Fall Time At The Ranch

Hi friends!  Here we are already rolling towards fall….but His Ranch is not winding down yet!  It's been a beautiful summer.  The Lord has graciously given us mild weather, which has allowed us to roll along with very few cancellations this season!  With the starting of school, our schedule changes, but we are well-filled for the month of September and expecting a full October as well.

So, what's new on the ranch?  We had a wonderful time last month hosting Dr. Lew Sterrett with Sermon On The Mount ministries for a weekend.  This was a first time event for us, which we hope to do again in the future.  Dr. Sterrett travels all over the country, speaking God's truth into people's lives through the visual of horse training.  He presents life and our relationship with God in a down-to-earth way through the natural principles of the relationship between a horse and his master.  You don't have to understand horses to benefit from this wisdom!

We were also pleased to host Dr. Marty Langhofer over the same weekend.  Dr. Marty is a veterinarian who knows horses well, specializing in equine dentistry.  We learned some fascinating things about the horse's mouth and teeth, and how they affect the rest of the horse.  Dr. Marty was also able to perform some dental work on several of our horses here….it is quite interesting to watch!

We are in the process of fencing in the entire ranch property and painting/repainting all of the wood fence.

The other project going right now is finishing work on the amphitheater, which was built between the riding arena and the lake, next to what will someday be the healing garden.  The friend who built the amphitheater has returned to build a firepit in the center, do dirt work around the area, plant grass, and lay sod.  Our motivation for finishing this area is a wedding that we are hosting on the ranch this month!  We will be celebrating the union of two dear friends who met at His Ranch, one of whom volunteered on staff for two summers.  We are so excited that they chose to have their special day here, and it's also a joy to have such a great reason for sprucing up the ranch grounds!

Now as fall approaches, we are already beginning to gear up for that time again….the His Ranch fall fundraiser!  We want to give you all plenty of notice about the excitement this year, so you can be sure to mark your calendars and not miss out on the special day!  The date is October 25th; the time is
12-3 PM.  Go ahead, mark it on the calendar!

His Ranch is delighted to be hosting Troy and Kim Meeder as our special guests at this year's fundraiser!  The Meeders are the founders and operators of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Bend, Oregon.  Crystal Peaks was begun in 1993, through Kim's vision to reach broken and hurting children with the love and hope of Christ as she had found healing in her own childhood….through the companionship of a horse.  Since the first rescued horses came to the ranch in 1995, thousands of lives have been touched and restored by the love of Jesus in the staff and the special bond created between horses and children.

From the CPYR website: "Founded on hope, the ranch is a place where broken children, horses and families can find wholeness, belonging, and trust.  This richness is expressed through the healing embrace of God's unconditional love."  You can learn more about Crystal Peaks by visiting their website: www.crystalpeaksyouthranch.org.

CPYR inspired the vision for His Ranch.  Shannon Haerr, our founder, listened to his daughter read a story from Kim Meeder's first book, Hope Rising.  The story tells about a little boy who came to Crystal Peaks.  He had been abused by his father, even to the point of having several teeth broken and being chased around the yard with a shotgun.  As Shannon listened, his heart broke, and he cried out to God, asking why there was so much pain in this world.  God spoke to his heart and told him to do something about it.  As Shannon and his wife, Susan, prayed over what God would have them do, He gave them the vision to start building a ranch like CPYR.  That was in 2005.  And the rest is a story that God is continuing to write as we seek His heart and direction day after day on His Ranch!

Troy and Kim Meeder now offer clinics to help other people start similar ministries.  The clinic and their encouragement have been a wonderful help to our ranch, so it is a great privilege to be able to bring them here in person this year!  The staff is excited is meet them, show them our ranch, and hear them speak, and we hope you will be here as well!  They will be speaking at 1:00 during the fundraiser.  

We will also have our popular pony rides for the kids, free food, face painting, ranch gear for sale, and live band entertainment.  Tell your friends, and don't miss it!  We want to see ya'll here!