Ranch Happenings

 Look!! I'm doing something!! This proves that I do something other than just take pictures!

It's past time for a new blog update! So here goes!

• Living Springs Ranch officially opened its 2013 Season on April 1st

My Car full of cleaning supplies and bedding and towels for the cabins

• April 2nd we had Spring cleanup workday with a great turnout!

Campfire after an awesome workday

• April 31st we finished the Red Cabin remodel (pictures coming soon!) A big thank you goes to Bob and Ruth Silver and Roger and Dianna Ward for helping this happen!

My messy "to do" list for the Red cabin the day April 31 before guests arrived May 1st

Other random projects include-

Jay building a concrete protective wall for the water pipes behind the red 

cabin...hopefully there will be no  more frozen pipes now!

 Jay landscaping the hillside in front of our house

~ And Finally ~

• We have had 17 guests so far this season!!  A huge thank you to Dianna for helping me clean cabins. 

• As of right now we have about 20 more people scheduled to retreat on the books

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Blessings, Jay and Tiffany 

More Red Cabin Pictures

The red Cabin Bathroom remodel is coming along! We have been blessed the last few weeks with lots of help from our friend Roger. He's put up drywall, done mudding,  taping, sanding and a host of other things!  He's been a huge help to us!  What a blessing!  Jay and Roger have been working together and making lots of progress... 

Here's Jay installing the tub surround, I helped with this project and it was a task 

and a half to get that sucker to fit in there!

We got it in! The new tub, surround and the new vinyl flooring

 

And the drywall is up! and the Ceiling too... and the mudding, taping and sanding is done!

And Jay is very happy....haha

A picture of my feet- to prove I actually WAS THERE!! Now if I could 

just get a picture of me doing something...you guys might believe that I actually helped!

And we are getting closer!! We still need to put up the shower curtain and do

 various other sundries  I am sure a finished photo will be up here soon!

Lastly, this is the elusive but incredibly helpful, Roger. Hopefully,

I will get a better picture of him for the next post!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! 

Jay and Tiff

                                   

UM....see anything missing in this picture?

Yes! You are right...the stove pipe IS missing. We had a crazy morning.  We had a chimney fire early this morning. Thankfully, it was contained in the stovepipe and no part of the house was damaged. Jay and I had a few worried moments standing by with fire extinguishers. We discovered that one of the older pieces of stove pipe, located in our attic, had a rusted/burned hole in it. We are glad this happened when Jay and I were here. Jay tore out part of the stove pipe. And climbed up on the roof to investigate the pipe up there. 

  Those of you who have seen our house, know that the pitch of the roof is terribly steep. Jay ended up using an extension ladder and then building a 2x4 ladder that would hook over the ridge of the roof. 

                                                        

 There he is up there...

While we were dealing with the stove pipe, our guests from the cabin called us to tell us they had no water in their cabin. What?! We have been working in that cabin for weeks and have had no problems with the water!  Our guest arrived last night and had water...and woke up to no water. 

Oh, and did I mention that Jay was having an allergy/coughing attack the entire morning?! Let me just insert that in there...

So, to make a long morning short,

 The water issue was easily fixed. Troubleshooting revealed that a bit of fluff was touching a connecting hook-up wire to the pump. Removing the random fluff equals running water! 

The exterior end of the stove pipe ended up getting covered with plastic and left standing for now. Jay decided that he didn't have the proper equipment to get the job done and that needed to get help. His wife met that decision with great relief after holding the ladder for him and watching him  trying to get around up on the roof. 

I'd appreciate prayer for Jay- he went from not feeling that great, to being sick and feeling miserable. He has to get up and go to work in a few hours...it would be good if he felt better.

We've got so much to be thankful for on this crazy day...

-An intact house

-The fact that Jay was home while the craziness was happening

-That it was a good day to be working on the roof (no ice and snow!)

-That we didn't loose our source of heat in the middle of winter 

The fact that no matter what happens - God loves us and is with us

Blessings to you all-

Jay cutting the new sub-floor for the bathroom in the Red Cabin

  The renovations have started at Living Spring Ranch!  Our Project for now is remodeling the bathroom in the Red Cabin.

   Thanks to some generous donors we had several Home Depot Gift card to put towards this remodel. What a big help!

    Here are a few pictures of the process.

Starting to tear out the fixtures

The floor and walls are gone!

  The new bathtub, shower surround and roll of new linoleum flooring waiting to go in

The work station and the very helpful dog!

We'll keep you all updated as the work progresses! 

Jay and Tiff at the Yaak River in Montana December 2012

 With the cabins shut down for the winter, and the start of a new year, it’s a good time to look back at some of the highlights of 2012.

1.)    Guests  

·         65 people stayed at the ranch last year.

·         38 of those people were new guests of the ranch

2.)    Remodel

·         The blue cabin got new floors,  kitchen countertop, an interior paint job and a new bathroom

·         The red cabin also got new floors and a new interior paint job

·         The tan cabin got a new porch

·         The cabin area got refurbished picnic tables

3.)    Non-Profit

·         We received our status as a Charity from the state of Washington

·         The application has been submitted to the IRS for 501(c)3 (tax exempt)Status.  We are currently waiting for approval. The process generally takes 3-9 months.

·         We have formed a Board Of Directors for Living Springs Ranch

·         November 1, 2012 we held our first Board meeting to discuss the goals and direction of the Ranch.

4.)    Supporters

·         We’ve met many new people this past year who are interested in volunteering, encouraging, and supporting us.

·         We have our first monthly financial donors

   Looking ahead to 2013, it is exciting to contemplate the possibilities!

1.)    Guests

·         We are planning to reopen the cabins on April 1^st. 

·         We already have a total of 29 days booked this coming year by pastors and their family

2.)    Finances

·         Our financial goal this year is to have $1,000 a month coming in from monthly donors.  $12,000 a year will help to cover the minimum operating costs of running the Ranch.

·         We already have $350 a month coming in

·         We still need $650 a month to reach our goal

·         We are looking for supporters who would like to support us with a monthly gift of $25, $50, or $100. We would appreciate your prayerful consideration.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!

 Blessings,

    Jay and Tiffany

   

September update

                        Wildflowers at the Ranch

The last two months have been a whirlwind! So many blessings. So many things to share!

• $1,000 has come in for the non-profit formation fund. Hooray!!

• $2,000 has been pledged to cover the remaining cost of the non-profit formation bill.  We are excited to see God provide!!!

• Two weeks ago, Jay and I signed and dropped of  the engagement letter and a check for the initial start up fees to the lawyer - the ball is rolling!!

• We were blessed with yet another very generous donation of a Home Depot gift card as well as a couple brand new flat screen TV's and DVD players! Thank you!!

• And we've had the privilege of hosting more incredible people here at the Ranch. 

 Our hearts have been deeply touched by the couples that have been here recently.  We have had both new and returning guests lately. There are different needs with each person who comes out. We try to find out ahead of time what our guests are looking for so we can serve them in the best way possible. Some folks just want rest.  Other people want to visit. Then there are the folks who need someone to listen.  Sometimes we hear things that break our hearts and grip our souls. We are incredibly blessed to hear the amazing things that God is doing though the ministries of people who come here.

I want to tell you about one of these couples in particular.  I've changed their names and purposely am not revealing the location of their ministry to protect them....you'll understand why as you read.

 The couple, who I will call Greg and Sarah, are some of the most humble, gentle people I have ever met. They also emit a strength and realness about them. Greg and Sarah are missionaries to an Asian country and have been guests at the Ranch several times over the past few years. They use the Ranch as a base for raising support and ministering to people in this area.

  Their ministry is just staggering. Here are some facts about what they do.

• Over 30 years ago they helped start a Bible School which trains people to be pastors. During that time their school has taught 1,600 students who have started over 600 churches. The students receive their teaching free of charge because any cost to them would be prohibitive due to the poverty level. 

• They helped start a tailoring and embroidery school for women which is offered free of charge as well. They also give sewing machines to the neediest women. Sarah told me with great feeling the story of widow who is now able to support her family of five due to the skills she has learned and the gift of a sewing machine.

• For almost 2 decades Greg has preached the gospel on the radio in the native language.

• They hold seminars twice a year for widows and children.  They give out free school supplies, bibles and clothing. They also feed everyone free of charge. This past seminar they fed 2,704 people, gave out 1,000 Bibles, and supplied clothing for 1,262 people.

• They also hold a  pastor's seminar.  At the most recent seminar they were able to give bicycles to 25 of the pastors. They were excited to tell us about the headlights on the bikes - These bikes are the only transportation that these pastors have and having a headlight allows them get places after dark.

Greg and Sarah shared much more of their story with us during this visit to the Ranch.  Greg and Sarah minister mostly to the poorest of the poor. They were born native and into wealthy families. Sarah told us how the people they care for don't understand why they would care.  Most of the time people from influential families in their country never even look at the poor, much less minister to them. Sarah said it is such a powerful way to show Jesus' love because of this. Women come up to her, grab her hands, kiss them and want to know why they care.  Socially, Greg and Sarah don't have to care, but they love because of Jesus. 

There is much persecution of Christians in the country where they minister.   Greg told us of a pastor friend who recently was attacked while traveling on a train. He was beaten and nearly killed because he was a minister of the gospel.  Greg and Sarah have to be incredibly careful. Greg told us that he has been under a standing death threat for many years by the powers that be. Every time they return to that country they are risking their lives for the sake of their love of Jesus and the people there. They do take every precaution and have canceled trips due to safety issues.  Sarah and Greg told us that when they became followers of Jesus they vowed that should there come a time when they are faced with death for the sake of Jesus, that they will accept death for the sake of the love of Jesus.  

Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she told us about their son. We knew part of the story but not all of it. Around 5 years ago Greg and Sarah's son John jumped into a river to save a drowning child. He managed to rescue the child but drowned himself as a result. He left a young widow and a devastated family.  We could see the pain in Sarah's eyes. They told us that they found a letter in his belongings. This was a letter John had written to Jesus telling Him how much John loved Him. The letter ended telling Jesus that if John was asked to give his life for Jesus, he would.  While their son was not martyred, his parents told of what a joy and comfort that letter was to them. My eyes were filled with tears standing before these gentle souls who have given so much for their Jesus.  Jay and I left their cabin feeling deeply moved. We had to duck into a vacant cabin so I could let out the tears...I wasn't going to make it down to the house! Jay was affected as well, we were just so moved by their love of their Savior. It wasn't fake, it wasn't put on, it just was. 

 I told Jay how much I wanted to help them... then I remembered. Through Living Springs Ranch we are helping. Maybe we couldn't give money personally. Maybe we couldn't keep them safe all the time. But they have stayed here dozens of times over the years. Every time they used this facility, they saved the money they would have spent on a hotel.  On top of that every time they were here they could feel safe, cared for and loved. What a little thing I often take for granted- simply feeling safe.

Jay and I wanted to share this with all of you. Every one of you who has prayed for Living Springs Ranch, given time, money, donated items and given support- each one of you is part of what happens here.  Because of you we can offer a safe haven and relief to people like Greg and Sarah. This isn't Jay and Tiffany's ministry- It's God's ministry and each of us has a chance to be part of what  He is doing here. 

  God bless you all!

Jay and Tiffany

                                         
 A moose we saw while on a hike on a trail not far from the ranch

Hi, Friends!!

   Some highlights of the last few months include

1. Hosting the Suncrest Senders Mission Organization's training weekend for their upcoming mission trip to Korea. We had about 15 people here for a whole weekend!
   
   
   
   
2. Tiffany's sisters and brother visiting us. Rebekah, Sarah and Josh enjoyed exploring our corner of Washington while they were here. We shared lots of games, movies laughter and fun together!

3. Hosting several Pastors and wives here at the ranch. I added up the guests of the ranch and the results show that we've had 52 people here so far this year! This year has seen mostly new guests of the ranch. It has been a treat to get to visit with these folks and hear their stories- that has got to be one of my favorite parts of the ministry here. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
                      The Suncrest Senders worship service
   (I think there was 26 people here for worship that Sunday morning!)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We are excited to have taken the first steps to becoming a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Some people have been curious to know why incorporating is necessary and how it will benefit us. We thought it might be a good idea to share some of our goals with you.
   
   
   There are several reasons why we would like to become a nonprofit organization. Mainly it will enable us to raise money more effectively for continuing and growing the ministry here at Living Springs Ranch. Some things we want to fund raise for include:
   
   
   1. Covering day to day maintenance and operating costs.
   2. Building a multi-purpose lodge building so that we can host larger groups and families.
   3. Building new and updating the existing cabins.
   4. Digging a new well and improving the water system.
   5. Offering counseling services and burnout prevention education programs for guests who need it.
   
   
   
   
   We are trying to raise $3,000 dollars during the months of August and September to be able to complete the incorporation process. Would you consider helping us as we work toward our goal? 
    Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!
    Blessings,
    Tiffany and Jay