Welcome
Dear Friends of the National Center for Healthy Veterans at Valor Farm,
Last month in March we talked about growth, so it is fitting that NEW LIFE is our topic this month. Spring is finally in full bloom – the bees on Valor Farm are rapidly rebuilding hives after the Winter, the new calves are growing and cavorting around the pasture, and momma birds are feeding the wide mouths of their young’uns. Clearly God’s Creation is visibly humming. No doubt you don’t miss the analogy that the same is happening in the lives of our Veterans who reside or pass through Valor Farm. While we rejoice that 11 more houses in Lancaster Village will come online in May, fully completing our first village buildout; the real joy is that we are also seeing New Life in the many Veterans that cross our path.
And, of course, the ultimate reality of New Life in April is the risen Christ at Easter. Yes, NEW LIFE, is an inspiring gift from God.
“… I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jesus in John 10:10b, TLB)
We certainly honor our volunteers during April Volunteer Appreciation Month, and we look forward to our annual volunteer appreciation extravaganza next September. Where would we be without our volunteers? Gratefully, we don’t have to ask – our hard-charging, committed Army of volunteers has allowed us to make amazing progress. While volunteers work alongside our staff and Veterans every day, the upcoming May 6 Volunteer Saturday will predictably have 50-100 selfless servants who will do “weeks of work” in one morning. We are grateful!
Here’s a preview of the content below:
- Plays of the Day – Patriot Graduation!, Generous Donors, and others
- Meet the Team – Patriot Life Directors Bob and Bev Uber
- Diving Deeper – An Inside Look at Patriot Life by Bev Uber
- In the Media – Another life-changed story from Patriot Graduate and Healthy Veteran Zac; and the NCHV Beekeeping Initiative to produce our own honey and teach Veterans new skills
- Prayer Points – Massing God’s artillery on behalf of Veterans, America, and the world.
To conclude, these are exciting days at the National Center for Healthy Veterans. We are quickly achieving Excellence of Veteran Care that equals the Excellent Infrastructure which we have developed over the past two years – and it is happening as God and generous donors are helping us bring the right expertise onto our team.
Thank you for your encouragement, prayers, and tangible support!
Blessings to each of you,
Robert F. Dees
Major General, U.S. Army, Retired
NCHV President & CEO
YOUR encouragement and generosity
have made these amazing things happen at Valor Farm. We certainly welcome and need your further support on behalf of Returning Healthy Veterans to America!
Join our Healthy Veterans Community!
Plays of the Day
- Congrats to Zac Farrell and Bob Lyon who graduated from the Patriot Program on April 19.
- The picture below says it all – both came to us with tough challenges, yet they leave as changed men ready for their next season of life.
- The National Center for Healthy Veterans at Valor Farm has made tremendous progress in the last two years because of our Amazing Volunteers! In turn, our volunteers gain experience, comradery, and a sense of contribution to a noble calling on behalf of our nation’s Veterans.
- We certainly honor our volunteers during April volunteer month but particularly look forward to next September when we will have a very special evening to pay tribute to the many who have served at Valor Farms.
- Bees are a natural and safe way for veterans, volunteers, and beekeepers to connect with nature.
- On April 1st seven more hives were installed for a total of nine at Valor Farm.
- Currently the bees are in the nectar flow season, filling special sections of comb with their honey which we will collect in a few weeks.
- NCHV started their equine therapy program last July using the ARCH Model.
- Equine Therapy gives an alternative way for individuals to process their past and present trauma.
- Horses provide the perfect facilitators as they are very in tune with the emotions of others.
- What is learned, discovered, or worked through in experiential equine therapy is retained longer than in conventional therapies.
In The Media
Meet The Team
We welcome Bob and Bev Uber as our Valor Farm Patriot Life Directors, living in a tiny home in Village 1. Prior to coming to Valor Farm, they were Founders and Directors of the Heroes Center, a nonprofit campus for transitioning veterans in High Point, NC. Bob and Bev were married in 2019 and have walked with Jesus for many years. They have 5 children and ten grandchildren between them. Bev was a nurse and career social worker for mental health in England. Some of that work included assisting the British forces in dealing with PTSD. Bob is a combat veteran from Vietnam where he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. He has also been rated 100% for PTSD. Their combined experience serving in nonprofits for Veterans for 20 years enables them to support the National Center for Healthy Veterans(NCHV) with recruiting, business development, and the care that Patriots require on a daily basis. The NCHV team is grateful to have the expertise, experience, and compassion that Team Uber brings to Valor Farm and our residential Patriots.
Diving Deeper
By Patriot Life Director Bev Uber
“Patriot Life” is one of the key components of the NCHV “Veteran Engagement Engine.” The goal of Patriot Life is to provide community and structure to help Veterans who have hit a place in their lives that they cannot effectively manage. Most have become isolated, experiencing broken relationships, loss of work, loss of home, and loss of identity; but more critically is their almost total loss of hope that their life can be any different. This becomes a critical point in their life. Without intervention, addiction, criminal infractions or even suicide becomes the new step. All of that can be reversed when residential Patriots lean into the community and intentional programs they find at Valor Farm.
A key to Patriot Life is a home that is safe and secure. For the first time in a long time, they feel begin to feel connected and on a journey that will give them hope and a future. This home is the beginning of an intentional process with many aspects to it — physical training, devotions that focus on God and discover Biblical wisdom, faith-based classes such as Resilience God Style and Reboot which help them realize that they can be renewed as a person and fully recover from the traumas they have experienced, and meaningful work which gives them purpose, dignity, and promotes teamwork with other Veterans. By the time Patriots graduate, they have received tools to help them identify and take concrete steps to manage their emotions, life’s many challenges, financial responsibility, and career preparation.
Patriot Life Directors and Leaders have the privilege of just sitting on a Patriot’s porch and having an open conversation. By doing this with them, we build relationships and establish trust. We hear of their hopes and dreams. Around the village campfire, they share their military experiences and hopes for the future. Patriot Life is all about community, from common activities such as exercise in the gym each morning, to tending a community garden where vegetables are grown and then served for their daily meals.
On a personal note, my husband Bob and I are called and privileged to play a small role in helping hurting Veterans and their families heal, restore, and renew in mind, body, and spirit; allowing them to return as Healthy Veterans to an America which needs her Veterans more than ever before.
Prayer Points
- A number of our families are struggling with fractured family relationships. Pray that God would comfort and create ways to mend the relationships.
- Pray for active military and their families who are serving in increasingly dangerous places around the world.
- Internationally, together we uplift the people of Ukraine in this tragic hour. May God guide you, protect you, and hide you under the shelter of His wings as the destruction passes by.
- Pray that the work of the National Center for Healthy Veterans would rapidly advance to provide help, hope, and healing for our nation’s Veterans and their families.
- Join us in praising God for the beauty of His Creation at Valor Farm — horses, rivers, cattle, valleys, chickens, the fruit of the land, the beauty of the fields, the wonder of His Creation.
- Join us in praising God for the amazing Army of NCHV volunteers, a multitude of generous supporters, and faithful staff.
- Pray that God would steady the hand of the 22 Veterans a day that are considering ending their lives.
- Without mentioning specifics, pray for the many Veterans and their families in our midst who have financial issues, health crises, relational dysfunction, and suffer from mental and emotional challenges. May God bring wellness to Veterans throughout the land.
- Pray that God will provide laborers and resources to “Return Healthy Veterans to America,” and may these Healthy Veterans provide unique contributions to America as role models, parents, educators, coaches, business professionals, and societal role models.
Calendar
Weekly Schedule & Upcoming Events
- Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. Scheduled Tours
Email contact@healthyveterans.org if interested. - Thursdays: Community Campfire at Valor Farm 6pm
Come join us for fellowship! - Saturdays: Volunteer Saturdays (1st and 3rd)
Email volunteer@healthveterans.org
