The Beginning

Judy Singleton from Winchester has a dream. Her dream is to provide a new community of care for sibling groups in foster care on her property. The dream began when Judy was a child.

“Mom and Dad came here in 1940. They bought the farm during the war. I grew up on this farm, and my heart is here,” Judy shared.

“When I was a child, one of the things that Mom and Dad and I did on Sunday afternoons was to drive up Kentucky Route 15 toward Natural Bridge,” said Judy. “I was maybe eight or nine, and I remember Dad looking over and pointing at a house and saying, ‘It’s a shame that old man didn’t get to do with his land what he wanted to do.’” Judy’s dad told her that the man wanted to build an orphan’s home on his property, but it never materialized. “It laid on Dad’s heart,” said Judy.

Judy would eventually leave the farm to pursue teaching, but those words from her dad would have profound impact on her. “I feel like, even back then, God was placing in my heart the need for something like that,” she said. That may have been the first time God began talking to her about the Solid Rock dream, but it would not be the last.

The Fire

Judy was living in Richmond in 1980 when one day that year, her mom and dad were looking at the hay in their barn. The barn was completely full with hay bales. “Everything was fine. It looked good,” said Judy. Her parents left the barn and went into the house. Thirty minutes later, they came back outside. The barn was blazing.

“The flame and the blazes went so high that people all around could see the smoke and the fire,” Judy said. “People came from all around putting water on the garage and on the side of the house that faced the barn.” Paint had already begun to peel on both the house and the garage. At that moment, according to what Judy’s parents had told her, everyone there knew that they were not going to be successful in saving the house. It would take a miracle. And then a miracle happened.

“In an instant, the wind changed,” said Judy.  “The wind blew the other way. It took the flames, it took the smoke, it took everything in the opposite direction.” Judy knew of only one reason for the dramatic turn of events. “I think that God knew that the house had to remain here for me to come back,” she said. “So, I know that in 1980 God saved the house and saved Mom and Dad.” A few years later, God would speak to her again.

The Gas Line

One cold winter night, after the fire, the temperature had dropped to thirty-two degrees below zero.  Judy was still not living at the house, but again, her parents told her exactly what had happened. Her dad was awake in the middle of the night. This was unusual. “I could make all kinds of noise. Mom didn’t sleep well, but Dad didn’t wake up,” said Judy. “But this time, Mom was sleeping, and Dad was awake.”

And then it happened. A pop. Judy’s dad heard the noise and, in an instant, went down to the basement and discovered that the gas line had frozen and broken. He immediately turned the gas off in the house. “Had Dad not been awake when that happened, the house would have exploded, and Mom and Dad would have died. So, I feel like God woke Dad up to hear it and check it out,” said Judy. “There’s two times that this house should have gone. And it didn’t. So, it’s here for a reason. I know it is. I feel like God has been leading me in this direction a long time. It’s the last thing, I think, He has planned for me.”

The Vision

Judy remembers having a talk with her dad shortly before he died. Having no brothers and sisters, Judy knew that she would be acquiring the farm. Her dad wanted to talk to her about it and said, “I want you to do something for children or animals, and maybe children and animals.” Judy’s response was quick: “Yeah, Dad, I would like to do that too.”

Judy always loved kids and loved working with kids. She taught children for 35 years and continued teaching part time after she retired. “Seeing kids at school and seeing sibling groups separated, and seeing how hard it was on them – that is when God began to place on my heart that I could be more than just their teacher.,” Judy explained. “So, from there, God started placing into my mind and heart the idea for starting Solid Rock Children’s Ranch.”

The Future

In February, 2016, Judy met with Sunrise to discuss her idea of Solid Rock Children’s Ranch. “I found out I needed to really give all of the farm for it to be enough for Sunrise financially to take the risk,” Judy said. “That was the hardest part, but then I went on and did that.”

Although Judy does not know when the Solid Rock Children’s Ranch will be realized, she does have a clear idea of what she wants it to be and what she wants it to look like. “It’s going to be like a regular home. A set of foster parents are going to have kids there,” explained Judy. “We’re going to focus on sibling groups.” She also wants the kids living there to experience the country. “It’s just a lot of land to do things on,” she said. I envision down the road that this could be a place where we could bring other foster kids to have some fun.”

Above all, Judy wants Solid Rock to make a difference in kids’ lives. She knows of only one way this can happen. “You can put the kids in homes and try to help them, even with drug rehabs,” stated Judy. “But it takes God to be the permanent change.”

And about that property along Kentucky Route 15 . . .

According to Dr. Todd Rader, pastor of Ephesus Baptist Church in Winchester, the property that Judy’s dad would point to each time he would drive on Kentucky 15 was owned by John Nelson Bush. John Bush was a bachelor, had no children, and was a life-long member of Ephesus Baptist Church. In 1931, he wrote in his will that his property of more than 600 acres in Winchester would be donated, upon his death, to the Boones Creek Baptist Association and the Friendship Association for the purpose of constructing an orphanage.

In May of 1936, there was a groundbreaking ceremony on the property. The next month, the cornerstone was laid. But less than two weeks after the cornerstone was laid, John Bush died.

By the end of 1936, his will was contested by his sister and nephew. In 1938, children were moved into John Bush’s former home, and the orphanage was begun. But just a year later, the sister was awarded all of her brother’s property, and the orphanage soon closed.

“Having the story of Judy and her father passing the property, and seeing the impact of Mr. Bush’s dream still inspire and birth this dream in Judy – even though his dream did not happen in his lifetime where he wanted to – is just a reminder to me that God’s will is always accomplished,” shared Pastor Todd. “It may not be in the time or the way that we would prefer, but God’s will is always accomplished.”