I am still overwhelmed with the moving process. A gal at church said "I think the cross town moves are the hardest...." I kind of thought, "nah...piece of cake, it'll all happen..." I'm here to tell you, cross town moves are definitely the hardest! Packing, moving, unpacking while packing, cleaning two houses at once... yep, cross town moves are bad!! Add into all the 'moving' things, regular life... work, church activities, etc... and it makes for one LOOOONNNNGGGG month!
The house is coming along, but not quite ready for pictures yet, so thought I'd share what I can about the guys recent activities...
The one thing we understood almost immediately upon arriving here is that 'fools don't survive Alaska!' So, although we have enjoyed Alaska in many ways some things are just to crazy to do alone, without someone who's 'been there, done that' before. So, the guys have heard the stories and 'watched' Alaska life from a distance on many occasions, but not this time! Back in January or February (long before we knew we'd be moving around Memorial Day weekend!) Rian and Rick were approached by a young man at church who's ministry, Proving Trail Adventures, is geared to teaching young men, usually with absent fathers, about hunting. This year they decided to do a father/son thing, and 'did they (Rick and Rian) want to participate?' Can we say Duh???, that was a 'no brainer' and it took Rian all of 2 seconds to decide, Rick was a bit more concerned as he'd been hiking with these guys before, but within a few minutes it was a 'done deal' and they were going bear hunting, and yes, Gerad could tag along too... Wow.. an adventure that most only dream about!
Needless to say, I was a bit more nervous about my first bear hunt... (i.e. what if the bears are on a human hunt..??..) but have to tell you, Scott knows his stuff, and runs an amazing program... this was not a "me man... go kill... eat..." type thing, but truly a ministry "about investing in teens that have never experienced a big game hunt and doing it in a way that emphasizes that God is there walking with us." They started right off with the hunter safety course, met several times with Scott to learn about proper gear, food, water, etc... and proper training and diet to prepare for that. Rian (and Rick) began working out and eating right ...well better anyway... They spent several afternoons at the rifle range learning how to correctly/safely handle their guns. Start to finish, an amazing well run program. I do have to admit that I was still a bit nervous, but seeing the preparation behind the program, I felt much more at ease watching them head out on their 4-5 day adventure.
Well, that's where my 'direct' knowledge ends... and all I have to go on is the stories and pictures... Scott's ministry report described it like this:
The house is coming along, but not quite ready for pictures yet, so thought I'd share what I can about the guys recent activities...
The one thing we understood almost immediately upon arriving here is that 'fools don't survive Alaska!' So, although we have enjoyed Alaska in many ways some things are just to crazy to do alone, without someone who's 'been there, done that' before. So, the guys have heard the stories and 'watched' Alaska life from a distance on many occasions, but not this time! Back in January or February (long before we knew we'd be moving around Memorial Day weekend!) Rian and Rick were approached by a young man at church who's ministry, Proving Trail Adventures, is geared to teaching young men, usually with absent fathers, about hunting. This year they decided to do a father/son thing, and 'did they (Rick and Rian) want to participate?' Can we say Duh???, that was a 'no brainer' and it took Rian all of 2 seconds to decide, Rick was a bit more concerned as he'd been hiking with these guys before, but within a few minutes it was a 'done deal' and they were going bear hunting, and yes, Gerad could tag along too... Wow.. an adventure that most only dream about!
Needless to say, I was a bit more nervous about my first bear hunt... (i.e. what if the bears are on a human hunt..??..) but have to tell you, Scott knows his stuff, and runs an amazing program... this was not a "me man... go kill... eat..." type thing, but truly a ministry "about investing in teens that have never experienced a big game hunt and doing it in a way that emphasizes that God is there walking with us." They started right off with the hunter safety course, met several times with Scott to learn about proper gear, food, water, etc... and proper training and diet to prepare for that. Rian (and Rick) began working out and eating right ...well better anyway... They spent several afternoons at the rifle range learning how to correctly/safely handle their guns. Start to finish, an amazing well run program. I do have to admit that I was still a bit nervous, but seeing the preparation behind the program, I felt much more at ease watching them head out on their 4-5 day adventure.
Well, that's where my 'direct' knowledge ends... and all I have to go on is the stories and pictures... Scott's ministry report described it like this:
We headed out for a long Memorial Day weekend and a mile short of getting to our
main camp; we were able to get Tanner [the other young man] on a really nice
bear. At 230yrds, with the bear posing for us on a big boulder, Tanner made the
shot and was able to harvest his first big game animal. What made it better was
Tanner was using his new 30-06 rifle that he’d won in a VFW auction. Tanner had
a heavy loaded pack for the long hike out and a big smile on his face the entire
way out showed us all how the good things really can outweigh the difficult.
Rian was up next and hunting hard all day Saturday we completely
wore him out making several good stalks that just didn’t finish well. With
four (barefoot) river crossings, [he said this was the most painful thing he'd ever experienced] climbing up one side of the valley and then the other, he was so wiped out when we got back at 9:45pm that he didn’t have it in him to go after one more bear 700yrds above camp. Hiking out the next day we made another river crossing for one last stalk; again we came up short with the bear giving us the slip when we finally got within range. We didn’t get Rian a bear but it was determined that he was the winner of the “Man Award.” Never complaining he kept right at it and worked hard for all those chances. Good job Rian.
There were many memories made during all of this and all of them
are ready to continue doing these types of trips on their own in the
future. There are so many moments out there that you just can’t teach
anywhere else – they simply have to be experienced. Both Rian and Tanner
will remember this hunt for many years to come; it was a flat out good
time.Thanks again to all for your prayers and those who helped
support these guys on this trip. Look for more updates next year as I
continue with this as one way to share my love for God and the outdoors with
others.
--Scott
Rick said that as they were loading up to go home the question was asked "What did you learn from this experience?" Rian's answer was that he learned that he could do way more than he ever thought he could do! We've been telling you that for years... guess some thing really do have to be experienced! Way to go Rian! We're so proud of you!
Do you think that confidence will carry over to his Algebra next fall? That would not only be amazing, but miraculous!
Thanks to Gerad and Scott for some great pictures! I'll add some of the other ones to the slide show at the bottom of the page!
1 comment:
i agree....cross town moves are the hardest.
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