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Sam Olsen’s Testimony
Hello, my name is Sam Olsen and I came to the Beartooth Mountain Ascent Program in May of 2010. I was a city boy with little knowledge of working; let alone working on a ranch. What little skills I had developed at the time were concentrated on living a life of chaos and disorder. I struggled with an extremely low self esteem and treated that pain by hiding in drugs, alcohol, and sexual promiscuity. My perception at the time was that I was a worthless piece of doo-doo because I had no real accomplishments in life. I led a life of mediocrity in athletics, academics, friendships, and relationships within my family. I led a minimalist life. Thank God for my parents who saw my downward spiral and sent me to BTMA to get help.
I was scared and out of place when I arrived on the ranch. However I challenged myself to put my heart, mind, body, and soul into changing my life from corruption and evil to truth and life. Yeah, that sounds cheesy and cliché but that was commitment I made to myself. I threw myself into every opportunity available. I was challenged physically, mentally, emotionally, but most of all spiritually. I worked cattle, trained horses, helped irrigate acres of crops, drove heavy machinery. I was put into situations where I had to think for myself to figure out a problem. There was no option to manipulate or exploit others to get what I wanted. I had to train myself to problem solve and take confidence within my own abilities and brainpower. I had to face and overcome the hard truths of asking forgiveness from those I had hurt and dealing with the pain that I had created. I took ownership of my actions both past and present and I came out a MAN. The best part was that I was having fun every second; during the good and bad times. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity that I was given. I have no doubt that BTMA saved my life on this earth but most importantly BTMA gave me the skills and faith to help me lead myself and others towards sanctification and eternal happiness.
God Bless You,
Sam Olsen
My name is Trey Ripma and I am 22 years old. I am from Florida and I came to Beartooth MT Ascent because I was involved in drugs, violence, women
and guns. Being from Florida, cocaine was everywhere. I started doing it for fun and then it became a habit. I stopped working because it was hard for me to
work when I was high, and also because I made enough money dealing drugs to support my addiction. I was ashamed of the things I was doing, but couldn't
stop. It caused me to stop talking to my family and I was never around to help out. I also went to jail a number of times and to rehab twice.
My addiction frustrated me because I was always a smart and hardworking guy, but I still couldn't stop using. I came to Beartooth MT Ascent right after
I finished a 3 month wilderness program, and now I never want to leave. I have learned so much here. I have regained my self-dignity and can finally call myself
a good man. I got back my work ethic and have learned how to have fun again without drugs. The Schneider's and some of the staff, I consider my family. They
are so cool here, I can talk to them about anything. I also have a great relationship with my family. I have realized how my drug use affected them, and I am
greatly sorry for how I treated them. And, I can say that it will never happen again.
I have also learned how to rope, ride and work cows in almost any situation. I have saved baby calves' lives and that really feels awesome. I have let go of
my pride, my addiction, dishonesty, carelessness, disobedience, selfishness, anger, resentments, laziness and my old life. All that has taken a year and I
still have lots of work to do.
The best I saved for last, and that is my relationship with God and my belief in His Word. I could not have come this far without God and that is why I am
so thankful for Beartooth MT Ascent. You can't help but hear about God and the Bible. It's awesome because if I didn't have that I would probably still have
a bad attitude and a craving to keep using. Just being involved in God's Word has changed my thinking from the glass is half empty to the glass is half full. I
used to freak out in bad situations or rough times, but now I thank God and trust Him to get me through them and make me spiritually stronger. If you want
your son to become a man, this is the place for him. If it could help me, it could help anyone.
Whoever this may help, may God bless.
Trey Ripma
My Testimony
by Patrick Monahan
My name is Patrick Monahan and I am 20 years old. I came to the Beartooth Mountain Ascent Program in January of 2011. My stay ended in November of the same year. That probably doesn’t sound like a long time to anyone reading this, however it seemed like a lifetime from my perspective. A lifetime of learning, mending, growing, and especially, being sober. I say “being sober” very casually because even though I used cocaine once and drank very heavily in college, my main downfall was my mental addiction to marijuana.
I grew up in a very strict, homeschooled and God-fearing house. I always went to church and did things with my family and relatives. I never thought for a second growing up that I would ever get drunk or even have an alcoholic drink till I was “of age”. That pattern was broken at 16 when I got drunk for the first time at a friend’s house. Even more prominent than the drinking rules were my family’s and relatives teachings about drugs. Up until about 3 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you how to spell marijuana, let alone know what it looks or feels like. That soon changed. From the age of 17 until just before my 20th birthday, my life consisted of getting high, partying, and spending just about every penny I earned or came upon on supporting those destructive habits. God very quickly became hardly a thought in the dark corners of my mind. It started very gradually at the end of my senior year when I smoked pot for the first time at a rock concert. After graduation and my acceptance into Washburn University, my life spiraled quickly out of control. Four months later, after hundreds of parties and long days and nights spent in a fog of smoke and alcohol with very little educational growth and several wasted musical scholarships with jazz piano and voice, I dropped out of college. After that, I couch-surfed from trailer parks, to friends and relatives houses, back home a few times, and eventually in and out of homeless shelters. At this point my life was a blur. My addiction to cigarettes was draining my family’s and my own pocketbook as was marijuana. I stole and lied constantly about stealing money from just about everyone I knew or met to go blow it in one afternoon or night to feel good or to help others do the same. During this time I cannot remember many things that I said to someone that wasn’t a lie or a fabrication of the truth. I lost several jobs because of positive UA’s and assumed a great amount of debt through the course of 3 years ruining many relationships with my family and friends along the way. I would get into verbal and physical arguments with my parents, (especially my father), that would put many R-rated movies to shame. I cared for no-one but myself.
That what was in the forefront of my addiction, however, underneath the criminal side of it with many nights in jail and countless nights and days spent in courtrooms and on the phone with lawyers; my mind was being overtaken by hard rock and rap music, casual sexual encounters, pornography, bad influences and a general attitude of screw the world and do what I want to do. My life was going absolutely nowhere. Death or prison was most definitely just around the corner.
It took me a long time and hundreds of second and third chances to see that light. Beartooth was that light. My mother and father had done the majority of the searching over the years with rehabs, counselors, medication and countless hours in prayer for me and the saving of my life. It was actually my dad who stumbled upon Beartooth on the internet and discussed it first with my mom. They kept the idea from me for some time to see if things would turn around. However, after this proved to not happen, they told me about it. At first, I was very argumentative and unwilling. I had now been in 2 other rehabs and seen several therapists and even though the ranch sounded interesting and different, I guess my initial thought was that it was just another place for me to waste my time and my parents’ money. After talking with them, relatives, and friends about it, my options became very small. It was either Beartooth or the street. Having already experienced “the streets” in the few months that I spent in and out of homeless shelters, I was not at all eager to live another second in one of those places. Having no money to my name and nowhere else to turn, I boarded the plane for Cody, Wyoming.
The months that followed at Beartooth Mountain Ascent were very surreal and eye-opening. That is a cheap attempt to describe the transformation that took place with me both inside and out. Besides the fact of the incredible view of the Rocky Mountains and vast desert lands that encompassed me daily, words cannot describe the wealth of knowledge about ranch work and life that I experienced and learned. I was dealt and participated in my share of trouble at the ranch, however, overall, I grew tremendously as a son, brother, cousin, friend, and person.
I learned skills that I will use till the day I die. With cow work, irrigation, fencing, and especially riding horses, they shaped me into the very well-rounded and hard-working man that I am continuing to become to this day.
I learned how to more positively interact with the people around me, the right words to use to mend my family relationships, and I believe, most important of all, I overcame my constant state of falsehood. I cannot explain the joy that comes from being truthful with myself and other people on a daily basis. I don’t have to hide anything anymore, or be looking behind my back constantly. It is a true mental freedom to not be lying anymore.
Beartooth taught me all these skills and how to put them to use. I owe my life to the directors and staff of this program. What I thought would be a waste of time and money became an experience that I will never forget. I even took up a new interest in cooking. I often thought while I was at Beartooth that it would never end or I would never look back and I thought for sure that I would be running to board the plane home. That is and was not the case. It was a very bittersweet departure. With all the friends that I made that came through the program, and the very close relationship that was made between me and one of the staff members there, I look back on it as the most important part of my life up to this point.
I feel that I can face life now with new eyes and far better morals. I don’t think I’ve had my last alcoholic beverage or even been to my last party, however, I learned the extreme importance of moderation in all things. With a new-found relationship with God, my family, and everyone around me, I am ready to face the world with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. I owe the staff and directors at Beartooth Mountain Ascent my very life and I hope if you are experiencing even a fraction of what I went through or maybe you are going through something much worse, I encourage you to look into this program. It helped me and I know it can help you and your family. It is my prayer that God will bless all who read this or come in contact with this program.
Patrick Monahan |
