Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Due to the large amounts of rain we've had over the past few days the frogs are certainly praising the Lord.  The pond at the center of the ranch is actually a pond now.  Green grass and weeds are springing up everywhere.  It's amazing what a little bit of rain can do.  And the cooler weather!  That right there is enough to praise the Lord about. 

Another new creature has taken up residence at the ranch.  We now have an orphan bottle calf.  Her name is Orphan Annie.  She's been surviving quite nicely on goat's milk and seems to enjoy it.  She looks a little like Liberty with her red body and white head, but much smaller.

Last weekend the boy scout troop from Sierra Vista came out to the ranch to earn their horse badge and to help us out with some cleaning.  We did a short version of riding class, animal science, and horse science.  They all had fun and were able to help us by cleaning out the large barn stall.  (Which is now being used to house Annie.)  It's so amazing how God works things out!

The general consensus for the trail ride was that it was a success.  We had a few up and downs along the way, but overall everyone enjoyed themselves.  (Get it?  "up and downs" like as in up and down the mountainsides?  Okay, it wasn't really that funny...)  Okay, but truthfully everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  The afternoon meal was a big hit.  It was an authentic ranch-style meal with brisket and potatoes and cherry pie for desert.  Everything was homemade of course.  We ate in the shade of the front porch while listening to cowboy music and poetry.  And since it was mother's day weekend, all the ladies got to leave with a beautiful long-stem rose. 

Other excitement here at the ranch happened on Monday when we brought home a new horse in replacement of Jeremiah.  He's a beautiful strawberry roan POA with a large blaze down his face.  At 14.1 hands tall, he just barely missed the cut-off for being called a horse.  However, I like him just the size he is.  Perfect for people like me.   He hasn't been ridden in a long time, so he won't be ready to ride during the first weeks of summer camp, but maybe he'll be ready for the advanced camp.  I've been trying to ride him every day to get him ready in time.  I really like his personality and think he will fit well in the program.

Also added to the menagerie here at the ranch are 5 baby silkies and 3 baby ducks.  They are Kyle's new 4-H project.  There's been a lot of excitement going on trying to take care of them, as they have to live in the house under a heat lamp and continually be given food and water.  The ducks even get to go swimming once a day in the bathtub.  They really enjoy that.  And so do the boys. 

Two weeks ago we took a class to learn how to drive the donkey and cart.  We were told to practice, practice, practice.  And today was the test.  I'm proud to say we passed with flying colors! :)  JustAnne is getting so much better as well.  She's getting more in shape and responds better to the cues.  Those of you coming to summer camp are in for a real treat!  Each camper gets to individually learn how to harness and drive JustAnne.  You will get to learn the proper technique in driving and practice by manuevering around obstacles and best of all, you'll get the coolest teachers on staff:  Dan and Jake!  So don't delay in sending in your camp application today!

Tomorrow is the Agape Youth Ranch Annual Trail Ride located at the TX Ranch.  We started setting up for it today, and will be there bright and early in the morning tomorrow.  Approximently twenty-five riders will be headed out with us into the Swisshelm mountains for a fabulous two-hour ride.  I'm excited!  Hope to see you there as well:)

It's light by 5:00 here at the ranch, so that's when the day begins.  For those milking goats that is...  To produce the most milk, each goat needs to be milked every 12 hours.  So if we do chores at 5:00 in the evening at 5:00 in the morning we have to start milking.  It's nice and cool at that time and quite enjoyable.  However, with this new adaptation sleep deprivation is running rampant among the staff.  In the summer when it's stifling hot in the middle of the day it will be nice to get things done while it's cool in the early morning, but for now it's hard to adjust.

A week from tomorrow is the Annual Trail Ride taking place at the TX Ranch.  We have over 20 riders currently signed up and space is filling up fast, so if you are planning on attending RSVP immediately!  Here at the ranch we are excited about the upcoming ride.  I've been preparing the horse I plan to ride by riding her once a day at an increasingly longer distance each time.  When I rode the trail at the TX Ranch the day we evaluated it I had a lot of fun.  Being from Kansas almost everything is flat, but around here there are mountains.  That was the first time I had ridden in the mountains.  The view was phenomenal!  And it was exciting walking along the edge of a cliff and looking down at the valley below.  There's a lot of up and down and it's pretty rocky, but I would recommend it to every experienced rider. 

In March the ranch received a donkey by the name of JustAnne.   She is really sweet and will work well in the ranch program.  We used her as a camp horse during our Spring Break Outreach and other times when beginners came to ride.  The neat thing about her is not only is she a great riding donkey, but she knows how to pull a cart as well.  We are so blessed that the cart and harness came with her when she was donated.  The only thing is none of us here at the ranch remember much from out past driving experiences.  So on Tuesday Katie Salwei, a friend of the ranch, came and gave us a quick review.  We learned how to harness the donkey and hitch her to a cart.  Then each one of us, Kristel, Dan, Jake, and I, got a chance to practice driving.  JustAnne enjoys pulling a cart, but most of all she enjoys eating carrots.  So, after we were finished driving she got her wish.

Thursday was a staff work day.  It was yard work time!  Out came the weedeaters, lawnmowers, tree trimmers, and round-up.  We started at one end and in a whirlwind of buzzing, clipping, and spraying we ridded the ranch of any weed, low-hanging branch, and long blade of grass.  We also cleaned up all the loose trash that had blown in the wind and all the scrap building materials.  It looks so much nicer now.  And what a fun time it was with everyone working together. 

Monday was the first ladies Bible study here at the ranch.  Ten junior high and high school ladies showed up and we had a blast.  The evening started out with games and refreshments and then we did an overview of the book we will be studying.  It's called Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh.  I'm excited about this study because I know it will addess some pretty important life issues.  Also I will have a chance to minister to these young ladies on issues that I have dealt with in the past.  With all the progression the ranch has made it's easy to loose focus on why we are all here.  So with this Bible study it gives us the chance to regain that focus, which is to minister to the people around us.

All the baby goats are doing great!  I've uploaded a couple of pictures so you can see for yourself just how cute they are.   We've been milking three of the does and they give about 2 gallons of milk a day.  Most of that goes to feed the babies now, but soon that will all be to drink!  The ranch may never have to purchase another gallon of milk.

Something else we've done this week is complete the summer camp flyers.  (All 800+ of them!)  They've been stamped, addressed, and sent in the mail.  So you should be receiving yours shortly.  However, if you do not receive one and would like to be added to the mailing list, please contacted us and we will get one sent out to you.  (480) 471-8253  The quarterly newsletters will also be sent out soon.

Goats, goats, and more goats.  That's how I'd like to sum up this week.  It started out with the purchase of two more milking does on Monday.  To increase our milk production here at the ranch we've decided to expand our goat herd.  We bought one Saanan doe who freshened in February and one Toggenburg doe due to kid soon.  Before we could arrive back at the ranch with our new goats, however, we get a phone call that Nellie, one of the goats at the ranch, was kidding.  We arrived home to witness the birth of not one, not two, but three new baby goats!  What a joy!  But the fun doesn't stop there...  The next day Marshmellow, also a ranch goat, decided to have her babies.  This time we saw the birth of twin girls.  Each has a white body and brown head.  And they are playful!  The first was up and ready to drink it's first milk in the first 5 minutes of being born.  Then on Thursday the excitement was still reeling as we woke up to find yet more babies!  Cocoa, the Toggenburg purchased on Monday, had a boy and a girl.  We didn't think she would kid for another couple of weeks and then Surprise!  Babies! 

This all leads up to the another important event of the week.  Because of our overflow of goats (2 to 11 in one week!) we needed more pen space.  Thursday was a staff work day at the ranch and we spent our time on the small animal barn.  Built by volunteers in January and February, the small animal barn is still in need of completing.  After the work day, however, it now has running water and is able to hold all the goats, donkeys, and 1 pony.  Much is still needed to be done on it though.  Gates need to be welded, the pig pen and cow pen need to be completed, but most of all it needs a good coat of paint.  Volunteers are always welcome here at the ranch and we are always very thankful for those who do come.  Thank you everyone!

Well, it's certainly exciting to be able to add the first entry on the new blog at agapeyouth.org.  There is so much to say, but where to begin?  It is a windy Friday here at the ranch.  I've been told that's how you know it's Spring.  Soon we hope to see the arrival of new baby goats.  Both mother goats are pregnant and we're expecting babies any day now.  The chickens certainly know it's Spring.  Egg production is on the increase!  In one day we got a dozen eggs from 14 chickens.

Construction at the ranch is continually progressing.  In the three months that I've been here I have seen so many changes.  The hay barn has been completed (and is now full of hay), the small animal barn is up and all the small critters have been moved into it, and of course, the activity building.  It went from bare ground, to a concrete foundation, up to four walls and a roof, and now the inside walls are forming.  So much excitement!  However, the main focus now is completing the new sewage system.  Nothing else can progress until that is finished.  All day Thursday the entire ranch staff was out in the trenches shoveling and leveling, trying to complete the leech field before it could pass inspection.  Mission Complete!  We passed inspection with flying colors and have now been given the "go ahead" on the next aspect of the new system.

Please, stay tuned for the weekly updates soon to be coming your way on the Agape Youth Ranch Blog!