"For He looked down from His holy height; from heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to set free those who were doomed to death; that men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem" Psalm 102:19-21.

Dear Friends and Family,

Throughout the course of one year, The Father's Ranch receives dozens of applications from hurting and wounded women. Each one of them tells a unique yet similar story. These applications often reflect the pain, suffering, desperation and impending death of those who send them, and are frequently these women's last cries/groans from the pit just days before they disappear, never to be heard from again. This is the reality of the need that The Father's Ranch faces on a weekly basis.

As always, our beds are full, our waiting list is bulging, and we are turning hurting and desperate women away at an alarming rate. We continue to have open doors for the repentant sinner and Living Water for the thirsty soul, but no open beds for the overwhelming need. Numerous times over our short five-year existence, we have received news that a woman on our waiting list has perished. A phone call from a pastor, a letter from a mother, or a visit from a friend brings us the request that we remove a woman's name from our waiting list and give the opportunity to someone else, because she won't be coming. This is absolutely the worst, most heart-breaking part of this ministry.

The focus of our ministry is deliberate and pinpointed: We currently serve only women between the ages of 18 and 35 who struggle with self-abuse (cutting and scratching), bulimia (intentional purging), anorexia (intentional starvation), drug addictions (methamphetamine, marijuana, alcohol, prescription narcotics, heroin, nicotine), and other sinful behaviors. And herein lies our hope: "And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" 1 Corinthians 6:11. I hope that you too are rejoicing in your position in Christ as a "were." That is what The Father's Ranch counseling ministry is all about – rescuing the perishing, discipling the weak, and exhorting the mature on to good works, all for the Glory of God.

We strongly believe that now is the time for The Father's Ranch to ask, seek, and knock for the resources needed to bring increase to this ministry. We are praying for an additional house to be placed here at TFR this year. Allow me to give you the details so you might join with us in prayer for this tremendous need. This home will have a price tag of approximately $155,000. The water, septic, power, and site preparation work rings in at approximately $20,000. A two-car garage that would store vehicles, equipment and freezers will also come in at approximately $20,000. This garage can be added later if need be. Total provision needed for this home will be approximately $195,000. What will this allow us to do? First this would double our bed capacity for students! Currently, we are maxed out with eleven women. Next, this will free up our current women's home, allowing us to use it for additional staff housing. Lastly, this new house will allow my family, the Lofthuses, to move out of TFR's main building, relinquishing it in its entirety to our interns and students, and creating some healthier boundary space between TFR's women and our ever-maturing teenage children.

We have already opened an account specifically for this need and called it "TFR's Building Fund." We have one Christian man who has committed himself to the equivalent of the down payment and another brother in Christ who is tithing off of the proceeds of a home sale in the Seattle area. (Please call us if you're looking for a beautiful home in the Seattle area!) This is a great start for TFR, and we are praying that the Lord will provide for the rest of this need, just as He has for every other need TFR has made known. Please join us in prayer for this. For those on TFR's e-mail list, I will be able to keep you updated more frequently. If you're not on our e-mail update list and would like to be, let us know.

Many have asked us over the years what TFR's long-term goals are for ministry and service. Allow me to share these long-term goals with you, knowing full well that these plans are always dependant on the "Deo Volente," or the will of God (James 4:15). Realizing that the needs that this ministry faces are not going away until the return of Christ, it is our goal to be in service for the long haul. We hope to be able to branch out to reach more and more women as TFR increases in its scope. We also hope to have sufficient room, beds, and resources to accommodate women who have children. There seems to be a black hole of need, and no one ministry can meet it all. Therefore, we believe it to be wise to pick one significant area of service, and do our very best to minister in that area. We believe the work we are engaged in is a noble and worthwhile work, and that it fulfills the Biblical mandate of "pure and undefiled religion" according to James 1:27.

Now, allow me to share with you a wonderful testimony. Cassie came to The Father's Ranch about eleven months ago and she has this to say..."The Lord brought me to The Father's Ranch last March. He pulled me out of my lifestyle of habitual sin and gave me a new life.

For the past ten years I was practicing anorexia and bulimia. I had been in and out of treatment centers since I was sixteen years old and had spent over sixty-thousand dollars on treatment and counseling. I came to the ranch addicted to drugs, a heavy smoker, engaging in self-harm, malnourished physically and spiritually, and very hardened by my sin.

I was raised in a Christian home with two loving parents. We attended church on Sundays growing up and I was very involved with the church youth group. I went on missions trips, to church camps, and to weekly Bible studies. I can't explain my sin away, or point to something other than my own deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9). All I can say is that it was SIN! I was self-focused, compulsive, seeking pleasure, and my pride ruled my life. I felt like I couldn't stop.

The Lord used my parents to bring me to The Father's Ranch. They had heard about the ranch from friends at church. They were encouraged to hear that it was a Bible-based, Christian facility and that it was free of charge. They urged me to apply to the program. My resources were exhausted from my lifestyle of sin. By the Lord's great mercy I was accepted to the ranch as a student. He took me out of the pit and brought me here. He rescued me from the grave! (Psalm 107:17-21, Psalm 103:1-5).

What hope the Lord brings! I'm not stuck with a "disorder" or "addiction" anymore! (This concept had been ingrained in me from the other treatment places I had been to that subscribe to a disease or medical model of counseling.) My lifestyle and habits were sin, and therefore I have hope in Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Through Christ's death and resurrection I have been forgiven. He has softened my heart and has taken away my heart of stone (Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:25-27). He chose me, not because of anything I had done but because of His great mercy (Titus 3:4-7). I am no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:5-14) and His light shines through me (2 Corinthians 4:6, 7). My confidence comes through Christ and is not in myself (2 Corinthians 3:3-6). The Lord has bought me with a price and I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). I am to live a holy life (1 Thessalonians 4:7, 8) and to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Romans 8:12-17). I am still learning that the strength and the ability to do this comes from the Lord through Christ and the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 4:10, 11).

It is taught at the ranch (and in the Scriptures) that you must be diligent to renew your mind with the Truth of the Word of God (Romans 12:2), to be in the Word often, to memorize it and meditate upon it, and to be in constant prayer with the Lord. I pray daily for a hatred of sin and for greater faith in the Lord. I pray for the desire and ability through Him, to repent and become more reliant upon Him. I am so undeserving, and yet, how wonderful are His many promises!"

We are continuing to strive to be about the Father's business as we serve hurting and wounded women who come for the help they desperately need. We have learned that the Grace of God, found in the person of Jesus Christ and in the power of His Word, is totally and completely sufficient in this endeavor of healing. We believe nothing should be added to the pure milk of God's Word. "The blood of Christ will not wash if it is mingled with anything. Let Christ's blood be pure and unmixed—and then there is no spot which it cannot wash away!" (Thomas Watson).

Cassie is just one of many who have seen the depravity of their own sin, and have been rescued by the only One who could bring deliverance. Jesus didn't come to make bad people good; He came to make dead people alive, and now Cassie has life and life in abundance! (John 10:10). Please be in prayer for Cassie as she enters into TFR's "Next Steps" program. This component of TFR's program is now being made available to all of TFR's graduates. It is a much-needed transitional ministry that will provide our one-year graduates with the ongoing support, opportunity, accountability, independence, protection, and shepherding that they need as they reenter the workplace or continue their academic pursuits.

Spring is finally showing its beautiful colors here in the Okanogan highlands, and we are welcoming it wholeheartedly. I do love this time of year with the blossoming flowers and plants, the tilling of soil, the planting of gardens and the sounds of newborn animals in the barn. The fact that the temperatures are rising above freezing is kind of nice too! We are excited to be able to use our big, beautiful greenhouse for the first time this spring. This newly constructed 30 x 70 foot transparent building served very well over the winter for covered storage, and now is the time to put it to use for all of our tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, lettuces, spinach, and other produce. Come on by TFR sometime and see it all for yourself!

New and updated TFR brochures are being worked on as I write this newsletter. If you or your church would like to have some TFR brochures on hand, simply drop us a line and we will see that you receive some for your foyer or counseling area. They should be done by mid-March...Deo Volente!

Music is in the air at The Father's Ranch! Our women have been receiving requests for their ministry of music from various churches and even civic organizations. They spend many enjoyable hours working on beautiful harmonies that sound wonderful and, I believe, bring Glory to God. It is amazing to watch the difficulty some women have singing anything when they first arrive at the ranch. For most, they haven't done it for so long, and they have had so little to sing about, that the exercise is foreign to them. Then Christ enters in and regenerates the soul, His Word begins to renew the mind, and the voices of the redeemed can't help but sing His praises! "And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:3). If you would like to hear this wonderful women's group named Harvest sing in your church, please give us a call and we'll see what we can do to arrange it.

Another encouraging event for The Father's Ranch has been the planting of a new church in our home town of Tonasket called Tonasket Bible Church. This church has been planted by SeaTac Bible Church and has been providing excellent evening services for the local community. As word of this Bible-teaching church spreads, numbers are increasing every week with a current average of 60 to 70 people. TBC hopes to be able to purchase a building in the area very soon and add a morning service to their schedule as well. Please be in prayer for this exciting development for the Tonasket community.

The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors has been our training and certifying organization here at The Father's Ranch for a number of years now. I had the privilege of being certified last year, and three more of our staff members are going through the process and nearing completion. This is an excellent resource for us as Biblical counselors, and really, for anyone who desires to be strengthened in the use and knowledge of God's holy and sufficient Word. For more info on the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors you can visit its web site at www.nanc.org.

Community food bank service, concessions for local fundraisers, and special music programs for the retirement community and for the church have kept our women pretty busy through the winter months. These have been great service opportunities, giving TFR a good reputation at home and abroad. "A good name is to be more desired than great riches, favor is better than silver and gold" Proverbs 22:1.

We do not have, in my opinion, adequate opportunity to tell you how thankful we are for your partnership with us in this vital work of the Lord. The Lord, in His sovereignty, uses means to fulfill His good and perfect will, and you all are the means that He so often uses to bless us. Because of this, we are thankful for your obedience to Him, and for His gracious generosity to us through you. Without this, there is no possible way we could minister or reach out in a meaningful and practical way to a hurting and perishing generation. Thank you all again. We love you.

For His Glory,

Craig Lofthus