Update from South Dakota

We are in S. Dakota. The Ranch for Kids went great!! There were 19 kids there. All had been adopted from Russia (2 from Romania) and then sent to the Ranch when they exhibited some kind of behavior that the parents couldn't tolerate. They had killed pets, hurt siblings, tried to commit suicide or harm parents. Some were going back to there adoptive parents when they were ready. Some had been completely relinquished by there adoptive parents.
They had all been beaten, burned, sexually molested or in other ways seriously wounded emotionally while in the orphanage. Some never learned to bond. At the ranch they learn about Jesus and work hard. God gave us the words to say and the prayers to pray. I think we really connected with some of them. We had a hard time getting in the R.V at night to sleep. The kids wanted to continue to hang out with us. They wanted to go with us etc. et.. In the morning we had to get away early to make it to our next stop. We left Zuriel's shoes behind.

Check out their ministry at http://www.ranchforkids.org/

Thank you Noah for the great books. Thank you Fletchner's, Simonatti's , Swanson's, Fordyce's , all our family etc. for your prayers. We truly know God is in control. We love you all.
Then we saw the Mt. Rushmore. We were so much more inspired by the Bushnell's work then what Those men and money had accomplished carving Mt. Rushmore. What the Bushnell's were doing seemed vastly more important than the making of Mt. Rushmore. There are statues of the man who was responsible for Mt Rushmore. So much glory for such an empty dream.
Leon and I were inspired to acknowledge God and let Him direct our paths.

By the way, be sure to check out the Bushnells minisitry site www.nathhan.com Nathhan is a great resource for homeschool families with special needs. Also www.chask.org - Placing special needs kids into Christian homes!

We are going to my uncle Harold's today and then on to Simpler Times Village. Please pray that God will give us the words to say and the songs to sing for those 2 completely different venues. We want to encourage the church to not abdicate there responsibility for the orphan to the Godless state.