Crystal Peaks Day One:
Where to begin . . .
Disclaimer: There is no way I could ever fully describe the spirit of this ranch and the people involved. It is truly something we should all experience within our lifetime. These people "WALK THE WALK." They inspire, encourage, love and accept, all in Jesus's name.
Lauren and I began our journey early Wednesday morning. We hoped to arrive in Bend at 1:00pm to check in during the scheduled time. The final turn toward the ranch was surreal as we both have envisioned this day and the opportunity to witness what this ranch has done in the name of Jesus and HOW they do it! We are finally here!
We were welcomed by a group of volunteers/staff members as we pulled in the first gate and along the way to the check in area. We were in awe at the beauty of the ranch, the view and the buildings. In those beginning moments, I personally felt overwhelmed. How can we possibly get to this point in our Sun River ministry. My question was answered.
The picture at the left was how Crystal Peaks started. It was literally a pit with no trees, buildings, vegetation, etc. When Kim and Troy brought in their first two rescue horses, all they had were 2 halters, a rock they used to hang them on, and a hitching rail. Slowly and deliberately, Kim and Troy started building. Kim told a story of a day Troy called her from work and said there had been a fire and a bunch of small pine trees were badly burned. They were tossed aside to be taken to the dump. Troy could see that these trees still had life within them and asked Kim if he could bring them home. These solid beautiful trees now shade their house on the ranch and are a testament of how EVERYTHING deserves a second chance and that nothing is impossible with Jesus.
One of the MOST encouraging and helpful pieces of information we received was, "BE SLOW AND DELIBERATE. BE PATIENT." Kim spoke about how in the beginning, Troy would bring home a can full of old bent nails from job sites and they would spend their evenings hammering them straight with a rock. They started with NOTHING and simply followed their calling.
Troy welcomed us with a very moving version of Amazing Grace and then Kim followed with their "story." If anyone has not heard their story, we encourage you to do so. It is very inspiring.
What an amazing round pen!
If you look closely at the picture to the right, you will read "hope." The staff introduced us to all the horses and described the story behind each and every rescue.
DREAM BIG!
After an afternoon of AMAZING information, we all gathered for a ranch style dinner and ranch style it was! YUM!
Words cannot describe the passion and love surrounding this ranch. All the people who are participating in this informational clinic have had a similar calling. There were people from South Africa, England, Pennsylvania, etc.
From the words of Kim Meeder:
"Pray, listen and DO."
"Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom."
This past week renewed my faith both in GOD and in His people. Kim Meeder stressed, "if you want a successful ministry, you PRAY, you LISTEN, and then you DO. When we arrived at the ranch our last morning of Fireside Fellowship, there was a chip on each of our seats. It says, "I'm all-in."
