Our History

In January 2006 Dan and Kristy Alvarez, 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 important to her. She gained a strong desire to help people- people that had a need, especially children and youth..

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 she desired to have a purpose in life- helping horses and helping people in the same venue. But there was still something missing in her life...Red.

Dan and Kristy both knew that they had a special plan and purpose to fulfill. They decided that they wanted to start an organization 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 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 their plan and purpose with Red. This was absolutely incredible!

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. But 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 extremely 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 piece 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.

 As I was preparing him to leave, I felt horrible that he was now in the condition he was in. I wanted to get him out of there as soon as possible and get him home where he belonged.

We loaded Red into the trailer and off we went. I completely broke down as we took off and various emotions poured over me. Did Red even know it was me after all these years?

We stopped at a gas station to fill up before the long ride home, and I got out of the truck to check on my boy. I opened the side of the trailer where Red was chomping on hay. I began to talk to him like I used to and told him that it was me, but he seemed lost. He
didn’t remember me. So I decided to whistle this special whistle I used to use to call him when he was out in the pasture and to let him know I was there. As soon as I whistled, he perked up, held his head high and proud, shot his ears forward and began to nicker.
His eyes began to have a shimmer of hope back in them again. I wrapped my arms around him and began to cry... “I am here boy; I will always be here”!

This is when the vision of Desire Ministries, Inc. became a reality. It would be so amazing to use horses to help people. It would be so exciting to see how horses can help transform the lives of people whom are hurting, lost, and hopeless. How incredible it would be to see the transformation that would occur in both hurting horses and hurting people as they come together to find hope, strength, and healing in their lives.

Red came into Dan and Kristy's lives for a reason, so that they could help horses and horses could help people. They decided to rename him "Redemption" because we saved him, but he in return saved us.