South Sister

I am in a hurry and I promise that I will get pictures of the things that are going on at the ranch next week, but for now just do with the email update that I copied onto this...and i pasted (with a glue stick) some pics of the staff and I hiking up the South Sister, a 10,000 ft. peak. Sorry again, ill do a better job next week. I just dont have internet anymore due to the move. love and peace

For those of you who actually check this…mom and dad…I just want to apologize for the time that it has taken me to get a fresh update up. There have been two major changes here in the past week and a half.
The first big change is that I MOVED! Yeah, its true, I am now living in a place called Sisters, Oregon. Let me tell you the story so that the Lord’s work may be properly recognized. After hearing that Lana Craig (wife of the family that I have lived with so far) had breast cancer, I began to wonder whether my presence in the Craig household was appropriate or not. They gave me no signs or hints that I needed to find a new place to live or anything; I just wondered what would truly be best for the family. I was already feeling like they were getting less time with me than they had originally hoped for and I figured that, with the onset of chemotherapy and all else that comes along with breast cancer, these tensions would only inflame. I felt like my presence in the household could really be helpful to the family were I able to fill a more significant role. However, due to my priorities of research and work for the ranch, I knew that I would not be able to function as the member of the family that they needed. I also felt like during this time the Craig family should get to be there family, with no additions. I prayed that if it was good for me to move out, the Lord provide me a way and that if it was not good with the Lord and His divine scheme, He would shut all possible doors. I spoke to Kim about my predicament last Tuesday morning and by five in the afternoon I was on my way to meet a couple in their late 80’s who owned a small garage apartment. Two days later, Sam and I moved our families’ houses and into the one room/kitchen/bathroom apartment that I now write this update in. The view of the apartment is gorgeous. I can see the Cascade mountain range right out the windows facing my bed. The only downside to the new living quarters is that I don’t have wireless internet anymore, thus the delay in my updates.
The second big change that has occurred in the last week and a half has to do with my heart, though I want to illustrate it with a story that happened last week. Sam and I were working on rebuilding the roundpen on the ranch when we were told that we needed to go hang out with a three year old little boy whose mother had said (to a mother of the ranch) that she hated her son. To make a long story short, we ended up putting the little boy, who was extremely hesitant of everything, on the most recent rescue horse that is on the ranch (he actually arrived the same week that I arrived). The boy enjoyed it, but nothing really happened. After we were done with the horse, Sam had to go attend some other job and I was left with the three year old boy who had only at that time become comfortable enough for his mother to leave him. We walked up to the grass hill together and pretty much for an hour I just let him spray me with a hose…he loved it. During this time however, I was slightly discouraged with my ‘ministry’ here as I felt like I wasn’t really doing much with my time. Even with the three year old boy whose mother was tired of being his mother, I felt like I was simply baby sitting him. There was a dissonance in my heart…At the very end of our time together, I realized that Kelsey (a long time staff member of the ranch) and this boy’s mother had been talking alone for about an hour. It hit me. My selfishness and my arrogance began to melt away with the realization that if I could just keep this boy content with the hose, Kelsey would have an amazing chance to minister to this mother who so badly needed it. The problem wasn’t with the boy anyway, it was with the mother! And it dawned on my heart and soul that if I, with the rest of my time here just served the ministers, my time would be well spent. I think that much of my time here has been consumed with the desire to do ministry, not to serve those that are already ministering. It is easy to fall prey to the selfish desire to minister to others when there are obvious accolades and I most certainly fell here. However, the Lord has truly changed me in the past week. I have become truly content with just serving the ministers of this ranch in whatever way that I am able; whether it be scooping poop in the arena after their lessons or building them a new round pen. The Lord has been very good to allow the Holy Spirit to work so cavalierly in my heart.
I still have a chance to minister as well though. I have begun leading one on one sessions with kids now and I still get to see most of the boys that come to the ranch. The Justice Program boys did not come this week for some reason, which was disappointing, but I hold that the Lord had His reasons.
If you get a chance, pray for my research. I am now half way through this internship and I am preparing for the harder part of analysis. Much prayer is needed here. Pray that I do a good job, that it will help the ranch, and that I steward my time well. Pray also for my heart while I am here. I don’t want to be selfish with my time here and I really do want to remain as humble of a servant to these people as I can. This must be supported by the Lord of course. Also, if you get a chance, pray for my friend Mark. He was a missionary in Alaska, but now is raising his seven year old granddaughter by himself. Simply put, he and his granddaughter are in and incredibly hard hard place. Both he and she hold tightly to the cross and to the provision of Jesus, but they are being pushed to the very end it feels like. They are our family, so if you pray for anything on this list, please pray for them before you pray for me. They need it.
I love you all, and I cant wait to see you. More later
Peace in the golden fleece
Jimbob…marshall

Wingin It from the Front Porch

The Picture above was taken from the front porch of where I am living. Cameron and I were sitting on the deck just talking when this brillant sunset happened. The next two pictures were taken just looking to the northwest off the deck.

The picture below was taken at the ranch a few days ago after I had just returned from having dinner with one of the staff girls, Troy, Kim, and Sam. The picture overlooks one of the pastures of the ranch, and the moutains in the background are the Three Sisters

This week has been a rough one for the family that I am living with. Lana (the mother) found out that she has breast cancer and will be proceeding with chemo this week. Pray for the family as they now begin a hard and rather unexpected path. Callum (the older son) slammed his finger shut in a door and now has to go see a hand specialist.

As for me, the week has come to a close and has left me worn out. We worked only two days due to the clinic last week, but the days were packed. Kim was out of town for the weekend, so Sam and I were able to spend a lot of time with Troy doing everything from trail riding, to watching Silverado, to shootin old west guns and pretending like we were real deal cowboys.

My research (insert laugh here) has actually taken on new form. I have readjusted my design and will now be helping Crystal Peaks write sections of grant literature. I will also be working with one of the staff in designing a pilot survey through which the ranch will be able to acquire the quantitative data they need to gain attention from big time grant donars. All that to say, my research has taken a new path; one which will hopefully enable me to help the ranch while I am here (take five minutes to pray for my research here).

I will not get to see the Juvenile Justice boys this week because they cannot come for some reason. This stinks, as I only have eight more weeks to hang out with them. However, 'Thursday Roundup' begins this week which will give me time with most of the boys that come to the ranch. Roundup is a two hour period when any child can come and just hang out at the ranch. We play all sort of gross games (including anything from chocolate syrup filled water balloons to cow tongues) and just get plain old time to be with the kids.

If you can, pray for Sam and I as we weigh our options and ability to start a small group of sorts for males at the ranch. I personally wont have too much time to really be able to invest in the boys that would be able to come, but hopefully I could help Sam get it started and when I leave, he could carry it on. Ill try to keep you updated as this week goes on. Thank you for your prayers, emails, and comments. They are more encouraging than you realize.

Saturday Night Hike (click to enlarge)

This Saturday night, the staff and the volunteers from Crystal Peaks went hiking to a place called Smith Rock. It was gorgeous. This place is just thirty minutes from Redmond (where I live...and just outside of Bend). The view was amazing as we were able to see all of the Cascade Mountains in this area.

The picture below is of the staff and volunteers once we were on top. We all huddled together on that rock that they are sitting on which over looks several hundred feet of sheer rock face. Look at Sam in the middle of all those dagum girls...I really am so thankful that he is here!

Pictures of the Ranch

I dont have much time to update you about this week, but here are some pictures that I was able to take on Saturday. The ranch was closed, but Sam and I had gone in to do some extra work that needed to get done just on the grounds. The storm had moved in from the west, but you can still kind of see the Three Sisters and Broken Top (snow capped mountains) in the background. The week has been rather uneventful as we had two days off. I finally got a chance to ride, which was awesome! A few boys came to the ranch this week that I was able to hang out with, but for the most part the two days that we were open, I spent time just training so that I can start working with boys and horses on my own. I hope that will be soon, but you never can tell.