Post by mrbeagler on Feb 19, 2009 12:53:34 GMT -5
Wrote by D Sullivan of BuckMasters BADF
Lots of Truth here...
Hunters Minister Mercy and Joy
Jim Croft
Americans are privileged to live in a culture founded on Judeo-Christian values. The God who authored the principles upon which our society was built is distinctive in that He has innumerable methods through which He chooses to demonstrate His mercies. Interestingly, His loving benevolence is not necessarily restricted to flow solely from the single fountain of avid churchgoers. To the contrary, He has mercy activists in corners where those more vocal about spirituality might think it least likely to find such.
I recently discovered a remarkable mercy fountainhead among sportsmen that enjoy hunting wild game. Each year they support a “Life Hunt” for youngsters who long to hunt, but are encumbered by life-shortening diseases and severe physical disabilities. The event is one of Buckmasters American Deer Foundation Disabled Services’ yearly programs for critically ill and disabled hunters. This past season, Buckmasters and its corporate and individual sponsors blessed 50 children with the joys of having their dreams fulfilled by participating in a Life Hunt.
Hope to the Rescue
Some might wonder how hunting could possibly benefit disabled and terminally ill children. It is all about hope. That is a priceless commodity that is in short supply for many of these little souls who know they are facing death’s door. All too many spend the majority of their days undergoing tedious medical procedures and recovering from surgeries. New mornings greet them with another round of chemo treatments, tests that are often painful and other types of taxing therapies. The extent to which their minds, emotions and physical frames are sapped by each day’s requirement for bravery is incalculable. Without the joy of having something wonderfully unique to anticipate, most could easily opt to listlessly await the inevitable. That is where Life Hunts have proved so beneficial.
The Lord created the hypothalamus gland as the body’s control center for sending forth secretions enabling the body to better heal its self and to produce sensations of well-being. The gland is stimulated by positive affirmations and the presence of exhilarating hopes about future events. Some kids simply are not tweaked to generate keen anticipations about the customary children’s attractions, like a trip to Disney World. They want to do something out of the ordinary. They voice desires to get into the woods and fields for first-hand experiences in wild game hunting. When such youngsters learn they have been sponsored for a Life Hunt the rejuvenating power of hope begins to enliven their bodies and minds.
Testimonial letters from parents, healthcare professionals and the kids have been gratifying. Rose Wich’s 9-year-old son, Timmy was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer of the ribs. Upon learning he had been approved for an excursion with Buckmasters, he excitedly told every physician, nurse and family member he encountered about it. The guides assisting him on the hunt fought back tears as he whooped for joy after downing his first buck on a freezing cold, 11 degree Wisconsin morning. His mother conveyed that though the disease finally took his life the hunt was a treasured point of relief for him. His focus was switched to something beyond the traumatic pains of his malady. It inspired him with genuine deposits of joyful hope that enabled him to temporarily function more like a normal healthy kid. There are instances where the hopes derived from participation in a Life Hunt have been cited as contributing factors to children coming to full recovery.
Mercy’s Costs
My 9 and 11-year-old grandsons and I were invited to hunt deer at one of the sites donated by its owners for Life Hunt use. It is Sedgefields Plantation, a 12,000 acre plus hunting preserve located in SW Alabama. The property is owned by the Hinton family of Tuscaloosa AL. and is operated by James Lucien Hinton and his business partner Robert Almor. They have a number of thriving business interests. The primary function of Sedgefields is training field trial bird dogs. It has produced more champions than any other center of its type. In addition, the plantation’s teeming deer population draws sportsmen from around the globe. Normally speaking, their customers are healthy enough to fend for themselves once directed to their hunting stands for each outing. Not so, for the elite hunters who come for Sedgefields yearly 3-day Life Hunts.
For nearly 20-years, Sedgefields owners have donated the use of their facilities and the services of their entire staff free of charge to Buckmasters. Everyone from Sedgefields management team on through to the cooks and guides do everything possible to insure each child a safe, comfortable and memorable hunt. The extents of dedication for showing mercy their preparations command would be hard for non-hunters to envision. A healthy hunter needs about an hour to get dressed, fed and delivered to his hunting stand’s location. It’s quite different for special needs kids.
Some require awakening 2 hours early to get dressed and to receive medication dosages. Many have cumbersomely heavy wheelchairs that must be transported to and positioned in the proper way at shooting locations. Still others with unusual crippling diseases need special apparatuses to enable them to hold hunting rifles correctly. For all concerned Emergency Medical Units must be on hand to meet any critical situations. Without question, performing everything necessary in a pleasant efficient manner requires massive endowments of commitments to mercy.
Mercy’s Rewards
This season a young fellow was brought to Sedgefields that is waiting for a heart transplant. He has only one functional lung and his right arm hangs limp from a stroke. The night prior to his first outing, Robert Almon took the lad aside for an hour of insights about marksmanship savvy. “Hold steady, take a deep breath and squeeze the trigger.” His kindness paid-off in spades. The young fellow was jubilant when he shot a big buck at 125 yards with the scoped .243 rifle. Even an avowed atheist witnessing his accomplishment would be compelled to break forth in holy laughter and to admit the feat was indeed miraculous.
One young hunter had a form of brittle bones disease. Throughout his life he had broken bones during activities that for most would be routine. When he downed a deer, everyone gasped in dismay as he leapt into the field and ran to claim his prey. I, for one, would have sobbed at the sight of him jumping up and down while gleefully shouting, “That’s what I’m talking about!”.
Last year a teen with some sort of wasting ailment made the hunt. He missed his shots on every try for three consecutive days. He finally asked his guide to shoot a buck for him so he could have his photo taken with it. I saw his gleaming smile in the photo hanging on Sedgefields main lodge wall. The young man died several months later. His parents reported that one of his final requests was to tell Jimmy Hinton and Robert Almor that he loved them. Demonstrations of mercy reap priceless memories for the benefactors as well as the recipients.
God the Conservationist
Understandably, there are many sincere people whose comfort zones don’t include hunting. Some of them are a little over sensitive and fail to see how encouraging sick children to hunt could remotely be considered godly. I would like to offer the following scriptural insights endorsing the legitimacy of hunting.
When the Lord gave the Israelites the Promised Land, He gave them instructions indicative of intimate concern for soil and wildlife conservation. Farmers were not permitted to plant in the entirety of their fields. They were to leave field edges untilled. The practice gave animals and birds ample room for cover and nesting. Harvesters were not at liberty to make second passes to strip remaining crops of their fruit. Fruit could not be picked until a tree was at least 5-years-old and every 7th year all fields were to be left untilled. These injunctions were specifically given to allow the land to rest and to provide food for the poor and for the wildlife that lived in the vicinity. In addition, those who came upon nesting birds were free to take some of the eggs and even chicks for food. However they were forbidden to take a mother bird as that would leave her offspring without care. (Ex 23:11, Lev 19:9, 23, Deut 22:6)
The wild animals Noah brought into the ark were divinely calmed temporarily to file in and for their time onboard. After the flood subsided and the animals were turned loose, the Lord said they would resume their fear of man and flee from him. In the same passage the Lord liberated mankind to freely take all forms of wildlife for food. The only way to harvest man wary fleeing game is to hunt for it, chase it down and kill it. Interestingly, one of the first men of the Bible to have his vocation cited was Nimrod. He was called a mighty hunter in the sight of the Lord. The Word of God speaks of fowlers specializing in harvesting game birds with snares. It should also be noted that Isaac, one of Israel’s great patriarchs loved venison. He would often ask his hunter son, Esau to go and fetch some for him from the wilds. King David was a man after God’s own heart. After Saul and Jonathan’s deaths in battle, he instituted the policy that all Jewish children were to be taught how to use a bow. (Gen 9:1-3, 10:9, 25:27-28, Deut 12:21-22, Psa 91:3, Prov 6:5, 2 Sam 1:18 KJV)
Some complain trophy hunting encourages the wanton waste of the meat. Such is rarely the case with deer hunters and never so of the Buckmasters programs. Wittingly or unwittingly, they fall into direct compliance with the will of God. The Bible admonishes that only a lazy hunter would fail to roast and to eat the game he takes; the righteous treasure what they have taken. (Prov 12:27) So it is with Buckmasters. The kills are butchered and packed on ice for shipping for any of the sick and disabled kids that want to take the venison home for their families and friends to enjoy. The balance of the meat is given to needy families in the poverty stricken areas of Dallas and Wilcox counties.
God Things
One of the purposes of this article has been to help you recognize the magnimity of God through the various ways He inspires people to be instruments of His mercies. He uses Bible carrying churched people. He also nudges the consciences of those who are not overtly occupied with spiritual matters. Such can be found fervently engaged in acts of compassion at various venues throughout our nation. More often than not, they unknowingly flow with His biddings having no clue they are doing so. They are simply devoting their time, energies and resources to projects deemed helpful for the disadvantaged. Many others take note of what a person of faith initiates and want to get onboard because Someone subtly whispered, “It’s the right thing to do.” A perfect example of this is the story of how Buckmasters got started with its Disabled Services program for critically ill children.
David Sullivan is a vibrant Christian who loves hunting. Losing his leg in a motorcycle accident did not dampen his enthusiasm. The problem was he found it difficult to find hunting areas that had the capacity to accommodate special needs hunters. Having a heart for those of similar plight to his own, he founded the Alabama Handicapped Sportsmen’s Association. The movement gained momentum. State owned hunting grounds became more handicapped friendly and private land owners like those of Sedgefields began to donate the use of their properties and staffs. Then David learned the Make a Wish Foundation turned down kids who wished to go hunting. His response was to initiate a special program for kids. Buckmasters got wind of it and published articles about it in their Whitetail Magazine and featured his Life Hunts on their Outdoor Channel TV program. Those televised events drew more favorable comments than any of their other broadcasts. Obviously, this reflects significant elements of inspiration working in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Americans causing them to recognize and to appreciate mercy. The end result was Buckmasters adopted the Life Hunt program and appointed David to head it up nationally. Mercy begets mercy.
David keeps a journal about the Life Hunts. He records incidents he considers “God Things”. A child will send in a hunt application that arrives too late. Just as David is agonizing about having to turn the application down, a vacancy will open or some sponsor will step forward with additional funds. The Lord is on the job doing His God Things.
Perhaps you would like to participate in a God Thing. You can do so in two ways. First, spread the word about the program and send Buckmasters the names of any sick and disabled youngsters that might want to be included. Secondly, your help with sponsoring a child for a Life Hunt would be greatly appreciated. It runs Buckmasters around $2,500 for each novice hunter. They cover travel, lodging, meals, any license fees and taxidermy. It is not uncommon for them to handle the expenses for a hunter’s entire family to accompany him/her. God’s basic requirement for all is to love mercy and to walk in it. (Micah 6:8) Follow your inner nudging. Few things in life can reap the same satisfactions as mercy sown in God Things.
David Sullivan’s email: dsullivan@buckmasters.com
Sponsorship link: www.badf.org/Articles/tabid/126/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/BADFs-Life-Hunts.aspx
Lots of Truth here...
Hunters Minister Mercy and Joy
Jim Croft
Americans are privileged to live in a culture founded on Judeo-Christian values. The God who authored the principles upon which our society was built is distinctive in that He has innumerable methods through which He chooses to demonstrate His mercies. Interestingly, His loving benevolence is not necessarily restricted to flow solely from the single fountain of avid churchgoers. To the contrary, He has mercy activists in corners where those more vocal about spirituality might think it least likely to find such.
I recently discovered a remarkable mercy fountainhead among sportsmen that enjoy hunting wild game. Each year they support a “Life Hunt” for youngsters who long to hunt, but are encumbered by life-shortening diseases and severe physical disabilities. The event is one of Buckmasters American Deer Foundation Disabled Services’ yearly programs for critically ill and disabled hunters. This past season, Buckmasters and its corporate and individual sponsors blessed 50 children with the joys of having their dreams fulfilled by participating in a Life Hunt.
Hope to the Rescue
Some might wonder how hunting could possibly benefit disabled and terminally ill children. It is all about hope. That is a priceless commodity that is in short supply for many of these little souls who know they are facing death’s door. All too many spend the majority of their days undergoing tedious medical procedures and recovering from surgeries. New mornings greet them with another round of chemo treatments, tests that are often painful and other types of taxing therapies. The extent to which their minds, emotions and physical frames are sapped by each day’s requirement for bravery is incalculable. Without the joy of having something wonderfully unique to anticipate, most could easily opt to listlessly await the inevitable. That is where Life Hunts have proved so beneficial.
The Lord created the hypothalamus gland as the body’s control center for sending forth secretions enabling the body to better heal its self and to produce sensations of well-being. The gland is stimulated by positive affirmations and the presence of exhilarating hopes about future events. Some kids simply are not tweaked to generate keen anticipations about the customary children’s attractions, like a trip to Disney World. They want to do something out of the ordinary. They voice desires to get into the woods and fields for first-hand experiences in wild game hunting. When such youngsters learn they have been sponsored for a Life Hunt the rejuvenating power of hope begins to enliven their bodies and minds.
Testimonial letters from parents, healthcare professionals and the kids have been gratifying. Rose Wich’s 9-year-old son, Timmy was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer of the ribs. Upon learning he had been approved for an excursion with Buckmasters, he excitedly told every physician, nurse and family member he encountered about it. The guides assisting him on the hunt fought back tears as he whooped for joy after downing his first buck on a freezing cold, 11 degree Wisconsin morning. His mother conveyed that though the disease finally took his life the hunt was a treasured point of relief for him. His focus was switched to something beyond the traumatic pains of his malady. It inspired him with genuine deposits of joyful hope that enabled him to temporarily function more like a normal healthy kid. There are instances where the hopes derived from participation in a Life Hunt have been cited as contributing factors to children coming to full recovery.
Mercy’s Costs
My 9 and 11-year-old grandsons and I were invited to hunt deer at one of the sites donated by its owners for Life Hunt use. It is Sedgefields Plantation, a 12,000 acre plus hunting preserve located in SW Alabama. The property is owned by the Hinton family of Tuscaloosa AL. and is operated by James Lucien Hinton and his business partner Robert Almor. They have a number of thriving business interests. The primary function of Sedgefields is training field trial bird dogs. It has produced more champions than any other center of its type. In addition, the plantation’s teeming deer population draws sportsmen from around the globe. Normally speaking, their customers are healthy enough to fend for themselves once directed to their hunting stands for each outing. Not so, for the elite hunters who come for Sedgefields yearly 3-day Life Hunts.
For nearly 20-years, Sedgefields owners have donated the use of their facilities and the services of their entire staff free of charge to Buckmasters. Everyone from Sedgefields management team on through to the cooks and guides do everything possible to insure each child a safe, comfortable and memorable hunt. The extents of dedication for showing mercy their preparations command would be hard for non-hunters to envision. A healthy hunter needs about an hour to get dressed, fed and delivered to his hunting stand’s location. It’s quite different for special needs kids.
Some require awakening 2 hours early to get dressed and to receive medication dosages. Many have cumbersomely heavy wheelchairs that must be transported to and positioned in the proper way at shooting locations. Still others with unusual crippling diseases need special apparatuses to enable them to hold hunting rifles correctly. For all concerned Emergency Medical Units must be on hand to meet any critical situations. Without question, performing everything necessary in a pleasant efficient manner requires massive endowments of commitments to mercy.
Mercy’s Rewards
This season a young fellow was brought to Sedgefields that is waiting for a heart transplant. He has only one functional lung and his right arm hangs limp from a stroke. The night prior to his first outing, Robert Almon took the lad aside for an hour of insights about marksmanship savvy. “Hold steady, take a deep breath and squeeze the trigger.” His kindness paid-off in spades. The young fellow was jubilant when he shot a big buck at 125 yards with the scoped .243 rifle. Even an avowed atheist witnessing his accomplishment would be compelled to break forth in holy laughter and to admit the feat was indeed miraculous.
One young hunter had a form of brittle bones disease. Throughout his life he had broken bones during activities that for most would be routine. When he downed a deer, everyone gasped in dismay as he leapt into the field and ran to claim his prey. I, for one, would have sobbed at the sight of him jumping up and down while gleefully shouting, “That’s what I’m talking about!”.
Last year a teen with some sort of wasting ailment made the hunt. He missed his shots on every try for three consecutive days. He finally asked his guide to shoot a buck for him so he could have his photo taken with it. I saw his gleaming smile in the photo hanging on Sedgefields main lodge wall. The young man died several months later. His parents reported that one of his final requests was to tell Jimmy Hinton and Robert Almor that he loved them. Demonstrations of mercy reap priceless memories for the benefactors as well as the recipients.
God the Conservationist
Understandably, there are many sincere people whose comfort zones don’t include hunting. Some of them are a little over sensitive and fail to see how encouraging sick children to hunt could remotely be considered godly. I would like to offer the following scriptural insights endorsing the legitimacy of hunting.
When the Lord gave the Israelites the Promised Land, He gave them instructions indicative of intimate concern for soil and wildlife conservation. Farmers were not permitted to plant in the entirety of their fields. They were to leave field edges untilled. The practice gave animals and birds ample room for cover and nesting. Harvesters were not at liberty to make second passes to strip remaining crops of their fruit. Fruit could not be picked until a tree was at least 5-years-old and every 7th year all fields were to be left untilled. These injunctions were specifically given to allow the land to rest and to provide food for the poor and for the wildlife that lived in the vicinity. In addition, those who came upon nesting birds were free to take some of the eggs and even chicks for food. However they were forbidden to take a mother bird as that would leave her offspring without care. (Ex 23:11, Lev 19:9, 23, Deut 22:6)
The wild animals Noah brought into the ark were divinely calmed temporarily to file in and for their time onboard. After the flood subsided and the animals were turned loose, the Lord said they would resume their fear of man and flee from him. In the same passage the Lord liberated mankind to freely take all forms of wildlife for food. The only way to harvest man wary fleeing game is to hunt for it, chase it down and kill it. Interestingly, one of the first men of the Bible to have his vocation cited was Nimrod. He was called a mighty hunter in the sight of the Lord. The Word of God speaks of fowlers specializing in harvesting game birds with snares. It should also be noted that Isaac, one of Israel’s great patriarchs loved venison. He would often ask his hunter son, Esau to go and fetch some for him from the wilds. King David was a man after God’s own heart. After Saul and Jonathan’s deaths in battle, he instituted the policy that all Jewish children were to be taught how to use a bow. (Gen 9:1-3, 10:9, 25:27-28, Deut 12:21-22, Psa 91:3, Prov 6:5, 2 Sam 1:18 KJV)
Some complain trophy hunting encourages the wanton waste of the meat. Such is rarely the case with deer hunters and never so of the Buckmasters programs. Wittingly or unwittingly, they fall into direct compliance with the will of God. The Bible admonishes that only a lazy hunter would fail to roast and to eat the game he takes; the righteous treasure what they have taken. (Prov 12:27) So it is with Buckmasters. The kills are butchered and packed on ice for shipping for any of the sick and disabled kids that want to take the venison home for their families and friends to enjoy. The balance of the meat is given to needy families in the poverty stricken areas of Dallas and Wilcox counties.
God Things
One of the purposes of this article has been to help you recognize the magnimity of God through the various ways He inspires people to be instruments of His mercies. He uses Bible carrying churched people. He also nudges the consciences of those who are not overtly occupied with spiritual matters. Such can be found fervently engaged in acts of compassion at various venues throughout our nation. More often than not, they unknowingly flow with His biddings having no clue they are doing so. They are simply devoting their time, energies and resources to projects deemed helpful for the disadvantaged. Many others take note of what a person of faith initiates and want to get onboard because Someone subtly whispered, “It’s the right thing to do.” A perfect example of this is the story of how Buckmasters got started with its Disabled Services program for critically ill children.
David Sullivan is a vibrant Christian who loves hunting. Losing his leg in a motorcycle accident did not dampen his enthusiasm. The problem was he found it difficult to find hunting areas that had the capacity to accommodate special needs hunters. Having a heart for those of similar plight to his own, he founded the Alabama Handicapped Sportsmen’s Association. The movement gained momentum. State owned hunting grounds became more handicapped friendly and private land owners like those of Sedgefields began to donate the use of their properties and staffs. Then David learned the Make a Wish Foundation turned down kids who wished to go hunting. His response was to initiate a special program for kids. Buckmasters got wind of it and published articles about it in their Whitetail Magazine and featured his Life Hunts on their Outdoor Channel TV program. Those televised events drew more favorable comments than any of their other broadcasts. Obviously, this reflects significant elements of inspiration working in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Americans causing them to recognize and to appreciate mercy. The end result was Buckmasters adopted the Life Hunt program and appointed David to head it up nationally. Mercy begets mercy.
David keeps a journal about the Life Hunts. He records incidents he considers “God Things”. A child will send in a hunt application that arrives too late. Just as David is agonizing about having to turn the application down, a vacancy will open or some sponsor will step forward with additional funds. The Lord is on the job doing His God Things.
Perhaps you would like to participate in a God Thing. You can do so in two ways. First, spread the word about the program and send Buckmasters the names of any sick and disabled youngsters that might want to be included. Secondly, your help with sponsoring a child for a Life Hunt would be greatly appreciated. It runs Buckmasters around $2,500 for each novice hunter. They cover travel, lodging, meals, any license fees and taxidermy. It is not uncommon for them to handle the expenses for a hunter’s entire family to accompany him/her. God’s basic requirement for all is to love mercy and to walk in it. (Micah 6:8) Follow your inner nudging. Few things in life can reap the same satisfactions as mercy sown in God Things.
David Sullivan’s email: dsullivan@buckmasters.com
Sponsorship link: www.badf.org/Articles/tabid/126/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/BADFs-Life-Hunts.aspx
