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 Gary and Roxanne Van Riessen
Founders of Returning Glory
Roxanne Van Riessen
With the creation of Returning Glory, Roxanne has
combined two of her life-long desires:
A desire to connect with and train horses also a desire to help people improve their lives with Jesus'
love.
Through the use of horses, she looks forward to
promoting spiritual, mental, and emotional healing in
people's lives. Her practical and personal experience
include, owning and training Quarter horses 15 years,
wife of 30 years and mother of three grown children, and
small-business owner for 14 years. These are combined
with other training experiences, including serving as a
volunteer for many sessions at an equine therapeutic
center. Roxanne continues to pursue training in horses
and EAGALA techniques to better meet the needs of the
Round Pen clients.
Deb Johnston
Certified Equine Experiential Learning
Facilitator
Deb has a bachelor of science degree in education, and a
master's degree in counseling. She is also certified in
equine assisted experiential learning. Deb worked in
the Lee's Summit School District as a teacher and
counselor for 20 years. Prior to that she worked as a
coordinator and advisor for the Office of Early
Childhood Development in the state of Arkansas and
served as a consultant to the White House Conference on
Children and Youth
"Since becoming a part of Returning Glory, I realized a
dream come true. I could work with two things I
loved--young people and horses at the same time. The
combination is amazing! There is something about horses
that draws the young people we work with into a circle
of stillness, that is missing from so many of their
lives. The horses seem to provide a calmness and
clarity. The glassy depth of the eye of the horse seems
to give them a glimpse of things they desire in their
lives, but had lost hope of achieving. Horses are full
of grace, strength and wisdom. They seem to be a
reminder of Jesus."
Paula Walker
Certified Equine Experiential Learning Facilitator
I'm a 54 year old mother of
seven, 3 being step children, now all adults.
Grandmother of seven wonderful grandchildren, an
insurance & financial professional for the past
12 years and now for the past 4 years a horse
lover. I have known my savior Jesus since
college and have been forever His. It has been
such an incredible journey watching God put
things in order, heal & restore lives because He
is faithful to complete the work He begins.
Four years ago I volunteered as a mentor. I was
hooked. Watching God work through the horses to
touch these kids was amazing. I have worked in
children's ministry all of my adult life and not
seen the results that I have seen with God &
horse activities - oh by the way, it works on
adults too! I want to facilitate this kind of
ministry as long as God privileges me to do so.
I am gaining needed certifications to increase
my experiential knowledge. My husband & I now
have two horses of our own on our property, and
I am so thankful for the opportunity to work
with Roxanne and Gary in this Ministry of
healing, restoring, reconciliation, leadership
skills and fun! An added note: I feel most
qualified because of my many life experiences in
deep hard places that I was able to find God
faithful in overcoming what Satan meant for evil
and God used for good to restore to me all the
worm had eaten and moth destroyed. I have a
desire to see people restored, healed, and
functioning in wholeness.
Dawn Myers
Dawn
graduated in 1995 from MidAmerica Nazarene
University with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Psychology and went on to complete her Master’s
Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at
Friend’s University in 2000. Prior to coming to
Returning Glory, Dawn provided community support
and in-home counseling to families who had one
or more children at risk of being placed in an
in-patient psychiatric hospital or some other
out-of-home placement due to out-of-control
behaviors or due to a severe mental health
illness. She has led group therapy dealing with
issues such as grief and loss, anger management,
social skills, and how to deal with bullying.
She specializes in the treatment of depression,
anxiety, anger management,
and bipolar in children and youth and has
extensive experience in teaching parenting
skills. Dawn is also a Registered Nurse
Specializing in trauma and emergency nursing.
INTERN FOR RETURNING GLORY
PROCLAMATION
“If anyone ever asked me how I ended up the intern
at Returning Glory, my answer would have to be this,
‘God ignited a fire in my heart whenever I heard
about or saw the ministry that takes place here.’
The passion I feel is the same passion that ignites
when I follow the call of God to share His Word with
the world. How beautiful to find a ministry that
takes relationships and makes them center to
healing, hope and restoration. And lets be honest,
who doesn’t love horses? They are foreign,
beautiful, and slightly dangerous and yet gracefully
gentle. It is a cool ministry that allows us to work
with them. But this ministry is so different from
other ministries, it forces one to listen to the
Spirit of God to speak truth, it takes the
uncomfortable, un-patterned route of relational
ministry. I have been called to missions and my life
will be patterned through the work of the Church.
But I believe God called me here to take me from the
religious patterns, the familiar and at times
comfortable places of ministry and pulpits, of Bible
studies and Sunday school (as full of God as they
are) and put me into a ministry that required me to
move into the unpredictable, unfamiliar, and
uncomfortable. God put me in the place of prophets
and teachers before me that had to listen to
silence, suffering, and even bones to hear the Word
of the Lord, except here at Returning Glory I hear
it through the Spirit of God speaking through a
horse. Every avenue of this ministry from mucking
stalls to laughing with a child requires me to open
my heart and hear the Spirit speak truth. After all
it is hard to not listen when it is burning a
passion in my heart.”
-Melissa Watte- “Mel”
Intern of Returning Glory
Student at Nazarene Theological Seminary
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