This is the first prayer letter I have ever sent (thank you Durk for the idea 🙂
We have had a season of giving everything we’ve got. Somewhere in the mix, many of us are learning that in order for the operation to continue and be sustainable…we must make some major shifts. I had to step back, get my hands in the dirt and my feet back into the round pen with the horses to get my mind cleared out. These are the items that came up for prayer:
- Building an Outpost in Casa Grande AZ
- We have partners (Blue Bell Behavioral Health) and resources that can leverage insurance contracts, who have established relationships in the community, and who have a heart for serving the people in need . By teaming up, we are looking to share our story and get another ranch and horses we can work with set up in the next few months. We are praying for God to send us the people who we are to serve. Seeking Veterans, First Responders, Schools (counselors, students and administrators), local Tribes and anyone else that has the needs. There are several grants that we can go after, and we are hoping to leverage those funds combined with insurance contracts to deliver a 4-6 week equine therapy group program. Looking at 2 groups of 8 people to start. The idea is that these two groups will be the pilot – and the catalyst to tell their story to their peers and other leaders in the community. We have the tools and training to empower them to create new environments and impact lives around them following their program completion. This will help build community, spread the story and create awareness of the brand.
- Chandler Unified Schools – Reach the administrators and students
- Earlier this year, we met with counselors and leaders from the Chandler Unified School District. We had a great 3 hr session and the attendees felt that we could have an impact on not only the students, but also other staff members and administrators. If we could share the experience with this community and start to get the word out for how different this is, for how much we can create community regardless of background, age, race, etc – we can begin to impact our youth and those that serve them. It is so much easier to invite someone to be part of training and working with a horse than it is to invite someone to talk therapy. Stigma is dropped and the effectiveness of our programs can be realized. If we can get the funding through grants and the local community, get the training to infuse the Broken Arrow Wranglers brand environment into classrooms and offices…it will spread and we will grow.
- Executives and employees in Corporations
- As part of the learning in this last season, we found that many corporations have wellness funding budgets that can be used to help their employees not only regain but to sustain their health. We have made some connections here and would like to partner with organizations to offer our equine (and possibly our recreational) programs with professionals who are dealing with high amounts of stress. This one hits home for me personally as this is where the constant exposure to the heavy stress and expectations for employees and managers/leaders who are required to meet seemingly impossible goals. The anxiety, depression, suicide and major health events such as heart attacks and strokes are off the chart. We need to reach these people and train more Wranglers!
Pray that we remember the burden is light, all is done through faith and in the spirit, and that we choose faith over fear as the team is experiencing some pretty heavy beat down over the last months. Pray that God continues to provide the basic needs within our homes and families.
In simple terms, the RANCH is the Kingdom that is revealed as we point people to Jesus through our work with horses and each other. We are all Wranglers for Christ.  Jesus comes back on a horse 🙂 Rev 19:11-16
Thank you for being our prayer WARRIORS!
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