HUMBLE BEGINNINGS... A few years ago I came to Stockton Lake MO. alone without friends, money or resources. I dragged plenty of baggage behind me & no plan. I had spent 65 days exploring Alaska in the raw, yet here I had no home & no one to guide me. Nevertheless I knew that very second that I arrived... I was exactly where I was supposed to be for the 1st time in my life. I lived on 200 acres for the 1st 6 months tending goats living in a 150 square foot camper. And boy did I pray for land! I had no job, bad credit & no idea how, but I knew God was listening & so I prayed & I prayed! Within a couple months I had a cleaning job & a 250 square foot camper & my enormous dream of homesteading off-grid in the wilderness. Since I was a child, I had ached for the wind in my hair & the water bubbling from the ground. I ached to live off-grid. My sights were set on star gazing & the summer sun to warm my skin. Soon after that things fell into place & I found myself "home' finally in this wilderness paradise. I was lead to Stockton; called out! And this 40-acre garden of Eden awaited my footprints... I named her "CAMP HINNEAH"! Which means... ready & available! Now that I am here... I CAN & I WILL... I have lived here since 2014. This land has healed me! This land has taught me to Love to myself & depend fully on God! As a single woman cold nights in a tiny camper while I was building my own log cabin tree house made me into a warrior! I learned to thrive instead of surviving in the midst of my 3 years of purging. I learned to align myself under the canopy in nature herself & walk into who I am called to be...These have been incredible times & trials for me all along rising up this warrior within me! Now that I am here, I must share all this wealth! What started with but a dream has become an incredible way of life! I envision a safe place for youth & families! A wilderness retreat where empowering each other becomes the atmosphere & being inspired at every challenge warrants an ache in our core... Now that I am here, I envision a wilderness oasis... an opportunity to learn, create, & experience all that God has blessed me with at Camp Hinneah! I CAN & I WILL! Hope you will join me... and become ONE OF MANY... CHIC IN THE WOODS!
BREAKING CHAINS... I live an exceptional life! A life on purpose with purpose! But it did not start out that way... Born & raised in the suburbs about an hour south of Chicago... My parents divorced when I was 6 years old & my mother remarried. My mother & her husband were both mentally ill harboring the demons they faced as children brought up in homes flooded with metal, physical, & sexually violence. My entire childhood until I escaped at 18 years old revolved around horrific physical, mental & sexual abuse. No human being should ever have to endure what I did as a small child starting at age 4... thru this I became extremely sexually active at a young age. As a young adult I was co-dependent & had zero sense of worth. I continued to be extremely sexually active because I hated myself! Hate is all I knew... I had a *self-hatred* addition thus I punished my flesh the way every sick pervert had done when I was a child. With 3 toddlers at my heels...I attempted to kill myself at age 24... after my husband's attempt on my life failed! I took an entire bottle of Tylenol in hopes to end my life! This completely destroyed my liver & I was given only 2 weeks to live. I wanted to die! After 24 years of torture & horrific violence I wanted the easy way out... BUT GOD spared my life & completely restored my liver! I was given a 2nd chance at life... yet I married whoever & divorced again & again & again. And I dated in-between. Same pattern of dysfunctional relationships with alcoholics, drug addicts, & very violent abusive men... Icannot recall how many times I was raped! I raised 3 incredible children by myself from my 1st marriage & together we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior in 2002... I was sick & tired of living with so much pain & regret & shame! I was heavily caught up in sexual sin & I needed forgiveness & a new start... I was 34 years old & I felt completely used up! When I began to surrender all of my mental illnesses, I found an incredible scene of peace. From this point on I began to fight for my life... My heart was after freedom & restoration, but I had formed no relationship with Jesus until I rededicated my life 10 years later. This is when I 1st discovered "GRACE" at a small country church in Park Hills MO. Here at "THE RIVER WORSHIP CENTRE" I embraced the truth... it was then that my eyes were open & I realized that even thru my disobedience & utter filth God really does care about me! From that point on I was delivered from sexual sin & began to truly chase God... In 2012- I spent 65 days in Alaska with my sister & brother at which time I went into heavy therapy which entailed deep healing & hypnosis. This is when I discovered that I was "FRAGMENTED" as a child. The amount of violence & abuse I had surprisingly survived had separated my identity to keep me alive... Thru hypnosis I was able to reconnect so-to-speak with the other parts of myself that each held these horrific memories. I took back my life!... I made a decision to forgive my mother, her husband, & all the men that had abused me... I returned back to the lower 48 as "a whole person"... The terrible curse that stifled generations of my linage would be broken with me! From my children on there will be Hope & prosperity! No more abuse, violence, abandonment or addiction! The head of that snake would be caught off! I have come a very very long way! Thru many more trials & victories I have found such incredible LOVE for myself! The more I "KNOW GOD" the more LOVE I BECOME... Today I am happily married... no longer a co-dependent & I am free from lust! God has kept His promises! I consider myself fully restored & incredibly blessed! My 3 adult children are all healthy & thriving! A true testament to God's restoration! I reside with a wonderful godly husband & we homestead in Southwest MO in The Ozark Hills... Both of us have a heart 'to serve'... Truly God is a chain-breaker!
THE GOOD LIFE... Homesteading on 40 acres has been an incredible blessing! I admit life here has been challenging with unlimited victories! With no formal training I dove in with blinded eyes only to discover I can do all thing thru Christ whom strengthens & encourages me at every pass. In my 4 years living here single I went from a 250 sq ft camper to a 1100 sq ft log cabin tree house built in cash. That camper drove me to work hard! Countless nights I hovered over the candle light hand sewing moccasins & leather bags for the next event. I cooked my meals on an open fire out in the elements or on the wood stove inside. I hauled in my water to heat for a bath. Every part of my journey required me to collect wood & start & maintain a fire. I learned how to survive in extreme conditions & thrive in the summer months by collecting eggs, butchering my own meat & eating whatever grows on my land. I have discovered at least a dozen natural springs & multiple groves of berries. Besides purchasing fowl & goats, the meat sources here are unlimited. Since my journey here begun my relationship with God has grown deeply & I will not waiver in that strong foundation knowing who I am & to Whom I belong. In my singleness I have discovered I am strong in my mind & my spirit is relentless! Since the tree house I have ran plumbing & electric underneath & insulated awaiting water access & solar. I still joke about my composting toilet & have since acquired an outhouse. I cannot imagine living any other way! Life here keeps me healthy & in tune with God! I Love the summertime when I can use my outdoor solar shower & my make-shift horse trough hot tub. Winters here will always be challenging, nevertheless this is home & nothing on God's green earth could ever drag me from this place or this life that feeds my spirit & causes me to live on purpose with purpose...
MY MISSION... The mission at "Chic in the woods" is to remove some of the boundaries & barriers placed on women's self expression & to meet women where they are at in life while contributing to build on their identity thru positive encouragement. I believe in inspiration thru 'the natural'... here where it's raw in the wilderness one has to purge her own path & find herself using her senses as a guide & her interaction with others in such a magical place to promote a healthier way of thinking. My goal is to provide a safe place for women! A safe place to dream & explore... To rest & accomplish...To give in & get back...To grow & become... MY BELIEFS... Living in the wilderness has come with it's daily struggles & awesome Victories! I have learned that true abundance starts with our thoughts... Then we can feel better. Learning to make a decision to feel better draws in every good thing. Changing our minds means changing our Identity. I learned this in the wilderness. And I want to share what I have learned...This land has healed me! A place of such divine beauty & power should be shared with women of all races, religions & lifestyles. I believe the world can be a better place if we as women, are brought together with only our dreams & ambitions leaving all the worldly objectives to the wayside for a weekend. I believe there is a time to lay down everything else & seek thee inner self & connect with Source! I hope to provide an outline here at CAMP HINNEAH! 'CHIC IN THE WOODS" WILDERNESS WOMEN STOCKTON-
QUESTIONS... COMMENTS... FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME PERSONALLY... ****GINNESE