“Can I bring a group of boys to do some volunteer work at Morning Star Ranch next week?” Christine and I were excited to have the six high school boys and two sponsors arrive on a beautiful morning that was supposed to be a day full of thunderstorms. However, the weather prediction was completely wrong and there was sunshine and a light breeze all day long—a great day to be outside! We were transitioning from our summer schedule to the fall season and a number of projects needed to be done.
Christine worked with one group of boys weeding the flower bed by the dining hall, transplanting iris bulbs, and cleaning up around the buildings. I took the other group to clean up a large branch that had fallen the night before, trim trees along one of our main roads, and get a load of mulch for various planters. We each heard so many stories from the boys; soon we realized they loved attention and new opportunities. Getting to come to a place like Morning Star Ranch was a whole new adventure! We shared about the children who come to camp, the families that come from various churches, and about how God changes lives here!
What we eventually learned is that these boys live at a couple of group homes that are designed to create a healthy Christian home environment. Due to personal and family challenges, as one of them said, “Everybody runs away at least once.” They are working through hard situations. And yet they also have hopes and dreams: to go to college, to get their lives straightened out, or to overcome their anger issues. For Christine and me to spend time with them was a great time to show and tell them about what God desires for them!
After a long, full day of hard work and a little fun joking with each other, one of the sponsors asked if the boys could go canoeing. Of course I agreed and a whole new adventure began! Laughing, yelling, splashing, and teasing each other, I was pretty certain someone would end up in the river! Sure enough, almost everyone did, and as I told them later after all the canoes were put away, we always hoped that Morning Star Ranch would be a place where people can make memories and they definitely did!
What surprised me the most though, was that as they loaded their van to head home, the sponsor said, “Can we come back again next week?” What a blessing to see this group of guys, working hard, having fun, and eager to return! Christine and I look forward to an ongoing connection and the opportunities to encourage them to grow closer to the Lord.
