An Evening With Bright Side in WI

This weekend, Chad and I had a unique opportunity to get together with our friends Devin and Tia Tharp, who live a little ways from us in the Carolinas and who run the new nonprofit ministry, Bright Side Youth Ranch. We met them when we all lived in Wisconsin together, so when all four of us were invited to a wedding for mutual friends in WI, we gladly drove three hours to the Tharps' house to jump in their minivan for a 15-hour road trip up north to attend together.

The four of us still have quite the network of friends and church family in southeastern WI, so it was a bit of a reunion upon our arrival. 18 months ago when the Tharps moved away from WI to the Carolinas, they were just beginning to launch Bright Side. Many of the nonprofit's original supporters and "founding members" live in WI, so one of the board members of Bright Side, Beth Gilmore, threw a small fundraising event for Devin and Tia while they'd be in town as a way for them to share with people there—in-person—what God has been doing with the successful growth of their ministry so far.

Chad and I have been so privileged to document many stages of development of Bright Side (more stories on our blog here), so this event was no exception. Around 40 people attended and listened as Devin and Tia poured out their hearts about how their family has been doing, shared photos of the progress of their property so far, and updated them on the next steps for the Ranch. Their friends and supporters were all smiles as they visited, celebrated and even donated financially. Many prayers were lifted for God's continuing guidance and provision for the Tharp family and for Bright Side Youth Ranch.

I'm sure they'll be sharing more details and images on their own blog soon, but in the meantime, here are a few of our favorite image highlights from the evening. To view the entire image gallery, check it out here »