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Snowbirds in
Cross Mountain Ministries
started by faith.
As Doug Stokes, the
pastor of this church, is often heard saying with his
country southern drawl, “If you’re not to work your faith
then your faith won’t work,”
They have worked
their faith.
By faith, the church was
started in 1995 as a small congregation in a brick 1,800 sq.
ft. building.
Then in 2007, a
15,000 sq. ft. facility was constructed.
Its appearance is as
Noah’s ark.
The front entrance
of the church is landscaped with cactus, a place to tie up
your horse, a buck board wagon, and the Ten Commandments.
Once inside, you’re
greeted by deer mounts, wild boar mounts, turkey mounts, and
a bear-skin rug on cedar walls.
The décor is western
lodge as indicated by the bathroom doors being marked
cowboys/cowgirls.
As you venture
further into the grand room you notice: food servers sitting
under a porch; a horse buggy sitting off to the side; two
overhead doors to accommodate handicapped vans being driven
into the facility; the back wall behind the podium is floor
to ceiling glass where you can see as far as 75 miles into
Alabama.
It’s not a typical
church.
From ¼ acre to 60 acres to
3,500 acres donated for hunts, this ministry keeps
expanding.
Since the land is so
forested, harvest of lumber on the property is used to build
deer stands, its own firing range, a deer cleaning shack,
and cabins.
Usually labor is
donated by work teams that come here from all over the
country.
The church feeds all these
groups Southern home-style cooking from an industrial
kitchen which was donated.
The 3-phase power
needed to run the kitchen was brought to this rural area
just in time to accommodate the church’s power needs.
The impact of this
expansion has helped facilitate the many different
ministries of this church.
One of the ministries the
church provides is an opportunity to carry veterans and/or
those with disabilities on deer hunts.
From
when
Not too many places
accommodate a hunting experience for those with
disabilities.
For some it’s a
whole new experience, for others it’s a renewal of things
they were once able to do on their own.
Because some people who
come here are missing arms and legs or the ability to use
them.
The church has
disability sleeping accommodations, handicapped accessible
bathrooms, a handicapped accessible bus, and handicapped
accessible deer stands.
When assisting those with
disabilities you see their tenacity for life.
Especially as you
see how those who are quadriplegic shoot a gun.
They mount their gun
on a shooter’s rest attached to their wheelchair.
The mount is plugged
into the wheelchairs’ battery source so it will control left
and right, up and down, and the speed in which it is
accomplished.
The joystick for
this is controlled by some who use their nose or by some who
use their mouth.
The trigger pull
lever is placed into the trigger of the gun.
It has a plunger
controlled by sucking or puffing motion to pull the trigger.
On top of the scope
is a camera connected to an LED screen.
An extension bar
comes out and a magnifier that sees the scope cross hairs
and transfers that message to the screen.
Whatever you see
through the scope is read on the screen.
It takes an
assistant to place the gun on the mount and it takes an
assistant to turn the safety off on the gun when it’s time
to shoot.
While in the deer stand,
you have the opportunity not only to shoot a deer but impact
each others lives.
When something
extremely exciting happens in an able bodied person, we use
our hands and body to express our excitement.
But when you don’t
have that ability, as someone who is quadriplegic, they show
excitement in their face.
It’s a beautiful
sight.
And so is the work which is
being done up on
Cowboy church is conducted every Sunday morning and Tuesday
night.
The music sung and played
at the church services will certainly inspire your soul.
It’s like attending a professional performance of bluegrass
gospel and country music.
Harmonies of the
singers, guitars, banjos, violin, a bass, and drums fill the
air.
A Christian song artist
wrote this song to describe
Cross Mountain
By Jessi Flynt
www.jessiflynt.com
Back before creation
God knew there would be
A big group of people
With a big group of needs
And He knew they would love him
So when their valleys were low
God gave them a mountain
Where His children could go.
Chorus
So if you’re lookin for Jesus
He’s up on
In the hearts of his people
Who drink from the fountain
And it’s a water that’s living
Just like the Savior they praise
Yea, up on Cross Mountain, it’s Jesus who reigns
They don’t pass a plate here
But you can give if you like
But they won’t ask for nothing
Cause they know that their God provides
Cause see from the beginning
He’s been in control
And He’s using this mountain to harvest our souls.
If you would like to hang
up your cowboy hat at Cross Mountain Ministries, you can
contact them through their website,
w.crossmtn.org.
Douglas and Linda Wenzel
attend |
Dodge County Authors at ExpoBy Tara Lindquist Three local authors will be have a booth at the Dodge County Expo this year to promote their books and gain exposure for future publications. Pastor Chris Brekke
Trying to fulfill his dream of publishing a book while working full-
time wasn't realistic for Pastor Brekke. "Publishing a book was
something I had always wanted to do but could never seem to find the
time for it," he explained. "So I decided to take the job here in West
Concord with Trinity Lutheran Church and cut back on the amount I worked
to pursue writing a
"My son was a teenager and just had no interested in any of the devotional books that we could find, so I decided to write something aimed towards him." In the past few months Brekke has released two more publications; "One by One, Family Advent Devotions" and "Joke Devotions". "I wrote the joke book for people that maybe otherwise wouldn't buy or read a devotional book but enjoy humor," he said. "And the Advent book is a family book to be used during Advent." Brekke will have his books available at the Expo and they are also available at Kasson Variety in Kasson and at Rochester Christian Book and Gift Store. Marette Jorgenson
Marette Jorgenson will be at the Dodge County Home and Business Expo to
share her books.
"Writing has always been something that I enjoy but I had stayed with writing music up until that point." Jorgenson has since published a devotional series "Cold Pop, Frozen Rolls and Honey", "But I'm not done with my sins", "There's a grasshopper in my shoe," "Talking to God on Tip Toes," "Dancing with the Washing Machine" and "Bumps on a Pickle." John Schreiber John Schreiber began writing in high school. "I think it's something I've always enjoyed doing," he explained. To date he has published six books and has a few projects that he is currently working on. "I published my first book in 2002," he said.
"But one of my books is actually a book I had written when I was
obtaining my masters degree," Schreibers's first book "Hillcrest Journal" was the first book in the Ironwood County Chronicles a fictional county located between Dodge, Olmsted and Steele County. "Geographically that's not possible," he said. "But you would be surprised on how many people ask where it is." He originally wrote "Hillcrest Journal" with the idea of marketing it towards high school students but found parents were just as likely to buy and enjoy the book. Along with the Ironwood County Chronicles, Schreiber has published a book of short stories entitled "Tales from 2 AM" and his latest book "Heartstone: Under the Shadow" was recently released. "I'm working on a book right now but it's hard to do during the school year," he said. "I do most of my writing during the summer." Schreiber is a high school English teacher and theatre director at Triton. Schriber's books can be purchased through his website, at the Mantorville Art Guild, Rochester Christian Book and Gift Store and as e-books.
A picture of a deer stand with Cross Mountain Building in the back.
Doug and Melanie Stokes, Pastor at Cross Mountain with Linda and Doug Wenzel
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 MaryAnn Brogan, Katie Miner to be crowned dairy princessesMary Ann Brogan of Pine Island, and Katie Miner of Hayfield, will be crowned Dodge County’s 2012 Dairy Princesses at the annual dairy banquet at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 31, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kasson. Mary Ann and Katie are both employed by dairy farms in the county.
A senior at Pine Island High School and a post-secondary student
at RCTC, Mary Ann Brogan is the daughter of Mike and Jude Brogan. She is
active in FFA, Dodge County 4-H, National Honor Society, and orchestra.
Her family farm, MJB Farms, raises dairy steers and farms 600 acres.
Mary Ann is a part-time employee at Naatz Dairy, a 250 cow dairy
operation near Mantorville. Her responsibilities include milking cows
and caring for calves. After graduating, Mary Ann
plans to attend Hennepin County Technical College in the dental
assistant program. Mary Ann Brogan Katie Miner, a senior at Hayfield High School, is the daughter of Curt and Kim Miner. Katie has worked for Behounek Dairy for one year. She helps milk Behounek’s 260 head of Holstein cows. Katie plans to major in Animal Science at the University of Minnesota, and then apply for Veterinary School at the U of M. She would like to return to the Hayfield area after graduating college and open an Animal Hospital for large and small animals. Katie is an active officer of the Hayfield FFA. She recently received Region 8 star Farmer for her beef herd. She also received all-conference honorable mention in Volleyball this past year. Katie is an active member of the American Angus Association and the American Diabetes Association.
Katie Miner Alyssa Daley of Byron and Siobhan Sullivan of Kasson have served as dairy princesses for the past year and will be completing their reigns.
The Dairy Princess Program is sponsored by the American Dairy
Association, as a way of educating the public about the dairy industry
and the benefits of dairy products. The princesses participate in many
community activities throughout the year, representing the dairy farmers
of Dodge County and Minnesota. They are also eligible to participate
with other princesses from around the state in a training seminar in May
sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association. At the seminar, princesses
receive training in dairy promotion and public speaking.
They may also choose to compete to be one of the 12 candidates
for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.
The public is invited to the banquet. Reservations for tickets
must be made by Sunday, March 25
by calling Karen Naatz at 635-3288 or by e-mailing Karen at
kwcows76@kmtel.com .
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Jorgenson
wrote her first book in 1983 for a friend. "It's called Overcomer," she
explained. "But I never really expected to write another book." That was
until the late 90's when she began writing more stories than music. "I
worked as an editor through college," she said.
he
explained. The book is called "Heartstone" published in 2007, a fantasy
book written with no transitions between the scenes. "I had written,
written, re-written and then gone back to the original flow of the book
several times before I published it."
