hey, I should support something."

Mai Lee:

The question is, do you feel grateful in your life for what you have? And if you do, then you should share that little gratefulness with someone else.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really good. Yeah. Why not? Why not? Yeah. Hey, I like that. I like that a lot. All right, good. So now, are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Mai Lee:

I am definitely... It's kind of changed over my adult life.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Mai Lee:

You can guess my age. I used to be a night owl, and then now I'm an early riser.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good. And what's early riser for you?

Mai Lee:

I'm usually up by 5:00 AM.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. So this morning, first thought that went through your mind when you woke up at 5:00 today?

Mai Lee:

I usually go through my list of things that I need to do for the day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Nice. Nice.

Mai Lee:

The no-go list.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The no-go list?

Mai Lee:

Yes, meaning I can't go onto the next day without accomplishing these things.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, wow. That's a tall order.

Mai Lee:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I think some people have a to do list, but the no-go list, I like that.

Mai Lee:

Well, because the no-go stuff is the stuff that we don't want to deal with, right? That's why it keeps adding onto the list.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. Do you ever, when you're working through your no-go list, suddenly find that you've done something extra that was not on it, do you write it down just to cross it off?

Mai Lee:

No.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. You literally focus on that no-go list.

Mai Lee:

I focus on the no-go list.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Hey, good, good. All right. Now do you have liquid green smoothie, coffee, tea, water? What's your first drink of the day?

Mai Lee:

Coffee. I probably should have water.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. And what's the coffee? How is the coffee?

Mai Lee:

It's old school geriatric espresso mocha.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. That's nice. Well, good for you.

Mai Lee:

For those of you that are coffee connoisseurs, you'll know what I mean. It's just a mocha pot on the stove.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good. That's good. Now, if people would describe your personality, would they say you're an introvert or an extrovert or would you agree?

Mai Lee:

Well, Japhet, you and I both know we're extroverts. We both started...

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Mai Lee:

We both started chatting with each other in the elevator. That's how I got roped into this.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, there you go. There you go. Yes, I am a slight extrovert. That's true. All right. Last one in this block, it's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Mai Lee:

No. No, I don't want to be anything driver.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

I don't even want to be in the car.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

Right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

Because people... I respect people for their talents. And if they're talented and they're on my team, then I shouldn't even need to be in the car.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Great. It's great. All right. Hey, love it. Love it. All right. The floor is open. Mai, where do you want to go? Between 11 and 100.

Mai Lee:

Well, number seven.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, sorry. I've done the first 10.

Mai Lee:

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I know.

Mai Lee:

Okay. 35.

Japhet De Oliveira:

35. All right. Here we go. Share a special interest, a unique talent that you have.

Mai Lee:

A unique... But this is my talent. It is my talent. This is the one... I grew up with a father who had missionaries, Christian, you name it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

All sorts of missionaries coming to our house. He was also the clan leader. And so, hundreds of people would be in our home.

Japhet De Oliveira:

A clan leader?

Mai Lee:

Yeah. So the Hmong people have 12.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Just to clarify that.

Mai Lee:

Yes. So, the Hmong people are divvied up into 12 clans.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

There may be more. Don't shoot me Hmong people. But because he was the clan leader of our clan, we always had people in our home.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, okay. All right.

Mai Lee:

So, we've had to learn to navigate all types of people. And that's... So, I am in my zone when I'm making friends.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. Well, thank you for the education as well. That helped. I like it. I like it. That's good. Great. All right. That was 35. So we're now, up or down.

Mai Lee:

Let's go to 40.

Japhet De Oliveira:

40. All right. Oh, tell us about a time then you failed.

Mai Lee:

Oh, when am I not failing?

Japhet De Oliveira:

We all have it.

Mai Lee:

Yeah. I think the one thing about failure is that it teaches and challenges us, right? I failed at my Silicon Valley job. I mean, that was the end of my life because I...

Japhet De Oliveira:

That was your trajectory.

Mai Lee:

That was my trajectory. I was going to be in a startup and make a bunch of money and win the lottery and be amongst the PayPals of the world, as well as Meta. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. The hours were just too long. And I failed. I failed. But the reason why I failed was because I had to be here.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Mai Lee:

And that took a long time. As a matter of fact, when I ran into that person, actually that individual who let me go messaged me, I would say six years later on LinkedIn.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. All right. That's a while.

Mai Lee:

And said, "Hey Mai, I'm really sorry about how things panned out." And I thought to myself, it really took some soul-searching.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Mai Lee:

And essentially that soul-searching was, where am I now? And if I keep saying I'm happy and that I love my job and that I love where my career's left, then I need to thank him. Because if he didn't do that...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Mai Lee:

I would have still been working. So, not to talk down in our Silicon Valley people. I love you all, okay? But it is very hard work that I wasn't cut out for.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's a different style, for sure.

Mai Lee:

Definitely.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Well, hey, that's good. That's good. And that's actually very honest and very true, but I'm glad the path worked out.

Mai Lee:

Yeah. And we're still friends till this day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's amazing.

Mai Lee:

Because I did respond back to him and said, "You know what? Hey," I'm not going to name his name. "So great to hear from you." And ironically, he knows who he is. We're still friends and he lives here in Roseville.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's great. That's great. All right. All right. Where next?

Mai Lee:

Let's go for 89.

Japhet De Oliveira:

89. All right. What's the most impactful "no" you've said recently?

Mai Lee:

So I have a thing, I mean, I think a lot of people have this. I always think it's so unique to me that I'm so unique, but apparently I find out that everybody encounters this problem, which is the inability to say no.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

Right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

And so, if I wasn't fundraising here at Adventist Health, guess what I would be doing? Fundraising.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Somewhere else. Yes.

Mai Lee:

Yes. So, I have recently had to say no to a few fundraisers because I really need to focus here. And these are small, small organizations that really need my help and expertise.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure. Sure. That's an impactful no.

Mai Lee:

So yes, to everybody else that's listening. If you have a talent and you have a little bit of time and you want to feel really good about yourself, go sit on a nonprofit board.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay. It is good. Invest, invest. All right. Where next? That was 89.

Mai Lee:

Number 25.

Japhet De Oliveira:

25. All right. Oh, share it with us the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Mai Lee:

I don't know. I'm strange in that way. The most beautiful thing I saw earlier this week was just the way the fog was rising on both sides of the 49 when I was commuting here from Nevada City. And then, I had this palm music of it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:12:46].

Mai Lee:

Yeah. And I was driving down and I thought, wow, this is so beautiful right now.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's nice to have a moment.

Mai Lee:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. That's good. I like it when the music choreographs with the art.

Mai Lee:

Yeah. The fog and just the way the breeze was blowing.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, I love fog. Okay. All right. Where next?

Mai Lee:

47.

Japhet De Oliveira:

47. All right. You've just met someone. What would you want them to know about you and why? Yes. Go.

Mai Lee:

Well, clearly, you can probably hear it in my voice. At some point, I might ask you for money.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

And I forewarn all my friends. And it's not anything that they should be afraid of. It's just, I would never ask if I didn't feel like they were the right person to ask. But that I'm really interested in how I can help people. I really want to serve humanity and not in the most important way. I don't need to be a leader somewhere, but in my little own world, how can I help? How can I help you?

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. Hey, that's a good motive in life. Yeah. I like it. All right. Where next?

Mai Lee:

Okay. 38.

Japhet De Oliveira:

38. If you needed encouragement, Mai, who would you call?

Mai Lee:

I'd call my dad.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah?

Mai Lee:

When you're a child of refugees, I mean, they tell you these incredible stories.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Mai Lee:

And you don't know whether to believe them. My husband, Andrew, once came to me and said, "Hey, when they're talking about that kind of stuff, are they like embellishing?"

Japhet De Oliveira:

You're like, "No."

Mai Lee:

And I would say to him, "No, the atrocities are real. People were murdered. People died." And so, when I think and reflect on how one generation ago, my parents were living in a village with no running water and no electricity. And here I am in this studio with you in beautiful clothes and talking about how beautiful life is. So, I don't need to go very far. They also call me and remind me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good. That's good. So hey, if somebody is listening to this who is a refugee that's arrived, what word of encouragement would you give them?

Mai Lee:

If you've just arrived, just imagine what your life can be in 10 to 15 years, and just stay focused.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Give it time.

Mai Lee:

Give it time. Baby steps. You can't get to the end of the road. And I'm sorry to break it to you, but the end of the road means that that's just another...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Another road.

Mai Lee:

Another road. And look for friends who you want to grow up to be like, right? Surround yourself with the people that you admire. Surround yourself with the people that inspire you, and then God will do the rest.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. I like that. Good wisdom. Yeah. I appreciate it. Thank you. Where next?

Mai Lee:

Number 11.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Number 11. Oh, tell us about the most adventurous food or meal you've ever eaten. Why that face?

Mai Lee:

I'm Asian.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'm not making any comments. Question 11.

Mai Lee:

I can't.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

Is this going to go down the wrong... Okay. How about the stuff that I can't eat because I definitely can't do the insects in Thailand or the crickets, right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Great.

Mai Lee:

I definitely can't do the scorpions.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Nor should anyone else, but yes, okay, great.

Mai Lee:

But if it floats your boat, that's cool because crickets are really high in protein.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

So, I've tried just about everything because I am, in terms of food, very curious. So, let's leave it at that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay. All right. Well, we'll leave it to our imagination, what everything was. All right, great. That was 11. What next?

Mai Lee:

How about number 99?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, 99. All right. Mai, what is the most difficult truth you ever told?

Mai Lee:

When is it not difficult to even tell a little truth though? I mean, I had to tell my parents that I wasn't going to be married to my ex anymore. And that was just devastating to them because to have a daughter that was going to get a divorced, oh my God. And that, oh, the best devastating news was that I told them that...

Japhet De Oliveira:

The best devastating news.

Mai Lee:

Yeah. Was that I couldn't get a job in Sacramento and so I had to move to Los Angeles. And the truth was, sorry, mom and dad, I know you're listening to this. The truth was is that I didn't look for any jobs in Sacramento.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay. Well, there you go. They know that now, or?

Mai Lee:

Oh, I think they're okay with it. Yeah. I think everybody's okay with it. And that's the thing with truth, right? You think it's really hard. And then when the truth comes out, you're like, "Oh, I guess I should have taken this road a long time ago."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Mai Lee:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's true. That's actually, I mean, that's a good point about truth. It's not as difficult as we think it is, but we are scared of it sometimes.

Mai Lee:

It's all in our head. And actually, I had a friend who had a coming out party, this was decades ago, and he said, "You guys, I invited you guys here because it's my coming out party." And we were like, "Jake, everybody knew you were gay except you."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, okay.

Mai Lee:

And I think that was a really... He goes, "Why didn't anybody say anything?" See, and so he had lived a decade hiding when we all knew. And then ,we also didn't... I think it's easier now. It's easier now. I mean, I shouldn't say that because it's more readily accessible and people...

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's more education.

Mai Lee:

Yeah, yeah, are more educated about it. And so, you're allowed to be more open about it. Whereas 15, 20 years ago, maybe it wasn't.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I hear you, I hear you. Hey, well, thank you for sharing that about truth. That's good. All right. That was 99.

Mai Lee:

Okay. How about 23?

Japhet De Oliveira:

23? All right. Tell us about the most outdated piece of technology that you own and still use on regular basis.

Mai Lee:

I don't think I have any. I don't. I mean, my oldest piece of technology is that mocha coffee maker.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. Well, you never know. You never know. All right. All right. That was 23. All right. So, where next?

Mai Lee:

77.

Japhet De Oliveira:

77. All right. Here we go. Share one of the most cup filling experiences that you've had.

Mai Lee:

Cup filling?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Yeah.

Mai Lee:

Oh, come on, dude. It's like every day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's good. All right.

Mai Lee:

Well, I had spent portion of my life in this world of woe is me, right? And then I started looking around. I'm like, because Asian parents and their worst nightmares that you're homeless and that you're homeless, you're on drugs, you're this and that. It's like my parents' worst nightmare. And as I was looking around my life, I'm like, you know what? I'm not homeless yet. I'm a hard worker. I have a great career. There's no way that I would ever, knock on wood.

But the most recent thing is the da Vinci machine. I'm really passionate about this machine because I love technology. And so right out, those of you that live in the Marysville area, bought this most fabulous surgical machine. And to me, for an area like Butte County and Nevada County, and now we can just drive 45 minutes to have state-of-the-art surgical procedures done on a fabulous machine, and that the people were committed to getting that multimillion dollar machine there? I was so touched by it. I was telling patients that you have to have me there for the demo.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Okay. It is amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, that's great.

Mai Lee:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I like that. All right. Where next?

Mai Lee:

42.

Japhet De Oliveira:

42. All right. Tell us about your phone and the photo that's your background of your phone.

Mai Lee:

Yeah. So, I live in Nevada City and what you're not seeing...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, describe it for us first. Yeah.

Mai Lee:

It is overlooking the cliff side into the canyon of the Yuba River, and it's a place that I've been volunteering for for a really long time. I'm their "marketing manager". I'm volunteer marketing manager. So, Ananda Village is in Nevada City and it's a yoga and meditation community, and inside there is a garden called the Crystal Hermitage Gardens where they plant 20,000 plus tulips. And every spring, thousands of tulips bloom. And so I, and it's not just me, I should say we, because I don't plant the bulbs, I just get to talk about it. So if you go to Nevada City, you ask for the tulip lady. They might say, "Oh, you mean Mai?" Okay. So, I go during April, I go all around all the radio stations talking up the tulips.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh really? Okay.

Mai Lee:

And I'm online talking about the tulips in Nevada City at Ananda Village.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic.

Mai Lee:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now we have to go. What period of time you said?

Mai Lee:

It's only in April.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Only in April.

Mai Lee:

Okay guys, don't get upset at me if you're calling me in October. There are no tulips after April. But you can find, just Google Tulips, Nevada City, Ananda Village. It's just magical. You have to come. Okay. You have to come.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'd love to. Pencil it down for April. It's good. All right, good. All right. What number next?

Mai Lee:

Gosh, 25. Did I already do that?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh yes, we did. Yes.

Mai Lee:

Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sorry.

Mai Lee:

30.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Well, actually tell us about something that you're really looking forward to. That's what number 30 is.

Mai Lee:

As you know, I'm fairly new here. So, it's been a whirlwind. I am looking forward to just being quiet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Let me know if that ever happens.

Mai Lee:

My ideal day is that I get up whenever I get up. I mean, I think that's what happens when you get older, right? Now you're just really looking for those quiet moments. Even though I'm an extrovert, I still need that downtime. And so, I'm looking for a day where I wake up, I don't have to do anything and I don't have to talk to anybody.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I wonder. Really? Okay. All right. We'll see how that goes for you. All right, good. Where next?

Mai Lee:

92.

Japhet De Oliveira:

92. All right. Oh, Mai, how would you like to be remembered?

Mai Lee:

Well, prior to this, I worked for Foothills Compassionate Care, and all we talked about was the end.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, sure. Okay. Okay.

Mai Lee:

It's a hospice and palliative nonprofit. And so, I already know. I want people to come to a barbecue.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

Seriously.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You've planned it all out.

Mai Lee:

I've planned it. In my head, okay, so this is also on record for my family.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Barbecue it is.

Mai Lee:

It's just a big party. And I just want my friends and people that don't even know me to come and get a free meal and hang out, and I don't know, have some chicken. If you're vegetarian, have some dahl. I don't know.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

Right? Just have a big party. Which reminds me, it's kind of like how I spent my Christmases on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

So Christmas, actually it's my birthday. So I would have all my friends bring me a birthday cake and we would serve cake on Skid Row so that people could have cake.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's good. I like that. I like that. So, you want to be remembered in this party, and anything in particular?

Mai Lee:

Just that it wasn't about me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Mai Lee:

I don't know. My family members might disagree. The great spiritual teacher, Don Ross said, "If you think you're spiritually advanced, just go spend it a week with your family."

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. I like it. It's true. Well, we have time for last two numbers. So, where do you want to go?

Mai Lee:

55.

Japhet De Oliveira:

55. All right. Here we go. It is... Oh, share about something that frightens you.

Mai Lee:

Wow. All of the divisiveness in this world. We're forgetting. We're forgetting that ultimately at the end of all of that, we're just people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, we are.

Mai Lee:

We're people and that we're looking for happiness, security and love, right? And if we get caught up in the fear-mongering that happens, we are all the same and we all want the same. It doesn't matter what country, what community, what religion. At the end of the day, if we can have love, feel secure and have our happiness, that's really what we're all looking for.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We will find a way.

Mai Lee:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Oh, that's good. Good. Good. All right. Last one. What number?

Mai Lee:

How about 77?

Japhet De Oliveira:

77. All right. Let's see here. Oh, we've done that one.

Mai Lee:

Oh, we did?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Mai Lee:

What is wrong with me?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, it's okay because these are good numbers for you.

Mai Lee:

I know. I'm going to have to go buy a lottery ticket.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I was going to say 89, 77. Okay.

Mai Lee:

15.

Japhet De Oliveira:

15. All right. Oh, what's the one thing that you always misplace?

Mai Lee:

Oh God. Like everybody. See, again, I think this is unique to me. I bet you you guys, you always misplace your keys and you always misplace your phone. Yeah. See. See. And it's made it... These wireless keys have been progressively worse because they're so tiny. Can't find them. And so, I will tell you that my number one fear about misplacing these two items is that I live on a ranch.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes. And you want to build it. Yes.

Mai Lee:

And so, if I misplace it on the ranch, it's really gone.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it's a lot. It's really gone.

Mai Lee:

It's really gone.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, hopefully not. Hopefully not. You've done so well so far.

Mai Lee:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Mai, thank you for taking the time. Good words of wisdom. I appreciate the insight on truth that it actually does set you free.

Mai Lee:

Thank you so much, Japhet. I really enjoyed being here. Thanks for cornering me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, it's good. It's good. The elevators work. Hey, I want to remind people to do the same thing. Sit with a friend, ask them good questions. We actually grow from it. We're better for it and we are. It's a blessing.

Mai Lee:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It really is.

Mai Lee:

And also, make your gifts before the end of the year. But you know what? I shouldn't say just the end of the year. I will say, find something you love.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Mai Lee:

And also allow that to reflect in your finances.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that's true.

Mai Lee:

So, if you say you love something, your...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Follow through.

Mai Lee:

Your finances have to match that too.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. I like it.

Mai Lee:

Alrighty.

Japhet De Oliveira:

God bless everyone. We'll take care.

Mai Lee:

Bye.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Bye.

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 and Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.