Making Great Progress For the Kids
Christmas Party at the Ranch
Nearly 200 guests attended His Wings Ranch Christmas Party hosted by Strong Tower Ministries from La Mision who graciously provided a Christmas feast on Sunday, December 8th for the families of the kids in our program. So many dedicated volunteers provided food, tables, chairs, two bouncy houses, clothes, school supplies, live music and a message of hope from pastors. – Special thank you to Bernardo Salada Alba for the photos in the following slide show.
A special thanks for Serving Hands Ministry for providing blankets just in time for the cold Ensenada nights as well as gifts of food and supplies for the families which are so valuable!
Front Line Ministries gift boxes shone brightly and were a hit with the kids.
Blessings to you all for making a fabulous Christmas event.
Stories By Sue Fasino
Thankful for the New Youth Center
Serving Hands International sponsored the construction of our basketball court and fire pit which serve as the hub of our community center. We have recently completed the new basketball court that can also be used for volleyball, badminton, and even pickleball. The addition is a huge blessing for our local youth, as well as our physically challenged kids as well. The new fire pit is also ready to go to provide a safe place for our local youth to come and enjoy fellowship while they worship the Lord of Lord’s and the King of Kings!!
We are still working on the inside of the youth center. We just received a ping pong table and want to also provide foosball and air hockey tables. This will be a space to have youth group meetings and a casual environment for any ministry who wants to use it for special classes or gatherings for years to come.
A special thank you for the generous donations from the late Emiliano Mazzarella whose significant support resulted in the building of the playground and many of the construction needs on the ranch as well as the purchase of a car for Jonny.
Welcome Home Melinna
By the grace of God, Melinna was welcomed back to His wings Ranch in October. Melinna lived with us when she was 8 years old until she was 11. She spent the last several years living between her father’s home, an orphanage, and a rehabilitation center. She was very malnourished and weak and had to be intubated twice this past year due to severe infections and complications of hemodialysis. Johnny and I felt the Holy Spirit calling us to bring her back under the mighty wings of Jesus here at the ranch.
In just 4 weeks, she has gained 8 pounds and can now sit up by herself and is regaining the strength to be able to transfer herself again. We have hired 4 caregivers to give her all the medical attention she needs at the moment. We’re hopeful that soon, she will be more independent and not require the 24/7 monitoring that she needs currently. She is now on an anti-seizure medication that she did not need before and is going to hemodialysis three days a week. She gets physical therapy here in our newly opened therapy rooms! She has also been able to start back in our school here at the ranch and is enjoying being reunited back with her sister Yoshira. Please pray for Melinna’s continued health.
God Continues to Bring the Most Vulnerable Under His Wings!
The current roster is up to 60 children with a variety of needs. Some needing special help in school, some needing therapy, some needing doctors who are specialists. Other children need to be connected to the right place for needed surgeries. All need to know the Love of Jesus, and the comfort and peace of His presence in their lives. The God who never makes mistakes uses his servants to comfort and bring His hope to the multitudes. We are here to answer the call to serve those who are feeling that they are alone and desperate to find answers, cures, and healing for their precious little ones. We always lift up their eyes to the one who is more than able to heal and provide.
Therapy Rooms Are In Full Swing!
The new therapy rooms are completed thanks to Horizon North County and Serving Hands International’s generous donations. The two new rooms provide an amazing opportunity for our kids to receive the physical, occupational, and speech therapy they desperately need to reach their God given potential, which is at heart of what we do here at His wings ranch. The parents are extremely encouraged to feel the love of Jesus being poured out upon their cherished children.
We have been blessed to receive groups from the states over the past several months as well. Teams from Loma Linda university, Point Loma University, Azusa Pacific University, and Northern Arizona university are among those who now partner with us. Professors and students specializing in Physical, Occupational, and speech therapy as well as nurses have come alongside us and the children we serve.
We are now converting the old therapy rooms into accommodations for students, short term groups who come to help, and families who need to stay temporarily to get specialized medical care for their children.
Special Needs Classes Are Expanding
We currently have 30 children in our different classrooms which are separated according to their individual needs. The needs are great, and the challenges differ with each child. We are constantly evaluating and reassessing the children to place them in the appropriate environment best suited to give them success.
They range in age from toddler to 18 with most falling between 5-12 years old. We are praying for more assistants to be able to help the teachers and therapists meet the needs of each child. We incorporate the use of horses to regulate those children with sensory integration disorders, to give them the sensory input they need to stay on task, or to improve their gross motor, fine motor, and motor planning skills.
Many of our kids have problems with transitions from one activity to the other. They have very little visual attention and are extremely distracted with very little joint attention. The horses help with all of that, as does the use of pictures and buttons that we use to connect the word with the action. We have had a new generous donor who has offered to pay for the salary of a new teacher as the need has grown.
International Kids
We continue to partner with Shriner’s hospital for children (Located in the United States) and have 5 children in receiving services, some are currently being treated, some just came back and a few will be going shortly. Shriners provides services in multiple locations including Philadelphia, South Carolina, Texas, California, and Chicago. In addition to Shriners, “Fresh Start Surgical Gifts” program has helped many of our kids receive surgeries for congenital defects including repairs of the urinary tract, dental surgeries, and surgical correction of microtia (malformed ears at birth). Nicole (in the video above) recently came back after 3 months and received 4 surgeries to her right arm, and both legs. She received a new specialized walker and a new custom wheelchair. She is walking straight up for the first time in her young life and she can now has improved use of her hands too.
How Your Donations Help
Your donations go to providing:
- Therapy Horses
- Therapists
- Wheelchairs, Walkers and Braces
- Medical Assistance
- Family Assistance
- Education
- Builders
- Building Material
Update on Our Family
Johnny and I were able to get away for a trip to New Jersey to see my parents and the rest of my family! Yoshira and Jaciel are doing very well in school, and Melinna is settling in very well to ranch living. Melinna is back in the saddle again enjoying the horses as they help her get stronger and regain her independence that she had before her recent hospitalizations.
