After 15 hours of traveling from Esperanza Village in Belize to Ensenada, Mexico, our kids chatted excitedly as their heads bobbled about in the darkness of the van. The road made more twists and turns when the high beams of the van shone on a metal gate. The gate opened widely and we continued to bounce around as we headed down the dirt road.

In the pitch darkness of 2am the stars glimmered brightly. Moments later a porch light glistened and a white roof line came into view. As we got closer, Sue sweetly stated that this would be our new home for the next two weeks.

We began to unload bags and then the doors to our new tiny home opened. We were pleasantly surprised as we found that the front room had a king size bed neatly accompanied with a beautiful duvet cover and decorative pillows. As we looked around there were stairs to our left that went up to two twin size beds which Esperanza and Gryphin quickly occupied. Then past our room there was a door that went back to another set of two twin size beds for Zoe and Amara. We were elated to realize that for the first time in several weeks we would not all be in the same room.

The next morning we opened our doors to the great outdoors. The mountains loomed around us, trees brought the shade and a row of tiny homes with a kids playground at the end sat beautifully between it all. We headed towards a massive yurt that we found out was a huge kitchen with a handful of tables inside and multiple tables lined out front.

After an incredible cup of coffee I headed towards their Coffee House which really looked like a cozy house with comfy couches, books and games. Sipping my coffee I looked out amongst God’s creation and opened my Bible. He was so tangible I felt I could reach out and touch Him.

A few hours later there was a hustle and bustle of families arriving from outreach. These families had become teams of 3 to 4 families and for 8 weeks some went to Mexico, others the Philippines and others to the Middle East. They were now back at Rancho Abierto in Mexico to complete their Discipleship Training School with a week of debrief.

It was lovely hearing what God had done in them personally. Monday morning debrief classes started. We all came together for worship and then the kids and I headed to their classrooms. My heart was excited to see how God would work through these children.

Over the next week I had organized some basic hands on activities that would allow the children and teens to process what they had gone through while on outreach. We also had times of repentance and forgiveness towards those in their groups. It was so special to see how genuine they were and how God broke them of their pride.

The last day quickly approached and the kids prayed for one another. We’d put a youth in the “hot seat” and then wait on the Lord. Soon we had kids sharing pictures, words, scriptures and encouragement towards one another. It was so beautiful to see a theme develop as God spoke. Many of these youth had prophetic callings on their life. So special to see how God spoke to and through each of them.

The end of the week came and many of the families began to disperse. The staff, our family and one student family was all that was left. But rather than take a breather we all came together to prepare the ranch for a category 4 hurricane.

Multiple hours later Hurricane Hillary weakened to a tropical storm. However, due to the Ranch’s mountainous location we only had an overcast sky with some light rain. The next day we had a little more rain but still no wind. Today the sun is back out and we are enjoying connecting with this team of incredible YWAMers.

Rancho Abierto truly is a beautiful sanctuary. If God is speaking to your family about joining their Family Bible School this fall or their Family Discipleship Training School in April I’d encourage you to take that step. You will not regret focusing on your family, your marriage and the Living God.