SUN VALLEY, Nev. (BP) – Larry Whitney spent much of his adult life getting cows to leave the herd. “Cutting,” as it is called, occurs for several reasons ranging from getting them to a veterinarian to preparing them for market.
“I did it for sport,” he said. “You need a good horse and spend hours on horseback. It requires a lot of practice, a lot of study. There needs to be trust between the rider and horse. They’re almost dancing partners.”
There is a comparison to be made between the work and Whitney’s role as pastor of First Baptist Sun Valley, even if not made by Whitney himself.
The title of a report at NevadaHumanities.org explains a lot. “A Brief History of the Biggest Little Trailer Park: Sun Valley, Nevada” records the beginning of a community in 1938 from the Small Tract Act adopted by the federal government. It gave easy access to five acres of land which led to a post-WWII boom of trailers that feature prominently to this day.
While there are stigmas associated with trailer park life, the report adds that residents exhibit a “brave western spirit” and value their “space, isolation and freedom.”
First Baptist has ministered in that area since the church’s founding in 1958. Whitney will celebrate his 21st anniversary there on Dec. 14.
“The church had 25 pastors before me,” he said. “It can be difficult to get people to talk when you visit door to door,” adding that many residents have pit bulls.
Retired for some time now, the 84-year-old worked for years in commercial refrigeration, opening his own business in the process. He put his experience growing up on a ranch to use by getting into horse training in 1995.
“I don’t walk that good from all the injuries over the years adding up,” said Whitney, who used bison instead of cows in training because it challenged the horses more. “But I had a knack for it.”
Patience, endurance and dedication were important to training horses. The same could be said for life as a pastor.
There are challenges to ministry in Sun Valley, but there are victories. This summer the church held its first Vacation Bible School in many years.
“Our goal was to get 20 kids signed up and we ended up with 40,” Whitney said. “It was very successful. We had a full meal for parents and kids on the last day. We’ll be adding a trunk-or-treat for the community for Halloween.”
The pastor and his church continue working to draw people out of the crowd to hear about Jesus. However, these days Whitney does it with a heavy heart.
He and his wife Sharon had been married for as long as First Baptist had been a church when she died two days before their 66th anniversary on July 30.
“She did everything,” he said. “Led music. Served as the organist and set the choir up. She led our Secret Sisters ministry where ladies in the church sent each other a card or treat every month for encouragement. They learned who their secret sister was at the end of the year.”
Whitney had to overcome a natural shyness to become a pastor. Similar issues would show up as a horse trainer in competitions when he fought nervousness.
Regarding both, he eventually arrived at a point that success is more closely tied to faithfulness than to how others may calculate results.
“I learned to persevere,” he said. “Anything you do that could involve getting hurt, you hand it over to God. Those competitions gave me the chance to witness to people you don’t typically see at church on Sundays.
“We just keep trying,” he said, “and stay faithful.”
