How We Got Our First Student [By Jen]
In the early days of this faith journey of Rockside, we were always waiting with bated breath to see what was around the next corner. We bought the land and decided to build a ministry for men, but wondered how it would actually come together. We would joke that a young man was just going to show up one day, but we were stunned when it actually happened.
A young man ran out of gas in our little valley, and we put him to work for a few days. We told him about our dream to start a program for young men, and he said he wanted to come. We laughed and told him that it didn’t exist yet, but he told us that he didn’t care, he wanted to come. In true Rockside fashion, we said yes. He traveled back home to get his things, and we set a date for him to move to the ranch in about a month’s time.
We had a major hurdle to jump in that month--we had nowhere for him to live. Though there were two houses on the property when we moved in, one of them was occupied by a dear renter we inherited from the previous owners. We were committed to her as long as she wanted to stay, so we were prepared to get creative. About a week into our month of preparation, she came to us out of the blue. She was deeply apologetic as she informed us that she had been accepted into a retirement home and would be moving in two weeks. She was excited to move, and God showed us that He cares for the details.
We helped her move and thrifted some furniture for the house, and sure enough, we were ready just in time for Josh to return to the ranch and start his program in late May, right before the farm burst into the work of the summer. Everything felt so surreal when he arrived. We were not prepared, nor were we qualified, but we were willing. The summer turned out beautifully. Covered in soil and manure, we learned together how to raise and butcher chickens, how to manage a laying flock, how to avoid being spit on by a llama, how to catch a rowdy rooster even while barefoot, and so many other things. The memories we made that summer were forged in faith, friendship, and a shared burden to see this place come to life.
The friendship that grew between us and Josh set the tone for what would unfold in the years that followed. It wasn’t always so smooth, but that first summer gave us hope that we really could build a family here--a family of unlikely farmers becoming unlikely friends that didn’t just sweep the hard stuff under the rug, but dealt with it head on. It gave us courage to believe that belonging to this place could make us all softer to the ways of God’s kingdom, and at the same time, making us more bold in our conviction to pursue what is right and true.
This year, we will celebrate Thanksgiving with six students around the table along with almost all of our staff and families attending too. In order to keep the momentum of the program, students remain at the ranch for all the Holidays throughout the year, and we do everything we can to make those days special. Next week, we’ll cook a couple of huge turkeys that we raised, whip up some candied yams, and maybe even some oysters stew at the request of one of our students. We’ll spend the day cooking and watching Charlie Brown and playing football and living out what began when Josh showed up on our doorstep all those years ago. We’ll spend the day as friends who are like family, and we’ll give thanks to the God who carved out this space and planted all of us here to experience His goodness together.