Wildwood-Weekly-Newsletter-6-8Download The post Week 1.1 appeared first on Wildwood Hills Ranch of Iowa ..read more

With fall being here there are a lot of things going on at the Ranch! Leaders Retreats Leader retreats are in full swing! Our middle and high schoolers can come back for a weekend to have fun and learn. Over the next two semesters, they will learn how to use wisdom in their daily lives. They’ll learn this through practical knowledge like financial literacy, career readiness, and other life skills. They also learn how God’s wisdom is what we should get our wisdom for and strive for. Wild About the Child Quad Cities Barn Dance On Saturday, November 5th is our annual Wild About The Child Barn Dan ..read more

That’s a wrap – Summer 2022 has come to a close but the seeds sowed and the life transformation that occurred will continue to grow, shape, and change the communities in which we live. Karli, one of our staff members, summed up the summer well… “When reflecting on the past 10 weeks… words will never be able to describe how thankful I am for this place and the people it has brought into my life.  God works in amazing ways.  Pouring His love into children who need it most with this group of God-fearing individuals was a true blessing.  The growth and transformation He has given me ..read more

Another week at Wildwood Hills Ranch and another story of life transformation.  Listen to this story of one of our ranchers who got to experience renewed hope and joy that comes from knowing Christ. “One of our ranchers came to The Ranch for the first time this past week with a heavy heart and a lot of baggage he was carrying from the abuse and trauma he experienced from a young age.  Cody is one of our 13-year-old ranchers, and I asked him how he felt about being here.  He said, “I don’t really want to be here because I feel depressed, and I haven’t been doing anything at home ..read more

This week, we get to hear from Katie, our Creative Arts Director, as she shares a story of impact from session 5. “This week at the Ranch, all of the students were between the ages of 13 to 18. There was one student in particular that I saw so much of the light of Jesus in, despite her circumstances, from the moment I met her on Monday.  Each Monday during registration, I meet every girl and write their name on their name tag for the week. One young woman, Mikayla, immediately made me smile! I could see the joy of the Lord in her even in our short initial interaction. I observed her leade ..read more

We have a heartwarming story this week from one of our staff members, Regina, that we hope will bless you as much as it did us!  “A sweet little girl named Emma came up to me while I was lifeguarding and said, ‘Lifeguard Regina, I heard that you were a rancher here when you were a little girl and now you work here all the time.  I want to be just like you someday!’ She then saluted me and said, ‘Thank you for your service.’  I didn’t get the chance to see her off and say goodbye at the end of the week and I was pretty bummed.  However, when I went to greet a car in our driv ..read more

Three weeks into the summer and the stories keep flowing from our staff.  This week, we’d like to share with you a story of one of our ranchers, Ben (we’ll call him Ben for confidentiality sake). Ben started the week off on a wrong foot and was consistently getting into arguments, starting fights, and just not getting along with anyone.  One of our team leaders really took him under his wing and pursued a friendship with him.  He set action steps for him to be successful during the week and turn things around.  It was a complete 180.  Ben went from fighting and arguing ..read more

These past couple weeks here at The Ranch have been incredibly encouraging and refreshing which is such an answered prayer! Thank you to everyone who has been diligently praying for our staff and students!  One of our team leaders shared a story about one of her ranchers: This week I had a rancher who was outgoing and passionate but came in with a negative attitude and wanted nothing to do with any activities we had prepared. For most of the week, we were doing everything we could just to get her to participate and get her engaged. She would often complain about rotations being boring and ..read more

Summer is in FULL SWING and we are excited to share with you all that’s happening here at The Ranch!  It’s truly amazing to see all that God is doing here and we want to keep you all in the loop! Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in what’s new here. Sadly, we heard a few devastating stories from our students this past week – one of which came from a young man who shared with us that he was recently taken away from his biological parents due to drug abuse, only to find himself in an even more difficult foster home. These stories feel too familiar and continue to happen year a ..read more

Summer is right around the corner and with it, hundreds of children that are in need of love, shelter, protection, food and educational assistance at Wildwood Hills Ranch of Iowa. The Ranch serves vulnerable youth year-round at our 400-acre safe haven but we have the most students on site and staying with us during our summer programming sessions. On average, The Ranch serves over 1,000 youth at-risk and veterans in need annually. The programming we provide is of no cost to the youth served and we raise all funds through grants, donations and fundraisers. We Need YOU! Join us for The Wild Abou ..read more