My last blog posting was March 9th and at that time we were getting ready to head back to our home in Colorado after spending time with our family in Florida.  Since we returned home we have been involved in a whirlwind of activities for Soaring Wings Ministries.  My daughter, Meredith and I, prepared and hosted our annual Ladies Afternoon Tea as a fundraiser for Soaring Wings Ministries on Sunday, April 8th.  We had a lot of fun planning the menu, shopping in thrift stores for little tea cups, preparing the cookies and tea sandwiches to serve and setting the table with all things tea.  It was a lovely time, as always, to spend the afternoon with friends over cups of hot tea and goodies.  This year we had the pleasure of having 8 little girls at our Ladies Afternoon Tea.  They were daughters and granddaughters of the ladies who attended the tea.  I have to honestly say that at first I was apprehensive about having  little girls, ages 3 to 8 at the tea.  Would they enjoy the tea?  Would 8 young girls be too active and not let the ladies enjoy a leisurely afternoon?  I have to say that any apprehension that I had about the young girls attending the tea was gone in about 5 minutes after the girls arrived and sat down at their table for tea.  They were absolute young ladies.  They sat nicely at their little table, which Meredith and I set with real glass tea cups, little spoons and plates for of goodies.  It was so sweet to see them in their dress up clothes, sitting nicely at the table and enjoying each other's company.  The older girls helped the younger girls prepare their tea in their tea cups with cream and sugar.  There was not one spill of cream or tea as each one of them was a perfect young lady with impeccable table manners.  Each one of the girls was a testament to the wonderful job their mothers and grandmothers are doing in raising them.  I have to share that the biggest hit at the little girls tea table was the sugar cubes.  Each small tea cup received about 4 sugar cubes per serving of tea!  When the tea party was over and I was washing the tea cups I had to laugh when each little girls tea cup had sugar caked in the bottom of the cup! I literally watched sugar dissolve  in the bottom of each cup with the dish water!  

One of the things that I realized from this Ladies Afternoon Tea is that nice things matter and that taking the time to make things nice is important.  Meredith and I spent hours combing through thrift stores looking for just the right size tea cups, the right size and the right color for little plates.  We also searched for little children's chairs that weren't too big or too small and looked through fabric stores searching for just the right material that would be sewn into a tablecloth for their table.   We could have given the little girls paper plates and plastic silverware to use along with a plastic table cloth but we knew that just as the adults were having nice things the little girls had to have nice things too and so we put in the time and effort to make things just as nice for the children as for the adults.  I do believe that our efforts paid off as there is just something about drinking tea out of real tea cup that causes children to slow down, to take their time and to act gently.   

Nice things and taking the time to make things nice tells children and adults too that they matter.  It tells them that they are important and that they are valued.  Since we returned home from Florida we have also been busy with Work Days on the addition and we also served about 350 homeless people at Project Connect in Fort Collins where the community comes together to offer goods and services the the homeless in Larimer County.  Soaring Wings Ministries gave out school supplies to the children and socks to the children and adults as well.  We did our best to make sure that our table at Project Connect looked bright and welcoming to the homeless and that the school supplies that we gave to the children were bright and brand new.   Why?  Because nice things matter and taking the time to make things nice is important.  The homeless people, in seeing our table,  knew that we cared about them and that they mattered to us by the effort we put into making things nice for them.  There is just something about making things nice for people that brings out the best in people along with taking the time to talk together and to interact with one another.  

Don't get me wrong. Making things nice for people does not mean that you have to spend a ton of money.  You can make things nice for people with just a little bit of care, thought and effort.  This care, thought and effort goes a long way and it tells people that they matter and that they are important.  

Our goal here at Soaring Wings Ministries is to create an environment that tells people that we care about them and that they matter.  This summer we will once again be partnering with Week of Hope as a host site for the teen volunteers that will be coming from all over the country to serve in Larimer County.  Each week, for 7 weeks this summer, we will have 6 to 8 teens and an adult leader serve here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  They will be helping us with  landscaping, painting and outdoor projects to help with the maintenance and improvement on the grounds of Soaring Wings Ministries.  Why?  Because nice things matter and taking the time to make things nice for others is important.  We look forward each year to Week of Hope and look forward to meeting the teens who will be serving here this summer.  We are so grateful for their help, their hard work and their enthusiasm that they bring to the projects they will be working on..

Our days since we returned from Florida have been busy and full but oh so very good and we have delighted in making sure that the effort that we put forward in all of our work here is our best.  All that we do is done for God's glory and we pray that our work and our efforts are pleasing to him.  In closing, I want to invite you to come and visit us here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  We also have our tea cups and tea pot ready to serve  you some afternoon tea or if you prefer we would love to serve you some coffee.  Either way it would give us great joy to sit down and visit with you and to show you and tell you about all that God has accomplished here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  We look forward to seeing you!  

In all that we do for His glory,
Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Wellington, Colorado 

Have you ever wished you were a super hero?  If you were a super hero which super hero would you want to be and what would be your special power as a super hero?  I've never had any  desire to be a super hero until lately as I wish I had the special power of being in two places at one time!  If you read my last blog you know that Ed and I have been spending some respite time down in Florida and also spending time with Ed's mother and our son.  Our time here in Florida is quickly coming to an end and I feel absolutely torn between Colorado and Florida.  I am excited to get back to Colorado to continue our work with Soaring Wings Ministries, to see our daughter, Meredith, son-in-law and granddaughter and to see our very good friends.  At the same time I know that when we leave Florida we will not see Ed's mother and our son until possibly next winter. 

Even though I have never been a true fictional super hero fan, I have enjoyed seeing some movies with super heroes in them but I am far from being a die hard, fanatical fan of any super hero.  Rather, I have several true life heroes that I look up to as role models.  They are people that have encouraged me and guided me in my Christian walk.  Some of these heroes are Elisabeth Elliot,  Corrie ten Boom, my parents,  my aunts and Billy Graham.  These people are heroes in my life because they dedicated their lives to the service of other people and gave up their own wants and desires to serve Jesus by serving others.  Most of you reading this know that Billy Graham, an American evangelist for most of his life, recently passed away.  In memory of his life a program aired on television called "Billy Graham: An Extraordinary Journey".  It was a fascinating story that told how God used an ordinary farm boy to become a world-renowned evangelist.  Billy Graham traveled the world sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to over 215 million people.   His commitment to sharing the gospel to the world caused him to leave his home and family in Montreat, North Carolina many, many times throughout his life time.  In the television program that aired there were clips that showed Billy Graham saying good by to his wife and children.  He would kiss and hug each one of them good bye and with suitcase in hand he would walk down the road to do the work that God had given him to do.  From clips of his life, Billy Graham shared that saying good bye to his wife, children and home was one of the hardest parts of his ministry and that each time he left, he left with tears in rolling down his cheeks.

So, doing ministry and doing God's work is not easy, even for Billy Graham.  I was so glad that I took the time to watch this television program about Billy Graham.  It was so encouraging and comforting to know that one of my heroes was also human.  He struggled with saying good bye to family and to a place that he loved and yet he did so willingly and without hesitation because of his love and commitment  to serving his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

I am not by any means a world-renowned evangelist, but I do know how hard it is to say good by to home and loved ones and yet, I do so willingly like so many of the true life heroes that serve as my role models because we know who we serve and we know the Bible to be trustworthy and true.  I prayed and asked God to help me resolve  my  conflict of being torn between Florida and Colorado so that I would feel at peace.  As I prayed, God heard my prayer and gave me several  Bible verses to comfort me.  Philippians 4:11 says ""Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content".  2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, "Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.  The Lord be with you all!".  I Thessalonians 5:18 says to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".  These verses were so comforting to me and assured me that no matter if I was in Colorado, Florida or somewhere else that God was with me and that my comfort and peace comes from Him rather than from my circumstances or location.  and "the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard yours hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:7.

His servant,

Anita Rennells
Wellington, Colorado 

Greetings from the sunshine state of Florida! No, Soaring Wings Ministries has not relocated to Florida.  We are still located on the beautiful prairie land of Wellington, Colorado and things are still in full swing serving the homeless in Northern Colorado.  My husband, Ed, and I are spending some time here with Ed's mother and visiting our son.  We are enjoying our time with family very much while at the same time moving forward with Soaring Wings Ministries.  We are so grateful to our daughter, Meredith, for keeping things running smoothly on site at Trinity Lane and also very grateful for modern technology which allows us to keep up with our work for Soaring Wings Ministries.  

One of the things that we have continued while far away from Colorado is the ministry of handing out Blessing Bags.  Colorado does not have the market on homelessness and as we have traveled across country and spent time here in Florida we see people in need wherever we go.  We keep our truck well stocked with Blessing Bags and have had to make some trips to Walmart and to the Dollar Store to keep up with our supply of Blessing Bags.  As is always the case in handing out Blessings Bags there is always one homeless person who captures my attention and my heart and reminds me why we are in the business of reaching out to the homeless.  

Most recently we were traveling through Orlando after dropping family off at the airport.  Since we are not familiar with the area we turned on the GPS to help us find our way.  The GPS did not direct us to any highway but rather took us on SR 50.  State road 50 is a very nice rural route in some parts of Florida but SR 50 traveling through Orlando after leaving the airport at 5 pm was not a good route.  There was heavy traffic with one stop light after another and the road was not taking us through a very nice part of town. 

As we were stopped for a traffic light in downtown Orlando we saw a young man with a cardboard sign walking down the middle of the three lane road.  He was a younger man in his 20's and he had on dirty jeans, a T-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head.  As were were stopped for the light he was quickly approaching our truck and I have to honestly say that my first instinct was to make sure that the truck doors were locked.   Here I am one of the founders of Soaring Wings Ministries and my first reaction, as a homeless man approached us for help, is to make sure the doors are locked. I am so thankful for my caring, thoughtful and generous husband who first thinks of others rather than himself.  His first instinct, in seeing this homeless young man, was not to lock the doors but rather to reach in the back seat for a Blessing Bag.  As the homeless young man approached our truck window, my husband, Ed, rolled down the window.  I thought to myself, "What in the world is my husband doing rolling down the window! I am trying to lock the doors and he is rolling the window all the way down!!  Can't he just crack the window a little bit and shove the Blessing Bag out through the crack!".  Here we are in a lousy, unfamiliar neighborhood stuck in traffic at a traffic light and my husband is rolling the window all the way down to help a person in need!  Before I knew it there was a young man with his hood pulled up over his head standing outside of our truck window.  I could see his face clearly and it is in that moment of looking directly into his face  that I saw not the issue of homelessness but I saw a homeless person....a homeless human being.  As I looked into his face I saw a handsome face and a kind smile but it wasn't his handsome face or kind smile that impressed me but rather that this young man looked directly at us with clear, blue eyes.  That this young man would look directly at us to thank us for the Blessing Bag made a huge impression on me.  He was so very grateful for the Blessing Bag and was especially grateful for the socks.  His comment to us was, "Wow...socks.  I really needed socks."  He thanked us for the Blessing Bag and walked away to what I assumed would be the next car but as the light turned green and we pulled away I saw that this young man was no longer begging with his sign.  Rather he was walking on the sidewalk with his cardboard sign tucked under his arm and he was looking at the contents of the Blessing Bag.  Once again we had reached out to someone in need with the simple gesture of a Blessing Bag and once again this simple gesture had given someone a few moments of reprieve from their homeless life style.  As we drove away and continued on SR 50 we left the congestion of busy downtown Orlando and made our way out into the rural area of Florida.  I was so grateful that my husband had taken the time to roll down his window to help this homeless young man.  As always, I wished that we could have done more to help him but I will never forget his face, his smile, his gratitude and his manners for looking directly into our eyes to say thank you.  I pray that God will watch over this young man and that God will protect and bless him.  I also pray that God will bring people into his life who can walk along beside him and help him to be released from his life of homelessness and poverty.  

I learned some lessons from our quick interaction with this homeless young man on SR 50 in downtown Orlando.  I quickly learned that even after all of my interactions with homeless people the world of homelessness still makes me feel uncomfortable.  I still want to pull away from the world of poverty, the world of people wearing dirty clothes and the world of people who don't smell good.  Downtown Orlando was not a world that I enjoyed seeing  even for a few miles and when God brought that world up close and personal to me via a homeless young man, my first instinct was to lock the doors instead of rolling the window down to help someone in need.  I pray that someday I will be able to love the homeless as God loves them without fear or hesitation.  

I will remember the face of this homeless young man for a long, long time.  I will remember his smile, his gratitude and his clear blue eyes looking directly into ours.  I will remember that for a few minutes we were able to release him from his world of poverty and begging with the contents from a Blessing Bag.  Looking into the face of this handsome and needy young man I was also reminded why Soaring Wings Ministries exists.  Soaring Wings Ministries has been called into existence not to address the entire huge issue of homelessness but rather to reverse the issues of poverty and homelessness by truly caring for and truly loving homeless people as individuals.  I truly believe that Soaring Wings Ministries is on the right path, that as God loves each one of us individually as unique human beings so likewise we are to love and care for the homeless as individuals and uniquely created human beings.  

May God Bless each one of you as you travel through each day and during your travels may you remember to reach out to those in need around you.

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
​Wellington, Colorado 

This morning I woke up early, at 4:30 a.m., to spend some time with God.  I felt that it was so very important to spend the last day of 2017 praying and reading my Bible.  I always make a cup of hot tea and sit at our kitchen counter on one of the kitchen stools for my devotion time.   This morning the hot tea tasted so good as it was a very cold morning.  The temperature was 15 degrees outside and that was to be our high for the day.  I looked up from reading my Bible with my hands holding my cup of hot tea and I saw  our kitchen..

As you can see our kitchen is not a fancy one.  There are no granite counter tops, no stainless steel appliances, no solid oak cabinets and as you can see from the picture we live in a house with, horror of horrors,  popcorn ceilings!!!   It is definitely not a fancy kitchen but this morning as I looked at my kitchen I thought our kitchen was beautiful and I was so very, very grateful for what I saw and where I was at that very moment.   The  pile of clean dishes drying on the kitchen counter reminded me that every day we have a hot meal for dinner.  The kitchen aid mixer on the counter was a generous gift from some precious friends and I was reminded of how blessed we are to have so many friends and family praying for us and supporting our work with the homeless.  I also saw a window and even though it was dark when I looked out the window, I was reminded of the many times I have sat on that very kitchen stool and watched the antelope grazing up on the ridge.  I was so very thankful for the beautiful area that surrounds us here on Trinity Lane in Wellington.  I also saw a kitchen that wasn't just a kitchen but was now home and I was so thankful that there was no place I would rather be than sitting on our kitchen stool in our little kitchen on Trinity Lane in Wellington, Colorado.

The past few days at home had been so very busy for me and for my daughter Meredith as everyone else in the house was down with the flu.  We were pulling double duty on all the chores and as a result my time with God had suffered.  I was so very thankful that I had risen early to spend the last day of 2017 in quality and quantity time with God.  Quality and quantity time with God is so very important.  We can't always squeeze in time with God during our busy schedules or spend time with him at the end of the day when we are worn out and tired and expect that our relationship with Him will grow.   My time with God this morning was just what I needed.  The verse that I read this morning was from Galatians 2:20.  It says, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in  the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me".  As I read this verse and looked out over our kitchen I was reminded that truly the life that I live and the life that we all live here at Soaring Wings Ministries is lived by faith.  Looking at our kitchen I was reminded that God indeed is faithful to create a home for us and for two homeless people on the plains in Wellington, Colorado.  I was also reminded that Soaring Wings Ministries exists not because of any work that any of us  have done but rather it exists because of Christ who lives in me and in all of us at Soaring Wings Ministries.   I also realized that all the joy that I had from living and serving God in Colorado was because Christ was living in me and because of my personal relationship with Him who loves me and gave himself for me.  I also realized that it was Christ living in me that enabled me to look at a kitchen with no granite counters, no stainless steel appliances and no solid oak cabinets (and those popcorn ceilings!) and see a thing of beauty.  

Christ living in me.  Me living a life of faith.  I truly was so glad that I had risen early in the morning to end 2017 with some quality and quantity time with God and to look out over the most beautiful kitchen that has ever been made.   I pray that each one of you will know what it means to have Christ living in you and the joy that comes from living a life of faith.  Our prayer for Soaring Wings Ministries in 2018 is that all that we do and all that is done will be done for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Wishing you all a blessed New Year,
Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings MInistries
499 Trinity Lane
​Wellington, Colorado 

I have always enjoyed the day before Thanksgiving and today was no exception.  The day began with a pancake breakfast (thank you Ed!) complete with pure New England maple syrup that was a gift to us from a special friend and supporter from New Hampshire (thank you Dan!).  The pancake breakfast was made even more special when our granddaughter, Payton, thought we should have hot tea with our pancakes served in a tea pot and tea cups (thank you Payton!).  To top off our pancake breakfast I remembered a small package of pork sausages in our freezer left over from a previous breakfast.  They were perfect with our pancakes and there was just enough left over for each of us to have two (thank you Lord for the joy of small blessings).  As delicious and delightful as our pancake breakfast was, I did not linger over breakfast except to enjoy several cups of tea in a pretty tea cup.  I was excited and eager to get going on the days preparations for Thanksgiving and I was looking forward to making the sourdough bread stuffing from the recipe given to us from our son-in-law (thank you Jake for the recipe!).
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Those of you who  have been to our home know that our kitchen, dining area and office space is all incorporated in one area and so as I work at the kitchen counter I have a full, clear view of the entire room and everything that is going on in the room.  As I was cutting the sourdough bread into cubes for the stuffing my heart became instantly overwhelmed with gratitude.  I couldn't help but be thankful to God for all of his blessings and for the blessings of the day before Thanksgiving.   As I prepared the sourdough bread stuffing with the recipe given to us from our son-in-law, it gave me great joy to remember the holidays we have spent with our daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law over the years and the delicious meals he has prepared for us.  I was also using a measuring cup that had been passed down to me from my Aunt Del Faye.  She was a wonderful cook who took great joy in caring for her family and her life has inspired me to do the same.  It was a delight to use her measuring cup in preparing our Thanksgiving meal.  As I worked to prepare the sourdough bread stuffing, inches away from me, also working at the kitchen counter, was our granddaughter, Payton, thoroughly engrossed in making a family of snowmen out of multi-colored play dough.  I thanked God for His amazing gift of my beautiful granddaughter and for the gift of being able to enjoy her each day.  I looked across the room and our daughter, Meredith, was busy putting labels on envelopes for our Christmas mailing and Ed was busy at the computer finishing up a Christmas letter to include in the mailing.  As I cut up the bread into cubes for the sourdough bread stuffing I thanked God for the tremendous blessing of their health and His loving care over both of them.  I also thanked God for His care over our son-in-law Todd as he has recently turned the corner from a horrible cold that affected his breathing.  

The cubes of bread were all cut up for the sourdough bread stuffing and as I mixed the cubes with the delicious combination of celery, onion and spices I looked up from the counter and across the room I saw the door leading into the addition which will be home for two homeless individuals.  As I mixed the sourdough bread stuffing I thanked God for all of the many, many volunteers and donors (thank you volunteers and donors!) who helped build the addition and as the wind was howling fiercely outside I also thanked God for the volunteers who worked so hard late in the fall to make sure it was weather tight from wind, snow and rain.  As I looked at the door leading into the addition I also thought of the people who will be living there next Thanksgiving.  I pictured them being part of our family and preparing for Thanksgiving Day together.   I wondered if they would have a favorite dish that they would prepare and I wondered if they would like to learn how to make sourdough bread stuffing.   

The sourdough bread stuffing was complete and ready to be spooned into the casserole dish to be cooked in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.   As  I reflected back on the beginning of the day when I was looking forward to making the sourdough bread stuffing little did I realize the blessing that would be mine, not only in making the stuffing, but the gift of gratitude and joy from a loving God.  

I cannot end this blog without sharing our recipe for Sourdough Bread Stuffing with you.  It is a good one and I hope you enjoy it.   I also pray, that as you make the stuffing,  that God will fill your heart to overflowing with gratitude and joy.  Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

JAKE'S SOURDOUGH BREAD STUFFING

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon sale
12 cups dried, cubed sourdough bread
1    160z can fat free chicken broth

Saute onions and celery in olive oil then add spices.  Stir in bread cubes and broth.  Spoon into 11x7 baking dish coated with baking spray.  Cover and bake @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Uncover.  Bake for 20 more minutes or until top is golden brown.

With a joyful and grateful heart,
Anita Rennells
​Welllington, Colorado

I recently received a book on prayer in the mail from a college friend who prays for us and for Soaring Wings Ministries.  Anna is the founder of a ministry to needy young children in Syracuse, New York called Eagles Wings Academy.  She, having been involved in ministry much longer than we have, sent the book to me to help us to draw on God for strength and guidance.  Knowing that we would soon be having two homeless people living at Soaring Wings Ministries, my friend knew that we would need to be in prayer more than ever.  The name of the book is Pray the Word by Tiece L. King.  The book could not have been more timely received as my thoughts have been, almost daily, centered on the two homeless people who will very soon move into the addition.    Who will these two strangers be that will soon be intertwined with our lives?   What will they be like?  Could they be two young unrelated adults?  Or maybe it will be a man and his wife or maybe a single Mom or Dad and a child.  

As of right now we do not know who these two people who will be.  As I think about who will be living in the addition, I also think about how our lives will change once there are two people living in very close proximity to where we live.  No longer will 499 Trinity Lane just be "our home", it will be "their home" as well.  Some of you reading this blog know me very well, some of you know me just a little bit and some of you have never met me.   For those of you that know me well, you know that I am a private person.  I like my space.  I like my alone time and I am very cautious and slow when it comes to meeting new people and forming friendships.  I am an introvert and so to open up my home, my time and my heart to give to others is not something that comes easily to me.  To make matters even more difficult, my husband, Ed is exactly the same way except he is probably even more introverted than I am!!

As you are reading this you are probably wondering why in the world would two introverted people even think about having two strangers live with them never mind actually moving forward on the idea and actually building an addition for two strangers to live in?!!!! It doesn't make a bit of sense does it?  It doesn't make a bit of sense....unless.  Unless you are a Christian and you absolutely trust God with all your heart.  We are and we do.  Ed, Meredith and I are all Christians and we all absolutely trust God to be with us, to help us and to guide us in all circumstances. We trust God to bring us just the right two people to live in the addition.  Two people who will be a good fit for our family and for Soaring Wings Ministries.  We trust God to open up our hearts to make room for two strangers that we don't know.  We trust God to give us a Godly love for the two people who will become part of our lives and part of our family.  We trust God to help us to hold "our home" very, very loosely so that "our home"  will no longer be just "our home" but that it will "their home" as well.  Bottom line is that we trust God to bless our efforts in creating a home for two homeless individuals and to bless our desire to open up our hearts to them as well.  

Adjusting my life and opening my heart so that I can make room for new individuals is not a foreign experience for me.  As I look back on my life I can see so many times that God has caused me, this introverted person, to stretch and bend so that my life would make room for others.  There was the time in college when I had a dorm room all to myself! Being a Senior and a Resident Assistant I arrived at college early and took some leisurely time to set up "my" room just the way that "I" wanted it. Time and space all to myself!!! What gloriousness!!! But that gloriousness did not last very long as three day later everything changed very quickly.  Our Resident Director informed me that I would not have the luxury of having a room all to myself.  An entering Freshman had not been assigned a dorm room and they needed the extra bed in my room.  To make matters worse, this freshman had already arrived and was waiting in the lobby to be assigned a dorm room!  I quickly pushed all my things to one side of the room, crammed my clothes into one side of the closet and shoved my towels and sweaters into half of the drawer space  in the bureau.  It turned out to be a very good year and she was a great roommate.  Could it be that even then, so long ago, that God was preparing me to open up my heart and home to two strangers at Soaring Wings Ministries?  What about the time we  opened up our home to foster children?  That was not an easy task at all.  It was even harder than making room for an unexpected roommate but I learned so many lessons during my time as a foster parent.  I learned that opening up my home to foster children required a lot more than just good intentions and warm feelings of doing the right thing.  It required me to carry through on my commitment to these children even when I was tired and at times wanted nothing more than to retreat to a place all by myself.  Could it be that my short time as a foster parent was teaching me the hard lesson of what it truly means to open up my heart and home to others?  Most recently I think about how God has taught me to live in close proximity to others by sharing a house and a home with our daughter Meredith, son-in-law Todd and our granddaughter Payton.  When Meredith arrived here with her family from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to serve with Soaring Wings Ministries I had to physically and emotionally make room for them in our house and in my life.  I already loved them with all of my being but I  had to adjust my way of living, my time and my space in order to make "our home" "their home" as well.  This was not an easy task for me.  As an introvert,  I like my own space.  I am also going to admit that I am a selfish person and I like things my way!  All of us living together in a small house required me to give up a lot of my own space and it also required me to give up my desire to have things my way.  It hasn't been only me that has had to adjust.  Our entire family, Ed, Meredith, Todd and Payton, have all had to adjust in order to make living together work.  We have all given up our personal desire for space and our desires to have things just the way we like them.  Could it be that all of us living together in a small house has opened up our hearts and caused us to become more flexible?  Could it be that God has been teaching us to relinquish more of our personal desires in order to hold "our home" more loosely?  Could it be that for many many years God has been preparing me to give two homeless people "their home"?  

All my life I have walked closely with God and each year that passes I walk even more closely with Him and trust Him even more.  I know beyond a doubt that I can trust God. This trust is not based on some vague idea that God probably exists some where up in heaven but it is soundly based on having a personal relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ and seeing Him faithfully guide me in all circumstances throughout my life.  I know that He has already begun to prepare my heart to receive two strangers into my life and to make 499 Trinity Lane "their home" not just "our home".  One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 3: 5 & 6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."  I do trust in God with all my heart and I don't lean on my own understanding of situations.  I try to acknowledge God in all that I do and so I know that He is directing our paths for Soaring Wings Ministries.  I ask that you pray for all of us as we continue to prepare "their home".  Pray that our hearts will be prepared as much as the physical space and  pray God's blessing, protection and guidance on the two people who will be here at Soaring Wings Ministries. If you would like to know more about what it means to walk closely with God and to trust Him in all circumstances through a personal relationship with Him please contact me.  I would love to hear from you.  

If you would personally like to see "our home" and "their home" please join us for our annual Fall Banquet here at 499 Trinity Lane, Wellington, Colorado on Saturday, November 4th at 6 pm.  This is a fundraiser for Soaring Wings Ministries and the funds will be used to continue the work on "their home".  The suggested donation is $25.00 per person.  We will be serving a delicious, homemade meal and would love to give you a tour of "their home".  If you are able to come please contact us and let us know so that we can have a place set for you at our table.  We hope you can join us on November 4th!
 
May God bless and guide each one of you.

Anita Rennells
499 Trinity Lane
​Wellington, Colorado 80549
  

I couldn't decide if I should write a blog about prayer or about the roof on the addition.  I asked my husband, Ed, what he thought and he said, "I don't understand why you would separate the two.  The roof on the addition and prayer go hand in hand".  He is absolutely right! 

To begin I have to say that everyone here at Soaring Wings Ministries absolutely and without a doubt believes in the power of prayer.  We believe that God hears our prayers and answers them according to His will.  There is no doubt in our prayers.  When we pray, we pray expectantly knowing that God does hear our prayers and that He will answer them.  

I absolutely love looking at the addition.  I have said before that it stands as a testament to God's faithfulness and to His answers to our prayers according to His will.  When I look at the addition I remember that each step of the building process has happened because we prayed and because God heard and answered our prayers.  When we needed an architect for professionally developed building plans....we prayed and God provided the plans with no charge to Soaring Wings Ministries.  When we needed excavation work completed...we prayed and God provided with the excavation work being completed at a reduced rate.  When we needed the framing to be completed...we prayed and God provided with volunteers from New Hampshire and Colorado.  When we needed a plumber to complete the rough-in plumbing...we prayed and God answered with a professional plumber from Albuquerque, New Mexico who donated his time and services to get the job completed.  When we needed a back hoe to dig a trench....we prayed and God provided through a local man who donated his time and back hoe to get the trench dug.  When we needed an electrician to complete the rough in electrical work....we prayed and God provided a local company who completed the work at a reduced rate.  When we needed people to help us with installing windows, sliding glass doors, insulation and house wrap....we prayed and God provided wonderful and hardworking volunteers from New Hampshire and Colorado.  When we needed funds to move forward on the addition....we prayed and God answered with generous donors from all over the United States.

Most recently, in fact just this past week, we absolutely had to get the tar paper and the shingles installed on the roof.  Our nice, dry summer weather had come to an end and it was beginning to rain steadily and frequently.  Every time it rained, the inside of the addition was getting wet.  We could not go through the winter without the roof in place to keep the addition dry and protected....and so we prayed.  We planned a Work Day for Saturday, September 23rd and prayed that God would send us volunteers for the Work Day.  God heard our prayers and sent us volunteers from New Hampshire and Colorado.  They worked very hard that day and had a lot of fun too but there was just not enough time to complete the roof as it began to rain at the end of the day.  The work was stopped because the roof was getting slippery from the rain.  We praised God for the work that was completed and trusted Him for the rest.  For the rest of the day on Saturday and all day Sunday it rained hard.   On Monday, the rained had stopped, and so my husband Ed and our daughter, Meredith, woke up determined to continue the work on the roof.  After breakfast they climbed up the ladder and began to lay the shingles down and pound the nails in the roof to keep the shingles in place.  I admired them for their effort and so appreciated their work that they accomplished but we clearly needed more help to get the roof finished and so I prayed.  They pounded nails on the roof and I prayed.  God heard my prayers and the very next day on Tuesday we had 4 volunteers from here in Colorado who came to help with the roofing.  It was a perfect day for installing a roof.  The sun was shining, there was no wind and the temperatures were cool.  The work continued on the roof all day long except for short break for lunch.  By the end of the day the entire roof was covered in tar paper and 2/3 of the roof was covered in shingles.  The very next day the rain started again and it has been raining every since.  We praised God so many times and so often for the good weather we had on Saturday for the Work Day and for the perfect weather we had on Tuesday when the volunteers came to help with the roofing! We walk into the addition now and with all the rain we have had the addition is protected and dry!!! 

I can't think of any other way to end this blog except to say that GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS ACCORDING TO HIS WILL!  God has been so faithful and has provided for every single need that has arisen with  the building of the addition.  The addition continues to stand as a testament to God's faithfulness and what He can do when we pray, when we trust Him and when God works in the hearts of people all over the United States to accomplish HIs will.  We serve an amazing God and we praise Him and thank Him with all of our hearts.  

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Wellington, Colorado 

One of the things that I have always enjoyed doing is looking at before and after pictures.  I don't care what the pictures are of, I just love looking at the transformations that have taken place.  It could be pictures of kitchen makeovers, new hairstyles, weight loss or backyard makeovers, it doesn't matter, it is just amazing to me how something or someone can be transformed into something beautiful.  I think one of the reasons why I enjoy looking at before and after pictures is that they inspire me.  From looking at the pictures I know that someone put in a lot of time and effort to make the transformation take place and the pictures inspire me to put more of an effort into my own life and projects. 

When we first saw the Soaring Wings Ministries property  back in October of 2013, we immediately saw the potential that the 40 acres offered to create the warm and healing environment that we envisioned in our minds eye for hurting individuals.  We knew that with hard work the property could be transformed into place that welcomed broken, tired and discouraged people We saw not only a property that would be transformed we also saw people that would be transformed.   As soon as Soaring Wings Ministries purchased the property on Trinity Lane in Wellington, the work began to create a warm, welcoming and healing environment for hurting individuals.  It has been hard work but thanks to hundreds of hardworking and determined volunteers we can see the transformation beginning to take place.   Yes, we have made much progress over the past 4 years but there is still more to be done as our main goal at Soaring Wings Ministries is not to transform grounds and buildings but to transform peoples lives.  To that end we continue to work on the building addition to house two homeless individuals.  We have made much progress on the addition this summer and our goal is to have the addition completed by the end of this year or early next year.  We do need your help to get the addition finished so we can truly begin our work here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  You can help by coming to our Work Day on Saturday, September 23rd.  We will be putting on the roof, installing insulation and installing two sliding glass doors.  We will be serving breakfast at 8:00 a.m and lunch at 12 noon to all volunteers.  We cannot do this work ourselves and we do not have the money to pay professional workers.  We are so thankful for Gods' provision in that Soaring Wings Ministries has incurred zero debt with the building of the addition.  We hope that you will come and join us for the Work Day on September 23rd.  Don't forget to bring a hammer!!! 

You can also help by donating to our Match Grant which runs through October 5th.  All donations made to Soaring Wings Ministries from now until October 5th will be matched and all donations will go directly to Soaring Wings Ministries to help with the cost of finishing the addition.  We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to have your donations matched.  All donations are tax deductible.  You can send your donation to Soaring Wings Ministries by mailing a check to 499 Trinity Lane Wellington, Colorado 80549 or you can make a donation through Pay Pal at this website.  

You can also help by continuing to pray for Soaring Wings Ministries and the homeless in  Northern Colorado.  We absolutely know without a doubt that God hears and answers our prayers.  You can also help by coming to visit us here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  A visit from supportive friends and families is  such an encouragement to us.  

I could verbally describe the transformations that have taken place but I think it is best that I let the pictures do the talking for me.  I hope you enjoy these before and after pictures and I hope that you see them, not as a finished project, but as a work in progress.  All of us at Soaring Wings Ministries hope that you will become involved in the amazing transformation taking place here at Trinity Lane, not only on the ground but in peoples lives and our biggest hope is that God will be glorified in all that is accomplished here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
499 Trinity Lane 
​Wellington, Colorado 80549

I love summer!  I don't love summer just a little bit.  I love summer with a passion!  I love the long hours of daylight.  I love the summer flowers and vegetables.  I love sitting out on the porch.  I love swimming and I even love the summer heat.  We had quite a summer here at Soaring Wings Ministries and now that summer is winding down I have some time to share about all that transpired here at Soaring Wings Ministries. 

Our summer activities began on June 19th and continued through August 3rd.  We partnered with Week of Hope through Group Work Camps out of Loveland, Colorado and during those 7 weeks we served as a host site for the Week of Hope Campers.  Each Monday morning through the summer a van would pull into our driveway with about 12  Week of Hope Campers.  The campers were here to volunteer and we were ready for them with a list of outside jobs, repairs and projects that needed to be done.  They worked everyday Monday - Thursday from 9:30 am. to 3 p.m.  They repaired shed roofs, built a pergola, cleaned outdoor furniture, washed the siding on the house, weeded, put in new garden beds, built a swing set, stained picnic tables, cleaned out the barn, organized the tool shed, put up a garden fence, built two shed doors, built an outdoor bench, repaired outdoor furniture, sewed cushions for outdoor furniture, built a firewood box, worked on the plumbing in the addition, baked cookies for the homeless, put together Blessing Bags and served the homeless in downtown Fort Collins.   

The Week of Hope Campers spent Monday and Tuesday working on their assigned tasks.  On Wednesday mornings the campers would spend the morning putting Blessing Bags together and baking cookies.  On Wednesday afternoons we would all go down to Fort Collins and give out the Blessing Bags, cookies and water to the homeless in Fort Collins.  Thursday mornings the campers would work finishing up their projects and we ended the week with a cook out of hotdogs, watermelon, chips, brownies, ice-cream and iced tea on Thursday afternoon.

The campers and their adult leaders were hard working, cheerful and willing to tackle any project.  They never once complained about the relentless summer sun.  There is hardly any shade to be found here on the property at Soaring Wings Ministries and so for the most part the campers worked out in the blazing hot sun.  I never saw people work so hard in hot sun and keep at their work without one thought of slowing down or quitting.  We were so very grateful for all of their hard work.  They accomplished tasks that would have taken us forever to accomplish or that we would not have been able to accomplish on our own at all.  

During the summer we also saw much progress being made on the addition which will house two homeless individuals.  The plumbing was worked on with our friends, the Hausermanns from New Mexico, leading the Week Campers on installing pipe.  How excited we all were to see the piping for the plumbing being laid in the ditch and ready to be hooked up to the septic!!!!! We also saw the electric work being worked on and were beyond excited when the electrical worked passed the first state inspection!!!!! 

I thought it would be fun to close this blog with some numbers.  I hope these numbers will give you some idea of all that transpired here at Soaring Wings Ministries during the summer.   

*78 Week of Hope Campers served at Soaring Wings Ministries this summer. 

*1,560 volunteer hours were donated to Soaring Wings Ministries by the Week of Hope Campers.

*200 Blessings Bags were made by the Week of Hope Campers for the homeless. 

*60 dozen chocolate chip cookies were baked and given to the homeless by the Week of Hope Campers.

*220 homeless were served in Fort Collins with blessing bags, cookies, water, Bible tracts and care notes being given to each homeless person by the Week of Hope Campers

*252 hotdogs were grilled on the grill here at Soaring Wings Ministries along with 49 pitchers of iced tea, 21 bags of chips, 294 squares of brownies, 7 gallons of ice cream and 7 watermelons being served with the hotdogs.  

It was a great summer!!! So much was accomplished here at Soaring Wings Ministries to create a warm and loving environment and all the work was done joyfully and for God's glory.  Here at Soaring Wings Ministries we try to be honoring to God in all that we do and to live by God's word.  I believe that was accomplished here this summer.  The verse that stayed with me all summer was Ecclesiastes 2:24 "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.  This too, I see, is from the hand of God".   This summer was a blessing from God and we are so very grateful to all of the hardworking Week of Hope Campers, the staff from Group Work Camps who made sure Week of Hope ran smoothly and to all of our supporters who prayed, loved us from afar and who supported us financially.  We saw first hand this summer that much can be accomplished for God's glory when we all work together.  A HUGE thank you to all of you!!!

Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Wellington, Colorado 

Yikes! I can't believe that it has been early May since I last wrote a blog! That is way too long!  Meredith, Ed and I often wonder if it could possibly get any busier here at Soaring Wings Ministries and I do believe that the answer to that question is "YES"!

Our days are full and we fall into bed tired every night but it is a wonderful feeling of being tired.   Each day is filled with doing God's work here in Colorado so when we fall into bed at night it is with a feeling of joy, accomplishment, gratitude and peace rather than a feeling of exhaustion or discouragement. 

You may be wondering, "What do Ed, Anita and Meredith do each day at  Soaring Wings Ministries?"  There are so many things that go into a typical day here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  For one thing,  we have continued with our grant writing to about 17 different foundations.  They are quite time consuming as much thought and detail needs to go into each grant proposal.  Our greatest joy continues to be giving out Blessing Bags, water, donuts and coffee to the homeless in downtown Fort Collins.  The homeless are always so grateful and it is a privilege and a joy to serve them in the name of Jesus.

 We have also been getting organized for the Week of Hope teens who will be arriving here this coming Monday on June 19th.  For seven weeks this summer we will have a different group of teens volunteering here each week from Monday through Thursday.  They will work on repairs, grounds maintenance and landscaping projects here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  Some of these projects will be replacing roof tiles that blew off of our sheds during the winter months because of high winds, weeding, planting and moving dirt piles.  They will also give out blessing bags to the homeless in Fort Collins each Wednesday afternoon.  

We also continue with the building project to house two homeless individuals and  we also work to raise the funds to get the building addition completed.  We have been working to find an electrician who is able to do the work at minimal or no cost and we have been blessed with a generous donor who offered to match funds that are donated to Soaring Wings Ministries.  In addition to the building project we work each day to keep up with the mowing and trimming.  It seems that the prairie grass grows faster than we can mow or trim!   Meredith and I have also been planting flowers and putting in vegetable plants.  So far all of our plantings are doing well and it is looking bright and cheery here at Soaring Wings Ministries with the time we have put into gardening.  

Another one of our greatest joys is visits from friends.  Recently we were blessed when two east coast friends stopped in for an overnight visit.  We LOVE when friends and family come to see us so if  you are traveling through Colorado this summer or if you want come and visit us please know that we would absolutely love to see you!!!!! The rule around here is that not everyone will have a bed to sleep in...it depends on your age!!! The older you are the better chance you have of sleeping in a bed.  The chances of you getting a bed decrease as your age decreases.  If you are young  your chances of getting a bed rather than sleeping on the floor are slim! We would love to have you visit us at Soaring Wings Ministries.  No matter your age we will always give you a place to sleep  if your are an overnight guest and  we will always give you plenty to eat.

Besides grant writing, giving out blessing bags, visitors, outside work, building an addition and preparing for teen volunteers we have our everyday chores that all of us do....laundry, pets, grocery shopping, paying bills, dishes and  some, but not a lot of,  vacuuming and dusting.  We also have exercise classes that we go to and Bible Study groups that we try to attend each week.  Our days are full indeed and each morning you will most likely find us starting our day by  having breakfast together.  Part of having breakfast includes spending time reading God's word and praying together.  It is a very good way to start the day.  Individually, we also spend time with God in prayer and reading our Bibles.  For me, my time with God is early in the morning before anyone else is awake.  It is so quiet in the house and I treasure this time early in the morning with God.  I am so thankful to have a personal relationship with Jesus and so thankful to know that He also treasures me and the time that I spend with Him.   I know that God is pleased with the work we are doing here for Him here at Soaring Wings Ministries because we are giving him our best effort and we are working for Him.  "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men"...Colossians 3:23.  Even though we are working heartily here for the Lord, God's greatest joy is not the work that we do but rather that we love Him with all of our hearts, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"  Luke 10:27.   Our days are busy and our work is pleasing to the Lord but that time that I spend with God first thing in the morning, just Him and I,  when the house is quiet is the most pleasing and precious to Him.  

I know that Soaring Wings Ministries does not have the market on busy days.  I know that all of you have days that are filled to the brim.  I encourage you to take joy in the work that you are doing, as we do, and most importantly to find time to spend alone with God.  He loves and longs to spend time with you.  He is waiting for you.

All for Him,
Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
499 Trinity Lane
Wellington, Colorado