|
Mariposa County girl, 11, wins dude ranch vacation
An 11-year-old girl from Greeley Hill, California, has been named one of 12 winners of dude ranch vacations by the Children’s International Arts Festival.
 And because the contest is going to be repeated next year, other local children are invited to send in entries for a chance to win a similar vacation in the summer of 2009.
As her prize, Sarah Wickenhauser will spend a week with her family this summer at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch in Sandpoint, Idaho.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Sarah after hearing the news that she was a winner. “It’s like a dream come true!”
Sarah is a home schooled fifth-grader. She was born in Atwater and moved with her family to northern Mariposa County in 1999.
Her parents, David and Lorri Wickenhauser, are the owners and publishers of The Foothill Express, a twice-monthly newspaper in the Lake Don Pedro-Coulterville-Greeley Hill area. Her 16-year-old brother Matt will also be going on the trip.
Sarah is known in her community for being the creator of the “Princess” comic strip, which has been running in her family’s publication since 2004.
Sarah recently spoke by telephone with Janice Schoonover of the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. She was thrilled to learn that she will be assigned her own horse for the week of her stay, and will be able to ride twice a day.
“I can’t wait,” she said. “My whole family is excited. My mom used to ride a lot, but I’ve never ridden a horse in my life.”
The Children’s International Arts Festival is sponsored by author Carey Kinsolving’s Kids Talk About God organization. Kinsolving writes a weekly Kids Talk About God column, distributed through Creators Syndicate, and has produced a series of extremely popular Kids Talk About God TV spots for ABC affiliate KRGV-TV in southern Texas.
Kinsolving said the response to his work has been enthusiastic and heartwarming. Readers are reminded of what Jesus meant when he said we must enter His kingdom with the faith of a child.
“Children have a way of touching our hearts and reminding us that we must come to God with childlike faith,” he said.
To enter the dude ranch vacation contest, children ages 5 through 12 are asked to write an essay and draw a picture in response to one of several questions about Bible verses listed on the www.kidstalkaboutgod.org web site.
Selected drawings and essays will be published in Kinsolving’s latest project, the “Kids Color Me Bible Gospel of John.”
This year’s 12 contest winners will be paired up with 12 participating dude ranches that have donated weeklong vacations.
Sarah said she has been encouraging other kids to enter the contest for next year’s prizes.
“Pray about what to draw and write,” she advised. “That’s what I did. And every night I prayed, ‘Please, God, if it’s Your will, let me win that contest!’ ”
For entry information, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org and click on the “Children’s International Arts Festival” link.
Information about the participating dude ranches also appears on the site. |
