Stories of Hope

“Joy, I have to talk to you privately.” She’s fifteen years old with a round face, deep, deep brown eyes, and a plaited ponytail down her back that she has to be careful not to sit on. Her eyes were…

The children at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch have had to navigate a great deal of dishonesty in their lives. Those who were to protect them, didn’t. Those who were to lift them up, squashed them down. Those who were…

This is not a happy-go-lucky New Year’s Day email. If that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to wait for next week’s missive. It is kind of a success story, but right now the happy ending is pending. As…

Several years ago, when I was still relatively new to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, I was on our Minot Campus right before Christmas. Our on-site school was having a Christmas celebration before starting the holiday break. A local hospital…

“Shadow is dead.” I looked up and there was a 13-year-old girl standing in my office doorway. It was obvious that we were in the middle of a conversation I didn’t know we were having. I had to catch up….

Mikaelah is a lovely, kind, young professional who works on the Information Technology Team of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. I am delighted when we have a chance to talk.

Dr. Louis Cozolino is a well-respected American psychologist with a list of degrees longer than my arm. The State University of New York, Harvard University, and UCLA all count him among their alumni. He is a professor at Pepperdine, a profile…

In an earlier email, I wrote about sitting with Alice, a young girl at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, while trying to draw a bunny. I shared how, as she worked on her bunny and some artwork for her bedroom…

“I’m not ready for that yet. I need to get a little stronger.” A 12-year-old girl said that to me, as we were visiting one day about the work she was doing in treatment at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch….

Medical and psychiatric care is ongoing for children at the Ranch. So is education. In the summer, education at Dakota Memorial School, our on-site school, takes on a different structure. Part of the day is spent in SPARK. SPARK is run…

My parents were children during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Like most people who grew up in those grueling times, they learned to save everything. I grew up washing bread bags (when we had the rare store-bought bread), folding tin…

Today, I received a short note from a couple who have supported the kids at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch for the last four years. In their note, they asked us to remove them from our mailing list because they…

Sam made quite an impression on me when I met him. I was just months into my time at the Ranch when I traveled from Fargo to Minot for our annual plant sale. I met him in the greenhouse where…

Since preschool, Hunter struggled to regulate his emotions, follow directions, and thrive in school. On top of his academic and behavioral challenges, Hunter’s family life was rocky. An emotionally abusive dad made his hurdles feel all the more impossible to…

When Robert Dietrich heard a speaker from Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch at his church in Alliance, NE, he was drawn to the Ranch’s work with kids. It resonated for a couple of reasons. First, he had a great childhood…

“My introduction to the Ranch was an act of God,” said Carol Vacek. She had never heard of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch until 2018 when she received a letter in the mail. That same year, Carol inherited some mineral…

Dennis and Claudia Chamberland, Cocoa, FL, had never heard of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch when they received a letter from the Ranch in the mail. “We almost never open unsolicited mail,” Dennis said, “but I guess the Lord was…

At age 89, Armin Rubbert reads math textbooks and proves mathematical theorems for fun. He also laughs easily; and has a quick mind, a heart for troubled children, and a long family history with the Ranch. Armin spent much of…

Lee and Bev Radke say their Christian faith inspires them to give. They learned about Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch from good friends and neighbors, Arlene and Gilbert Grienke, and are thrilled to support a Christian ministry. “[Ranch] kids need…

Despite his progress in treatment, Scott struggled to transition from the Ranch back home with his family. “Every six months or so, they would try to transition me back into the house, but it was really abrupt,” Scott said. Eventually,…

When asked how he got to Dakota Memorial School (DMS), the on-campus school of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Mason set the tone with his ever-present sense of humor. “Well, it’s a bit of a story so make sure you…

Eli is quiet and seems to be listening intently. Then he gets angry and lashes out, just when the person talking with him thinks things are going well. His anger seems unprovoked and unanticipated. Just a second ago he was…

When Maliya came to the Ranch at age 16, she was depressed and suicidal. “My childhood was really challenging,” Maliya said. “I didn’t really have a grip on reality because I was hallucinating a lot from a medication I was…

The children who come to the Ranch have often come from chaos and crisis. Many have learned to be hypervigilant and alert for danger or unfulfilled needs. When they come to the Ranch, life is largely consistent and predictable. We…