God's Great Outdoors

On this week's Trail To Adventure! Gerry’s with Craig Johnson in Laramie, Wyoming. Craig tells how reading a copy of Gerry's book "Hunting Blunders and The One That Got Away!" was a part of the chain of events that led him to Christ. Craig shares how despite his difficult years growing up, including teenage alcoholism, everything was great in his later years. But then, Craig started to question why he was alive or even here? This subject so troubled him that he was seriously considering suicide if he didn't get the answer, so he asked God to make Himself known to him the way He wants to be known. This led to a series of events that brought Craig to Christ and he became incredibly active in sharing the Gospel through outdoor outreach as he grew in Christ. A radio program that will help you to be sure!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’re exploring how two guys, David Hale who was a farmer, and Harold Knight a barber, who got together to design, develop, and market turkey calls. Gerry visits with these two legends in the outdoor world to discover that the only reason they started to sell their calls was because there weren’t many turkeys in Kentucky and they hoped to be able to make enough to buy a non-resident hunting license in Missouri. Giving one of these calls to an outdoor writer way back when there weren’t many turkeys to start with, created quite a stir. His article in an outdoor magazine drove in hundreds of phone calls to get one of their “turkey tubes” and it just went on from there. Both of these men give all the glory to God for what has happened in their lives and they continue to praise Him as the years roll by. The two are able to present their story at game dinners, telling of God’s blessing on them!

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.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is in Montgomery, Alabama as he dropped in for a visit with Ed Gannon. The two met through Russell Thornberry two decades ago, with Gerry getting to do a little deer hunting on Ed’s farm. At that time, Ed was just starting to see wild hogs occasionally on his property. Now twenty years later, it’s being overrun with these animals that are destroying everything and make farming close to impossible! Ed tells how he uses his farm to bless and minister to groups, fathers and sons or anyone God directs his way. He shares the increasable story of how a baby in Russia was saved because of a father’s visit to his place. Then Ed share on his work with “LIFE ON WHEELS” and the powerful impact this outreach ministry is having on mothers and babies around their area of Alabama for the Kingdom of God!

On this Trail To Adventure! interview, a visit to Dr. John Whitmore’s office at Cedarville University in Ohio, Gerry got to meet Dr. Steve Austin. As an undergrad geology student at Washington State, Dr. Austin was able to explore probably the most significant geological event in the 20th century, the eruption of Mt. Saint Helen’s. This was a turning point for him as he was able to watch and discover firsthand how this catastrophe affected the landscape, including a creation of a one-fortieth scale of the Grand Canyon, in only one day. During this time Dr. Austin switched from a Christian “old earth” geologist, to a “young earth” geologist, believing the biblical account of 6000 years of earth’s age. All from seeing layer upon layer of earth that was laid down by volcanic eruptions in minutes, not hundreds of thousands of years as he had been taught.

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!

This week’s Trail To Adventure! interview is with Dr. Danny Faulkner at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky as he shares about Answers in Genesis ministry’s Planetarium. This museum is a great way to evangelize those who come to visit with you as it’s an apologetic ministry focusing on the importance of the first book of the Bible. Danny is the resident astronomy expert and shares with Gerry and the listeners on the vastness of the Universe, giving an easily understood example to wrap one’s mind around. He also puts a wrench in the gears of those conspiracy believers who say we never went to the moon. Fact is that because of the Apollo Lunar Missions, we now know how far we are from the moon and that the distance is expanding. It is this information that allows us to do backward math calculations to realistically consider the age relationships between the earth and its moon.

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?

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.

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!