I would love to go back to the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Georgia. My friend T gets to go back in June or July and I'm SO FREAKING JEALOUS. Please refer to my blog post about this trip here.
Showing posts with label Goshen Valley Boys Ranch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goshen Valley Boys Ranch. Show all posts
Mar 28, 2011
Day 6: A Picture of...
...Something You'd Like to Do Again
I would love to go back to the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Georgia. My friend T gets to go back in June or July and I'm SO FREAKING JEALOUS. Please refer to my blog post about this trip here.
I would love to go back to the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Georgia. My friend T gets to go back in June or July and I'm SO FREAKING JEALOUS. Please refer to my blog post about this trip here.
Jan 17, 2011
Faith Filled vs. Insane
This morning my friend called and asked if I thought she and her husband were insane or faith filled. I don't want to get into too many details about their situation, but suffice it to say that they have been jumping feet first into God's calling for them. Two years ago they took in two little girls who legally and officially became theirs a year ago, but who felt like theirs long before that. Now they're pursuing international adoption, and K is considering a HUGE leap of faith that would involve taking their children and leaving D behind for about 6 months and going halfway around the world. She wants to know if she's nuts.
Totally.
But not in the I-need-to-be-locked-up-in-a-padded-room-because-I'm-a-danger-to-myself-and-others kind of nuts. It's the kind of nuts that God wants us to be -- nuts about him. Nuts about His plans for us. Nuts about people less fortunate. Nuts about everything He calls us to do.
THAT'S the kind of nuts we need to be.
I'm currently working on a series with our high schoolers about what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. It's not just about the name, about calling yourself a Christian. It's about the relationship you have with Him. It's about realizing His call and answering it. I have no idea what K & D's home faith life is, whether they pray or read the Word or have devotions, but I do know this -- they are followers of Christ.
We had a sermon last year in which our pastor mentions a passage in the Bible where Jesus says, basically, if you have two coats and your neighbor has none, you stole one. My friend C went up to our pastor after the service and said, "When are you going to have a coat drive, then?" And my pastor responded, "whenever you coordinate it." So he did. And we're having another one this year. C is a follower of Christ.
I've had moments when I've felt like a follower of Christ, but do I live as a follower all of the time? It's not my place to determine that. It's about how others -- and, ultimately God -- view me. Am I the living presence of Christ all the time or just on mission trips? Am I showing God's love to the least of these? Am I living my life in a way that serves widows, orphans, oppressed, homeless, hungry, cheated... The list goes on. There are lots of Scripture calling us to do that (James 1:27, Malachi 3:5, and Micah 6:8 are just some).
I don't know. Maybe this post is just a lot of me rambling, trying to get feelings down on paper, so to speak. But I admire my friend. I admire C. I admire the houseparents at Goshen. I admire the Chapman family who adopted three little girls from China, and have used the tragedy of losing one of them to preach the hope of God even in crisis to them. I admire my former coworker C who is going to propose to his girlfriend soon; they'll get married in September because he doesn't want her 16 month old to remember a time when he wasn't her daddy. I admire the D family who I babysit for; both of the parents are first responders and they only see each other 10 days out of the month.
I leave you with a song by Josh Wilson. I love the words of this song, but now that I have some examples to apply it to, I love it even more.
Totally.
But not in the I-need-to-be-locked-up-in-a-padded-room-because-I'm-a-danger-to-myself-and-others kind of nuts. It's the kind of nuts that God wants us to be -- nuts about him. Nuts about His plans for us. Nuts about people less fortunate. Nuts about everything He calls us to do.
THAT'S the kind of nuts we need to be.
I'm currently working on a series with our high schoolers about what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. It's not just about the name, about calling yourself a Christian. It's about the relationship you have with Him. It's about realizing His call and answering it. I have no idea what K & D's home faith life is, whether they pray or read the Word or have devotions, but I do know this -- they are followers of Christ.
We had a sermon last year in which our pastor mentions a passage in the Bible where Jesus says, basically, if you have two coats and your neighbor has none, you stole one. My friend C went up to our pastor after the service and said, "When are you going to have a coat drive, then?" And my pastor responded, "whenever you coordinate it." So he did. And we're having another one this year. C is a follower of Christ.
I've had moments when I've felt like a follower of Christ, but do I live as a follower all of the time? It's not my place to determine that. It's about how others -- and, ultimately God -- view me. Am I the living presence of Christ all the time or just on mission trips? Am I showing God's love to the least of these? Am I living my life in a way that serves widows, orphans, oppressed, homeless, hungry, cheated... The list goes on. There are lots of Scripture calling us to do that (James 1:27, Malachi 3:5, and Micah 6:8 are just some).
I don't know. Maybe this post is just a lot of me rambling, trying to get feelings down on paper, so to speak. But I admire my friend. I admire C. I admire the houseparents at Goshen. I admire the Chapman family who adopted three little girls from China, and have used the tragedy of losing one of them to preach the hope of God even in crisis to them. I admire my former coworker C who is going to propose to his girlfriend soon; they'll get married in September because he doesn't want her 16 month old to remember a time when he wasn't her daddy. I admire the D family who I babysit for; both of the parents are first responders and they only see each other 10 days out of the month.
I leave you with a song by Josh Wilson. I love the words of this song, but now that I have some examples to apply it to, I love it even more.
Sometimes I,
I just want to close my eyes
And act like everyone’s alright
When I know they’re not.
This world needs God
But it’s easier to stand and watch.
I could pray a prayer and just move on
Like nothing’s wrong.
But I refuse.
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care.
I don’t want to say another empty prayer.
Oh, I refuse to
Sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself.
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse.
I can hear the least of these
Crying out so desperately,
And I know we are the hands and feet
Of you, oh God.
So, if you say move,
Then it’s time for me to follow through,
And do what I was made to do.
Show them who you are.
To stand and watch
The weary and lost
Cry out for help.
I refuse
To turn my back
And try and act like all is well.
I refuse
To stay unchanged,
To wait another day,
To die to myself.
I refuse
To make one more excuse.
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care.
I don’t want to say another empty prayer.
Oh, I refuse to
Sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself.
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse.
Apr 12, 2010
Life-Changing, God-Inspired Week
I want to sit and write this while my week is still pretty fresh in my head. This is a long one, so if you need a bathroom break or a snack, you better go get it.
As I mentioned in my quick post, this ranch takes in about 20-25 boys in the foster care system in Georgia. Some are only there for a short time while their parents work out arrangements with the courts, others have had parental rights permanently suspended and are looking for forever homes. Many of the boys come from abuse and neglect. Others have parents who are addicted to drugs, in jail, or dead. A few have been in jail themselves. All of them come to the ranch lost, and while staying there, get found.
I'm not saying that they have some kind of spiritual revival there, necessarily, but all of these boys come from backgrounds in which they don't know what love is. not REAL love. They don't think they're good enough to be loved. If they've gotten into trouble, they wonder if they can ever be forgiven.
And then they meet Zach. And John. And Trudy. And Rachel, Kris, Jen, Joanna... EVERYONE who works on that ranch has taken to heart the mission Jesus gives us to serve the orphans and widows in James 1:27, and to serve "the least of these" )Matthew 25). They KNOW what it means to be the presence of Christ to a lost and broken world, because the boys they come to know and love ARE broken. On this ranch, there is healing.
On this ranch, there is God.
Being able to come down in my group of 13 -- people from ALL over the country -- was an honor. A privilege. A blessing. Yeah, that's it: a blessing. We arrived in Atlanta on Monday complete strangers and somehow, on the hour long van ride to the ranch and through lunch, we became a team. This team was able to gravel a road in 2 hours. This team converted a horse stall into a room and tore down a few walls in the barn to make a school. This team cleaned out an old pump house and helped lay an irrigation system. And this team loved.
I can honestly say that this mission trip was more personal than one I've ever been on in the past. I loved getting to know Chester in October of '07, and hearing the story of Nick and his family's struggles after Rita, and working on the trailer on the shore that was destroyed later that year by Hurricane Ike. But nothing hit me the way that those boys did. I don't know if it's my heart for youth ministry or my passion for teaching or what, but something about them made me stop and go, "Huh."
On Wednesday night we had a service down by their lake and 2 of the boys gave their testimony. One had been on the ranch for only 3 weeks and said, "I feel loved." I don't know much about his story, but I do know that fifteen year old boys do not openly talk about their feelings. And it was the way he said it, the emotion you could hear in his voice that gave it all away. The other boy had been on the ranch for 5 years and in his story, he said, "I don't know God exists because of the trees and everything around me, even though they're beautiful. I know God exists because of the people here on the ranch."
Love.
Do we ever give enough of it away? Do we ever, truly, love unconditionally? I'm not sure I do all the time. I know that there are thoughts that come through my head that I'm ashamed of, that aren't loving. It's human nature, right? And yet... The people on the ranch. The houseparents, the office staff, the administration... THEY know what love really is and they show it to these beautiful, broken boys every day, and help lead them to healing.
SO I was challenged last week. To really remove all of the filters in my heart. Do I love like I should? Not yet. But I want to. The impact that those adults had on those boys is why I want to be a teacher. I want kids to know that they are loved, that they are worth something, that they can be healed. Especially if they are from broken homes like so many of those boys.
The other thing that struck me this week about the boys was how eager the boys were to serve. They served each other, their houseparents, us... It's like pulling teeth sometimes to get my high school youth kids to do something, and these boys were more than eager to use the power tools to install that floor. They were eager to get us more food or another soda, or to clear our plate. And they were eager to shovel rocks all over a road. I'm 24 and I know that I would never want to get up at 8:00AM on MY spring break to move rocks around on a road. BUT THEY DID. Whether they wanted to or not, they did it. And I didn't hear a gripe out of any of them.
Can that be said of me? Of you?
Certainly not of me. There were a few moments today, even, that I caught myself complaining about the work I had to do (especially when one girl needed a dirty diaper changed... it was bad, people). I'm challenging myself to be aware of my thoughts. TO be more positive. To serve.
Life-changing. God-inspired. Challenging. Refreshing. Renewing. There are dozens of words I can use to describe my trip. But the lessons I learned, and the challenges I now face can't be summed up in words or this post would never end. I hope to go back to GVBR. And maybe I will next year. I don't know, we'll see where God leads me. But one thing is for sure: The person I was when I got on the plane in St. Louis Monday morning is not the person I was when I got off of it on Friday. And to that, I say, "Hallelujah."
As I mentioned in my quick post, this ranch takes in about 20-25 boys in the foster care system in Georgia. Some are only there for a short time while their parents work out arrangements with the courts, others have had parental rights permanently suspended and are looking for forever homes. Many of the boys come from abuse and neglect. Others have parents who are addicted to drugs, in jail, or dead. A few have been in jail themselves. All of them come to the ranch lost, and while staying there, get found.
I'm not saying that they have some kind of spiritual revival there, necessarily, but all of these boys come from backgrounds in which they don't know what love is. not REAL love. They don't think they're good enough to be loved. If they've gotten into trouble, they wonder if they can ever be forgiven.
And then they meet Zach. And John. And Trudy. And Rachel, Kris, Jen, Joanna... EVERYONE who works on that ranch has taken to heart the mission Jesus gives us to serve the orphans and widows in James 1:27, and to serve "the least of these" )Matthew 25). They KNOW what it means to be the presence of Christ to a lost and broken world, because the boys they come to know and love ARE broken. On this ranch, there is healing.
On this ranch, there is God.
Being able to come down in my group of 13 -- people from ALL over the country -- was an honor. A privilege. A blessing. Yeah, that's it: a blessing. We arrived in Atlanta on Monday complete strangers and somehow, on the hour long van ride to the ranch and through lunch, we became a team. This team was able to gravel a road in 2 hours. This team converted a horse stall into a room and tore down a few walls in the barn to make a school. This team cleaned out an old pump house and helped lay an irrigation system. And this team loved.
I can honestly say that this mission trip was more personal than one I've ever been on in the past. I loved getting to know Chester in October of '07, and hearing the story of Nick and his family's struggles after Rita, and working on the trailer on the shore that was destroyed later that year by Hurricane Ike. But nothing hit me the way that those boys did. I don't know if it's my heart for youth ministry or my passion for teaching or what, but something about them made me stop and go, "Huh."
On Wednesday night we had a service down by their lake and 2 of the boys gave their testimony. One had been on the ranch for only 3 weeks and said, "I feel loved." I don't know much about his story, but I do know that fifteen year old boys do not openly talk about their feelings. And it was the way he said it, the emotion you could hear in his voice that gave it all away. The other boy had been on the ranch for 5 years and in his story, he said, "I don't know God exists because of the trees and everything around me, even though they're beautiful. I know God exists because of the people here on the ranch."
Love.
Do we ever give enough of it away? Do we ever, truly, love unconditionally? I'm not sure I do all the time. I know that there are thoughts that come through my head that I'm ashamed of, that aren't loving. It's human nature, right? And yet... The people on the ranch. The houseparents, the office staff, the administration... THEY know what love really is and they show it to these beautiful, broken boys every day, and help lead them to healing.
SO I was challenged last week. To really remove all of the filters in my heart. Do I love like I should? Not yet. But I want to. The impact that those adults had on those boys is why I want to be a teacher. I want kids to know that they are loved, that they are worth something, that they can be healed. Especially if they are from broken homes like so many of those boys.
The other thing that struck me this week about the boys was how eager the boys were to serve. They served each other, their houseparents, us... It's like pulling teeth sometimes to get my high school youth kids to do something, and these boys were more than eager to use the power tools to install that floor. They were eager to get us more food or another soda, or to clear our plate. And they were eager to shovel rocks all over a road. I'm 24 and I know that I would never want to get up at 8:00AM on MY spring break to move rocks around on a road. BUT THEY DID. Whether they wanted to or not, they did it. And I didn't hear a gripe out of any of them.
Can that be said of me? Of you?
Certainly not of me. There were a few moments today, even, that I caught myself complaining about the work I had to do (especially when one girl needed a dirty diaper changed... it was bad, people). I'm challenging myself to be aware of my thoughts. TO be more positive. To serve.
Life-changing. God-inspired. Challenging. Refreshing. Renewing. There are dozens of words I can use to describe my trip. But the lessons I learned, and the challenges I now face can't be summed up in words or this post would never end. I hope to go back to GVBR. And maybe I will next year. I don't know, we'll see where God leads me. But one thing is for sure: The person I was when I got on the plane in St. Louis Monday morning is not the person I was when I got off of it on Friday. And to that, I say, "Hallelujah."
Apr 10, 2010
My Trip, In 10 Bullet Points
I am working on a more detailed post, but for now here are some fun facts about my trip:
1. It was my first time on a plane in almost 10 years. And this plane was tiny! i guess Delta Connection flights always are. it only last about 80 minutes, which was nice.
2. John Blend bought the property in Waleska, GA, in 1982 (I think...)
3. He turned it into the Boys' Ranch in the mid-90's.
4. It is 100% a Christian environment. The boys are required to go to church each week, the family units begin each day with a devotion and prayer, the only music allowed on the ranch is Christian (rock, rap, worship, whatever, as long as it praises his name it's in).
5. The Ranch sits on 300+ acres. There are horses, cows, and 2 dogs from a neighboring property. There are 5 houses for the boys and the houseparents, 2 barns, a pavilion where we ate all of our meals, an admin. building, and an ooooold farm house.
6. One of their goals (and something we worked on) is to turn the barn into a school. Several of the boys are waaaay behind in their studies, so some will exclusively go to school on the ranch while others get tutored in the areas they need.
7. Zach, John's son, is incredibly involved with how the Ranch runs. He's getting married in May to his lovely fiancee Rachel who also has a passion for the ministry of this ranch.
8. John gave the Independent Living boys (4 of them in that house) copies of Do Hard Things by the Harris twins. I have read this book and it is PHENOMENAL. John challenged them to really go out and "do hard things" so they started Good Things Barbecue and Catering Company. They cooked for us all week (except for dinner Tuesday and lunch on Thursday and Friday). It was soooooo good!
9. We had a talent show on Thursday in which we all did skits w/ the boys of the house we ate at on Tues. Such a riot! And we put together a band combining a few of us missionaries, the boys, and houseparents. It was awesome!
10. I have never felt so much love and compassion, or seen so much of Jesus incarnate as I did in that place. Even thought there was about 20 boys on the property, Zach and John not only knew each one by name, but knew what their stories were and why they were there. The boys, who have never known what love is, come to this ranch and suddenly understand what they've been missing.
It was an incredible, life-changing experience.
1. It was my first time on a plane in almost 10 years. And this plane was tiny! i guess Delta Connection flights always are. it only last about 80 minutes, which was nice.
2. John Blend bought the property in Waleska, GA, in 1982 (I think...)
3. He turned it into the Boys' Ranch in the mid-90's.
4. It is 100% a Christian environment. The boys are required to go to church each week, the family units begin each day with a devotion and prayer, the only music allowed on the ranch is Christian (rock, rap, worship, whatever, as long as it praises his name it's in).
5. The Ranch sits on 300+ acres. There are horses, cows, and 2 dogs from a neighboring property. There are 5 houses for the boys and the houseparents, 2 barns, a pavilion where we ate all of our meals, an admin. building, and an ooooold farm house.
6. One of their goals (and something we worked on) is to turn the barn into a school. Several of the boys are waaaay behind in their studies, so some will exclusively go to school on the ranch while others get tutored in the areas they need.
7. Zach, John's son, is incredibly involved with how the Ranch runs. He's getting married in May to his lovely fiancee Rachel who also has a passion for the ministry of this ranch.
8. John gave the Independent Living boys (4 of them in that house) copies of Do Hard Things by the Harris twins. I have read this book and it is PHENOMENAL. John challenged them to really go out and "do hard things" so they started Good Things Barbecue and Catering Company. They cooked for us all week (except for dinner Tuesday and lunch on Thursday and Friday). It was soooooo good!
9. We had a talent show on Thursday in which we all did skits w/ the boys of the house we ate at on Tues. Such a riot! And we put together a band combining a few of us missionaries, the boys, and houseparents. It was awesome!
10. I have never felt so much love and compassion, or seen so much of Jesus incarnate as I did in that place. Even thought there was about 20 boys on the property, Zach and John not only knew each one by name, but knew what their stories were and why they were there. The boys, who have never known what love is, come to this ranch and suddenly understand what they've been missing.
It was an incredible, life-changing experience.
Apr 9, 2010
I'm back!
My week was AMAZING. I just spent the week in Atlanta working at a boys' ranch. I will post more on it tomorrow 'cause I"m BEAT, but I wanted to let you know that I have been out of touch from the "real" world -- no Facebook or Google Reader. I will catch up as fast as I can, as well as post a real entry about my week. For now, I leave you with this photo:
Mar 10, 2010
April Mission Trip
The day after Easter, I'm headed to Georgia for a mission trip with work. (Not my new work, my old work... FCS.) We'll be working at the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch, which works with teenage boys in foster care. I'm really excited, but I have a favor to ask.
If I know any of you personally (or if any of you STLWed gals will be at the GNO on the 26th), will you help me provide donations? I want to bring down things like boxer shorts, t-shirts, deodorant, etc., for the boys. Let me know int he comments if you'd like to help. If you won't see me before then, e-mail me at phlpns314jlf at yahoo dot com and we can figure out a place to meet up or I'll give you my address and you can mail your donations to me.
Thanks for considering and thanks in advance to those who help!!
If I know any of you personally (or if any of you STLWed gals will be at the GNO on the 26th), will you help me provide donations? I want to bring down things like boxer shorts, t-shirts, deodorant, etc., for the boys. Let me know int he comments if you'd like to help. If you won't see me before then, e-mail me at phlpns314jlf at yahoo dot com and we can figure out a place to meet up or I'll give you my address and you can mail your donations to me.
Thanks for considering and thanks in advance to those who help!!
Nov 5, 2009
Feel like I'm neglecting you?
The truth is, I've started a few different posts and then had to save them as drafts because I didn't have time to finish them and then I forgot about them. One was about my summer. We'll see if that goes up.
Anyway, as we approach Christmas (cal you believe it's NOVEMEBR already??), I'll be getting even MORE busy at work. This week I have 32 hours, next week I have 30.5 and the following week I have 23. Then the week after THAT is Thanksgiving. It's all crazy from here, folks!
I've been working in the back doing inventory as our regular ICS person is on vacation with some friends. It's been a nice break from customers, and my super organizational side is loving it, but I'll be glad when I'm back up front with people, and not back in the "dungeon," LOL.
I did receive word today that I'm going to the Goshen Valley Boys' Ranch April 5-9. It's north of Atlanta and serves 24 boys in a residential method. Their core beliefs in helping these boys are Family, Faith, Education, and Work. I'm really excited about this trip. I'm going with a bunch of other FCS employees from all over the country (including my own manager!). It's in conjunction with the James Fund, our store's non-profit organization. It does a lot with widows and orphans (see James 1:27). We do a lot of special partnerships at work too. For example, PureNRG's CD that released in July helped put shoes on orphans in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The Casting Crowns CD prebuy is partnering to feed children in Haiti. We also have our Barnabas Bears every year that puts money into the fund.
Anyway, the Ranch is in need of some items, so if you know me personally and would be interested in donating items for me to take, let me know. The website has a list of needs that they have, but I'll be letting you know about some other things I'd like to bring, like games and books and treats and things. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to see how God will use me to reach the boys, and how He'll use the boys to reach me.
Anyway, as we approach Christmas (cal you believe it's NOVEMEBR already??), I'll be getting even MORE busy at work. This week I have 32 hours, next week I have 30.5 and the following week I have 23. Then the week after THAT is Thanksgiving. It's all crazy from here, folks!
I've been working in the back doing inventory as our regular ICS person is on vacation with some friends. It's been a nice break from customers, and my super organizational side is loving it, but I'll be glad when I'm back up front with people, and not back in the "dungeon," LOL.
I did receive word today that I'm going to the Goshen Valley Boys' Ranch April 5-9. It's north of Atlanta and serves 24 boys in a residential method. Their core beliefs in helping these boys are Family, Faith, Education, and Work. I'm really excited about this trip. I'm going with a bunch of other FCS employees from all over the country (including my own manager!). It's in conjunction with the James Fund, our store's non-profit organization. It does a lot with widows and orphans (see James 1:27). We do a lot of special partnerships at work too. For example, PureNRG's CD that released in July helped put shoes on orphans in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The Casting Crowns CD prebuy is partnering to feed children in Haiti. We also have our Barnabas Bears every year that puts money into the fund.
Anyway, the Ranch is in need of some items, so if you know me personally and would be interested in donating items for me to take, let me know. The website has a list of needs that they have, but I'll be letting you know about some other things I'd like to bring, like games and books and treats and things. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to see how God will use me to reach the boys, and how He'll use the boys to reach me.
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