.png)
Greetings from the Ranch!
We got here fine and are still settling in. Anna's room, the kitchen, the entry way, one of the bathrooms and our master bedroom are done being painted. We are tired of painting but love the results it put out.
Anna had a tough time adjusting to her new surroundings but she got through it and has started being her normal cute self. She has discovered that she can get to things easier now that she is finally crawling…forward. The crawling thing is kind of bittersweet to me. On one hand you are excited that she is growing, learning & developing into her own little person and getting around a little easier. On the other hand it’s scary because she is growing, learning & developing into her own little person and getting around a little easier!J We have had to be on our toes lately…correction… Amber has had to be on her toes lately with Anna moving around more. As far as Amber and me, we are doing fine. I won’t lie, it’s a stretch to not have our familiar friends that we would see each week but I am confident that the Lord has us here for a purpose.
I began working with the boys a little sooner than I first thought. They are fun but also challenging at times. I ask you to pray for wisdom on how to deal with them. Every boy is different in almost every way but for this, they need Jesus to be the Lord of their life.
Amber has begun cooking one meal a week for the boys. She has also taken over the responsibility of cleaning the Ranch’s guest quarters. Having had experience in cleaning hotel rooms she will do fine. She and Anna have enjoyed taking walks around the Ranch with Anna in her new baby backpack. She didn’t like the backpack at first but she likes it now and enjoys grabbing and sometimes eating mommy’s hair while on their walks. It’s a bit colder around here but she does fine when she is bundled up.
Only being here for two months we have already seen the Lord at work with the boys. One night, being unprepared for the evening devotional, I drove home to get our copy of A days Journey by John Courson. The devotional for that day happened to be on the verse that is one of the Big Ones of our faith, John 3:16. It’s always good to remember about how the God of the universe loved us so much that He gave up His only Son to die for our sins. It was good to talk about that verse and the verses that follow it (17, 18 and 19). After the devotional we sat and talked about questions that some of the boys had. The questions ranged from suicide to adoption, abortion, worth and love. Wow! I never knew we would be speaking on all those topics. I am glad we had 3 staff on that night to answer the questions that the other staff members (IE: I) didn’t know the answer to.
Towards the end of the Q & A, one of the boys started talking about how he turned to drugs to escape depression and suicide. He’s normally our jokester so it was good to see the serious side in him wanting to vent to us all. He cried as he explained that he had seen a lot of horrible things throughout his life and that drugs had offered him an escape (he’s only 15). I was holding back my tears as I witnessed him open up his heart to us all. It was beautiful. He has come a long way in the program and I see him being one that you will hear about in months to come. There will be more stories throughout the time we are here at the ranch but I thought I would open up with that one.
I want to say Thank you to everyone who reads our letters. Seriously, without you reading our letters and supporting us we would feel alone up here.
Well, that’s about it for now. The snow is gone and the sun is shinning a little brighter than it was living in Oregon. This winter had record snowfalls so the runoff should be nice for the Ranch’s alfalfa crops and for the cattle too.
Blessings on you all,
C-rod, A-rod & a-rod
We got here fine and are still settling in. Anna's room, the kitchen, the entry way, one of the bathrooms and our master bedroom are done being painted. We are tired of painting but love the results it put out.
Anna had a tough time adjusting to her new surroundings but she got through it and has started being her normal cute self. She has discovered that she can get to things easier now that she is finally crawling…forward. The crawling thing is kind of bittersweet to me. On one hand you are excited that she is growing, learning & developing into her own little person and getting around a little easier. On the other hand it’s scary because she is growing, learning & developing into her own little person and getting around a little easier!J We have had to be on our toes lately…correction… Amber has had to be on her toes lately with Anna moving around more. As far as Amber and me, we are doing fine. I won’t lie, it’s a stretch to not have our familiar friends that we would see each week but I am confident that the Lord has us here for a purpose.
I began working with the boys a little sooner than I first thought. They are fun but also challenging at times. I ask you to pray for wisdom on how to deal with them. Every boy is different in almost every way but for this, they need Jesus to be the Lord of their life.
Amber has begun cooking one meal a week for the boys. She has also taken over the responsibility of cleaning the Ranch’s guest quarters. Having had experience in cleaning hotel rooms she will do fine. She and Anna have enjoyed taking walks around the Ranch with Anna in her new baby backpack. She didn’t like the backpack at first but she likes it now and enjoys grabbing and sometimes eating mommy’s hair while on their walks. It’s a bit colder around here but she does fine when she is bundled up.
Only being here for two months we have already seen the Lord at work with the boys. One night, being unprepared for the evening devotional, I drove home to get our copy of A days Journey by John Courson. The devotional for that day happened to be on the verse that is one of the Big Ones of our faith, John 3:16. It’s always good to remember about how the God of the universe loved us so much that He gave up His only Son to die for our sins. It was good to talk about that verse and the verses that follow it (17, 18 and 19). After the devotional we sat and talked about questions that some of the boys had. The questions ranged from suicide to adoption, abortion, worth and love. Wow! I never knew we would be speaking on all those topics. I am glad we had 3 staff on that night to answer the questions that the other staff members (IE: I) didn’t know the answer to.
Towards the end of the Q & A, one of the boys started talking about how he turned to drugs to escape depression and suicide. He’s normally our jokester so it was good to see the serious side in him wanting to vent to us all. He cried as he explained that he had seen a lot of horrible things throughout his life and that drugs had offered him an escape (he’s only 15). I was holding back my tears as I witnessed him open up his heart to us all. It was beautiful. He has come a long way in the program and I see him being one that you will hear about in months to come. There will be more stories throughout the time we are here at the ranch but I thought I would open up with that one.
I want to say Thank you to everyone who reads our letters. Seriously, without you reading our letters and supporting us we would feel alone up here.
Well, that’s about it for now. The snow is gone and the sun is shinning a little brighter than it was living in Oregon. This winter had record snowfalls so the runoff should be nice for the Ranch’s alfalfa crops and for the cattle too.
Blessings on you all,
C-rod, A-rod & a-rod
