Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch welcomes children from across the country to learn skills to begin new chapters in their lives. For the past decade, the Iona Project has provided young adults the opportunity to grow in their Christian faith while positively influencing the children at Boys Ranch.
The Iona Project chapel immersion program offers paid internships for those interested in sharing a life of prayer, scripture, mutual accountability and youth ministry. The one-year program is designed for three men and three women. Mike Wilhelm, a chaplain at Boys Ranch, said the program was formed not only to allow young adults to serve in youth ministry but also to spread out the duties and focus on individual spiritual growth.
The program’s participants engage in spiritual discipline through immersive Bible study, weekly communion, four hours of guided fixed-hour prayer each week, 56 hours of neurological trauma-informed childcare training from Boys Ranch staff, 35 hours of supervised youth ministry weekly, and various retreats and spiritual formation activities. They also receive theology and ministry training. Each participant concludes the program with a capstone presentation, reflecting on their personal growth throughout the year.
In August 2024, a reunion marked the Iona Project’s 10th anniversary. While not all alumni could return to Boys Ranch, those who attended shared stories and hopes for the future. One alum even joined the event virtually from Ghana.
Participants’ reasons for joining Iona are as diverse as their backgrounds. While some came from across the U.S. and even from other countries, others hailed from nearby Amarillo, just 45 miles from Boys Ranch.
dean
Dean
Mushamba, originally from East Africa, first came to the U.S. to participate in
Iona at Boys Ranch.
“I was
straight from Uganda, and the first American encounters I had were here at Boys
Ranch,” Dean said. “Where I grew up is diverse, with many tribes and languages,
so being here wasn’t too much of a shock. The others in Iona came from
different places too, so none of us were familiar with one another.”
Now a
minister in Lubbock, Texas, and pursuing a master’s degree, Dean credits his
Boys Ranch training with furthering his education with topics such as brain-based
studies and de-escalation techniques.
“Mike (Wilhelm) always emphasized that reading scripture
makes you a better minister,” Dean said. “I preached my first sermon at Boys
Ranch. I’ve preached several sermons since that time, but I credit that ability
to my time in Iona because that’s how I got the opportunity.”
Molly
Molly (Studer) Tindall, from Indiana, joined Iona after hearing about the program from her college friend, Kristen. Initially planning for one year, she ended up staying for two, finding the training invaluable.
“The training here is top-notch,” Molly said. “It opened my perspective to others’ stories and backgrounds. I now have more grace for people because we understand at Boys Ranch that the children have faced trauma.”
Now a graphic designer for a church in Minnesota, Molly made the trip to Texas for the reunion.
“It’s been a blast reminiscing,” she said. “We couldn’t imagine having the reunion anywhere else but Boys Ranch. It’s like coming home.”
Elijah
Elijah Sou came from Portland, Oregon, after searching online for youth ministry jobs and discovering the Iona Project.
“As much as we had challenges and frustrations, there were also joys and successes,” Elijah said. “It takes time to realize everything we gained from that experience.”
Now a hospice chaplain in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Elijah uses the trauma-informed care training he learned at Boys Ranch in his daily work.
“In hospice, there’s trauma, and Iona taught me how to minister to people in whatever way they need,” he said. “It’s just learning how to be present with people.”
Angela
Angela (Harris) Schnable, from Gruver, Texas, came to Boys Ranch after spending two years in Iowa.
“I believe Christ calls us to serve others, be in community with other believers, and study His word,” she said. “I didn’t view myself as a leader, but Mike put me in leadership roles, and I grew confident.”
Angela, who later worked as the Chapel coordinator at Boys Ranch, now lives in Baytown, Texas.
“I think that is helpful for the kids at Boys Ranch to see young adults who are maybe living a little bit differently than mainstream people in the world or the people they’ve seen in their family or friends,” she said. “The teens at the ranch saw us having fun together but also taking our faith seriously. We were real and authentic, and they could see that.”
Joseph
Joseph Heck spent four years in Iona. Although from nearby Amarillo, Texas, he had little experience with Boys Ranch until joining the program. He stayed longer than planned, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had gotten comfortable with what I was doing and enjoying being part of Iona. I was glad I could be here during Covid to keep some things familiar for the children who were here,” Joseph said. “I have spent 10 percent of my life at Boys Ranch. I’ve seen students who were freshmen in high school and then graduate. That’s a lot of growth because you can see and experience a lot in four years.”
Joseph wanted to deepen his relationship with God but also gained insight into people and grace.
“I learned how the mind works and gained a new understanding of grace—for others and myself, which can be harder, in my opinion,” he said.
Aubree
After graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University, Aubree
(Stowe) Pittman had a friend reach out to her about Iona Project. She stayed at
Boys Ranch for three years because she quickly grew to love the campus and the
people.
“I just loved it so much. I feel like this was a dream job –
getting to grow your faith and lean into the Bible and prayer. I grew as a
person because part of my job was growing spiritually and the other part was
getting to hang out with boys and girls and living life together,” Aubree said.
“It was just such a unique job opportunity, and I wanted to stay here as long
as I could. I would say that I was kind of a ‘baby Christian’ before I came to
Boys Ranch. Learning really how to pray deeply and read and encounter the
Scripture deeply allowed God to really shaped me.”
While spiritual growth was a huge part of her time at Boys
Ranch, Aubree said she also gained a lot from working with the children at Boys
Ranch.
“As an Ioanan, you really do anything. You do the fun stuff,
but you also help with homework,” she said. “You are there when they are happy
and having fun with friends, but you are also there when they are having a bad
day so you might take a drive to talk to get them out of the house. I think
just living the day-to-day life with them is a unique experience and really
helpful.”
Being mentored by Chapel staff, allowed Aubree to discover
ministry as a way of life.
“I was impacted greatly by the spiritual aspect just being
mentored by Mike. Hanging out with the kids and children, just hearing their
stories and hardships, that challenges your faith in a good way,” she said.
“Being able to there for the kids and seeing joy in them, even when they have
terrible situations, that is an honor to witness.”
Aubree is now a stay-at-home mom and said that she still uses
the lessons from the Iona experience in her life. She encourages those who
might want to participate in Iona to take the leap of faith.
“There is a place for everybody. Everyone has their specific
way they minister to certain groups,” she said. “You can minister in rodeo,
athletics or just going for a drive. That’s what my ministry was. I have
literally driven thousands of miles just talking to kids. You don’t have to
have a ministry degree or even have experience in ministry. If you love the
Lord and are willing to grow, there is a place for you at Boys Ranch.”