Anyone who has ever seen the serene beauty of the Hill Country, especially in Llano, knows that this is a special place. Being here gives people a feeling of awe and serenity.
That was the feeling a group of men, from the Dallas International Street Church (DISC), left with after a weekend retreat on the Wooten Ranch in Valley Spring.
Jeanne Wooten opened up her family ranch to eighteen homeless men, hosting a Christian retreat April 11 through April 13.
“Most of these men had never been in the country before and the view of God’s creation from the top of the giant hill we have on our property is breathtaking,” said Wooten. “For many years I have had a desire to build a Christian Retreat Center on my family’s ranch. This was another way for me to be the ‘hands and feet of Christ’ to others.”
It all started when former Valley Spring United Methodist Pastor Don Johnson came with Jimmy Simpson, Wooten’s father, in January 2008 to ask permission to bring some men from the DISC down for a weekend retreat. Pastor Don stressed that one of the men talked about how worn out they were and that they needed a place to go to rest and renew themselves.
Within hours of saying “yes,” Simpson and Wooten put their heads together, picked a date and started planned for a weekend retreat. They also involved friends, family and the whole community to help with this special weekend.
Wooten and some of her friends asked for donations of any kind but especially small toiletries like, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, shaving cream, etc. The donations came pouring in, by the weekend Wooten had received blankets, clothing, sheets, combs, brushes, towels and washcloths as well as food.
“As soon as I got home I sat down and mapped out a schedule and menu,” said Wooten. “As we told people what we needed they were more than happy to pitch in and help supply all that we needed.”
Once the DISC men arrived Friday, April 11, Wooten and her co-hosts, made up of family and friends, put out a wonderful buffet of sandwiches, which the men ate without hesitation.
“What tickled me most was watching these men eat until they were satisfied,” said Wooten.
The first activity after the men ate was what Wooten and her family call a “Walk on Water.”
Walk on Water is a skit or exercise in faith. The participant is blindfolded and barefoot, and is taken on a journey where Jesus’ disciple, Peter, recounts his time with Jesus.
“It gives the you time to test their faith in God,” said Wooten. “You experience the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 as well as walking on the water. There is a lesson of foot washing and the reality of the cross Jesus bore for us. It also takes you through Peter’s reinstatement by the risen Christ.
“I felt the men were so weary they learned not to trust anyone. They needed to be able to open up and trust God so that they would accept what was in store for the rest of the weekend.”
After the Walk on Water the men took communion and were handed blankets and a bag of toiletries. Just before being sent to bed Wooten and her co-host sang a lullaby to them under the stars. As the men looked up at the night sky they were so amazed at how many stars there were and how big the moon looked.
The next day, Saturday, April 12, the men woke up, ate breakfast and watched a video on God’s love. They talked about the video and the event that had taken place the night before.
The men were allowed to take the rest of the day and fish, nap, walk, pray, or fellowship. Saturday night, the men gave a worship service that was “Spirit-filled.” The music was joyful and some of the men gave a little sermon mostly about how Jesus changed their lives.
“The Saturday service was ‘Heaven on Earth,’ as I listened to those men sing and play the piano I was overjoyed,” said Wooten. “Each of the five men Pastor Don asked to come forward gave a message in 5 minutes. This brought us to a greater understanding of what this weekend meant to them and to us.”
Sunday morning, April 13, the men worshiped at the little United Methodist Church in Valley Spring. Some of the men were allowed to lead in the singing and share some of the songs and praises they do in their home church. The congregation enjoyed every minute of it.
Church ended with a presentation the men had planned on their own to help Wooten build her retreat center. The men pitched in and raised over $100 among themselves to start the funds. Wooten was so touched and blessed she could not believe it was happening, but it was.
“I would do this retreat again in a heartbeat,” said Wooten. “If people only knew how fun and rewarding this was. To serve people who cannot pay you back, to be the hands and feet of Christ and to see them bloom with joy and happiness was so much fun.
“I saw these men leave their hard shells and self-imposed prisons and allow themselves to be loved unconditionally by people they didn’t know. I saw them change the way they looked at us, from a bunch of white folks on Friday to true sisters, brothers, moms and dads on Sunday.”
As a result of this retreat, Wooten has already begun planning for the DISC women to come the second weekend in October.
“Our world has gotten so busy and full of running that most people do not know what true peace is. We run our bodies down, we are stressed out and burned out at whatever we are doing because we have the candle burning at both ends,” said Wooten. “My dream is to have a place where people step away from the hurried pace of this life, let their anxieties go, let their bodies calm down so they can heal spiritually-to me that’s the first step to physical healing.”
Wooten dreams of having a facility with two sets of sleeping and conference buildings, a dining hall with an office/workshop, two chapels, an auditorium, and possibly an area for basketball and more. Eventually, when the retreat center is built, Wooten hopes to host Emmaus Walks, Chrysalis Flights and three-day events.
“Until we have the retreat center we are just focusing on smaller events so we can keep learning and growing in our faith when God puts the opportunity before us,” said Wooten.
Wooten and her co-host would like to thank Miiller’s Meats and the people of Llano, Fredericksburg, Lampasas, Copperas Cove, Stephenville, Springtown, Austin and wherever people helped by donating items and opening their hearts to people who have nothing.