Celebration 2017

At graduation this year, we heard more than once a child say, “I thought I didn’t want or need to be here. I thought I had no problems.” One child confessed, “I hated my houseparents, at first.” Another said, “Openness came in my 12th month here, when I decided to work hard and try. I began to change instead of blame.”

So the Ranch kids are in a process, which after a typical honeymoon period, generally involves a resistant period. Some never graduate from this period and don’t last here. As you can imagine, that makes for long days in the homes and discouragement for the staff, if we look at the immediate picture. But in time, most of the children come to a healthy period, where they own their need to change and buy in to what we are offering. Their cooperation, of course, makes all the difference.

As you lift up our ministry, pray that God would soften the hearts of the kids and their parents, and give us the big picture of hope and redemption that He is always about. Coming to love and trust Him to save them from their destructive patterns is our deepest desire for them, as it is for ourselves.