2012 to 2013
Undeniable my horse training has proved well. All our horses became cheerful riding horses.
Music, much love and patience can win every horse. Of course there was a lot to learn for me over the past years. It was all worthwhile. Special curative music and specific meditation helps the horses to tell us their story. Volunteers who have no knowledge of these methods come suddenly to an understanding for the feelings of the horses. I know that it sounds strange but that´s it. Horses that are in a meditation with me release much energy at a point which is even emotionally noticeable for humans. Numerous of my volunteers start crying while they watch such a meditation and don´t know why. It is because they are sensing and feeling the horse´s pain. Animals do have feelings just as humans do. They don´t need words, they convey energy.
We worked on lots of exhausting things over the past couple of months and it was all worthwhile. Many animals have been saved from the slaughterer and new animal shelters have been built. A small cabin for our volunteers (off the grit) has been erected as well as two little cabins for our future holiday visitors, which will get us the money to care well for our animals during the hard winter time.
The last years were a financially burden. We made a tough decision to keep Heaven´s Gate running – we sold our house in Germany. That decision was hard for us because we found it important to have a home for our family in Germany. We are very grateful that our children supported our decision. From now on it will be more difficult to visit our loving family in Germany. Since the house is sold our financial situation is better. We were able to pay outstanding debs and built a winter garden. The winter garden is our holiday place now, full of daylight and a big help through the long winter time. Hard to admit but yes, we are getting older and need more free time to rest and revive. Our house is an oasis now.
Volunteers are preparing their meals in their own cabins now, which is a great relief for me. Our vegetable garden has doubled its size as has the work for it, but we are able to provide us all with lots of fresh vegetable during the summer. My husband is dealing with all repair work that has to be done and working the water supply and building stuff. It is my main responsibility to care for our animals and train the horses. We love our life and work at the farm and are very happy to have so many lovely volunteers to help us get the hard work done. It has to be said that it is not always easy to work with young people and sometimes it takes all my nerves and makes life harder. Luckily 90 % of our volunteers so far were great fun and good help. We are pleased about every decent, humorously and
caring volunteer we shares time with. They are giving us so much and that are the moments we enjoy the most.
Life without connection to the public electrical system can be hard sometimes, especially in winter time. Electricity is the most important part, without electricity there is no water. Many people aren´t able to imagine how important electricity is if one lives off the grit but after a while everyone at the farm knows the importance of it.
Over the past years we learned how to handle our day to day problems. Often people are bringing their problems with them to the farm, which we find to be sad. I am there for them and try to help. After a couple of weeks they realize there are no problems. Life can be so beautiful if you take it with positive energy!! Take in the beauty of the flowers, feel the rain on your skin, take a deep breath in the fresh air! Laugh every day about simple things, sit relaxed by a bonfire and have fun. That are the things people forget in their daily routine.
I try to greet my volunteers with a smile every morning and I ask them to do the same. Everyone is following that wish and I am among friendly people in the morning – there´s nothing better to ask for. We have always a lot of fun together with our volunteers and explain that we are not working – we help animals.
Our dream has come true. Heaven´s Gate is a place of love and inner peace for animals and people. Heaven´s Gate is not for everyone and that´s fine! It is a pleasure to see how far we have come and I don´t know if today I could start from the beginning.
In the meanwhile we have volunteers who are helping us during the winter. That is how I was able to focus on the new website and a pile of paperwork. A big thank you to Robert Kaulisch without whom my husband and I would have had to work it all by ourself last winter. Yes, even in winter there is lot of work to. The biggest part is to carry water from the river because there´s not enough sunshine to have power for the water supply. It is not a sweet life to live off the grid. We hope to double the number of our solar cells in 2014. Many things will be easier then.
There are still many things to do, especially building fences. It would be wonderful to have a Bobcat. That would help immense to build trails and carry the horse manure. We want everything to be clean – that are our German root coming through. We´re trying hard to pay the bills with renting our cabins to holiday-makers. That does mean more work but we don´t want to only wait for donations, we are active.
Lots of my prayers have been heard and many people have been supporting us. It is not enough to live from it or care for the horses but even a small support does help us mentally and physically. We know we are not left alone and that is very important to us. We don´t help animals because it makes us happy, we rescue animals because these helpless ones do need us, wherever they are. Heaven´s Gate does take only as many animals as it can care for. It´s becoming more of them every year and we thank god that there are more and more people helping us. People who not only give money, people who
give love and wishing well. We are happy for those gifts and very thankful. Without love Heaven´s Gate would not be working. It is a place to feel comfortable if you allow it.
I´m still working on me but I have understood my quest: LOVE is everything. Sometimes that is quite challenging. We have built Heaven´s Gate right from the beginning out of nothing and I will never forget those years, it was my best time. We learned that one does not need much to be really happy. The only thing that makes you really happy is to be satisfied - satisfied with what you got and I´m telling you it´s a lot…
The second most important thing for me is to help others being able to feel happiness again to make someone else or an animal happy, to see happy eyes or just feel the love. Third important thing is to find and love yourself. I think I almost managed it. If I leave this planet one day I want to go happy and be able to say that I at least tried to be a good person! 2014 will be the best year for Heaven´s Gate that´s what I pray for.