Part Two-Mustang Girls in the News

Part two of the Columbia Tribune story on our Mustang girls is up and running. What amazing pictures! Thanks Julia for following us all summer and for capturing such incredible images of our journey!

Part One-Mustang Girls in the News!

Updates from our trip to Texas should be up in the next day or so, but in the meantime, check out part 1 of the girls journey these last through months in today's Columbia Tribune! We can't wait to share with everyone the details of our Texas trip!!!

One week till Texas!

In just over a week, five Spirit Riders, four wild mustangs, and an entourage of trainers and fans will head to Fort Worth, Texas, to participate in “Mission 007: Extreme Mustang Makeover.” Last minute training will be in full swing this week as the girls finalize their routine and prepare for the big competition.

Our trip to Texas will, no doubt, be an exciting adventure, beginning with the girls' first ever plane ride on September 17th! As the Mustangs head to Texas in trailers pulled by Spirit Riders director, Sue Crane, and trainers, Robin Crane, Riki Shipley, and Holly Upson, the five competitors, along with a Granny's House mom, a staff member, and a volunteer will fly to Fort Worth where they will rendezvous with their yearlings!

Please pray for safe travel, and calm hearts as the girls experience their first airplane journey together!

Once they arrive in Texas, the girls will busy themselves preparing for the big competition on Friday, September 19th along with 200 other youth from across the nation. The Spirit Riders will show judges just how far their yearlings have come since being picked up in May.

On, Saturday, September 20th, the Mustangs will be put up for adoption and hopefully be placed in a loving home. While the girls have been preparing their hearts for this day for quite awhile, they'll probably shed a few tears as they say goodbye to the Mustangs they have become so close with these last three months.

Although this will be the end of their “Mustang Challenge” there will be a “Trivia Night” fundraiser on October 16th to help cover some of the expenses of the Texas trip as well as other expenses incurred over the summer.

For more information about the “Trivia Night” fundraiser on October 16th, please email Angie at angie@grannyshouse.org or click on the flyer above. Thank you for your support during these last few months.

Check out blog in the coming weeks for updates and photos from our trip to Forth Worth.

Meet Kiona!

Though just an eighth-grade middle school student, she stands out as more than just a “regular” kid! This thirteen-year-old is smart, a quick learner, and a born leader whose radiant smile could melt an ice boulder.

When Kiona popped into Granny's House nine months ago, we immediately saw that she was a take charge, “let's-get-it-done” kind of girl. She even uses her FaceBook Wall to broadcast her passion for serving in our midst: “Kiona is at granny's house which is the place i love!”

She expresses that love in a million different ways: she assumed the task of keeping the daily “Sign-In” log and she has published a Granny's House Newsletter for the kids. One of her most significant roles, however, has been helping develop programs for “God's Precious Jewels,” a group for first through fourth grade girls at Granny's House:

"Kiona is truly an answer to my prayers! I have been greatly inspired and motivated by her in the short time we've known each other. In an age when young girls would rather hang out with friends at the mall, Kiona has chosen to devote a great deal of her free time to one of the younger girls' groups at Granny's House. Her selfless acts of love clearly illustrate her ever-growing love for Jesus Christ. At thirteen, she is already an ambassador for the Kingdom, and I think that makes her a truly remarkable young lady!" (Bianca Anderson, God's Precious Jewels coordinator and Senior at Mizzou).

While Kiona is helping strengthen and improve many facets of Granny's House, God is doing some pretty incredible things in her as well:ouHouse

“Since being at Granny's House, I'm changing in the way I look at people… not judging them. I want to be nice instead of mean and treat people how I want to be treated.” When asked how she would best describe the Lord, she quickly answered, “…unique, wonderful… He can do all things!”

We can't wait to visit Kiona in about twenty years when she's the one leading a “Granny's House” somewhere!