Rich’s Ride Heads To The Farm

RICH’S RIDE takes us to some interesting places.

We’ve cranked past alligators in Florida, buffalo and camels (?) in Wyoming. We’ve been chased by a herd of poodles. We’ve seen cotton fields, corn fields, and even a Field of Dreams.

We’ve met amazing people doing incredible work. And this week, thanks to Becky’s gift for connecting people and fostering relationships, we were reminded that some of the best stories are right in our own back yard.

The RICH’S RIDE team visited Harvest Farm, a working farm 15 miles north of Fort Collins where seventy guys grow food, tend animals, learn about Jesus, and find a path out of the darkness of addiction. We met Seth and Heather and talked about how the story of Relentless Grace and a crazy bike ride might serve the clients at this innovative facility.

Harvest Farm isn’t a quick-fix program. Clients are nearly all self-referred. Most have fought long-term battles with addiction. Many bring heavy emotional, legal, social, and financial baggage. They tried short-term repairs, and they’re ready to commit to an intensive thirteen month (minimum) residential program of work, education, therapy, and spiritual development. The ultimate goal is development of a support system that helps them become productive, self-sufficient members of society.

From my perspective, Harvest Farm is all about hope and grace. Clients learn the plants and animals depend on them, that thriving or suffering is linked to whether they show up faithfully. But they also experience unconditional love, forgiveness, and a support system that won’t disappear when they mess up. For most of them it’s a first-time, life-changing experience.

So I’ll head out to the farm in a few weeks and talk to a few of these guys about escaping from hopeless. Heather, Seth, Becky, and I discussed making this a regular, integral part of what happens at the farm.

I’m excited—the old teacher hopes God will use my story to serve the guys at the farm.

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Thanks to the generosity of our Book Benefactors, we’ll hand each guy a book. Hopefully they’ll read it, and if it’s meaningful we’ll encourage them to share it with a friend. It’s a powerful way for these men to help each other.

We reach out to lots of folks who might appreciate and benefit from the message of both books, but simply can’t afford them. The folks in rehab programs, homeless shelters, disability support organizations, disabled veterans groups, and detention centers are a big part of our target audience.

If you’d like to help us get books about God’s version of hope into the hands of the hopeless, check out our Book Benefactor program. You’ll touch some folks you’ll never meet in a really tangible way.

Kinda cool, huh?

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