In 2013 the Lord provided this Refuge for Rick and Wendy to purchase when the Lord put on Gary Anderson’s heart that he should sell his family farm, but only to Rick and Wendy Smith. This farm has a heritage of faith. The Gustafson family that lived here loved the Lord, and we hope He gives them a vision of what is happening here today. In the beginning we had no idea what God had in store. We knew He led us to this farm where our broken dreams could be redeemed and a new life together (with Christ as the center) could begin. We came here with no money, but a little equity from the sale of our first home. We worked very hard, gutted the house and did a lot of work ourselves so that we did not have to borrow money. The shop was built first, and we lived in there while we worked on the house. We built fences, sided outbuildings, and built a small arena. Eventually the Lord provided the funds for us to begin work on the barn with a vision to have ministry upstairs. The lower level, which used to be a dairy barn, was renovated first with a tack room and stalls for horses. A friend and brother in Christ has used his giftedness at wood working to do so many things for us. It is still a work in progress today. God’s Refuge solely exists to glorify Him, and everything done here is what He directs us to do. When He has a plan, He makes a way. We have watched Him move mountains in our lives as we put our trust completely in Him. The Lord has humbled us, changed us, and brought us to the place we are today of knowing this Refuge is not ours at all, but the Lord’s. It’s His haven, His place to use people to bring others hope in Him. We don’t know all that the future holds, but we are excited that the Lord is willing to use us, messy as we are, to further His kingdom and to help other people that are in the broken place that we both know so well. This Refuge is truly a haven, a place to be free of the cares of the world, to be loved by people, horses, dogs and to learn the truth about your value as a child of God.