Five years ago today we left the deep woods of New Hampshire and began our journey out west to Colorado.  As I reflect back on our journey,  I remember that it was a hard one.  It was very difficult to say good-bye to everyone and everything that was loved and familiar.  It was even more difficult because we were heading to a place that was totally unfamiliar and to a place where we knew no one.  

Fast forward from August 27, 2013 to August 27, 2018.  Today we are quite settled in Colorado and completely appreciating the beauty of our surroundings.  We have a vast view of the Rocky Mountains and skies that are painted with beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  The peacefulness of Soaring Wings Ministries is quite striking to just about everyone who comes here.  We have a small, cozy house on the prairie and we quite regularly see antelope grazing from our porch or window.  If we travel down the road a short distance we can often see buffalo peacefully grazing on the prairie grasslands. We are often treated to the comical site of a jack rabbit loping across the road.  The jack rabbits are fast so we don't get to see them very long but their huge feet and huge ears always make us laugh.  When we left New Hampshire 5 years ago I never imagined that we would live in such a beautiful, tranquil area.

Not only has he given us a beautiful home for Soaring Wings Ministries but He has blessed us with so many, many wonderful new friends.  These friends have welcomed us into their lives.  They have encouraged us, supported us and believed in our work here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  That these friends would accept us and our work so openly is a huge deal because most of them have lived here in Colorado all their lives and they have lovingly made us part of their lives.  We've also made new friends from all over the United States, not just Colorado.   When we lived in New Hampshire, I never imagined that we'd have good friends from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful, supportive, encouraging friends from all over the west!!!

We have also been blessed by so many visits from friends and family back east.  Each time one of them comes for a visit our spirits are lifted.  We laugh about all the differences between Colorado and New England......frozen lobsters versus fresh lobsters right off the boat,  all the ice cream that New Englanders eat year round, Dunkin Donuts coffee versus Starbucks.  It is as if our visitors bring a little bit of New England to Colorado with them each time one of them comes to visit.  They also leave us with encouragement to keep going and to complete the work that God has given us to do. 

I think one of the biggest blessings that we have received over the past 5 years is that we are all walking closer with our Lord.  When everything and everyone is new you quickly learn to depend completely on God for everything!  I could tell you story, after story, after story of how God has answered our prayers.  There have been so many times when all we could do was to leave our needs and requests at the feet of Jesus as they were beyond our means and capability and then after praying to trust in Him to answer our prayers according to His will.  When we first arrived to Colorado and needed a home for Soaring Wings Ministries that we could afford....God provided.  When we needed an architect to provide building plans free of charge....God provided.  When we needed a team to put up the framework for the addition....God provided.  When we needed volunteers to help with the building of the addition....God provided.  When we needed the roof to be installed before winter.......God provided.  When we needed protection for the unfinished addition throughout an entire winter......God provided.  When our funds were depleted during our busy summer months and we needed more funds to continue......God provided.  When we needed a plumber......God provided.  When we needed an electrician.....God provided.  When we needed to borrow a backhoe......God provided.  When we needed help installing wallboard.....God provided.  When we needed funds to purchase the siding......God provided.  

Over and over and over again God has proven himself faithful.  I can tell you without a doubt that we serve a living, loving , faithful, powerful God. Do not ever question whether God exists.....He DOES!   Do not ever wonder if God hears your prayers.....HE DOES!  Do not ever think that God doesn't care.....HE DOES!  And if God calls you to something bigger, beyond your capabilities, as He called us to Soaring Wings Ministries do not doubt that He will guide you each step of the way.....HE WILL!

In closing, I want to share this Bible verse with you.  It is from Lamentations  3:22-23 "The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never ceases. For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.  Great is your faithfulness".  We absolutely know God's word to be true.  We have tested it with our very lives and know that indeed God is faithful.

His servant on the plains,
Anita Rennells
​Wellington, Colorado

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It is hard to believe that my last blog posting was in April of this year, but that should be seen as a positive fact rather than a negative one because since May we have been busy, busy, busy working on the addition.   We had a total of 72 volunteers here at Soaring Wings Ministries this summer which resulted in a total of 1, 192 volunteer hours.  That is a lot of volunteers and a lot of volunteer hours and we are so very thankful for each and everyone of our volunteers!  We praise God for blessing us with hardworking, generous and cheerful volunteers!  Because of them, Soaring Wings Ministries SOARED this summer!  The addition is no longer looking like a construction zone but it is looking more and more like a home.    ​

You know the saying, "One picture is worth a thousand words" so I am sharing some pictures of what the addition looked like back in April and some pictures of what it looks like today.   In the pictures you see below show that the walls are up and ready for paint.  Installing the drywall, mudding and sanding was a huge, slow, tedious, time consuming project and we are so grateful for our determined volunteers! They worked hard, did not give up and with  finishing touches from a professional drywall company the walls came out beautiful! The shower was also installed which may sound like a simple project but the first shower did not fit through the door and so it had to be returned and another shower purchased.  We were also able to purchase all the interior doors and they were installed by one of our summer volunteers.  Meredith and Ed worked hard to install the bathroom floor as the toilet was being installed by our friends from Albuquerque, New Mexico who gave up some of their vacation time to install both the toilet and the shower for us.  We truly were blessed to have so many wonderful, generous people serve here at Soaring Wings Ministries from all over the country and from Colorado.  Now that the flurry of summer is over and the volunteers are heading back to school, college and work we have a few moments to reflect on all that was accomplished this summer.  We love walking through the rooms in the addition just to look at the walls.  They truly are beautiful and we are filled with gratitude as we look at the addition and see all that God has accomplished.  We do indeed serve a mighty God! 

Please continue to be in prayer for the addition and for Soaring Wings Ministries.  We need to purchase and put up the outside siding on the addition before winter.  We continue to remain debt free in the building of the addition and we move forward with the addition as God provides the funds.

 If you feel led to make a donation to Soaring Wings Ministries for the siding it would be greatly appreciated.  A check can be mailed to Soaring Wings Ministries at 499 Trinity Lane, Wellington, Colorado 80549 or you can make a donation via PayPal at this site.  

​We are so very excited for all that God has done this summer and we are so very grateful for His blessings and guidance over Soaring Wings Ministries.   

To God be the glory for all He has done.

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Wellington, Colorado