In June 2023 I learned of Abundant Life Ranch when I was job searching. Its mission statement reads that it uses horses and the ranch lifestyle to teach communication, trust, and respect. But as I started working here I learned that God uses it to help people heal from trauma.
Little did I know He would place me here to do just that – to help me heal from my own trauma.
For those of you who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Nalleli Garcia and I am the Operations Manager at Abundant Life Ranch. I was born in Mexico City, but raised in Los Angeles. You can safely say, I grew up in big cities. That was my comfort zone. Something the Lord would peel away little by little.
When I started at the ranch in July 2023, there were two confessions I had to make to Betsy – one, I was highly allergic to nuts, peaches, and bananas. Two, I was deathly afraid of snakes. This fear started when I was in high school because I had recurring nightmares of a black anaconda trying to eat a small child in our kitchen. In my dream, my 15 year old self protected the child. In therapy I came to discover that this dream was triggered from childhood sexual abuse.
The food allergy required internal adjustments to the snacks we offered. Despite the adjustments, Betsy and the staff witnessed a few health scares when I came in close proximity to the scent of nuts or bananas at the ranch.
My first snake experience took place shortly after getting hired. A small garter snake made an appearance while we were out on a hike. Thankfully I did not see it because I was out with participants. Fast forward to October 2023, I was alone at the ranch. I thought it was perfect timing to deep clean while the team was out for the week. That included breaking down and throwing away three boxes on the porch. As I lifted the first box, I was greeted with a handful of frogs that wanted to make the box their home. They startled me initially but I was able to relocate them. I tore down the box, threw it in the dumpster and made my way back for the second box. As I grabbed it, out of my peripheral vision I saw something black in the third and last box. My heart began to race, but I tried to tell myself it wasn’t what I thought it was. I broke down the second box, threw it in the trash, and slowly made my way back to the final box. It was like one of those moments in the movies – I took a slow, deep breath and reached my hand for the box. As I looked inside, I saw something black and red coiled in it. It was a snake!
My first reaction was to yell, but something inside of me told me that if I screamed, the snake would attack; it would hurt me. So I swallowed what seemed to be a loud noise, and nothing came out of my mouth. I felt a deep pain in my chest, but I rushed back to safety.
For the next few hours, I locked myself in the office and I sobbed.
I cried out to the Lord to ask Him why, why He had me here? This city girl was not meant for the ranch. A ranch, clearly filled with snakes (3 sightings within a matter of three months) when He knew I was afraid of them. He took a few more months to answer me.
Thankfully cooler weather kept the rest of the creatures away.
In January of 2024, I was led to do a complete fast. Yes, you read that right – a complete fast where I would not eat anything and only drink water for 21 days. I prayerfully obeyed.
During week one of the fast, the Lord asked me to face my fear of snakes so that my allergies would disappear. I prayed to make sure I was hearing Him correctly. By then, allergies had been a part of my life for 19 years. I couldn’t imagine not having them. But I obeyed. I made an appointment with a snake “store” for the following week. I asked my sister and my closest friends to come with me. Betsy was also aware and she interceded on my behalf.
The first snake I was introduced to is named Lotus. She is a beautiful black snake – not as large as the one in my dream, but scary enough for someone who sobbed a few months prior from seeing one ¼ of her size. I held her as well as some others. Little by little I realized they weren’t out to “get me.” Some were curious, others were shy, and a couple were a tad bit on the angry side. But none that could do real damage. I even let one of them named Chuck-e-cheese bite me, twice. My fear of snakes was gone!
At the end of the 21 days, I was weak, hungry, and hopeful that the Lord had kept His end of the deal. I faced my fear of snakes so the allergies must have gone. However, a few days after the fast was over, I ended up in the hospital because my electrolyte levels were too low. My hands developed a nerve spasm and I was in so much pain. I felt like I was on fire. Yet in that hospital chair all I kept reciting was “El señor es mi pastor, nada me faltara.” It was Psalm 23! I repeated over and over to myself in deep agony that the Lord was my shepherd and though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I would not fear evil.
The day after I was hospitalized, the nurse entered to ask me if I had any food allergies because breakfast was coming shortly. I happily said I did not. As my tray arrived, I smiled when I saw it was oatmeal with a cup of nuts and a cup of sliced peaches. I said to myself – “well Nalleli, you kept your end of the bargain, and now God will keep His.” I took a few pictures of the evidence on my phone to later text my family and friends. Then, I dumped the cup of nuts into the oatmeal and ate. I ate the peach cup too.
A few minutes later I sat in my hospital bed and experienced a different level of healing. I had no anaphylactic reaction from the nuts or peaches. I was physically healed!
Months later God reminded me of the question I asked Him – “Why did you bring me here?” He gave me the first few lines of this newsletter story and told me I was here for my healing. In no other place would I have been challenged physically and spiritually to face what had kept me bound for years. Yet Betsy, Doug, and the rest of the team, provided me with a safe environment to obey the Lord. Now, anytime a participant shares a fear of snakes, I confidently share my snake story. And if this city girl has survived in the ranch, God will keep them safe too.
