SOMETHING is happening at 499 Trinity Lane!

Lookin' good!!!! That is what comes to my mind when I look around the property here at Soaring Wings Ministries.   Sheds that were once tan and dreary looking are  now popping with several coats of red paint and white trim.  Gardens beds that were weed infested are now full of life with vegetables and flowers.  Roofs that once leaked every time it rained are now snug and tight with new shingles and fencing that was old and useless has been torn out leaving us with a clear, open vista of the prairie to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west.  

To date we have had 22 volunteers here this summer with more to come.  They have arrived here from all parts of the country...Massachusetts, Colorado, South Dakota, Missouri and Texas.   They have been all ages.  Some have been older, around 50 years old,  and others have been as young as 12 years old with most volunteers being somewhere in their late teens.  They have worked in blazing hot sun and pouring rain.  They have consumed gallons of water, lemonade and iced tea and they have eaten way too many sandwiches, hamburgers and hotdogs for me to count.  

Each and everyone of these volunteers has been a blessing to us and to others.  When Ed and I first came to Colorado we said that we would never be able to accomplish God's plans for Soaring Wings Ministries by ourselves.  We knew that we would need people to come along side us and help but we had no idea who these people would be or where they would come from.  How exciting to see that each week God has brought wonderful people into our lives to help with Soaring Wings Ministries!  We have had the opportunity to share our story of  how God directed us to come to Colorado and we have also had the opportunity to share the vision for 499 Trinity Lane to help and heal homeless young adults and families.  With each group that arrives we have taken them to Fort Collins  to interact personally with the homeless by distributing blessing bags to individuals on the streets.   Each group has said that the time they had in Fort Collins, giving out blessing bags, has had a positive impact on their lives.  It opened their eyes to the needs of people living in poverty and it became a personal experience for them as they interacted one on one with a homeless person.   Several groups will continue to reach out to the homeless back in their home states by distributing blessing bags that they will put together themselves.  

We are thrilled beyond words when young people tell us that they will take what they experienced here at Soaring Wings Ministries back home with them and they will continue to minister to others in need.  Bottom line is that it isn't about  improvements that they have made around the property here at Soaring Wings Ministries but rather about reaching out to people in need in the name of Jesus.  Ed, Meredith and I are just three people doing what we can to make a difference  in peoples lives and if three more people do what they can do to make a difference and then three more people do what they can to make a difference..... you get the idea.  You know the saying that goes something like, "No one can do everything but everyone can do something". 

So "something" is happening here at Soaring Wings Ministries.  Lives are being impacted and that is what it is all about.  That is why God directed us here to Colorado...to impact and change lives in the name of Jesus.  One volunteer, 17 year old, Emily, left us a note on our kitchen counter.  She said that her week here at Soaring Wings Ministries gave her "some of the most eye opening and humbling experiences" of her life.  Another adult volunteer was heading home to tell his wife about his week here and to prepare himself for what God might want him and his wife to do.  Another young man, Wade,  was here volunteering with his youth group.  He was a quiet young man and didn't say much but he was a very hard worker.  One day he was pounding away on a roof in the blazing hot sun with a huge smile on his face.   Wade's leader let us know that it was the first time that he had seen Wade so content and happy.   So, yes,  we are excited to  see the progress that is being made here on the property but more than that we are excited beyond words to know that Soaring Wings Ministries is impacting peoples lives, not only here at 499 Trinity Lane, but in Massachusetts, South Dakota, Missouri, Texas and in other parts of Colorado.  

What an amazing God we serve! That God would direct us to buy a run down piece of property on the plains of Colorado, that he would provide the people we needed to help us fix it up and in the process of the fixing He would bring joy into peoples lives and draw them closer to Him.....all praise goes to our Lord and Savior for all that He has done and all that He will do!    As I look out at the property here at Soaring Wings  Ministries I see beauty.  Beauty not only from things being cared for but beauty from people working together, side by side,  for God's glory.   I can't wait to meet the rest of the teens, their leaders and other families who will be volunteering here this summer and I can't wait to see how God will be impacting their lives.  Please pray for the volunteers who have been here this summer and for those yet to come.  Pray for God to bless and guide them into a deeper relationship with Him and pray for Ed, Meredith and I that our work here will be pleasing to our Lord and Savior in all that we do.

His servant,
Anita Rennells
Soaring Wings Ministries
Wellington, Colorado