As I looked around the ranch during the Grand Reopening, I smiled. Lord, you do all things well. It wasn’t just the neighborhood and community support. It wasn’t just the sound of distant laughter. No… it wasn’t just the finished caretaker’s home or the food tent full of people. It wasn’t just the ribbon cutting.
It was all the Lord, but there was something more, something deeper which invoked my grateful heart to praise. Then I heard it.
Or rather,
I overheard it.
WWKI interviewed one of the kids that had come with the homework club group. These kids are from the government subsidized neighborhood. They get opportunities to come out to ranch with the neighborhood homework club leaders.
The radio host, Tammy Lively, asked the students why they like to come out to Narrow Gate, one student responded,
“Because we feel loved, and they pray for us.”
There it was.
The deepest well of my praise always seems to spring from tenderhearted kiddos. They’re why we care for horses, remodel a home, host a grand reopening party, and cut the ribbon. It’s the opportunity to invite a child out of their chaos and into a relationship with God through the interaction with a horse.
When God made horses, he knew he was making a “magical magnet” for kids. I’ve seen some pretty tough characters melt when connecting with a horse.
The homework club coordinator, Angie Sanders, regularly brings groups of students out to the ranch. She recently sent this to me:
“At the beginning of September, we had 11 more students than I could transport. I had to limit registration from oldest to youngest. On the first day, two students ended up getting called into work and one was a no-show. The students that did attend had such a good time that word got around. I had three older male teens approach me about attending the next class. These three did not currently attend homework club, so I was hesitant.
There’s a lot that students learn by attending homework club events. [They learn things like] respect for others and watching their language. I knew I had three openings, but did I dare allow these three new students that I knew nothing about? And that knew nothing about our rules and appropriate behavior? Three older male teens that didn’t look like they’d ever stepped out of the urban, inner city circle?
I took the chance. I got them registered for homework club and horse ranch in one swoop and off we went without even a single day of homework club attendance.
These boys LOVED horse ranch. Were there a few hiccups in the van on the way there? Yes. ‘We don’t use that language here.’ ‘Choose something different to listen to.’ But once they stepped onto the dirt and turf of the horse ranch, they were enraptured.
It’s like they forgot everything - everything - else in life and just lived in that moment.
I received great feedback on their behavior and they continue to attend homework club daily. Always asking, ’When is the next day of horse ranch?’
Because of this daily attendance, we are now able to assist them with homework help, school projects, monitor their grades and attendance, plus communicate with their families about helpful resources.
They say it takes a village. I think it takes a caring community. Glad to be a part of this one.”
This.
This is why we opened at the free-lease property and why we had to fundraise and buy our own. This is why we reopened after months of what seemed like endless, hard work. This is why we care for horses in the coldest parts of winter and hottest parts of summer.
We do it so kids from hard places are prayed for and loved. The Lord is using our own Howard County community to help change the trajectory of kids' lives.
And praise erupts in our hearts!