Dreamers' Ranch Mission Trip Reflective Writing, by James Mason ('24)

During the Kids Camp part of our time at Dreamers’ Ranch, I realized how close I got to the kids I was responsible for on the farm. A lot of the kids in my group I could call little siblings because they were respectful to the leaders and listened. They reminded me of being at home with my brothers and having a lot of fun. The community was so close and it was like a big family.

My morning and afternoon job was making portable chicken coops for people to rent and let the birds out and eat lawn bugs. I found this a great experience and a good life lesson because when I’m older I now have the skills to do things on my own. My favorite part about being in the group that built the houses was that my group didn’t slack and we were working nonstop until lunch and then again afterward.

When I went into this mission trip, I wasn't expecting it to be as fun and challenging as it was. When I say challenging I don't mean it was hard and impossible, but I mean it was a lot to handle and it really helped me work on how much I can do and how to manage it. For instance, when I wake up in the morning, I'm not very lively, and having to wake up early and get straight to work didn't make me the happiest person. But then once I started I didn't stop and my group plowed through our jobs. In the end, we made four very cool “Tick Chick Houses.”

I feel like I was called by God to go to Dreamers’ Ranch to minister the kids and get to really know them and help out with the things that they didn't understand and were afraid to ask. Once the kids opened up a lot of the things they said stayed in my head and will most likely stay with me for a while.

I feel like we as a school and a community did a lot of work on the farm and got a lot of projects done, which will greatly help the ministry. We all worked really hard throughout the week and I’m really happy I was able to help and be there to support others as well as enjoy the week. I am really happy that this was my first mission trip and I will remember this for the rest of my life.