06/26/2024
Could I borrow a moment of your time?
Faith Hill Farm is a faith-based equine assisted ministry to veterans and first-responders.
This ministry is named in honor of and in memory of three people; Eugene Brewer, Allen Admire, and Wayne Gay. Please let me tell you just a little bit about my dad.
Dad grew up in the rugged mountains of Kentucky where his father was a coal miner. There were only a few ways to leave this difficult and impoverished life. In July 1940, Dad was accepted by the United States Navy and began his first enlistment. After completing boot camp, Dad and his fellow sailors boarded troop transport trains bound for San Diego, California and then off to ships headed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Dad was assigned to the USS Dale DD 353. He would remain a ‘Tin Can Sailor’ for the remainder of what became World War II.
On 7 December 1941, Dad was relaxing in his hammock aboard the USS Dale, because it was Sunday morning, and he did not have the watch. Suddenly, the entire world changed as the Japanese Imperial Navy appeared in the sky and struck our Naval vessels moored in Pearl Harbor. The death toll and carnage were devastating. The world once again was at war.
The after-action reports from each of the US naval vessels tell the story. My father did not talk about Pearl Harbor, World War II, or the Korean War. He saw action in all these conflicts and retired after 20 years of service. He carried with him the terrible effects of war for the remainder of his life.
I am proud and perplexed to say that I was raised by a United States Navy Chief Petty Officer. Growing up in our household, there was just one way to do things: his way. Dad was very loving, but there were those times when he really struggled with interpersonal relationships, secular work, self-esteem, and what we now know as PTSD.
I came to really understand my dad and the complexities which shaped him into the great father and friend I so dearly miss when I met my friend Allen Admire. I will tell you his story very soon.
I hope you have begun to understand why Mary Leigh and I would follow God’s calling to open a ministry to veterans and first responders. We have biblically based group sessions which are designed to address the ill effects of trauma and we offer individual and group sessions at the barn where you can experience the comforting and consoling nature of our equine and barnyard friends.
We look forward to you joining us on this journey.
