March Rancher of the Month

Meet Laura!* She's our March Rancher of the Month. Laura is non-verbal, but she communicates better than most. She's been a Rancher for 14 years and never wants to live anywhere else.

Laura loves music and dancing. She sings long and loudly when given the chance and freeform dances until she drops--literally--whenever there is lively music. Laura is full of life and loves to tease. She uses sign language on occasion to get her message across, but her facial expressions say more than any sign language could.

Laura is in charge of the house dog, Tasha. She feeds her, walks, her, cleans up after her and watches out for her safety. She does an amazing job at it and Tasha loves her and trusts her. Laura also has a pet bunny that receives exemplary care. She takes care of her bunny all by herself and never needs help with this task.

Laura's room is organized and clean nearly all the time because it's very important to her--it's part of her routine and she thrives within her routine. She has pictures of horses, wolves and eagles on her walls. Her favorite movies are westerns that feature John Wayne, Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger.

Laura loves gentle hugs, tickling and laughing, cuddles, and hand holding. She's an unrepentant tease, reveling in giving the staff a gentle poke in a ticklish spot, then running away and laughing at their surprised reaction.

Laura hasn't always been as relaxed and secure as she is today. She's had her share of stressful times and bouts with temper tantrums and such, but the Ranch has become her home and it's a good fit for her. The longer she lives at the Ranch, the happier she is. In fact, the longer we have Laura with us, the happier we are, too! She is a pearl of great price and a treasure to all of us here.

...bursting with abilities, capabilities and possibilities...!

*Triangle Cross Ranch does not use our Ranchers' real names in our public posts.

Meet the Parents...Uh...Life Coaches

Triangle Cross Ranch operates within a protected community and under a life coach philosophy of care. Our staff members live on the Ranch, creating a family style home for our Ranchers. It's an unusual way to run a facility, but it's the best way to ensure the acceptance, security and self-esteem of our Ranchers. Oh, wait, I think that's our mission!

We are the only facility of our kind in the state of Colorado, and only one of four in the nation. The state disapproves of our model of care because we do not "integrate" our Ranchers into the community at large. Rather, we provide a sheltered environment that allows them to progress at their own rate. They are given the opportunity to live next door to their closest friends and peers and to relate with society on their own terms.

Our model of care is Christ-centered and highly relational. All teaching, training and behavior modification happens within a relationship with care givers who truly care about the Ranchers and are dedicated to pursuing their best interests. Isn't that what God does for us? We don't always succeed in walking out Christ's character, but it only makes us rely on Him more each day.


With that said, here are the heroes who live and work with our Ranchers:

This is Donna. She runs a co-ed house with 2 women upstairs and 3 men downstairs. Donna is our senior life coach. She runs a tight ship and can handle nearly anything thrown her way. She's been at the Ranch for 7 years and says that she'll retire to the Ranch and live out her days here.

Martha and her family have been with us for just less than a year. Martha moved into the house and promptly created close relationships with the 3 women in her house. Martha is the mom that many are missing in their lives and yet has the backbone to hold them accountable for their actions. She's a terrific guide for them and has the patience to talk them through their many emotional ups and downs.

Pauline is the "grandma" who runs our men's house. She has 3 strapping men in her care and she keeps them well in line. Pauline has the patience it takes to help the guys learn to treat women correctly and to treat each other with respect. She provides security, love and consistency--just exactly what they need.

Our Ranchers are learning to pray Colossians 1:9-11 this year. They're praying for our staff, family members, volunteers, donors, board members and for each other. Here is our own version of this scripture:

Colossians 1:9-11

We pray for you every day and ask that your head will be filled with God’s thoughts and God’s ideas.

We ask that your life would be a picture of Jesus and that you would know Jesus better and better every day.

We ask that you would become stronger in the power of the Holy Spirit and that you would be patient as God makes you more like Him.

If you're reading this today, we will be praying for you, too. God's best to all of you!!

February Rancher of the Month

Meet Dave*. He's one of our Ranchers. Dave is a kind and gentle person who loves to help people. He's looking for a job right now and would like to work at a grocery store or some other kind of store. He's got experience in that kind of work.

Dave's got a great sense of humor and is an unrepentant teaser of other Ranchers, staff and visitors. He would like to have a girl friend, but God hasn't brought him the right one yet. Dave knows that women need to be treated differently than men because they have different likes and dislikes than men. He has excellent manners and makes friends easily.

Dave needs a few more seconds to answer questions than most. He thinks deeply and carefully about things and takes his time to put his words together, so it's always worth the wait. Dave is one of the best housekeepers in his house. He does the dishes and wipes the counters and stove top after every meal and nearly always responds when someone needs help with their chores.

Dave has a room full of DVD's that he likes to watch. He especially likes High School Musical 1 and 2. He's not very interested in live TV, although he got a very nice new television for Christmas. He wants to learn new things--things like painting with water colors, crochet, knitting, wood working, and carpentry. He's made a crochet chain several feet long and is now learning to turn it and crochet in the holes all the way back. Dave asked for help in painting a picture of red roses for his mother. He's also painting some ceramic green ware to fire in our kiln in the spring.

When people visit the Ranch, Dave is one of the first to shake hands and speak. He attends many Ranch tours along with the Director and offers his advice and guidance. As a valued Rancher, Dave knows that his input is not only important, but vital and eye-opening for others.

Overall, Dave is a wonderful and incredibly able person. He's a good friend and excellent companion. He'll never judge another person for making a mistake or for the way they look. He hates name calling and being treated in a mean way, so he'll never do that to someone else, at least on purpose. He's responsive, responsible and respected by the other Ranchers and by the staff.

"...bursting with abilities, capabilities and possibilities!!!"


*Triangle Cross Ranch does not use Ranchers' real names in our public posts.

The Weekenders

Meet two of our best and brightest weekenders--Hannah and Randee. They bring energy, creativity and joy to our Ranch while our full timers have some well-deserved days off. At any given moment they can be found arranging house to house visits, planning games, playing those games with a vengeance, making fun with very few resources, listening to Ranchers' stories and complaints, fixing problems, laughing and just generally being happy to be on the Ranch. Their attitudes are infectuous, as you can tell!!

Randee is a business student at the local university as well as the person who trains all of our new relief workers and gives the staff a great sense of security with her competence and good judgment. Hannah is a nursing student who has awesome common sense and brings a terrific sense of community and comraderie.

And this is Ryan, our full time floating relief person. Ryan works every weekend, along with

the other weekenders to ensure consistency and security. The Ranchers think he's "cool" and he thinks the Ranchers are pretty "cool" as well. Ryan spends a lot of time in the men's house at Peace House playing his guitar, playing video games with the guys, helping them with their projects and just hanging out.

There are two more weekenders on staff here, but they haven't stood still to get their pictures taken yet. I'll tell you more about them in the upcoming posts, but rest assured that they are just as young, energetic and awesome as these three.


We're blessed to have them all. God is so faithful to us!!