Roads To Success 12

Epilogue:  Ron and Cristy Varela

The story just told was current as of 2006 when the Varela’s episode of Secrets Of Success completed production.  During an October 2011 telephone interview Ron and Cristy brought me up to date with their business and personal lives.

Following their litigation with the State of California over the Highway 71 landslide circumstances forced the Varelas to downsize their work force from one-hundred-fifty employees to eight.  They also liquidated their trucks and heavy equipment in order to satisfy the demands of their bank.

The economic downturn that began in 2008 and cascaded across the United States obliged the Varelas to cut back even more.  In recent years they have reduced their number of employees to three.  With their business smaller than ever, and with new construction jobs fewer in number, Ron and Cristy found themselves seriously discussing whether or not they should continue maintaining the company at all.

Ron makes the observation that, in the current economic environment, doing business is tougher and more frustrating than ever before.  Customer loyalty has eroded away to almost nothing, banks are increasingly inflexible, and ethics in general have been negatively altered.  Having experienced years of running a thriving company and doing business on a handshake, Ron finds it discouraging.

The Varelas were on the verge of closing down their operations when a small job came along, a dirt-hauling contract for a Temecula hospital project worth about $450,000.  It gave them hope and caused them to keep an expectant eye on the business landscape.  Ron says that he now sees new jobs on the horizon; now it’s just a matter of landing them for his company.

There is a great deal at stake.  The Varelas have employees whose futures depend on the solvency of their business, and their personal nest egg for retirement has been impacted as well.  Their beloved Rancho Diamante is also at risk; it is currently on the real estate market.

In spite of the impending circumstances, Ron and Cristy manage to attend to the problems at hand without actually focusing on them.  Their main and unwavering focus is on their faith in Christ.  Besides, this couple simply does not know how to give up.  They never have.

Just to clarify, the Varelas are mere mortals, just like the rest of us.  The problems and loss accumulating in their lives during these challenging times impinge on them just as they would anyone else.  “We’re not supposed to question the Lord about why these things happen but you still can’t help asking why,” Ron explained.  “We have to keep the faith because that’s just about all we have left.”

“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt the Lord’s plan is good,” Cristy added.  “Whatever it is it will be better than anything we can imagine.  Everyday I see signs that the Lord is near.  I praise him all the time.”

The Varelas’ desire to serve certainly hasn’t been impaired by the economy or other current circumstances.  They haven’t been able to contribute financially as they once could but they still find ways to give substantially.  Ron put it this way, “Even if you lose material things you can still give your time.”

Ron and Cristy currently donate generous portions of their time to the Military Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), Pinnacle Forum, the Prescott Annual Prayer Breakfast, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America.  Of course, their favorite service is still hosting a variety of ministries at Rancho Diamante.  “This year we didn’t host that many,” Cristy said.  “However, it is one of our greatest joys.”

So, as of October 2011, the Varelas are hanging in there and fighting the good fight, just as they always have.  They are working hard to regain a solid footing for their business, and they are still hopeful they can keep Rancho Diamante.  Most importantly, they daily live in and maintain an unshakable faith in God.

Ron offered up this parting comment to end our interview, “We’ve lost a lot of material stuff but we still have our family, and we’re a tight, tight family and that’s awesome.”

Thank you, Ron and Cristy, awesome, indeed.

© 2011 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 11

Ron and Cristy Varela (continued)

New Horizons

Facing the daunting challenge of breast cancer, Ron and Cristy bonded together as they had through so many other crises in their lives.  Together they considered the options available to Cristy.  Together they researched, consulted with doctors and together they prayed for guidance. 

“It didn’t take very long but for some reason I had a peace about everything I decided to do that I can’t explain,” Cristy recounted.  “I know now that comes from God.”

Ron summed it all up with, “We made the decision together that she was going to have surgery and then just put our faith in the Lord.”

The surgery was successful, and through the ordeal, the Varela family had grown stronger because of it.  There was a new closeness, a greater openness and a tighter bond between not only Ron and Cristy, but the entire family.

“It really brought us to what was really important in life,” Ron stated ardently.  “It brought our family together even closer.”

“This is really all that matters, your family and your relationship with God,” added Jason.

Ron and Cristy’s walk of faith is obvious in them both; it rests easily on them, defines them and guides them.  As their faith matured they involved themselves in a small, Christian media radio station based in Prescott, Arizona, helping whenever and wherever they could.  At the time we taped the Varela interviews Carol Stensrud was the general manager of KGCB and I asked her on camera to give me her assessment of Ron and Cristy.  “What I see in them are two people who are so hungry to please God now,” Carol answered.  “They just want people to have the excitement and joy they have.”

“For both my mom and dad, I think they rely a lot more on prayer every day, all day, for all the decisions they make, big or small,” Jason told me during his interview.

“I think before it was how many toys you can have and how much money you can have in the bank,” Ron added.  “We changed our priority about material things.  Now we’ve had the opportunity to give back.”

Carole Stensrud confirmed Ron’s statement, “They’re generous in so many ways.  Not just here at KGCB but around the world.  I just can’t get my mind around all they do to bless other people.”

“We’ve been able to go to Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic,” Ron explained enthusiastically.  “We’ve been able to share the Gospel and share with some of our finances to help out.”

“Now I see a new success in their lives,” Jennifer related.  “With being able to affect other people, and going to other countries, and reaching out to people, just being effected by it and caring.  They see people that are in need and they want to help.”

Today, Ron and Cristy have restructured their business into The Varela Companies.  Most of their business is in residential development and they operate a grading company as well.  The Varela Companies even encompass their Arizona ranch.  At the time of their television interviews in 2006 the companies were collectively generating annual revenues in the tens of millions.

Ron and Cristy have little doubt where their success comes from.  Cristy put it this way, “I know that our success is because God has given us the abilities, the opportunities, opened doors for us, and helped us grow strong.”

“From having a lot to losing just about everything, and then they got a second chance to grow,” reflected Jason.  “I think with all the things that happened in their lives with cancer, and losing companies and all the bad things, they got to say, ‘Okay how do we do it this time?’  It’s allowed the companies to grow and headed us in the right direction.”

Ron, having already acknowledged God’s grace and provision in his family’s life, added this, “With hard work and perseverance you can succeed.  Next month it’ll be thirty-eight years that we’ve been married.  We have two wonderful kids and five wonderful grandkids.”

“We don’t give up,” Cristy agreed.  “We have a reason not to give up, mostly because God has given us the courage to go forward.  We trust each other and we trust Him.”

© 2011 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 10

Ron and Cristy Varela (continued)

Turning Point

Ron and Cristy found themselves in a challenging and often disappointing season of life.  The business they had worked so hard to build together no longer existed in the form they had known it; the business was there but on a much smaller scale.  No longer owning their own equipment, they would lease what they needed in order to complete the jobs that came their way.

Certainly not helping the situation, Ron was still drinking, and the drinking caused stress between him and Cristy.  There was tension and there were arguments, and the marriage frequently stumbled over rocky ground.  But the couple had been together since their teenage years and something kept them holding on.

The situation was about to grow worse, and it began at a party attended by Ron, Jason and Jennifer.  Ron, particularly, was enjoying the party.  “We’d have a drink, he’d have a double, or he’d have two doubles,” remembered Jason.

“I specifically said to him, dad give me the keys,” Jennifer added.  “Let me drive you home.  But he insisted on driving himself home.”

Ron wouldn’t listen, climbed into his car and headed home.  On the way he fell asleep at the wheel and struck another car.  Fortunately, no one was hurt but Ron ended up spending the night in jail.

The accident and the jail experience were traumatic for the entire family but it was also the beginning of an important course change.  “It was a tough moment but a good moment for us because I think it was a turning point,” Jason explained.

Ron realized that he could have been injured or killed, or even worse, he could have killed someone else.  The accident and jail experience became a giant wake up call.

Admitting that he did nothing in moderation in life, Ron decided he would stop drinking.  At the time of his interview in 2006 he had not had a drink in over ten years.  According to his family, the changes in him didn’t happen overnight but they did indeed happen.

Daughter Jennifer indirectly played a part in transformations that occurred in her father and her mother as well.  To help deal with some personal problems of her own, Jennifer had begun attending a local church.  Ron and Cristy accepted their daughter’s invitation to attend with her.  For Ron and Cristy, the experience would be dramatically life changing.

I asked Ron and Cristy what they gained from attending church.  “Well, we started to realize that we had to have faith and trust.  We just realized that we can’t do it all by ourselves,” was Ron’s response.

“It took us a while to understand what it meant to be saved,” Cristy told me in a recent correspondence.  “We first knew we had a relationship with the Lord in 1997.”

The Varela family took their initial exploration of Christianity seriously.  They asked questions, attended Bible studies and visited a variety of churches.  The effort fed their commitment, they grew to understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and their faith grew stronger.  That faith was soon tested when Cristy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.

“A lot of things go through your mind,” Cristy remembered.  “You wonder if you’ll live.  You wonder if you’ll see your family again.  You don’t know what’s next, what God has in mind for you.”

Jason Varela observed that the crisis caused his mother to truly rely on someone else.  “I think that’s when she started to turn to Him for support in her life,” he said during his interview.

“I just depended on my family and I depended on God and I really prayed a lot,” Cristy explained.

Jennifer saw the cancer crisis as a significant catalyst in Ron becoming a new person.  “My mom’s breast cancer was the breaking point for my dad, and I saw him really surrendering, and just wanting to be there for her, and just so desperately wanting her to be okay.”

Ron credited his growing faith in Christ to his transformation.  “When you start having faith you begin to realize that it’s not all about you,” Ron said.  “You start treating people the way you’d like to be treated.  You learn your priorities.  You put the Lord first, your wife and family second, and yourself third.  I had always put myself first.”

“He just has a softer way about him,” described Jennifer.  “That’s very big, because my dad wasn’t soft.”

Thinking back on those days of transformation Cristy recalled, “Over time he [Ron] became more patient, more tolerant, slower to react.  He was less angry, more giving, and more prayerful.”

There were decisions to be made, extremely critical decisions that would ultimately determine Cristy’s future health.  Ron and Cristy knew they would make these decisions together, and this time they were absolutely certain that God would guide them in the process.

© 2011 Philip Kassel