Aiden's Rest

✦ A Christian Retreat & Work-Center Ministry

Aiden's Rest

Retreat, Restoration Sanctuary & Work Center

A sanctuary that comforts, restores, shelters, and equips.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”Matthew 11:28 (KJV)
Give & Get Involved Our Story

14.82 acres · London, Laurel County, Kentucky

Julie holding her grandson, Aiden
Julie with Aiden

Our Story

This place bears Aiden's name

The vision for Aiden's Rest came when God called baby Aiden home.

His grandmother, Julie, is Todd's dearest friend. Out of that loss grew a vision: a quiet place in the Kentucky hills where grieving families, expectant mothers, and weary servants of God can come and rest.

The centerpiece lodge, The Aiden, is named in honor of the sanctuary's foundational vision, and the first cottage, The Julie, is its seed: the foundational heartbeat of Aiden's Rest.

Mission

A sanctuary that comforts, restores, shelters, and equips

Aiden's Rest is founded as an autonomous, mission-driven sanctuary and rural work center engineered to comfort the broken, restore weary laborers, provide compassionate waiting shelter, and equip individuals with practical, life-sustaining vocations.

Pillar 1

Rehabilitation for Broken Hearts

Fully funded bereavement respite for parents and families walking through catastrophic loss and infant bereavement.

Pillar 2

Waiting Center for Unwed Mothers

A peaceful, judgment-free residential refuge providing quiet prenatal care, dignity, emotional counseling, and life-skills coaching.

Pillar 3

Sabbatical Care for Weary Servants

Rest and renewal for pastors and missionaries, including missionaries home on furlough or returning from the field at retirement, with stays of up to six months.

Pillar 4

Working Educational Farm & Homesteading

Pastured chickens, high-tunnel organic heirloom vegetables, market field crops (broccoli, sweet potatoes), cut flowers, and an apiary — an active learning center for sustainable farming and food sovereignty.

Pillar 5 · Phase 4

Industrial Day Training Center

Practical vocational training in mechanical integration, electrical controls, motor maintenance, and fabrication — hard technical skills for long-term economic independence.

The Land

14.82 acres on a wooded Laurel County hillside

14.82acres · greenfield campus
LondonLaurel County, Kentucky
Barn & wellexisting barn / workshop and water well on the lower bench
8dedicated sanctuary cottages along winding trails

Tap the map to open it full size.

Illustrative trail map of the Aiden's Rest campus showing The Aiden lodge, the working farm, the existing barn and well, the eight named cottage trails, and the hilltop prayer overlook
Every path, by name. Crushed-stone and pine trails branch from The Aiden to each cottage and climb to the prayer overlook. Conceptual illustration, not a survey; final alignments follow survey and grading.

Ingress & Staging Hub

The existing barn / workshop on the lower bench is preserved as the staging depot and well pump hub.

Working Farm Zone

High tunnel, vegetable field crops, pastured chicken coop, and a 10-hive apiary.

Eight Sanctuary Trails

Cottages nestled in timber pockets along winding crushed-stone and pine trails.

Hilltop Prayer Overlook

An octagonal timber deck and gazebo crowning the highest ridge crest for evening meditation and prayer.

The Cottages

The Aiden, The Julie, and her seven sister cottages

Each cottage is dedicated to someone dear, and each sits at the end of its own named trail.

Architectural drawing of The Aiden, a two-story Southern farmhouse with double-decker wrap verandas

Main Lodge · Phase 1

The Aiden

Named in honor of the sanctuary's foundational vision.

The central gathering hall, with a communal dining table, a reception counseling parlor, director's quarters, and volunteer staging headquarters. A two-story Southern farmhouse (~2,600 sq ft) with expansive double-decker wrap verandas, dual brick fireplaces, a screened counseling sunroom, and rocking chairs overlooking the lower gardens.

Illustrative exterior of The Julie cottageJulie with Aiden

Cottage 1 · Phase 1

The Julie

〰 Cottage Path 1

Dedicated to Julie, Aiden's grandmother and Todd's dearest friend. The Seed Respite Cottage, the foundational heartbeat of Aiden's Rest.

Illustrative exterior of The Annie Clara cottageAnnie Clara

Cottage 2 · Phase 2

The Annie Clara

〰 Path of the Faithful

Dedicated to Todd's mother, a mother of five who faithfully served alongside her husband, Norris, in the gospel ministry for 56 years.

Illustrative exterior of The Renae cottageRenae

Cottage 3 · Phase 2

The Renae

〰 Path of Solace

Dedicated to Renae, a dear friend with a caring heart, touched most deeply when God took her babies home to heaven.

Illustrative exterior of The Tonya cottageTonya

Cottage 4 · Phase 2

The Tonya

〰 Trail of Grace

Dedicated to Tonya, a special friend of unwavering strength, joy, and deep resilience.

Illustrative exterior of The Susan cottageSusan

Cottage 5 · Phase 3

The Susan

〰 Generations Walk

Dedicated to Susan, Julie's mother, embodying generational grace, quiet dignity, and maternal hospitality.

Illustrative exterior of The Darla Gay cottageTodd and Darla Gay as children

Cottage 6 · Phase 3

The Darla Gay

〰 Meadow Walk

Dedicated to Darla Gay, Todd's beloved sister, the peas to his carrots. A sanctuary of peace, warmth, and hospitality in her memory.

Illustrative exterior of The Lucia Stamper cottageIn loving memory of Lucia

Cottage 7 · Phase 4

The Lucia Stamper

〰 Lookout Trail

Dedicated to Lucia Maria Stamper, a gracious friend who believed in the dignity of every human soul.

Illustrative exterior of The Momma Jane cottageMomma Jane

Cottage 8 · Phase 4

The Momma Jane

〰 Mother's Haven Trail

“With heartfelt counsel and love, she tried to guide me and care for me.”

Cottage exteriors are illustrative renderings from the master plan.

The Vision Ahead

Four phases, from the founding lodge to a full work center

The first goal

$110,000

The land: 14.82 acres in London, Kentucky, with its barn and well. Everything else is built on this ground.

Help secure the land

Phase 1

Active Sanctuary & The Aiden

$753,000

  • The land, with barn & well
  • Site work: drive, pads, utilities, septic, engineering & reserve
  • The working farm: high tunnel, crops, coop & apiary
  • The Aiden main lodge
  • The Julie cottage

Phase 2

First Sister Cottages

$276,000

  • The Annie Clara
  • The Renae
  • The Tonya

Phase 3

Restoration Amenities

$334,000

  • Heated therapeutic pool & pavilion
  • 4-stall stable & paddock
  • The Susan
  • The Darla Gay

Phase 4

Work Center

$309,000

  • Industrial Day Training Center
  • The Lucia Stamper
  • The Momma Jane

Total campus master build: $1,672,000

For Hospitals & Families

A place to send grieving families for rest

Aiden's Rest will offer retreat stays for grieving families. We welcome referrals from children's hospital bereavement, palliative care, and chaplaincy teams.

If you are a physician, nurse, chaplain, social worker, or member of a hospital staff and would like to walk alongside this ministry, we would be glad to hear from you.

Get in touch

Give & Get Involved

Help lay the first ground of rest

Online giving coming soon

Our online giving page is being set up. Thank you for your patience, and for your prayers in the meantime.

Give online · coming soon

Sponsor an Acre

The first goal is the land: $110,000 for 14.82 acres with barn and well. Our Sponsor-an-Acre campaign invites 22 gifts of $5,000 (or 55 gifts of $2,000) to secure it.

“Sponsor an Acre” is symbolic; sponsors do not own land.

Pray & walk with us

Would you pray for this work and walk alongside us, so that grieving families, expectant mothers, and weary missionaries may find a place to rest?

Contact us

Aiden's Rest, Inc. is a Kentucky nonprofit corporation. Our application for federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is in progress.

Leadership

Board & officers

  • Todd Dixon WardPresident / CEO
  • Tonya GonzalezTreasurer
  • Carl JohnsonSecretary
  • Keaton A. WardOperations Officer