Spring Break: Aspire

This is Maverick, who literally smiles when he gets brushed!

Over Spring Break, there were bunches of trips that took off with high schoolers and college students. Denver, San Fran, Missouri, Philippines, two Mexico trips. For those who stuck around the area, we offered some service locally. One day was a trip to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to volunteer for three hours in the afternoon.

On another day, we took 10 students out to Aspire, a therapeutic horse riding program located at a farm in south Waterloo. Aspire offers riding programs for children with disabilities, and it looks like some real special friendships happen there between kid and horse.

Our group spent the morning cleaning. We raked out the arena, cleaned a horse trailer and mats, cleaned and took out cobwebs in the barn. In the afternoon, we were able to groom the horses which was a lot of fun.

I think what was important for our volunteers to see is that the passions and talents God gives us can be used for Kingdom purposes. Marilyn Moore, the founder of Aspire, took her love for horses and horseback riding and began to think outwardly about how she might bless others with such a passion. It's a beautiful program.