Place to Call Home - Softcover

Susan-m-wood

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0739204378 ISBN 13: 9780739204375

Verlag: FisicalBook, 1999

Inhaltsangabe

The inspiring true story behind the founding of Wears Valley Ranch. Filled with humor, hope and encouragement, A Place to Call HOME chronicles the miraculous answer to over twenty years of prayer which has resulted in a place of new beginnings for dozens of hurting children and youth from families in crisis.

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Beginning as a teenager, Susan Wood felt God had placed a burden on her heart for children suffering from abuse, neglect or abandonment. With her husband, Jim, she founded Wears Valley Ranch and St. Andrew's School in 1991 in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Wears Valley Ranch has provided a home and school for dozens of hurting children. Susan received her degree in English Education from Mississippi State University while working at French Camp Academy. She has worked closely with professors from the College of Education at the University of Tennessee to develop an individualized approach to education for children who have fallen behind due to the traumas experienced in their families of origin. Every graduate of St. Andrew's School has been admitted to the college of their choice. This educational approach has become a model for other ministries to disadvantaged children in several states.

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Ever wonder how God puts together a miracle? He does it with an amazing set of seemingly unrelated circumstances, committed and called servants, and a fire fanned by the Holy Spirit. This is a book, which will inspire you and perhaps even give you a vision for the miracle God can do with your life. I commend Susan Wood's book to you. It is a delightful story of faith and fortitude and, even more, a story of God's benediction on those who will be obedient to His leading. - Steve Brown, Reformed Theological Seminary; Bible teacher and host, Key Life

Susan Wood's testimony comes from a heart and life totally dedicated to God. The ministry of Wears Valley Ranch has touched the lives of many and will continue to do so in the years to come. I encourage all Christians to read this inspiring story. - Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, The American Center for Law and Justice

Today, more and more we are hearing of unspeakable crimes being committed by young children, from all levels of the economic ladder. Children whose home situations have left them without the love and nurturing so necessary to enable them to grow up as stable, grounded, gifted members of society. At Wears Valley Ranch, Jim and Susan Wood are meeting that need for many children who have fallen into this unfortunate category. . . meeting that need with love, discipline, Christian training, and individualized education. - Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries International

A place to call HOME began as the vision of Jim and Susan Wood before they met each other, when they were only teenagers. Out of a burden to help children from families in crisis grew a prayerful passion, which has become Wears Valley Ranch. Founded in 1991 in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Wears Valley Ranch has provided a home and school for dozens of hurting children. This story chronicles over twenty years of prayer and waiting before the vision became reality. Let their story encourage you to trust in God. He answers prayer!

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One week Jim read an especially shocking story in the Asheville newspaper concerning a boy in another part of the state who had killed his foster mother and was now in state custody. Because of the boy's age, Jim knew there was a good chance he would be in the dorm where he taught. He prayed God would give him an opportunity to speak to this boy. Indeed, the boy was in attendance the following Sunday. Jim couldn't imagine circumstances horrendous enough to drive a boy to killespecially when the victim was someone he loved. Jim understood that the state had an obligation to lock Steve up, but he wondered what might have been done to prevent this tragedy.

Jim learned that Steve had been a ward of the court most of his young life and had lived in over twenty foster homes. In all of those placements, there had been only one woman he felt cared for him. Although she had not adopted him, Steve had adopted her. In his mind, she was his mother. Because she was single and illiterate, the state had only temporarily placed Steve with her. However, when the state attempted to find a more suitable home for him, he repeatedly ran away and made his way back to her. She was willing to keep him; so, it had been arranged for him to stay in her care as a foster child.

Steve didn't like his foster mother's relationships with men, but he accepted it. Even though she dated frequently and left him alone, she always made sure he was fed before she left for the evening. In spite of its minimal comforts, her house was the closest thing to a home Steve had ever known, and he loved having a mother.

Because his foster mother couldn't read, Steve read her mail to her. One day he read a letter from a traveling salesman she had dated on and off over the years. This man lived in Florida and had seldom written. Steve hadn't realized that she had a particular interest in him. But, as he read the letter to her, he could see, by the flush of her face and the smile that kept tugging at the corners of her mouth, this man was more than just another boyfriend.

When Steve read his proposal of marriage, he could barely say the words. It said, "I want you to live in Florida with me, but you'll have to get rid of the kid." To Steve it was obvious she would accept his proposal. He couldn't bear the thought of being without her. At the age of thirteen, Steve felt his life was over. He felt powerless to prevent the inevitable. He knew he would no longer have a mom. He wasn't about to let someone else have her, especially someone who would prevent him from ever seeing her again. So, he quietly went to the hall closet, got her rifle, and shot her in the head. He stuffed her body in the trashcan in back of the house. Within half an hour the police got a call from Steve, "I've just killed my mother. Please come."

The same morning Jim met Steve, he noticed another child, a sullen, freckle-faced little boy. Eddie sat with his legs dangling off the side of the bed next to Steve's. In the long rows of beds separated only by nightstands, what had brought these two children together in this place? Why was a young vulnerable child like Eddie housed in such a cold unfeeling environment? And why was he housed in such close quarters with a confessed murderer like Steve?

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: FisicalBook
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1999
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0739204378
• ISBN 13: 9780739204375
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar