It’s hard to believe that this week marks our last session of summer programming for the 2019 calendar year. We are already looking forward to starting our fall programming and kicking off our monthly leadership retreats where we focus on team building, writing/resume workshops, woodworking/welding, cooking/hospitality training, financial literacy, job skills and so much more.
Here are a few glimpses into session seven this week at Wildwood Hills Ranch.
One little girl named Emma was absolutely terrified of the dark and going to bed at night in her bunk house. Her leader asked to pray for her one night when Emma was very scared and couldn’t sleep. Emma had never heard of prayer before and asked her leader what prayer was. Her leader explained to her what prayer was and who God was since little Emma had never heard about God before either. Two nights later, Emma asked to be the one who prayed for dinner in the dining hall!
Another boy named Erik who suffered from a severe case of autism bonded very closely with his leader, Sam. Sam spent this last week pouring into Erik and devoting to his growth. Erik is pretty non-verbal but found tremendous joy in the songs that were sung at The Ranch this week. Sam made a special effort to learn and share new songs with Erik and as the days unfolded Erik kept becoming more and more engaged and lively. Erik’s favorite songs were: Jesus You’re my Super Hero and Father Abraham. If Sam had not taken the time to invest in Erik, Erik would never have fully experienced what Wildwood Hills Ranch is all about: serving everyone unconditionally and making sure that everyone can participate and enjoy their time here with us.
We are so thankful for the stories that were brought to us this summer. We are grateful for the lives we got to impact and the hope we got to put into the hearts of all the children that came to The Ranch. We will continue to share more stories as they unfold and we value your ongoing support as we launch into our fall sessions of leadership retreat programming.