New Ideas and Faithful Teams

In the past few months we have been overwhelmed with new ideas about our ministry and have been brainstorming about how best we can help the boys and their community. With the help of the book Toxic Charity and a visit to Eagle Ranch, we have come up with new ideas for how best to effectively change the community where the boys live in a way that brings them dignity and empowers both the boys and their families. In April, Nathan visited a boys home in Georgia called Eagle Ranch where he got many new ideas about our ministry and the structure of both our Refuge and Ranch. The book Toxic Charity has also sparked a lot of good conversation and thoughts about how to reach the boys and their families in a way that is healthy and glorifying to God. This book has changed the way we think about our ministry. It has encouraged us as it confirmed the things we are already doing and challenged us to change a few things to make our ministry more effective.
Please pray for guidance and wisdom for Nathan and the rest of the team as we work with the new ideas and continue to work on getting the ministry up and running to the best of it’s potential.
At the end of 2011 we had the chance to work with two wonderful teams whose work and ministry have greatly benefited our own. In October we had a team called EMI come to Guatemala to help us with the architecture and layout of Engadi Ranch. EMI is a ministry that does architecture for ministries free of charge. With their help our vision for the Ranch came to life. We are thankful for their ministry and help in our ministry. In December we had a team called Blume Photography come to make a promotional video and take pictures to use for our ministry. Their promo video has now turned into a full fledged documentary on the ministry and what we plan to do. Their help in telling our story will be a great blessing as we continue to promote the ministry and raise funds.
The Refuge is starting to take shape and we can’t wait to get more teams on the ground to get even more work done. The guard house is up, and this summer we are hoping to start work on the retreat center. We are so excited to take this next step to being able to have boys living on the Refuge. We have four more teams coming down this summer, and couldn’t be more excited to see what they get done and how God works through them. We are thankful for their dedication and passion for our ministry and are excited to see what God does through them.
Please pray for all those traveling to and from the States. Pray for safety, productivity, and that God’s presence will be overwhelming. Pray that the teams will become invested in the vision and that they would be blessed as they come to serve.