Internship Update!

Praise God my worth doesn't come from my own strength. I learned quickly from haying that I am the weakest person on the ranch.  

I have several stories that I will share individually, but I want to provide a quick summary to catch up on the last month. When I arrived on May 29th, I stayed in quarantine with one of the other interns. The staff warned us that the bunkhouse was a refurbished boxcar - nothing fancy. They neglected to tell us that it was a beautiful tiny house! 

After quarantine was over, we moved into our host home and started training on the ranch. I have learned how to drive a Kubota with and without a trailer, how to care for the horses on the ranch, and how to use a few tools to build a birdhouse. 

I love this lifestyle. The daily physical labor keeps my blood sugars in check and I get to be around horses every day! I'm going to appreciate every moment of this pacific-northwestern life. The internship isn't what I expected it to be. I still don't know if there will be any kids at the ranch while I am here. Of course I wanted to have sessions with kids. I wanted to see the ranch open to the public. But God's plans are better than my plans. Because the ranch isn't busy with sessions at the moment, the interns have been able to learn and experience things that former interns haven't. There is no doubt in our hearts that each of us six interns are here for a specific purpose. 

I'm gonna regret putting this on the internet, aren't I? The shirt says "greenhorn", which was the name of my team.

The ranch was able to put on a fun drive-by event. We all dressed up like Hill-Billys (or whatever on earth I was dressed as) and set up stations throughout the ranch. Children and their families drove around the ranch and waved and talked from their vehicles. Everyone was safe and we got to see kids! The staff and interns were over the moon to see young smiling faces. After all, that's why we're here: to love the kids and community for Jesus. I got to play "horse soccer" during the event. It was so much fun! There is a video of the drive-by on Crystal Peak Youth Ranch's Facebook page if you are interested. 

The best part of this whole experience is the community. The staff here at the ranch love God with their lives. Worship is part of every day. Every mundane task is an opportunity to listen for what God may be teaching you. I've never seen people pray this much. Not, "Oh I'll be praying for you." Prayer here looks like everyone dropping whatever their doing to gather and pray over your headache, your sore back, your broken heart, your brother's cancer, a horse that is sick, or which horses should be moved into a different paddock. No decision is too small. No miracle is too big. Faith isn't just a concept or a churchy word on the ranch. Faith is how we live. We serve God believing that he will lead us and provide everything we need to complete the task he has given us. There is so much God-given wisdom here. I love watching and listening to these Christians; I want to soak up every moment!

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