Who We Are: A youth ranch of rescued dreams, where horses and all children are invited, accepted and loved, regardless of circumstance. Our mission is to offer a refuge to horses who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused, and to welcome children with open arms and mentor them in the "Ranch" atmosphere.
Who ever said it doesn't get below zero in Idaho! Negative temperatures in January caused our water line to freeze. We were challenged with running hoses from the house, out to the horses and then draining and bringing them in at night.
All our animals weathered the cold very well. We didn't have any incidents of colic or other major illness which we are very thankful for. With the temperatures nearing 50 this past week, we have been able to get out and start the much needed cleanup and preparation for our upcoming season.
Big THANK YOU to Western State CAT for donating a backhoe for the weekend to help us with some of these major projects. They have been such a generous supporter of our program.
We have been working with our horses every afternoon. They are enjoying the sunshine and opportunity for some exercise.
Time to get our equipment cleaned up and ready! Sierra and Maddie "painted" saddles yesterday as we began the process of organizing tack.
Thank you all for your support this winter! Newsletter coming out very soon with some wonderful stories . . .
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."-2 Corinthians 3:17
With one year behind us, what a blessed first year it was. It exceeded ALL our expectations. From the amazing children we served, to the financial and monetary donations. We are grateful and so so excited for next year!
Thank you to all our families for bearing with us as we figured our way through the first year! We ended the season with a joyous Harvest Party! This event was held as a thank you to all our families and supporters as well as a way to raise some money going into the winter months. We sat back in awe of the people who came and reflected on our whole year in a few hours of both fun and chaos. I wished I could have bottled those few hours and have it all fresh in my memory. We were amazed at all the support. It brought tears to our eyes, tears of thankfulness, tears of joy and tears of hope for the seasons to come. We all got so caught up in the 'to do's' of the party we didn't take pictures of all the fun and activities! However, the day after the party, we did get some pictures of our horses. They were decked out in paint, bells and ribbons thanks to Megan and Kelsey! Thanks you two SO much for helping bless us, our kids and our guests! Here are a few pictures of how our sweet horses were dressed for the occassion!
Each of the words on the horses holds a special meaning as to their story and what/who they were for a handful of the kids that came to the ranch this summer. That to me, is perhaps my most favorite part of the whole party and season. If I were to speak for Mike, Tanya and I, I would say a few of the most valuable things we learned this year are: 1. With God, ANYTHING is possible. God has given us an amazing family. Without our families, we could not have gotten through our first year. Without eachother, and grace and hope, we could not have gotten through it all. Without GOD, we could not have grown and learned how much he loves us, fights for us, and is there every time we seek Him. We are proud to say that we are stronger in our faith, stronger in our friendship and stronger for eachother than ever. We know that when God calls us to something, there will be trials and bumps in the road. This year, and the years to come, there will be. But we know we can get through ANYTHING with God as our leader and guide, and with eachother by our side. 2. God answers prayers. Yes. He. Does. There are numberous prayers that He answered this year. From providing food for our horses, to bringing us amazing people to serve along our side. We also have been praying for Him to orchestrate our board of directors. And, though it took a while, He answered. He answered on his timing. I've been learning to crave His timing.... because it is always the perfect timing, not always what I think it should be, but I would rather have his timing than mine, because He has a perfect plan. All of the people on our board are God loving, fearing and passionate people who have a love for our calling and support us in every way. As we sat down the other day to our first official board meeting with all our members, an analogy came to mind that describes what our purpose, goal and hope for the board members is. The vision was, Mike, Tanya and I in the front seat of a pick up truck driving along, steering the program (as we follow God down the road), and our amazing board members guiding the pick-up on each side, holding us accountable to follow our mission and keep us on track, spiritually and financially, lest we ever veer off track. One of our first prayers as we started this adventure was to find a vet who would be completely on board and believe in our passion and purpose. Someone who would help us at some point when we would have the opportunity and blessing to rescue horses. Well, we're so thankful to say, through an amazing and unexpected first rescue situation, we met Dr. Becca, and she is on board! We are rejoicing in the fact she is excited to help and be a part of the program and board. 3. 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.' 2 Cor. 3:17 Oh the freedom we have felt and seen..... words can hardly explain. Many days we would start the day off with a circle of prayer. Prayer for protection over the little ones and horses, prayer for His light to fill the place... and if I so humbly may say, He did. He came and filled the ranch with Him. Here are a few pictures of our sweet kids that we were blessed to spend time with and the joy that is in their eyes and on their face - says it all.
A work of art!
Practice makes perfect!
A fine balancing act..
Joy - pure joy. We love you!
This sweet girl below, was told she would never walk or crawl again. At the end of the summer, she was riding almost on her own and CRAWLED up this rock hill with me. It was an amazing moment - I'm so proud of you girl!!!!! Her joy and giggles filled our hearts each week. I miss her so much and can hardly wait to see her next spring!
As we prepare for another year, 2013, we are praying for each of the kids God has for us. We are working diligently to make next year another fun filled year! Thank you more than words can say to each of you who have been a part of our first year, and hopefully the years to come. We cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store!
So, as we continue to enjoy the quiet winter months, though they are cold, we want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and holidy season. We are rejoicing in the birth of our Savior and the reason for the season!
Merry Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families!
Summer 2012 has been so amazing and full of many blessings! We never could have even dreamed to touch as many children's lives in just the few months we have been open to children and their family. Some come for sessions and others to help volunteer during sessions. Our children are learning kindness, acceptance and values of friendship from watching this all unfold.
Alisha brought her Dad out to meet the Sun River Family and her favorite animals.
Sun River held a fundraiser car wash at Legacy Feed and Fuel in July. Thank you to all our supporters who came out to help and donate!
Throughout the summer, our volunteers attended weekly training sessions. This is our newest session leader, Miss Shannah!!! Isn't she so beautiful!
Fireside worship is a new event we offer the 1st Friday of every month. The next scheduled night will be Friday September 7th. Please join us for good music, fellowship and a potluck dinner.
Babe was our first patient of the season. Thankfully, her wound healed up nicely and she is off "medical leave." Thank you to Dr. Val for your urgency and advice! She really didn't like her medicine though ( ;
Kuna Days 2012
Special thanks to Tammy and Lauren for your time and talent in putting together crafts and for designing this beautiful booth!
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." -2 Corinthians 3:17
Our weeks are full of blessings here at the ranch. Many wonderful children have been referred to our program and attend weekly sessions with our Sun River Family volunteers.
Safety is our top priority. All volunteers attend training meetings focused on equine behavior and safety measures.
We are currently working toward insuring the program. This is our next BIG goal as this type of insurance is difficult to find and extremely expensive.
We cannot describe the environment while watching a child work toward a goal, enjoy the animals and connect with volunteers. We look forward to seeing our kids weekly!
The families are so encouraging and supportive. We are starting to see little horse people evolve ( ;
Equine therapy is so beneficial in the development of all children, not just those with physical disabilities. The trust between a horse and a child is a powerful thing to watch. There is absolutely NO logical reason that these enormous animals should drop their head and follow a child, other than they are a gift from God.
Please let us know if you know anyone who would be interested in joining our volunteer staff. We are filling up quickly and need sidewalkers and session leaders.
Thank you God for blessing us with these families and their amazing children! They brighten our days and fill our hearts with love.
"An equine youth ranch where hope, love and peace abound. Where horses and children alike can be healed, renewed and set free."
"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.
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 andin 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.
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!
