Dear Friends,

Sunshine was all aglow as 65+ women descended upon Morning Star for World Impact’s annual women’s retreat weekend.  With all the ladies coming and just one male compatriot, I trembled in fear.  Not really, but it was a truly different experience for me that weekend.  It was a great picture of women drawing closer to the Lord and celebrating together.

 

During the course of the weekend we had the pleasure of welcoming, serving and getting to know some of the ladies.  Their stories of redemption from brokenness, addictions and abuse to a relationship with Christ were powerful testimonies of God’s work in their lives. 

One of those testimonies really struck me as a great example of how Morning Star reaches people.  As a youth “Heather” had lived in the neighborhood of a World Impact church plant in the Wichita area.  She started coming to Lighthouse Church and visited Morning Star Ranch as a camper.  It was during her week at camp that she accepted Christ as her savior.

Heather went home after the week of camp a changed person. She started to share God with her family, got involved in church and was discipled.  Heather led her sister to Christ, and then her mom accepted the Lord as well.  Her parents had been divorced and out of Anna’s willingness to share the gospel her parents eventually reconciled and were remarried.  As the years went by she was discipled by the pastor and started to lead the youth outreach at the church.

Years later Heather was now back at Morning Star Ranch, not just attending the women’s retreat but speaking and teaching to all the ladies during one of the sessions.  Her example is exactly why we Evangelize, Equip and Empower those who we work with so they can go and reach others well beyond what we ever could. We serve a great and mighty God who can use anyone for his glory.

Peace & Blessings,

The Leaches

To our dearest friends,

Craig sat alone last October in his living room floor.  Desperation had come over him and he let the devil get a foothold.

The cold hard steel of the handgun pressed on his chest……BANG!  Craig pulled the trigger sending a round squarely into his torso.

Standing beside me Craig recounted the story of just six months ago.  About a year and a half prior to him attempting to take his life he had prayed to accept Christ as his savior.  He had struggled most of his life with abusing drugs, alcohol and women, but now struggled that night with his self-worth.   It is a question that we hear a lot.  How could Christ love me enough to die for my sins?  Doesn’t he know what I have done?  Those were the exact thoughts that came over Craig that night and he was alone and desperate enough that he tried the unthinkable, to take his own life.

Seconds after pulling the trigger Craig had a conversation with God.  Clarity sunk it. Christ is enough; he needed nothing more and nothing less than to trust in him.  Craig shut his eyes that night and prayed quickly asking for forgiveness and another chance at life.  That prayer has been answered for Craig as he is now using his testimony to tell others about Christ.  There are days that aren’t easy for him, but he leans on God for what he needs to get through.

As we minister here at Morning Star Ranch we have the opportunity to serve so many whether it be a World Impact camp and retreat or a rental group.  Everyone who comes to visit is in a unique place in their journey with Jesus from some seeking to know him, some running from him and others having firmly planted themselves in him.  Part of our ministry is to come alongside those who visit us to listen to their journey story, lift them up in prayer and challenge them to make the next step.

Craig told me his story; I prayed with him, gave him my cell phone and said you ever need someone to talk with call me.  We may never see him again on this earth, but this I know, we will see him again.

As always we covet your prayers.  This month please be in prayer for the youth that we will be reaching during summer camps.  Pray for strength and endurance for us and the staff at Morning Star Ranch that each day we will be filled up so we can pour out into others.  Also please be in specific prayer that God would provide someone who wants to be a missionary and serve in the role of maintenance for the camp. 

Peace & Blessings,

Eric, Sunshine & Colton Leach

Dear Partner’s in Ministry,

First John 5:14-15 references that if we ask God anything according to His will he hear it and we will have what we ask for. This is never more evident than recently while having a conversation with a group leader on our front porch. For months, we have been praying for volunteer groups who are passionate about our ministry and willing to serve. As I was talking with “Will”, he was telling me about how they had planned a week of service with three other camps, and each one had fallen thru for various reasons. I just kind of smiled and laughed, and told him about our recent time of prayer requesting groups just like theirs.

Often it is only after a period of time that we can look back and be like “WOW” God has answered our prayers.  Or we can see how He has protected and provided for us.  With Will’s group that was the case.  While they were here they heard first-hand how our ministry reaches the urban poor when Bo shared his testimony.  Bo shared about life in prison, the daily struggles to keep away from drugs and most importantly his daily relationship with Christ.  He told the group that he has to pray as he walks certain street corners because he knows the temptations that are literally right around the corner. Out of the whole week the group was here, it was Bo’s life testimony that inspired and motivated the guys as they went home.  It was no accident that God brought them here to help us transform the camp, transform their lives and transform others that we haven’t even met.

One of the biggest hurdles in ministry is that we often  get so busy  doing for the Lord, that we  don’t allow enough time to just sit and talk with him, or we don’t ask others to pray on our behalf. As we prepare to head into our busiest season, will you join us in daily prayer for Morning Star?

Will you commit to pray over these requests  the next few months as well?

1.)    Please pray specifically for all the youth and families who will be out here the next three months.

2.)    Pray that God is already preparing their hearts, and that we will reach them right where they are at.

3.)    Please also be in prayer for our staff. That we would stay focused on God, and that we would have the strength and stamina for the camp season.

4.)     Please be in prayer especially for our family as rural life has presented some very difficult challenges.

5.)    Please pray that God would provide meaningful relationships and wise counsel into our lives.

Peace,

Eric, Sunshine & Colton

Dear Family and Friends,

The staff here at Morning Star Ranch has looked forward to this time of the year. Eric and I moved here in mid-October.  Since we were the new “Director’s in Training”, we looked around with fresh eyes and saw all the possibilities. So we were fairly excited to kick off our camp/retreat season last month.

Morning Star Ranch is about 560 acres. Our entire staff has been busy getting the camp grounds, lodge and cabins into shape for this year’s camp/retreat season. It has been a lot of fun trying out new recipes, planning the menus, painting / redecorating the dining hall and getting the cabins ready for company. Eric and I both love hospitality ministry, we love creating a welcoming and relaxing place for people to visit.

Our first group this season was a group of RA’s from a local college. They spent the weekend focusing how to be good leaders and examples to the students they would be in charge of for the year. The following weekend we had a church board out to the camp for a time of prayer and meetings. They were gearing up for the New Year, and wanted to discuss how their church could grow and how they could be effective ministers to the congregation.

All of the retreats so far have shown me how important it is to have a quiet place for people to visit and recharge. We all need a place to go to  get away from our very fast paced lives, and refocus on what is important in ministry. Here at Morning Star Ranch, we have the opportunity to provide ministers a place to reflect, and plan their ministry opportunities for the future.

As Eric and I have settled into life here, we have met several people who have their own stories to share about Morning Star Ranch. Stories that have changed people’s lives. We are looking forward to all the opportunities God will give us to minister this year. As the year continues on, we will have church retreats, youth and kids camps, men’s and women’s retreats, and family reunions. Each group of people is a open door to minister.  

Prayer Requests:

~ Please pray that we can find a full time maintenance and camp caretaker.

~Please pray that we fill all our summer staff positions.

~Please pray that our new dining hall will be open for the camp season.

Peace & Love,

Eric, Sunshine & Colton

Welcome MSR Interns!

As Christians, we learned early on from the Book of Genesis in the creation of Adam that it is not good for man to be alone. God gave him a companion in Eve. Fast forward to the New Testament, and look at Paul on his missionary journeys with Timothy and Barnabas alongside him. In today’s church, we use catch phrases like “doing life together” or “community” to show the importance of having other Christians to help shoulder the load. That is why we are excited to have two new interns join us at Morning Star Ranch for the coming year.

Michael and Courtney are coming are coming alongside us in ministry at the Ranch for the 2013 year. In an interesting twist, they grew up as classmates in high school. They are from the Whitewater, Kansas area and learned about World Impact from missionaries in our Wichita ministry. As is true in the body of Christ, they each have unique skills that will make a huge impact this next year. Michael grew up on a farm and is very resourceful. He has also spent the last two summers working at a camp in Colorado. Last year he even headed up a week of kids’ camp. Courtney has the gift of hospitality, and she will be a great addition in making sure everyone’s needs are taken care of. She also has a servant’s heart and loves to cook.


It is great to have others help us out this year. It is a daunting task managing the Ranch and all the aspects of ministry. Their presence and work will help move the camp in the right direction. In addition, we have a passion for investing in others on a deep level. We are excited to be living and working with, investing in, and doing life with them.

Come summertime, our staff will expand to handle the demands of weeks of kids’ camps, youth camps, and teen camps. We are currently accepting applications for the summer months, so if you know of anyone looking for a more meaningful summer job than working at the local fast food restaurant, please send them our way. In the past, some of the best people we have worked with were referred by friends.

We always covet your prayers; this month, please pray for:


1. The groups using the Ranch next month that it will have an impact on their lives.

2.Michael and Courtney’s adjustment to life at the Ranch.

3. God’s provision of financial resources to finish the new dining hall.

Peace & Love,
Eric, Sunshine and Colton Leach

Sprucing Things Up

This time of year, as the weather turns cold and the camping season slows down, provides us with an opportunity to focus on other important things. As you can imagine, maintaining a 560-acre ranch takes a great deal of manual labor. Two big projects that Eric has been finishing up are winterizing the remote out-buildings and learning the water system. He is now a certified operator in training for small-water purification and waste-water management. He has become well-versed in all of the Kansas state regulations for water monitoring and testing. Most days, he comes back and gives me a debriefing. I learned today that you have to flush the waterlines to the toilets and put antifreeze in them so that the pipes don’t burst!

Preparations are underway for outlining retreats and camps for 2013. It takes a tremendous amount of preparation and planning to host as many camps as we do. From preparing curriculum, activities, maintenance, and cooking, it is quite a large undertaking. As most of you know, preparation and prayer is vital for setting up success. Coming up in the next two months, we have a pastor and deacon retreat and a college retreat. We are also excited that two one-year interns will be joining us this month. Both of them are eager to get started and have a great love of God and hearts for service. They will not only provide much-needed assistance in daily ministry, but companionship as well.

After living out here on the ranch for several months, we have adjusted quite well. It took a little while to adjust to the fact that the closest Target is over an hour away. But it hasn't taken us long to find out where the go-to spots are nearby. In all of the quaint, small towns, everyone has been very friendly and willing to help us out as the ‘new’ people in town. God’s beauty is all around us. We have a full bank of windows in the front of our house. I have enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table having tea, and watching the deer parade across our front lawn in the early morning hours. Colton and I go exploring at least once a day. There are several trails to walk, fields to explore, and a lovely golden retriever here named Abby that we enjoy playing fetch with. We love the peaceful atmosphere out here, whether it is walking down to the lovely old wind mill or crossing the Cottonwood River. We can feel God’s presence all around us, and we take comfort in that.

Please be in prayer this month for the following:

1. The new interns joining us. 

2.That God provides us with volunteers for service projects.

3. Financial resources to finish the new dining hall and minor improvements on existing buildings.

Peace and Love,
Eric, Sunshine, & Colton

War of the Worlds Men's Retreat

From Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, Topeka, and Wichita, the men began to check in at the Morning Star Ranch registration table. Some showed up in full fatigues. Some came hungry, others nervous, and some so excited they couldn't stand still. It was our family’s first retreat with World Impact, so we shared their emotions. I was nervous and excited; I paced back and forth, shook hands, introduced myself, and even tossed out a few man hugs. With all of the energy bouncing around, you knew something big was happening, and it was--we were on the cusp of Men’s Retreat 2012!


The theme for the weekend was War of the Worlds, one that really hit the men right where they were. The tone was set for an energy-intense weekend. After dinner on Friday night, we were off to the first session. The bonding began immediately as we crammed 120 men into the pavilion. The praise band rocked it out as did Dr. Don Davis with the teaching. You know it was good stuff when the teaching ran over by an hour and the men came out talking about how awesome it was.


There were three main sessions, some breakout groups about church planting in the city, games, fishing, softball, high ropes activities, a campfire with s’mores, and sharing some great meals together. As is often the case for me, the best part about the weekend was watching the men engage with one another in meaningful conversation late into the night. There were men at various points in their spiritual journeys, non-Christians and rock-solid believers. To see two men talking and praying together about Christ is the picture of true manhood.

As the weekend wrapped up, I was encouraged to see how the camp can be used for effective ministry. It provides an opportunity for those who come from urban environments to encounter God in a unique way. It also revealed three specific prayer requests that come with every camp and retreat.

1. For the pastors and leaders of those who came out to the retreat: please pray that God keeps them filled up for the work at hand.


2. For those who attended the retreat: please pray that their lives and hearts are a reflection of God’s calling in their lives. Also pray for protection as they head back into the urban areas.

3. For our volunteers and staff: please pray that they are encouraged in their work for His Kingdom. Also pray that God continues to provide the camp with those ready to serve.

Blessings,
Eric and Sunshine Leach