When we as staff bring the youth to Paradise some of them are scared, sad, or lonely; they have no idea what they are about to experience. All they know is they have been taken from where ever they came from. Their world is different, different faces, different rules, different everything. They get to come to Paradise to interact with horses, go fishing, take rides through the beautiful forest and just plain leave all the uncertainty behind and act like kids for the day. We see them connect and snuggle with horses that seem to know that these kids are hurting in some way or another and I see and hear them talking to the horses. The youth have told me that the horses know their secrets that they just can’t share right now but hope one day that they can share their deepest inner secret anguish and pain. Paradise is a freedom for those that never get to experience that joy of touching a horse’s nose as it nudges them with their warm breath, or cuddle a dog or cat. They get to experience bon fires with marshmallows and eventually learn to trust staff. Most of all, I’ve witnessed the excitement of inspirational talks from Paula and Rich which inspires and encourages them to move forward and be survivors. Paradise in the Sky is a peace for them as they navigate through a life of uncertainty. We witness children come to life and just be children here. You can’t help but notice how the youth come away with inspiration and courage.