God's Great Outdoors

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’ll discover how you can have your family and area kids hooked for life. That’s hooked, with their own personal relationship with the Creator God, Jesus Christ. Gerry’s guest is Trevor Ruble, the President and Founder of a ministry to children and families molded on teaching them how to fish called "Hooked for Life." This is an interest or activity based outdoor outreach and evangelistic fishing themed program that is being adopted by many churches across North America. Trevor shares how he had struggled as a kid without a dad and how fishing was his escape from that loss. As an adult the ministry idea was something God laid on his heart, as a way to help kids to learn to fish and also could be used to help youth come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! treestand safety is the topic as Jay Everett from Hunter Safety Systems is this week’s guest. Gerry and Jay spend part of this interview talking treestand safety to help the listeners understand the importance of the topic and seriously consider their need to wear safety harnesses while hunting from an elevated platform. Statistics show that one out of three people that hunt out of a treestand will have an accident at some time in their life, with a number of these incidents being fatal. Jay relates facts on the safety harness and how their research reveals that most falls take place going up, getting into, coming out of and then descending to the earth. The goal of this program is to be sure that none of the listeners will become a part of the tragic statistic, on the negative side.

This week’s Trail To Adventure! interview is with Pastor Dan Williams from Manitoba, Canada as he visits with Gerry at Rushing Wind Retreat Center in Ontario, Canada. A remote location to the point, those who attend are brought in by float plane. A fishing trip many folks dream of, and so opens the door for bringing along unsaved friends and relatives who need Jesus. Dan tells the story of his desire to catch a big lake trout and despite the bad weather conditions decided to go way up the lake and try for one. On heading back, the storm had really blown in and the wind wouldn’t allow the boat through a narrow, shallow area. Dan tried gunning the motor and broke the shear pin, which was only the beginning of the adventure!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’ll discover how freelance writer, Tracy Breen, got started in outdoor writing. Visiting Tracy at his home in Michigan, he shares how he and his wife juggle his work at writing with his families need, as he plays “Mr. Mom”, watching the kids at home while he compiles his articles. Tracy also relates how he has trained a dog to hunt turkeys, which is legal in some states adding a fun way to hunt in the fall. He also describes how he accidentally shot himself one spring on one of his many turkey hunting adventures. This blunder with his shotgun could have cost him his life. He gives the Lord the credit for who he is and how Jesus has given him all he has, including the writing skills that are helping him fulfill his dream of being an outdoor writer.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Keith Jennings is the guest on this week’s interview as he and Gerry were together Birmingham, Alabama to do a God’s Great Outdoor’s The Trail to Adventure! Conference. Keith shares how he got started in archery long before there were compound bows and how he hand-crafted arrows in high school, starting a mail order business that led him to into a career in archery. He tells the journey in the industry and the many experiences he’s had from the businesses he’s worked for. One he’s worked with was Mathews Bows and helped this business as they sponsor over 100 ministries, mission fields around the world. Keith also tells about his book Bows and Arrows of the Bible and looks at archery terms in God’s Word. This is an great Bible study book for groups or personal use.

The topic on this week’s Trail To Adventure! is on Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Gerry visits with Billy (Catfish) Parker and his wife Laura at the C’Meer Deer booth during the annual Archery Trade Assn. Show that was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in February of 2015. Both of these outdoor recreationalists share stories of the adventures and the battle that is encountered by a tiny insect at least eight months of the year. Ticks! Laura has been infected with both Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but early detection helped in her treatment being a quick ordeal. Billy however, went a number of years before his Lyme Disease was discovered causing extended and daily treatments that lasted many months. Their hope is as they tell this story; is it will help keep others from having to go through the same mess they experienced!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry joins up with Joni Eareckson Tada in Xenia, Ohio as the two relive the memory of Joni’s close encounter with a large black bear on a camping trip. Marshmallows as it turns out was all the bear was after at this hair raising encounter. Also discussed is how Ken, Joni’s husband, is using fishing as a way of reaching out to men who need Jesus, or need their relationship with the Creator God brought to a deeper level. Additionally, Joni tells about the special summer camps they have across the nation for physically and mentally disabled young people and adults. Her call is for men who might be willing to come along side these people and be volunteers at these summer events. Since the day years ago when a diving accident while swimming put Joni Eareckson Tada in a wheelchair, God has used her to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is an inspiration to all of us to do the same!can’t mention Jesus, no Ten Commandments or guns in schools and there are school shootings. Why?

This week’s Trail To Adventure! the interview is with Dan Ryks, a charter boat captain on the Mississippi River, in Minnesota. Dan tells the story of how he came to Christ in prison. He went in an angry man who was always fighting and came out totally opposite of how he went in. Gerry and Dan talk about how Dan, born in 1965, used to, along with about 12 other boys, carry their shotguns to school to shoot ducks on the way. These young men all left their guns in the principal’s office, took them out at lunch to hunt ducks, then again as they traveled home. The point Gerry reflects on is how they were allowed guns in school, had The Ten Commandments, and there were no school shootings back then. Today – can’t mention Jesus, no Ten Commandments or guns in schools and there are school shootings. Why?

Now this week’s Trail To Adventure! radio program has us at one of the Trail To Adventure! conferences that GGO conducts across the USA. The location is Stanley, Wisconsin at Maple Grove Bible Church. The guest Chris Smith was one of the speakers from the conference’s lineup of pro’s and ministry leaders who joined Gerry. Chris is from Victory Deer Recovery (www.facebook.com/VictoryDeerRecovery) and he shares how he and his wife Meghan founded the ministry. It started with their love of training dogs as the two went to a seminar on using dogs to hunt and find the shed antlers of deer. The methods of teaching canines to use their noses even in snow covered country sounded simple enough. From there they moved to using their pets to helping others find deer lost while hunting. This lets them build relationships and share Jesus Christ too!

On this week's Trail To Adventure! Gerry’s interview is with Dennis and Peggy Robinson who relate an experience that happened when they were dairy farmers in Wisconsin. Dennis placed himself before God and everything in his life was about him and what he wanted in life. His wife Peggy had turned him over to the Lord and said, "You need to deal with him, Lord, he is yours." Two days later Dennis was pulled half way through a hay wagon mechanical apparatus and was not expected to live from the massive injuries he received. Yet, God had a plan, and it included transforming a man to be what God wanted him to be. Clearly this is an interview we can all benefit from and a direction to move to also!