Like all families, we strive to stay connected to our children long after their days of living at Big Oak. We help them stay connected to each other and the Big Oak Family.
Doris Martin, a former resident, recently shared what the 2022 Big Oak Family Reunion meant to her:
“In 1989, I arrived at Big Oak Girls’ Ranch from a difficult past filled with many different homes. I was a scared little girl. I only brought a garbage bag filled with everything I owned, and still, I can recall the happy faces and excitement that met me as I entered my home at Big Oak. Being one of the first few girls to live at the Girls’ Ranch, we were the first part of creating what we now see all around us – what is now giving so many children the opportunities I experienced.
I left Big Oak Ranch 25 years ago after graduating from high school, yet returning to the Ranch still feels like coming home. There are many new faces, and I am reminded of the children now receiving the same love and opportunities that I received. I can see all of the growth and it’s exciting to be a part of.
During the reunion, we got to ride around the Ranch in a van with my housesisters, who also came to celebrate our Ranch family. As we stepped through the doorway of the McDaniel-Schoen Home, the same doorway we ran through as kids, refreshing memories came back. I have been to many Big Oak reunions and can’t wait until the next one – I will definitely not miss out!
Not knowing what to say, people sometimes express sympathy when they hear I grew up in a unique environment like Big Oak. But, I quickly tell them that Big Oak Ranch saved my life. Coming home did my soul good and it still does today.” – Doris
The impact of God’s work in this mission is seen throughout this video, in every face, in every smile, in every life changed.
Watch the highlights from the 2022 Big Oak Family Reunion!
