Michael and Sharon Barrett

Age: 60 and 56.

Family: Four children, Rebekah Adams of Auburn; Keith Barrett of Cherry Valley; Josiah Barrett of Beaumont; and Michelle Dall of Orange City, Fla.

City of residence: Dobbins.

Occupation: Michael is a general contractor working as a building inspector for the city of Colusa. Sharon is an administrative assistant for Willdan Engineering in Sacramento.

Hobbies, interests: Michael likes to write novels on his spare time. He also likes old cars. Sharon likes to spend time with their family, ride her bike and anything outside, including gardening. He likes to garden vegetables and she like to garden flowers.

What brought you to the Yuba-Sutter area? Michael: "We were on vacation here in 2003 and as we were driving, I told Sharon about a ministry idea we had, so when we got home, we prayed about what God wanted us to do. We decided that we are just going to move in that direction. We closed our construction business and we bought 40 acres and we have been here ever since 2005."

Place of worship you attend: Loma Rica Community Church.

How long have you attended? Four years.

What is the importance of faith in your life? Michael: "It's the foundation on which everything else is built. It's not about what rules I keep; it's about who I follow. Obedience is a big factor.

Sharon: "Faith is what leads me to Christ. That is my life. My relationship with God is who I am. That's what I base everything I do and what I have."

How do you live out your faith? Michael: "The (ranch) ministry that we are doing. It's an independent ministry; it's a retreat for pastors and seminary students. We just provide a place for them, during sabbatical. It's the reason we came north."

Faith in Action appears Saturdays. It features a member of a church, temple or mosque and the importance of their faith. To suggest someone to be featured, contact Faith & Family coordinator Larry Badger at 749-4776 or lbadger@ appealdemocrat. com.