The Kids

"Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
(Luke 18:15-17 ESV)

 

Sun River had the opportunity to meet and serve some amazing children this week. We can see the passion in each of them as they eagerly tended to their chores and as we set future goals.

 Makiah worked with Lauren and mentioned how much she enjoyed being up so high! She felt a connection to Beauty and said she would like to ride independently one day.

 On Skyler's last day for the summer, he rode independently, reaching his ultimate goal. Then he and Mike rocked out with the guitar and sang for all of us. We will miss you Skyman!


We would like to thank Melody Edwards (PT) for her referrals. Sun River looks forward to a long partnership.









Thank you to our junior volunteers who joined us this week in picking weeds, mucking stalls and moving rocks ( ; A special thanks to Marisa Hone who joined us and helped with sessions.

 Micki and Grant Hibbs generously donated this beautiful saddle and a corner feeder to our program! We cannot thank them enough for this amazing gift!

To all of our supporters, thank you for believing in us and for your prayers as we move forward with this new ministry. We are already changing lives and we cannot be more thankful for all of you.

Please visit www.sunriverequineranch.org for more information on how you can partner with us ( :

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."-2 Corinthians 3:17

Crystal Peaks Day 3

 They say it never rains in Central Oregon 
( : Our last day at Crystal Peaks was a VERY wet one.

 Best way to start a new day on the ranch. Fireside Fellowship and Worship time. We loved how all the ranch guys played and sung together. Such a strong feeling of family and community.

Both Troy and Kim presented TRU Horsemanship and safety skills throughout the day. When going over safety, we were able to see sample sessions with some of Crystal Peaks kiddos.

 In following many of these principles, this youth ranch has never had a substantial injury. Crystal Peaks is truly blessed!

On our last night we were served country BBQ and sat around the fire roasting marshmallows. The food was delicious and always followed by some kind of irresistible dessert / : Ask Lauren!

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."

Lauren, Mike and I are putting all of this, our vision, mission and lives into God's hands to do as he will. We feel called to this ministry and we WILL PRAY, LISTEN, and then DO. 

Please visit www.sunriverequineranch.org for more information on how you can partner with us ( :

Crystal Peaks Day 2

 Crystal Peaks Day Two:


Lauren and I arrived at the ranch at 8:00am for Fireside Worship. 

Chapstick has been a great mystery this week as it seems to disappear each day and Lauren needs her Aquaphor ( ;

 An amazing morning of fellowship with all participants, staff and the Meeder Family.

 "TRU Horsemanship" with Clint Surplus and Troy Meeder. 
T-Trust
R-Respect
U-Understanding


Hmm . . . sounds like something we could use day to day with all we come in contact with ( :

 Posted ranch rules . . .

 When Kim Meeder speaks, everything and everyone is quiet. The only way I can describe this is that it's like a tunnel. She is able to describe events and feelings and she makes one feel they were there, witnessing first hand.

Here is picture of Troy, Marshall and Jeff playing together before sessions. We hope to have Lauren and Mike rocking out in our great meeting room someday!

 Natural horsemanship and herd management. All horses are calm and in their element during feeding time.

Dinner spread for day two . . . Italian night, complete with Frank Sinatra music. Sigh. Does it get better than this? 


At the end of Day 2, we had spent almost 12 hours on the ranch in classes, in fellowship and with God. What an OPPORTUNITY!

Please visit www.sunriverequineranch.org for more information on how you can partner with us ( :

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Crystal Peaks Day 1

 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."

2 Corinthians 3:17

Please visit www.sunriverequineranch.org for more information on how you can partner with us ( :

The Children

 
The Sun River grounds are almost finished just as we are welcoming new families to the ranch. Thanks to the recent mention of our program in the Idaho Statesman, we have some children ready to get started!

Team Sun River Equine will participate in The Dirty Dash on August 25, 2012. We even have a mascot! Hamlet, our program's own Pot Bellied Pig, will be joining us on race day! Please let us know if you would like to be a part of this team as this should be a fun-filled filthy day!

Taken from the Official Dirty Dash website, "The Dirty Dash gives you a mud-run obstacle course that will put you in touch with nature in a way your mom would have grounded you for in grade school. You’ll scale mountains, chug beers, and crawl through muddy slop so thick that, unlike Andy Dufrane, there’s no way you’re coming out clean on the other side. 

 
This lava flow of dark brown goodness goes down easier than a 24 pack of Diet Coke or a double-order of Chili’s Molten Lava Cake, but there ain’t no drive-thru or Hamburglar here to make it easy on you. You’ve got to work to make this course your personal Playplace."

Stay tuned to www.sunriverequineranch.com for information about upcoming events! Thank you all for your continued support in making this Youth Ranch an essential part of this community.

Please visit www.sunriverequineranch.org for more information on how you can partner with us ( :

Volunteer Day 3

We would like to thank all of our amazing friends and family for their hard work and dedication on this Sunday. 

You all gave up your day to help us make this ranch happen!  

Thank you:

Koller Family

Green Family

Stearns Family

Shears Family

Walsh Family

Harper Family

And a special thanks to Mr. Marty Quinowski who, not only donated three Tennessee Walkers, their pens, and hay to our program, but also arrived with tools in hand and ready to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The children of Sun River did what they do best and played the afternoon away.

Volunteers moved hay, cut and stacked wood, built a fire pit, trimmed trees, roto tilled the garden and the list goes on . . . 

There was a moment, when the sun set on the day and I looked out on the property and saw all of the love and joy being shared, and I realized how truly blessed we are to be a part of this journey. Thank you ALL for EVERYTHING!

“Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service. Try to give unconditionally whatever a person needs in the moment. The point is to do something, however small, and show you care through your actions by giving your time … We are all God’s children so it is important to share His gifts. Do not worry about why problems exist in the world – just respond to people’s needs … We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop.“
- Mother Teresa

Cleanup Day Two

Another beautiful day on the ranch property! The Koller Crew, Green Family and Cami Shears came out to get their hands dirty and enjoy the sunshine.

Before and after pictures of our orientation room. 

What a difference paint makes! Thank you Steve 

for all the paint and for your hard work!