As a kid growing up in the Baptist church, there was a popular hymn we often sang called “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” – Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need; mercy drops ‘round us are falling; but for the showers we plead. As noted, the hymn was written in reference to Ezekiel 34:26, “I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” If we understand the context of this verse, we see that God is providing Ezekiel a script for what to say to his people. This section is renewing his covenant of provision to those whom he finds to be true worshippers. After God lists a number of provisions that he will make for his “sheep”, he declares this: 30 “Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

I can certainly confess that in the season of the past two years, if we can know anything for certain at New Life Ranch, we know that HE is our God. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, in the drought of pandemic and many challenges, we have seen God continue to provide “showers of blessing” in great abundance. With that assurance, we have continued to lean forward into the calling and mission of this organization to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and equip believers for ministry. We have continued to lean forward into the strategic planning and expansion of the ministry in an effort to reach more of this and future generations for Christ. In doing that, we have recognized the need to repair, restore, and reimagine our existing facilities toward that end.

One of those areas has been the waterfront. The infrastructure that is the dam and the spillway were originally put in place over 40 years ago. We began the year knowing that we needed to raise over $850,000 to make the necessary improvements that would restore the integrity and improve it in a way that would make it sustainable for the foreseeable future. Our initial goal was to raise 40% of that goal by June in order to qualify us for a grant submission. By June, God had provided 60% through some known, but also some new and surprising resources. After being turned down for the grant, we were concerned, but anticipated that God had another plan. He did, in fact, and a new donor provided a $175,000 match gift against the remaining $350,000 balance of the project. That meant that we only needed $175,000 to complete the funding. Soon after that was announced, we had a number of donors come forward and provide close to $155,000 in donations toward the match. So as of this writing, we only need approximately $20,000 to complete the funding for the Restore Campaign. God’s “showers of blessing” have been very evident this year at New Life Ranch.

We would ask you to pray that by year-end, we could complete this campaign. If you feel inclined to give toward it and help us complete the match or would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our aim is to have the waterfront restored and available to campers for Summer ’22 and many generations to come.