Lakes Ranch teen horsecamp Dec 17th-22nd 2009.

Hi Dear Prayer partners .

A while back I was asked to be camp Mum for the December teen horsecamp at lakes Ranch, to which I said" No" , " too close to Christmas" but then I was alsked to be camp mum of the January 10th camp, to which I really knew I couldn't go to, so I thought and prayed about it and the Lord told me " You should go to the December camp." I was asked to be a guide for the treks as well.
So I went and took Rachael Jenks with me. She was asked as well to help with the horses.
After our last camp with the" Horses4theLord" it was only 10 days and we would be back, so I left Venus and Freedom there.
So when I went back with Rachael, it was me and her in the truck and I brough lady and Snoopy with me.
We got the unit in the barn, a nice " motel" type accommodation with 2 bedrooms. It pretty much has everything we need and it has a very comfortable bed.

As soon as we drove up the driveway there my other 2 horses heard the truck sound and came running to the gate.
I let my other 2 horses out and mingle with them., and there were 2 other camp horses there too.
They all got on well so that was good.

We arrived on the Thursday so a day before camp started. The girls would arive the next day at 4 pm, but one girl arrived in the morning, with her own horse, so we hang out with her that day and walked over to Lake Rotokawau with the horses and had a swim there.. Left Venus jumping and Rachael riding her.

Scott led the camp, who lives at Lakes Ranch with hhis family and has been leading these camps for  a while now.
The highlights for me was being the camp mum of 12 teenage girls ages between 12 and 16.
The gospel being shared by Jasmin who shared how God loves each and everyone of us and how He desires a personal relationship with him. Jasmin shared at evening time after dinner.
Many girls lives has been touch including mine. I always get moved when I see how God sent his only Son to the earth to save us, because we can't save ourselves. Many try to fill their empty lives with all sorts of things, but only Jesus can fill the longing of our hearts.
This is the message throughout the camp, that God loves us so deeply, that he woyld have sent his only Son to the earth, even if you were the only one on earth needing salvation.
Many redidicated their lives back to God , others made a step of salvation, ( 2 of them I think)

The other highlight was the overnight stay at lake Rotoiti. My truck was used because it had my own accommodation it it. And it was used as transport to take the gear of the girls while we all rode to the spot at lake Rotoiti.
Remko drove my truck to the place, we rode their with our horses. Remko has his truck licence so that was handy.
Scott and Guido made a shelter from the truck with tarpolen and the girls slept there while me and Rachael slept in the truck and Scott, Michael and Ble slept in the horse compartment.

But first we went by kayaks and dingy to the lke hot pools. ( only reached by boat).

We did it in 3 lots and once there we got our BBQ dinner there.
Nice hot swims in different pools with different temperatures. When too hot, you walk to the end of the jetty and jump in the cold lake!!!! This is very refreshing. At first I thought it was ridiculous, but Rachael convinced me to do this, she ven dared me to do it! When I did it was great specially when coming out of the water.
Then you go back in the hot pool etc, so I did this 3 times, hot pool getting really hot, then jump in the cold lake and so on.

Anyway we went back and it was about 11.30 before I was in bed maybe 12. I didn't sleep till about 1 am or 1.30 am.  The day before we had ridden our horses over plus did a lot of swimming with the horses, so no wonder I was exhausted!
The next day already waking at 6.30 and everyone getting up and about by 7 am. We got BBQ bacon and eggs but no coffee, yes it came later in a thermosflask, but no sugar.
I had woken up with a massive headache and didn't feel very well bu the time we were meant to ride out.
I decided it was safer for me to drive the truck back to camp and Bele rode Snoopy for this day.
It was a combination of hayfever and exhaustion I think, so when I was in bed at the camp in lakes Ranch I didn't get up again untill 2 pm, this is when the group came back too.

I was glad to have had this rest.  The horses are also glad to be back in their stables at the camp of Lakes ranch.
That's Snoopy left.

LAKES RANCH WEEKEND DECEMBER 4TH-6TH

 Hi supporters and prayer partners for this ministry.

Our second LakesRanch camp with " Horses4the Lord ministries"
We had 30 people turn up for this camp.
80% are non christians but that's good.
Rob Holding, our new pastor to be, had agreed to be our guest speaker.
So he came and his 2 youngest children.
The first meeting was after breakfast in the morning.
Rob spoke on" What we believe" and that was a good message, plain and simple. The gospel in a nutshell.
The we went riding for 5 hours with a good rest at the lake with a BBQ lunch that the camp had organized.
Some of us also swam our horses in the lake.

When we arrived on Friday night, in the rain, I was mumering and complaining to the Lord, saying, surely we won't be riding in the rain?
In fact, my attitude about the weather had not been good from the whole week. The forecast was for rain all Saturday.
When the Lord finally got through to me with his voice, I repented and said sorry for my bad attitude.
I got a peace and calm in me that I can't explain.
When we all started to fetch our horses it was cloudy but dry.
When we rode out it was dry.
In fact the weather became warm and sunny and by the time we arrived at the Lake it was warm enough to swim in the lake with the horses.
See, the Lord knows, and He loves to answer our prayers. He also looks on our attitude and wants to correct us when not right, in my case my worry and fear about the weather. When I gave it to the Lord, the weather changed to fine.

Rob rode my horse Venus, our 16.3 hh clydie cross and she is very strong and capable.
Brian rode Lady, as usual and I rode Snoopy.
We rode through pine forests and along the lake, through the lake, to a small island and found hot water under some sand on a beach there.

One lady got nearly swiped off her horse... it was quite funny, and no accidents happend.
Rob prayed for a safe trip before the trek.

We also rode along the thermal pools and saw steam in the distance. We went through some forest zig zagging along trying to avoid being hit by the trees.
But all good riding experience and sarah was our trek leader giving us good advice.

before we rode off to the day trek we had a brief lesson in the indoor arena. That helps us get to know the horse before we ride. A quick morning tea in the indoor arena before we ride off is also a bonus.
After breakfast Rob Holding spoke on what we believe . Then he sang a song. He has a good voice and I am sure it was appreciated.

At night after tea Rob spoke again but 3 UK ladies walked out just before he spoke, which was quite rude, and made me wonder " what are they so afraid of to hear?" If they believed we just believe in fables, then there is nothing to be afraid of and they would just stay and listnen....??? hmmm, makes you wonder aye?
Me swimming with my pony Snoopy in lake Rotoiti.

Matakana island outreach

Hi fellow prayer warriors and supporters of this ministry,

We have just had our third weekend trek to Matakana island this last weekend gone by( 30th of October 09)

We had 14 signed up and Brian and I came as leaders.
The guides from the island rode accross to meet us and Colin and Bob came with a truck to take our gear over by ferry to the island.
We had come early enough because we needed to transport 7 horses. The loading went very well, all the horses went on straight on the truck including Venus!!!!

After the second load was on I then drove them again to the end of Matahui Road where we tied up the horses along the fence line and saddled up. Brian parked the truck in the orchard next door and we had lunch there before we started riding off.
All good timing, everyone had arrived on time, and everyone was excited to be going on this trek.
We took about 1 1/2 hours to ride accross and around to our camp.
The horses were happy to be placed in a good grass filled paddock together with new horses, but all got on well and there was no fighting.
We got welcomed onto the marae formally and we had a welcome speech by Hone and a song was sung for us.
I was welcomed back with open arms by all the whanau( family) and the aunties that cook the food.
We had a great dinner that night and a good time of talking about the island( Hone) and then we all went around about who we  were and why we are involved with horses. Great stories.
Brian and I sat up camp and other slept in the one room, matrasses on the floor, sleeping bags on it etc.

Day two, Saturday, a big ride out on the island. around the farms and forest and to the ocean beach, went for a good gallop with the others and spashed through the waves with Venus.

After this we had lunch in the forest house. Hone always says grace, but usually before everyone has come in, so the second time, I caught him, I then said grace with the others inside translating the grace from maori into English.....

I noticed a bit of spiritual resistance when I talked to one of the whanau about a specific christian CD, although she said she liked the music I didn't get very far other than that.

But it is a start, it will be maybe years before they really open up to the love of God, I don't know how long it will take, only God knows.
All they need to know is we love them,God loves them  and we want to continue bringing people to them to bless them. More later, but first some pictures....

Day three was riding back to the mainland but not straight away. First we had a great breakfast and then a farewell speech by Hone followed by us, thanking him for his and the whole whanau's hospitality.
Riding again, after saddling up through farmland and cropping land to the top of the hill looking out over the long pineforest island.

We had lunch at the top of the hill and then after lunch rode towards the beach to go accross again on low tide.

Horses4fun camp at Home

Our horses4fun weekend went well. We had a few cancellations but in the end it was good as I had been a bit nervous about having that many people come. In the end we had a nice group of 9 people.

Everyone arrived Friday night and got to know each other.

Inn the morning we started catching the horses after Lana arrived and fussed over them , brushed etc, was a good bonding time for the people.
Ashley came with little bro horse.

At 11 am we rode out,after I prayed out load as a group for protection on us. We had packed our lunch on the backpacks with our drinks etc.

Danny came too,( horse) and we quickly changed riders, Lana rode Danny and Linda on Lady. Cause Danny ran downhill too, wasn't used to it.( Danny horse is our neighbour's horse which we borrowed)

That was better. We took the track through the forest , I had made some jumps in the first part but no one wanted to jump the logs so then the horses just stepped over it.

After the forest the river, then more of the forest and then the little bit of Rae Road. From there into the farm and onto higher ground.

Through the back ridge with views over the sea and island etc.

Venus kicked Freckles on her side but Juanita's leg was missed by a few inches!!!!!

We had prayed for a safe trip, and God had protected Juanita from a broken leg.

Poor Freckles grunted a bit though, but she was fine. Naughty Venus. I don't know why she did that!

Later on Freedom decided to run down hill and Mark graciously "rolled" off and and got back on. No pain, nothing!!! An other miracle protection!!!

No other hickkups after that. We had lunch by the river in the corner of the bush and Springs Road/hot pools.

Straight after lunch we started riding again and a heavy rain came down on us and we rode home and arrived soaking wet. But it was also beautiful to ride through the forest in te rain. Everything looks different.

We had a fun night of sharing and talking. People became much more open to the things of God. We had a wonderful talk/sharing with a lady in that group about God. It was obvious she also has Jesus in her life.

The next day was raining and everyone was happy to potter around and enjoy the hostel, to relax and not ride in the rain. Juanita and I went to church and it was great to hear testimonies of what God is doing in people's lives. I shared about God's miracle protection on us yesterday.

After lunch the Auckland group went home while Juanita and me and Brian still were sharing more and listning to Juanita's testimony of God's provision of work for them as a family from South Africa, God is good to his children.
Like we always say: GOD IS GOOD. ALL THE TIME! ALL THE TIME; GOD IS GOOD!!!!

DAY 2 OF LAKESRANCH HORSECAMP SEPT 09

 Saturday monring, 8 am breakfast.

Everyone has a good breakfast at the dining room. There are always plenty of hands up when I ask for volunteers for dishes.
After the dishes were done we have a time of bible reading and evotions and prayer.
I asked Liz to read the bible and then there is a bit from " daily bread" which I read out for us to ponder on.
After that there is open prayer time to pray for the day.
After this we go to get our horses and brush them. Then a ride in the arena for a lesson from Ross.
Freedom by our truck ( left)

The trek hereafter is eventful to say the least. It was very exciting and the scenery breathtaking. The smell of sulphur is strong.

We had lunch by the lake and the whole group of 30 riders enjoyed the whole experience.
Towards coming home , the horses saw the camp and became restless. Freedom had one of my friends riding him and he also became restless. The horses in front wanted to gallop home so I told Hannah to get off him quickly as Freedom wanted to follow the others.
She couldn't get off quick enough and he did a fast swing turn and " bang" she fell off flat on her back.
She couldn't move and I had the walky talky, so I called for help and Kim and I did first aid.
She was taken to her motel unit by me after Ross had brough us to camp.
There I prayed for her and layed hands on her back.
I felt the heat came through and she felt it too.

Then I told her to have a rest and take a few anti inflammatories. Hannah ( right) with Shirley( left)
At dinner time I saw here there to my surprise. She had gone with Sarah to the dining room, still a bit sore.
Now she is better and asked me when she could come again to camp.
For safety we advised her not to ride the next day which was sensible. But God had healed her. Or an angel caught her or prevented a worse case scenario.
That night we watched the DVD of Nicky Cruz' testimony of the gangs in New York.
The next day the pasor of the other group was talking to one  of our members and at the end of their talk she gave her life over to Jesus!!!! Jesus is the answer for the world today and he is not only relevant to us in today's society, He is the only answer for our lives and for the world.
Micha and I became friends, even before this weekend, basically over the phone. We couldn't wait to meet each other, and when we did it was great, like meeting a sister.!!! And now she is!!!!

LAKESRANCH WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 09

After my initial Lakesranch stay with Prince, when I had lessons there, it was then that I could see a group coming here.
Now this has become a reality. Now that I have the truck, 4 horses came with us.

After the invitation mail out to join me at Lakesranch, I got 30 riders.
Initially it had been 35 riders, but there were a few last minute cancellations. So it still ended up with a good size group.
Some of us came early and had dinner there on the Friday night.
This whole experience of being the organizer is new to me, so I still had a few " teething" problems, like forgetting to make out a program, and saying thanks to the great Lakesranch staff, in particular to Adam, who is a great host, and really went out of his way to make the DVD player work, thanks heaps Adam. He was kind and patient with all of us.
A huge thanks to Ross, for being our trek master, and his wife Sarah, for coming with us on Sunday.

The trek on Saturday was very beautiful and challenging, but not impossible. We all made it up that hill, even though Sarah jumped off because Lady horse was so slow.
Many thanks to the great cook, and the hospitality staff. Very yummy food, and also many thanks for bringing out that yummy food to lake Rotoiti. I didn't expect that! I would have been expecting a filled roll, not roast pork and buns and salads. But it was great!!! Thanks for that!!!God has been so good to us this whole camp.

he got me there safely. I was quite nervous at first, driving with 4 horses onboard in our new truck.
A few teething problems were soon sorted out as I got used to the gears. Not to panic when I am in the 4th gear instead of the 3rd gear going around the roundabout.
Just try again. Double clutch if you have to. That works.
We got to the camp at 4 pm, good timing. Horses soon settled in their new paddock and surroundings.
Friday night's tea was great and we found our rooms in the lodge.

There was also an other camp at the same time, from a church in Auckland, they had taken the other wing of the lodge.
Brian had arrived 10 minutes after me in his car, as he had to leave the next day after dinner.
At least he could ride all Saturday.
The big ride on Saturday was very exciting, much more exciting than we had expected. Not a boring trail but a challenging one . We rode along the edge of the lake. Through the water. Then up through a just harvested pineforest, so very messy, up a very steep hill. We had to stand up on the stirrups and hold our hands forwards not pulling on the reins, or the horse could flip backwards.

All succesfully done, the decend was more sloping.
We rode along thermal area and boiling mudpools.
We had done riding for 5 hours with a 1 hour for lunch at the lake.

Ready for a soak in the hotpool after dinner.