We arrived in Missouri to work at Whetstone Therapeutic School and Ranch in late March of this year. During this time I find myself thinking about vision and mission statements more than ever. What are they and do they ever get changed or revised. Which one is easier to fulfill? Do individuals, couples or families need one or both? Are they a chain of bondage or a road map for life’s journey?

We had a vision for our boys for the kind of men we dreamed they would be when each reached adulthood. The vision drove the mission to raise them. Most times they challenged the mission and we made some adjustments but only within what we believed the vision would allow. We also had times of celebration and vision casting at certain times in their growing up years. It wasn’t always easy but now they’re all adults and living lives of service to their respective communities (and are out of our house).

So, what does this have to do with our present situation? In 2008, Brandon Maxwell and Jeremy Thompson (Whetstone founders) were fundraising at our church and mentioned this role of grandparents. There was not a space for it to be checked on the postcard so Kristin wrote it in. The journey of vision was cast that night that sometime in the future we would move to wherever Whetstone was, we would move there and serve for two years in the role for grandparent. This was before Whetstone was a reality and just a vision for them. So here we are living in Missouri and finding that the God’s vision for us was much larger than ours. And his vision and calling would stretch us far beyond what we thought we had the strength for.

How do we craft a mission statement for a God sized vision and still fulfill the existing mission statement of the ranch . For me it’s one small statement at a time instead of one big all encompassing one. We are here to work for and to help Whetstone. That includes the residents and their families, the facility, the staff and their children, the board, the program, fundraising and local churches/community members that help support the Ranch.

The focus of this post is the fundraising portion. As I have said in earlier posts, I love to ride my bike and want to use this passion to raise money for Whetstone. Last month I was privileged to be back in Colorado for the Stonewall Century in La Veta and the money raised was designated to help pay for a new air conditioner. This month I will be riding in St Charles Missouri and next month I will be riding in Springfield. The plan is to ride either a metric century (62.2 miles) or a full century (100) every month that we are here. The goal is to reach $4000 for the Ranch to fund some specific areas.

Wood shop $1500 (additional tools and supplies)

Office remodel for new therapist $2000

Air conditioner $500

I am asking you to join me as I ride for Whetstone and give for any of these areas. You can visit the website: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/garcenrid/

Thanks for perusing,

Gary