Who We Are

Desire Ministries, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Daniel and Kristy Alvarez. They were inspired to enlist the beauty, strength, and gentle nature of horses to help those of us who need a hand recover from what ails us, especially children and families. Together, our horses and those who need help find hope, strength, and healing through unconditional love.

This ministry is dedicated to adopting and/or purchasing abused, neglected, and unwanted horses so that together we can counsel and mentor people, as well as, teach horseback riding lessons, camps, and clubs.

Each person that is involved in any aspect of this ministry will see that the heart of the ministry is to disciple students, encourage individuals, save horses, inspire others, reach the broken, and educate the general public.

We take broken horses and broken people and pair them together so that they can find hope and healing through unconditional love.           

We are an official 501 (c)(3) charitable organization according to the Internal Revenue Service. All donations are tax deductible and will benefit the organization tremendously.

Our desire for this ministry is for it to be a place where people and horses can build friendships, grow, find strength, hope, love, and healing. We also desire to one day have a program where all of the activities that we do can be free of charge so that all people can participate without money being an issue.

Disciple.

Encourage.

Save.

Inspire.

Reach.

Educate.

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Our History

In January 2006 Dan and Kristy Alvarez, co-founders of Desire Ministries, Inc., received a phone call that would change the course of their  future forever.

When Kristy was a young girl, she had a strong love for horses. Her passion for this amazing creature was evident in everything that she did. One day her parents decided to entertain this passion and enrolled her into a local horseback riding program in Bowie, MD. Her involvement in this program sparked even more of a desire to one day have a horse of her own.

The years went by and Kristy still had a desire to own a horse. Her parents realized the great importance this animal had in Kristy's life. They could also see the impact that horses had on her. Now as a teenager they could see  that she was a strong, independent, responsible, hard working and goal oriented individual. They could also see that she was full of self-worth. Was this because of horses?

They thought it was time for Kristy to own a horse of her own, so on December 25, 1993 Kristy's parents bought her a horse. His name was Big Red. He was a big, beautiful chestnut Thoroughbred off the race track. He was only seven years old and  had much training ahead of him. This horse became a part of who Kristy was, and Kristy became a part of who Red was. They were a team. They were best friends. The bond that they had could never be broken.

When Kristy was a young adult, Red was still as much a part of her life as he was when he first became hers. She also had something else that became a major part of her life. This something else would change her life drastically. It was a relationship with Jesus Christ. Kristy not only had a desire for horses, but she also had a desire to live her life according to the way she believed Jesus Christ would want her to live. She wanted to fulfill the plans and purposes that God had for her life, so she decided to go to Valley Forge Christian College in order to study the Bible and counseling. Kristy still had a desire for horses, but she also gained a strong desire to help people change their lives, people that had a need.

Then Kristy had to face one of the hardest days of her life. She had to sell Red in order to complete college. Her time was taken up by study and work, and she was not able to give Red the time he deserved. She could not bare the thought of no longer having Red in her life, her teammate and her best friend, but she felt in her heart that this was the best decision for Red.

The day came that Red was now gone, and Kristy lost a part of who she was that day. It seemed that she was no longer truly alive. She was able to follow her daily routine, enjoy life with family and friends, but in her heart she knew that she was lost...

The years passed and Kristy was now married to an amazing man, Daniel Alvarez. He was aware of this love for horses, especially Red, but he was never able to witness it first hand. Daniel  encouraged her to get back into the sport of horseback riding. He knew that it was a part of who she was. This ignited the spark that was always there, and Kristy slowly started to come to the realization that God desired that she have her hearts desire too. There was stil something missing...Red.

Dan and Kristy both knew that God had a special plan and purpose for them. They decided that they wanted to start a ministry that would incorporate helping both horses and people, especially  young people, that had a need. They wanted to birth a program that would be geared toward using abused, neglected, and/or unwanted horses to help people. But how would they do this?

Then that phone call came that would change both of their lives. The person whom Kristy sold Red to was on the other end of the line. Red's new owner wanted to give Red back to her. Kristy was filled with extreme joy that she could actually have Red back. She could actually have her teammate and her long lost best friend in her life again. Dan and Kristy could now fulfill God's plan and purpose with Red. This was absolutely incredible! We sure do serve an amazing God!

On March 31, 2006, Dan and Kristy traveled several hours to go pick up Red. When they arrived at the barn, they could not contain the excitement of getting Red back. When Kristy saw Red again, and Dan saw him for the first time in person, they could not believe their eyes. Red, the Red that Kristy knew and the Red that Dan knew through pictures, did not look like Red.  Red was now approximately 300-350 lbs. underweight! The previous owner had been paying for someone to care for Red, but they did not care for him properly. It now seemed as if Red was lost and that a peice of him had been gone all these years too. The animal that was once big, strong, powerful, and beautiful, was now weak, old, lost, and just living. Dan and Kristy were devastated, but at the same time felt truly blessed to have the chance to have him back.

This is when the vision of Desire Ministries, Inc. became a reality. How amazing it would be to use horses to help people, and not just any horses but Red too. How amazing it would be to use horses to help transform the lives of people whom are hurting, lost, hopeless and in need of love. How amazing it would be to see the transformation that would occur in both hurting horses and hurting people as they come together to heal and find love, strength, and hope through the power of Jesus Christ.

God brought Red back into Dan and Kristy's lives for a purpose, so they decided to rename him "Redemption", Red will always be a continual reminder of Jesus Christ being our redeemer and his redemption for us.