Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12 NIV

All the Way to Palm Bay!

By Kevin Bonnar

I had driven the Kicking Bear bus 1,505 miles on a mission to get to Victory in Christ Jesus Miistries Church in Palm Bay, Florida, but just two miles away I had to pull over.  A sensor in the bus had started acting up and despite my constant prayer and nursing and even rocking back and forth to get it to go faster….it was done, pressing the pedal to the floor with all I got, I was topping out at 20 mph and the cars behind me were stacking up.  So, I pulled over and threw up one more HUGE prayer to the big guy upstairs, fighting back tears at this point I explained that I was just two miles from the church, I was tired and worried, the volunteers were waiting and I think I even reminded God that I was on His mission here! 🙂  I prayed that I just needed to get two more miles, please God!!  After the 20 or so cars that had lined up behind me got past I turned the key and said to myself, “well, let’s see”… and you know what?  God delivered!!  I was able to get a little speed up and I made that last two miles!  I turned into the parking lot and there was my buddy Brian with a group of volunteers ready to set up camp!  Brian had reached out last fall and shared that he felt led by God to bring Kicking Bear to VICJM.  I had met Brian 3 years ago and we served together at another camp we did with a church in neighboring Melbourne, FL so when he asked if I could come down to start a new camp, I was really excited! 

Brian was grinning ear to ear as I pulled in, after a quick hello I shared that we needed to quickly unload the bus and then I was going to need to find a diesel mechanic quick, it was Friday and I needed to get back on the road headed north by Monday at the latest.  Brian just smiled at me.  I gotta admit, I was not really seeing the humor in the situation until his smile got bigger and he said, “meet Sean, he is a diesel mechanic!”…hahaha.  Standing right next to Brian with his hand extended Sean smiled big, asked his son to go get the code reader and in about 10 minutes we had the bus running again!  God really is amazing!  With that boulder off my chest we were ready to go! It was a good reminder for me that God will take care of the feet of those who are carrying the Gospel message, just have to trust Him when we need his help the most!  

Our camp at Victory in Christ Jesus Ministries was a huge success!  The weather was beautiful, the church grounds was perfect for a camp, the volunteers were so amazing and God provided a delicious meal and just tons of really fun kiddos!  We had a visit from the fire department, got to cool down with some awesome arts/crafts and we were slinging arrows and hawks and fishing poles all afternoon!  I got to share the Gospel with all and it was such a blessing to have kiddos ask for extra salvation prayer cards for their friends and family.  Thinking of the ripple effect of those kiddos going forth to share the good news to the ones they love was a powerful encouragement for me as we get ready to fire up the summer camp season!

The folks at VICJM were so amazing. Brian and his wife Dawn did a great job heading up some really wonderful volunteers and Pastor Mark and his wife Amanda lead such a spirit filled congregation that is so active in their community being the hands and feet of Jesus.  I was really blessed to share a message on Sunday and get to worship with everyone before heading home.  Very thankful for the opportunity to start up this new camp and excited to see the Lord move through this beautiful church, growing the family of believers and spreading the love of Jesus!

Check out this marshmallow fight!

Mathew’s website! https://mathewsinc.com/

The Most Important Harvest

By Kevin Bonnar

April brings around another youth hunt for us up in Wisconsin and we were very excited to be taking out a dozen young men to do some turkey hunting!  We had 3 awesome property owners open up spots for us and our buddy Rick said we could crash at his place, so we were all set for a great hunt.  The Lord really put it on my heart to set a theme of “Godly Men” for the weekend so we prayed into that together before heading up Friday night and shared what we felt God calls us to be as men.  These hunts are such awesome opportunities for discipleship and when you get a Guide with some life experience together with a fired up young man who wants to follow Jesus, well God will bless that every time!

We fired out early on Saturday morning and as the sun lit the woods up the birds followed suit.  I think every blind was hearing birds that morning and the group chat was lit up with excitement.  But the toms were all talk and no show that morning so we headed back to Rick’s for some fishing and once again brother Dave brought up the MREs so the boys went to town on those!  We gathered for a group pic and I shared a little message before we prayed together and headed out for the afternoon sit.  Finally a tom showed up for the group and Reese alongside his guide Hunter was able to get one!  This was pretty cool as it was the last youth hunt for Reese as he ages out, also Hunter is one of our youngest guides, so a cool combo for sure!  Outside of Reese and Hunter no other blinds had any luck calling the birds in that night, but my blind did have a harvest!

As we settled into the blind for our afternoon sit we heard two gobbles right away, but just couldn’t get a response as they faded off into the woods.  Things got quiet in the blind and Xavier, Ezra and I just took in the beauty all around us.  Then it just popped out of my mouth, “Hey Ezra, what do you think of all this Jesus stuff?”.  Our theme for the weekend was becoming better men and we had prayed together and I even did a little preaching before we headed out, so I knew Ezra had heard about this Jesus fella, now I was curious what he thought.  He smiled and said he thought is was cool and when I asked him if I could tell him more he said sure!  So right there in the turkey blind I shared the Gospel with him and when I finished I asked him if he wanted to be saved, to declare Jesus as his Lord and Savior, to be forgiven of his sins?  Ezra thought that was all a great idea, so we shared a prayer together and he prayed for his salvation!!  The birds stayed quiet the rest of the evening, but honestly it didn’t bother me much. I knew God had a different harvest in mind that night. 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38

Banquet Season 2025!

At this year’s banquet the crowd was blessed by the testimony of Tony Haywood, he shared how God radically saved him and has transformed his life!!

Check it out: Tony’s Testimony

The Lord has great plans for Kicking Bear in Maryland and it all started with Randy and his sidekick Levi’s efforts to bring the camp back to the area last year. The plan moving forward is to add another family friendly event a month to the calendar each year, eventually filling up the year with Kicking Bear events and opportunities to share the Gospel and grow in faith, all while having fun and enjoying God’s beautiful creation!

Next up for the KB Maryland team is the Elkton, MD Catfishing Tournament for Kids on June 7th, check out more or register here!

Also, check out Mission Archery at

https://missionarchery.com/

2025 KICKING BEAR CALENDAR GIVEAWAY

There are still 5 more months before the main drawing of the 2025 Kicking Bear Giveaway, but remember the sooner you purchase your ticket/calendar, the sooner your number will be entered into the monthly drawings that are held every month. The main drawing will be held on Friday, October 10th, live on our Kicking Bear YouTube channel. Our #1 seller is the Platinum Package ($125) that gets you into all drawings throughout the entire 2025 year. 100% of proceeds will go directly to the Kicking Bear Ministries and help us continue our mission. For more information or to purchase tickets please  CLICK HERE (www.kickingbear.org).

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