Teresa Gillian | Biography

I am a Colorado Native. I was born in Durango and grew up in Ignacio. Ignacio is a small tri-ethnic community located in the four corners. Growing up in the capital of the Southern Ute reservation gave me the opportunity to learn and embrace the local cultures. My ethnicity is Caucasian, Latin and Native American. My family still farms the land, my dad, Thomas Ruybal and grandfather, Ernest Ruybal have been working the land since 1940. Outside of both of my parent’s full time jobs, they also raise Angus cross cattle for the beef industry. At a very young age, I was taught to work hard, and to live a life honoring the Lord. As an adult, it has taken a while to figure out how to apply that and enjoy life at the same time... But most simply put “He who loves Me, will keep My commandments.” John 14:21. Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind. And the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.” Thanks so much Mom and Dad for walking the walk.

The Good Ole' Days...

Growing up, my favorite time of year was the spring time, when the farm animals had their babies. So much fun! Then there was the work. Hauling the hay, feeding the animals, gathering the eggs, hauling the hay, branding the calves and hauling more hay. Lol. I miss those days. But the life lessons I learned from the country lifestyle remain hard work, respect for life, and best of all, the joy of sharing these memories with my family.

As high school students, outside of our sports, my siblings and I raised/showed market steers and breeding heifers in 4-H. My baby sister, Jennifer, even entered a catch-it contest for a goat. My mom thought for sure than she wouldn't be able to catch a wild goat, so she agreed to enter Jenn. Little did we know instead of goats, they had to chase chickens. She caught a chicken for sure, it was hilarious! My brother Paul, was the oldest and strongest, so he did most the work. Taming the yearlings, teaching them to lead, and setting up their footwork was challenging and interesting. Bath times were fun as long as the cow didn't hate it. Then there was the rest of the show preparation for the cattle: hair cuts, blow drying, styling, polishing, balling the tail, and showmanship. I always made sure my outfits were cute and my hair was done. The last year we were in 4-H Jenn want to show a steer. Keep in mind at the time she was 8 years old, and weighed about 48 pounds. Completely adorable, but 48 pounds compared to the 1200 plus pounds of our steers! So again, our brother did most of the work, and the day of the auction, she made almost double what we did because the announcer wouldn't get over how little and cute she was!

Good times, definitely the good ol’ days when life was simple. My Momma Duck always had the BEST dinners, and my dad and sister were definitely the family comedians. It was never a dull moment. The memories from those days will be etched in my mind and heart forever.

As a high school athlete, I lettered in Varsity in three sports each year. I excelled in individual sports but preferred the bond of team sports. I am a 1999 Colorado State Champion in discus, and was ranked #1 for successful digs in volleyball in the whole state of Colorado. Throughout high school, every morning at six am, I had a lifting buddy. The late, Butch Melton, God rest his soul. Every day, we tried to see who could get to the weight room first, and every day he greeted me with the same grumpy smile that we all knew and loved.

A champion was not born or made. But through time and discipline, I grew from a girl to the woman that I have become. I thank everyone who encouraged me and even those who tried to hold me down. I learned to use my adversities to allow me to grow stronger. Little do they know, they were used as a stepping stone toward what I wanted to become.

After high school I attended Fort Lewis College on a volleyball and first generation scholarship. Two years in, after meeting my 'someday to be husband" on the rugby field, life quickly changed. From a career ending injury, I had to turn in my uniform and lost my spot on the team. I will never forget the day that my dream died. Without the love of my sport, I withdrew from the Fort. At that point, I started to spiral downward. I felt depressed and worthless. I felt like everything in life that I had wanted up until that point was taken from me. After time, and with some deep soul searching, I knew the next step was to go back to the basics, my roots of faith.

I moved to Denver and joined Youth with a Mission, YWAM. Our mission was to know God and make Him known. This was an amazing experience that enriched my life in many, many ways. After my Discipleship Training School, came the outreach to Mexico, and then the Leadership Training Program. About two years into this system, I made plans to become a full time missionary. I have always had a heart for the HIV/AIDS orphans and Africa. So I joined a team and wrote a 30 page paper about my vision. At this time, I felt that my calling was to commit 3 years and go to South Africa. So that’s what I was going to do. I sent out all my support letters, but none came back. This was sign, unfortunately a stop sign. I was mad at God for a long time. Here I was ready to give my life in service to the calling; I wanted to go so badly. But it wasn’t meant to be. After time I realized that God had a different plan for my life. Years later I realized that His plan was much better than my good plan. Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and pray to me. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Within the next six months, I moved back home and got reconnected with the Alaskan love of my life.

Kyle and I have been together for the last 7 years. We got married on 7/7/07, and will continue to build our lives and our dreams together. We live with our two cats, Sophia Faye and Zekial Xavier Gillian, age six, and two dogs, the former Mercedes Lynn Ruybal/Gillian age four, and Spencer James Gillian, aka "Captain Commando" age three. Yes, I was that girl who had doggie prints on her wedding cake and an eight pound Pomeranian as the ring bearer in our wedding. It was precious! Mercedes wore a pink dress with matching pearl necklace. When Kyle saw our wedding cake, he asked me, “Does this mean that we’re crazy dog people now?” LOL... We are now 7 months pregnant with our first baby. Life is about to change FOREVER!