Kicking Bear Impact

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Testimonials

Ice Fishing FUN!

By Brad Koehler

February 1st, 2020

Saturday, January 18^th, in the midst of what might have seemed like another typical western Wisconsin snowstorm, Kicking Bear held a Family and Kids Ice Fishing Day. However, the Lord made sure that this was not just a typical day on the ice. We were truly blessed with a wonderful, action-packed day on Lake Onalaska!

The event was the result of gracious partners like Premier Catering, Great Lakes Cheese, and the hard-work of Kicking Bear volunteers and mentors! Kicking Bear events would not be possible without the help of godly men and women taking time out of their busy lives and coming together for one purpose: Serving the Kingdom. The Ice Fishing Day was no different! For many participants, Kicking Bear events provide a refuge. Who would have thought that standing on 15 inches of ice, in the middle of January, could serve as a refuge? No one at Kicking Bear can take credit for that, we are only ambassadors, but that was the reality of what our Heavenly Father had planned!

On a day that started with a beautiful sunrise and even a rainbow, kids and adults alike were set up with their choice of fishing holes, tasty hot chocolate, and an awesome heater to keep the tent warm. The giggles and joy of first-timers catching fish bounced from hole to hole as the panfish were biting early on. A few of the girls even started giving the fish a kiss before releasing them. AND we’ve got proof!

There was an ongoing joke between a mentor and a group of three boys about using a Vexilar system to spot fish was better than playing video games, who would’ve thought?

Just like our archery events, kids and parents were graciously coached and instructed from start to finish! For those who wanted to take a break from the fishing, there were sleds to ride and 4-wheeler pulled dog-sled rides. As soon as someone pulled a fish through the ice, crowds flocked to the spot and waited with excitement for the next fish. After hours of fishing, waiting, stories and laughter, it was lunch time.

Following a delicious pulled-pork lunch, we gave away many prizes. Throughout the afternoon, more fishing occurred since the boys couldn’t get enough. Soon came the time to pack up and head home to reflect on the many victories of the day!

Luke 5 9-11: For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will fish for people.” So, they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Who will you share God’s love with? Are you fishing for fish, or are you fishing for people?

One other lesson can be learned from a day on the ice. When you’re fishing, it’s not like bow-hunting or archery where you can actually see your target. Instead, you put your bait on the line, wait for a bite and set the hook! But, we don’t really know what’s below us, beneath the surface. In our day-to-day lives, while we are carrying out our walk with Christ, be conscious of what might be going on beneath the ice in someone’s life.

Matthew 7:12: Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The 2023 Kicking Bear Banquet

By Kevin Bonnar

“…not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:2

The annual Kicking Bear Banquet returned this year on May 11th. The ministry was blown away by how many amazing volunteers and sponsors stepped up to bring this event back after a three-year break. Banquet Champion Justin Briski led an awesome banquet planning team and as table/ticket sales opened up it was such a blessing to see the list of attendees grow and grow so quickly.

Over 750 people packed the Omni Center in Onalaska, WI and the night was truly amazing. We were blessed by Tammy Kohler who kicked off the night with the National Anthem which got everyone fired up for the night. Austin Siewert did a great job MCing the event as we shared a delicious meal, had various opportunities to win prizes, and just filled the room with fellowship.

During the program part of the evening, we shared a new video of Kicking Bear’s impact over the years, check it out here. We also celebrated the youth hunts by presenting some young hunters with deer mounts, turkey fans, and a bearskin rug that had all been harvested on Kicking Bear hunts. Seeing all the kiddos who have gone on hunts these past couple of years really was a powerful way of showing how many lives have been touched by the ministry and all the awesome mentors and guides who take kids hunting.

We also honored our beloved Karen with this video as Tammy sang Raise a Hallelujah. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This was followed up with Ray sharing the Gospel and the salvation poem. Tammy really blessed us again with her gifts that night by singing a beautiful song about the salvation prayer composed by Matt and Sherry McPherson. You could hear a pin drop as God moved through the words and the music. It was awesome!

One highlight of the night was when The Cheerful Giver Award was presented to longtime Kicking Bear family member Greg “Sarge” Symons. Sarge has served with such a beautiful heart for many, many years. Ray tells the story of Sarge pulling up to a camp years ago and noticing Ray needed a hand. As he would do for the next couple of decades, Sarge gave his “yes” and did what needed to be done to help families. Over the years Sarge has mentored kiddos, taught hunter’s safety, guided hunts, helped at camps/events, and just been the hands and feet of Jesus over and over again. Even the morning of the banquet Sarge reached out to me to drop off a turkey fan he had done for one of the youth hunters from this spring’s hunt. Then as we were cleaning up the night of the banquet, Sarge was one of the last ones to leave as he was helping stack chairs and roll tables. We pray continually for Godly men and women to step up and help fuel the work God does through Kicking Bear and we are so thankful for Sarge being an example of answered prayer and an inspiration for us all. THANK YOU, Sarge! Check out this video to see some memories from Sarge’s service over the years.

All of us on the Kicking Bear team just want to say thank you so much to everyone who volunteered, sponsored, and attended the banquet this year. It was the largest and most successful banquet to date and the real impact is still to be seen. The war chest is full and the funds raised are going to help fuel the ministry as we work hard to reach more kids and families with the love of Jesus and the hope of salvation through the Gospel. We are adding and training more regional champions, adding new camps in new areas, offering more hunting and fishing trips with kids and so much more. So, THANK YOU Kicking Bear family!

Opening Doors for New Hunters

By Pastor Kevin

This month we are taking a look at how God has used our friend and new mentor Aaron to serve in Kicking Bear over this past year. Last month I shared how God has equipped me to serve in this ministry, this month we hear about how God uses the already equipped to serve with KB too. Read on to find out how Aaron did taking out not just one brand new hunter to chase a dream, but two first time hunters this past year!!

Brother Aaron remembers being the little brother who grew up with a hunger in his belly to go out hunting with his Dad and older brother. Growing up in Onalaska, Wisconsin he had to wait patiently for his 12th birthday when he finally was old enough to head out into the woods with the big guys. He fell in love with the sport of hunting, describing it this way, “I really, really took a love to God’s gift of nature and being outside. The fresh air. The planning, the trying, and the learning of the hunt, I loved it all.” Aaron shared that back when he was so hungry for learning it was a little different back then. With no YouTube videos or social media yet a young Aaron would pick up hunting magazines or books and faithfully tune into Jim Carlson’s Outdoors every Sunday night to add to his skill set. Aaron realized at a young age he loved the planning and execution that goes into a good hunt, testing out much of what he learned out with his buddy on public land. As a teenager he found early success hunting ducks, geese and pheasants, but after harvesting deer with both a rifle and bow, he was hooked on chasing whitetails!

Fast foward and Aaron got introduced to Kicking Bear in 2022 when he brought his family out to our camp at Justin Trails in Sparta. They all had a blast and Aaron was hungry to learn more about Kicking Bear. On New Year’s Day last year Aaron joined us as we helped take down the rotary lights in La Crosse, WI. It was a great opportunity to get to know him better as we teamed up rolling thousands of lights on a giant spool. I quickly realized that Aaron had a real passion for hunting and as I explained how our mentorship program helps many kiddos get out on their first hunt, he was all in! He reflected on our early conversation like this, “I could tell there was an opportunity to help other kids who may not have the opportunities I had learning how to hunt growing up. They might not have someone to help them build that foundation to be in the outdoors and learn how to hunt and fish. I want to be that person.” That was music to my ears and we wasted no time getting Aaron plugged in. He started volunteering at events right away and also gave a big “yes” to help guide on our upcoming youth hunts.

Aaron’s “yes” was just what we needed as we planned the spring turkey hunt last year with some new hunters on the roster. We do our absolute best to get all kiddos interested out into the field for our hunts, so having so many awesome godly men and women step up each season is a HUGE blessing, thank you all so much!! I paired Aaron up with a kiddo we all knew named Johnny, you may know Johhnny too, he is the youngest of the Mobley family who have been a part of Kicking Bear for many years. His older brother Gray and sisters Vicky and Catherine had been on hunts in the past and it was time for young ten year old Johnny to go on his first one.

Aaron did a great job guiding on Johnny’s first hunt. They all met the weekend before as we set blinds and Johnny got to shoot a shotgun for the first time. The next weekend they were ready to go! Aaron shares that as they settled into the blind on Saturday morning young Johnny was not the only one experiencing firsts on this trip, “I did something new to me, it was the first time I had ever prayed with other people in a blind to open a hunt. So with Johnny and my son Luke with me, we prayed that morning for health, saftey, thanks for the wilderness and of course for a successful hunt.” That morning sit was a success as they heard lots of birds and it was a great opportunity for Aaron to share wisdom with the boys about hunting and life. No turkey for Johnny yet, but spirits were high and things were just getting started. The boys headed back out for the afternoon sit and after getting settled in and gazing across the field for about 20 minutes Johnny spotted a bird!!

“This turkey comes into the decoys and stops. I whisper to Johnny that it might be a jake and we can wait for another if we want to, but he was having none of that. He put the sights on that turkey and that was it, he made the perfect shot. Johnny drops this turkey and we go running out, high fiving and chest bumps, then take some pictures. These kids were having fun and here on Johnny’s first day of hunting, he was lucky enough to shoot a turkey!”. This was exactly the type of dream that Aaron had felt called to help kids chase back on that cold morning wrapping lights with me. He had helped Johnny chase his dream of going hunting and they were successful!

Next up was our big Wisconsin Youth Deer Hunt and again I was in a tight spot trying to find enough guides for all our eager hunters. The way things turned out I needed Aaron to take another first time hunter out, this time a young nine year old named Rylee. Again, Aaron started things out with Rylee by hitting the gun range and getting him comfortable shooting. He did great and Aaron was excited to have him using the same .243 rifle that his father had taught him on back in the day. To add to the camaraderie of the hunt Aaron again brought his own boy Luke along for the hunt and as all three got settled into the blind that morning they again prayed over the hunt and it was go time. Their prayers were answered pretty quick that day as it wasn’t too long into that first sit and two bucks came right down the trail toward their blind. After the excitement of watching them spar a bit they got set up for a shot, but neither buck would quite turn broadside for them. Rylee was all smiles though and the boys were locked in now! About an hour later a big ole doe comes walking down that same path and turns broadside. Rylee took the perfect shot and after a 30 yard scamper she went down. The boys shared a quick celebration and then they decide to see if Luke could maybe get a shot on one too. Sure enough, 15 minutes later a small buck comes down that trail. Luke scoped him up and takes his shot, the deer stood for several seconds and then bounded off into the brush. Aaron knew the gun was locked in, and they all thought Luke had made a great shot, but unlike the doe earlier they didn’t see it go down.

After waiting for about an hour so as not to spook a wounded deer they ventured out of the blind. Aaron explained, “We got out of the blind and headed to Rylee’s doe first. He lit up!! Big smile, high fives and pictures with his deer. It was awesome!”. Now to find that buck. They headed to the last spot they saw him and found blood, but no deer. So they backed out and headed back to camp after gutting Rylee’s doe. Back at camp a large group of young hunters gathered around as Aaron showed them all how to skin and butcher a deer. “It was really cool that these kids were so into this part of the process. With all the YouTube and video games out there it was awesome to see them so focused and so into learning how to gut, skin and quarter up this deer.” The lessons were not over though, they still had a deer to track. Brothers Ray and Mark headed out with Aaron and the boys to see if they could find Luke’s deer. Aaron shared, “Sure enough after about 10 minutes they all heard Ray’s “owl hoot” and if you have ever been around Ray Howell, you know that when he hoots it is either because something awesome has happened or he wants to get the kid’s attention. This time it was both! Ray called the boys down and showed them some blood, letting them know he thought they must be close. With Ray guiding them on the blood trail it took just a couple minutes and they saw a nice six point buck laying there!” Both young hunters had success! On a year when the overall success rate for youth weekend in Wisconsin actually dropped by 8%, Aaron had guided not just one young deer hunter to success, but two in one sit!!

I have since let Aaron know that he may just have to take out all of our first time hunters since he seems to have the touch for rookies! He just smiled and in his humble way shared how thankful he was, “Just being with these kids means the world. It brings me so much joy to see their smiles and guide them through their first hunt, it really means so much more than any hunt for myself anymore.

Sometimes kids don’t have these opportunities to get out and go hunting. I have realized that the hunting and fishing knowledge and gifts God has given me are meant to be passed on, I am called to serve. And if we don’t open our hearts and minds and lives to these children we might miss the opportunity to open these doors and give them these chances.”

Well Aaron, God has definitely used you to open some doors for young hunters and we are incredibly thankful for that!

If you would like to give your “yes” to helping kiddos chase their dreams in the outdoors please email us at info@kickingbear.org.

Annual Kicking Bear Veterans Hunt in Kansas

By Tom Lee

The week of May 14th to the 19th was an active one in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Kicking Bear Ministries of Kansas hosted our 7th annual Veterans Hunt at the Gyp Hills Guest Ranch. Scott Anderson with the hunting ministry, Patriots of Praise, was the hunt director and was assisted by Kevin Murphy and Landon Cunningham from Kicking Bear. In addition, many community volunteers provided meals and snacks for the hunters. Needless to say, the food was delicious and in abundance.

Our veteran hunters and veteran guides had some good success over the 4 days. Even with a lower than average turkey population, all but one hunter was able to fill their tags. This year, we were honored to have our first Gold Star kiddo with us. Connor Kennedy of Panama City, Florida joined us. Connor and his Dad Jeff were with us on our first turkey hunt years ago. After his dad passed this spring we invited young Connor to join us this year. Through a major coordinated effort by Jenna from Veterans Airlift Command and our local Kicking Bear team we were able to get Connor from Florida to Kansas and home again at no expense to his family. Very thankful for that. He had a successful hunt in the field and also it was great for him to spend time with his Dad’s veteran buddies who made the trip too. God really used the time together for healing and a reminder that we are never alone.

We are so very thankful for all the people who step up to provide time, energy and resources to make this hunt happen every year. There is no expense to the hunters and that is because of our successful Wildgame Fundraiser held annually in February at the Gyp Hills Ranch Event Center. Our communities commitment and love to this hunt every year really is life changing, thank you.

Kicking Bear Wisconsin Youth Hunt 2023

By Kevin Bonnar

As we rolled into October, we were very excited about our annual youth hunt here in Wisconsin. We had a larger group this year and a great mix of new hunters and guides, as well as many returning friends.

We also had a of couple new locations to hunt this year, so a crew of us headed up the weekend before to scout out the areas and set up our ground blinds. Being fairly new to the hunting world myself, this is actually one of my favorite parts of the youth hunts. We have so many awesome guides who volunteer with Kicking Bear. Just soaking up all their wisdom from years of hunting is a real blessing for me. I also enjoy the stories of past hunts. The excitement and laughter as those memories are shared really remind me that hunting is about a lot more than just the harvest of an animal. A huge thank you to the guys for sharing that knowledge and for working their tails off to set up the kids for a successful hunt this year!

We gathered Friday night and headed up to our wonderful host sites outside of Hixton, Wisconsin. Friends of Kicking Bear, Melanie and Dennis Simon, are so generous and they let us put a big group at their beautiful place called Living Waters Weddings, Retreats, and Cabin Getaways. Rick Teska also opens up his cabin for folks to stay there. With 14 young hunters and 16 guides, we needed all the space. It was so cool to be able to stay together and not be too spread out. We were very thankful.

Once settled in, we took some kiddos out to sight in rifles and then gathered for a safety meeting led by Sarge Symons. Sarge does a great job of reminding us all how to have a safe hunt and make a clean harvest too. After that, we were all off to bed with visions of venison dancing in our heads.

Saturday morning we all rolled out early to get ready before the sun came up. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Jayla, a first-time hunter, as well as Kaylie, a new guide who has graduated out of youth hunts and wants to give back by guiding the next generation of hunters! We had five brand new hunters out this year and two new guides with the Kicking Bear team as well.

With everyone settled into their blinds, we shared prayers through the famous “text thread” that keeps us all connected for the weekend. We asked God to provide safety as well as the chance to see/harvest some deer. Shortly after shooting light three of our hunters got on the board. Gunner, out with his guide Rick, got a nice doe to start. Then first-year hunter, Ethan, and his guide, Tyler, got another nice doe. Another first-year hunter, Devin, and his guide, Sarge, rounded out the morning harvest with the first buck of the trip! Many others saw deer as well, so the whole crew was pretty excited after the morning sit.

It is always fun to come back into camp and hear the stories and see the smiles! We gathered around bowls of Sarge’s famous chili as all the young hunters discussed the morning hunt. We were then treated with an amazing message from Larry Guthrie. He reminded us to trust God in all things and see how He works for good no matter what.

With bellies full of chili and a good word from Larry turning in our minds, we were ready to get back out in the blinds. Two veterans, Jack and Heather, whom Ray had been hunting with at Al Dittrich’s place, joined us for the afternoon hunt as well! There is nothing better than connecting these youngsters who enjoy so many freedoms with the folks who stepped up to protect those freedoms.

Lots of deer and turkey were on the move Saturday evening, but David and his guide, Bobby, were the only pair to harvest. He got a nice buck to close out the day.

We headed back to Living Waters and as the hungry crew grabbed supper we were blessed by Michael Rambo and the Collective Choir who led worship for us. It would bring tears to your eyes seeing this beautiful barn lit up with lights and amazing Gospel music pouring out of it. Believers shared testimonies and prayers. It was just a beautiful time for all to thank God for such an amazing time together.

Sunday morning rolled around and although the crew was moving a little slower, we got everyone out to the blinds and locked in for our last chance to fill tags. Our friend Reese, and his guide Tony, who was a first-year guide, locked in just after sun up and harvested a nice doe!

The rest of us saw a lot of deer again, but they were either on the move or just out of reach. Around 10 am we started breaking down blinds and headed back to Living Waters for church together.

This is another favorite time of the weekend. All the hunters and guides gather and stories are told with so much encouragement and laughter in the group! Pastor Billy shared his testimony and a message with us all. Then we prayed together. We were all so thankful for God’s creation, His provision, and to be connected with each other through our belief in Jesus. It was really beautiful.

We want to thank Dennis and Melanie Simon, Rick Teska, LTM Farms, Duane Dutton, Larry Guthrie, Michael Rambo and the Collective Choir, and Al Dittrich for everything they did to help make the weekend awesome. Also, a HUGE thank you to all the guides who stepped up to mentor kids on the hunt. The biggest thanks of all goes to the Lord. We know these opportunities He provides have a lasting impact on us all long after the hunt is over. Thank you, Jesus!

Foundation for Hope Youth Hunt 2023

By Ray Howell

I am sitting in a tree with my bow this morning, waiting for the opportunity to harvest a deer. I can’t stop thinking about all that went on last week with the Foundation for Hope hunt at Cedar Hollow Ranch in Grayling, Michigan.

When I arrived, I met up with lots of friends and volunteers. Every year, FFH puts on several camps like this to give less fortunate kids a great hunting experience. We had six kids in camp and all of them were dealing with some form of cancer or other health challenge. The whole heart of the weekend was to let these kids unplug from those challenges and have the time of their lives chasing after dreams of harvesting a big deer!

On this hunt, I had the opportunity to guide Ashton, who is 17. He had never harvested a buck. On the first day, we hunted a large field that had several deer feeding in it morning and night. There were two bucks in particular we were watching for. They were both big mature animals.

The afternoon was going great. I was sitting in the blind with Ashton, and his mom Nina. Listening to the stories of how cancer affected their lives just humbled me. But on this hunt, they were away from the doctors and hospitals and just enjoying God‘s creation in the outdoors.

The rut was just starting, and we were fortunate enough to have a few does feeding in the field. As the evening went on two young bucks came out and started chasing the does around. The girls wanted nothing to do with them. Suddenly, out of nowhere, this big mature buck stepped out, shaking his head and displaying his antlers. Then he went after the younger bucks. He ran them off and headed back toward the does.

Ashton stayed calm and did it just like we practiced. For me, my heart was pounding loudly, and my breathing was a little out of control. I was trying to keep myself calm. Ashton waited until the buck turned broadside to take the shot. It seemed like forever before he pulled the trigger.

When the shot rang out the buck dropped in his tracks. Ashton made a perfect shot. As we walked up on the deer, there was no ground shrinkage. It got bigger the closer we got! We were hooting and hollering with tears of joy. Ashton and his mom accomplished a dream together. And I got to be a part of it. God is amazing!

All of the Kids on this hunt got opportunities and harvested magnificent bucks. During the day, there was lots of fun and camaraderie. We got to shoot arrows and throw tomahawks with a lot of laughter. We hunted early in the mornings and in the evenings.

At night we had a big campfire. We stayed warm with lots of songs and laughter. There were testimonies shared on how God has been working in their lives. Again, this year it was an incredible hunt for me. I am so blessed that God has allowed me to do the calling He has given me and to be equally yoked with great people like the Foundation for Hope. To share the truth of God’s love is amazing!

Fun times in February!

By Kevin Bonnar

The month may have been short in days, but for Kicking Bear Ministries it was not short on fun! We kicked off the month with another Unity Through Community Event up in Wisconsin. We hosted an ice skating night for families at the Omni Center in Onalaska, WI. It was great seeing new skaters and old pros strap on the skates for some fun. Sister Chrissy shared with the group about upcoming events and led everyone in a beautiful time of prayer, she is also by far the best ice skater on KB staff!!

Our next event for the month was our Mentorship Dinner hosted by Olivet Church in French Island, WI. The night was graciously catered by Ciatti’s restaurant, the Olivet Youth Group helped man the kitchen and serving line and we were so blessed with a large crowd. Many of our current and past Kicking Bear families shared about how the mentoring experiences through KB had impacted their lives. We were also blessed to have some new mentors sign up and give their “yes” to connecting with kiddos and sharing life and the love of Jesus through outdoor activities.

Our winter hike was the second Unity Through Community event for us last month as we teamed up with our friends at Blufflands Hiking Group to search for the elusive ice caves at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve outside of La Farge, WI. The weather was cold and windy, but the abundance of friends and awesome hiking trails kept us warm. Pastor Steve from Blufflands shared about how important it is to have the “essentials” in your hiking pack for a good expedition and how having Jesus as our main “essential” is important in our lives! Pastor Kevin also spoke about holding onto and sharing our faith, demonstrated through some pretty sweet polished rocks that folks could take with and hold onto or share with others. We twisted and turned through the woods and our large group couldn’t quite locate those ice caves, but some members stayed back and went back out finding the caves! Overall, it was a great day in God’s creation!

We closed out the month of February with one of our favorite ways to serve our local community at the Mathy Boys and Girls Club’s Family Night in La Crosse, WI. We had archery set ups in the gym, arts/crafts and even some dodgeballs flying around. At the end of the night we closed out with tug-o-war and prizes! We are so thankful for these opportunities to serve and connect with the community in such a fun way. February was an awesome month!

By Tom LaLond

First, let us ponder these questions:

What are some trials a Mentorship Development Coordinator might encounter?
What does it take to coordinate a youth hunt?
What kind of person takes on this kind of responsibility?
What qualities and personality traits are necessary?
What has made Darren such a great fit?

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” -Matthew 7:8. If we look back on our lives, we may see times where we momentarily didn’t recognize that our hearts were searching for “something”. That type of searching is our heart’s longing desire to be close to our Lord, whether we recognize it as such or not. Darren Grefe, Kicking Bear’s Mentorship Development Coordinator is about the story of a man who, in many people’s eyes, has it all. He’s worked hard to be very successful in his trade as a tool and die maker project manager. He’s also a proficient hunter and trapper, and an incredible hunting guide. Yet he was still searching for something that would be truly fulfilling, and then he found Kicking Bear or God was calling him. He didn’t “test the waters” but jumped into the Kicking Bear Ministry with both feet. Once in, the impact would wash over Kicking Bear like a tidal wave in the form of outstanding outdoor activities with mentors and mentees. This led to kids catching fish, finding shed antlers, harvesting turkeys and whitetail deer; and many for the very first time.

Coordination of any event can easily affect a person’s sanity in a negative way if done improperly. However, for Darren, after being a hunting guide, he already knew the struggles of getting a couple full-grown adults coordinated and ready for a hunt. He also knew that when coordinating a youth hunt with numerous mentees and mentors, you could multiply those struggles fivefold. After taking part in one of the youth deer hunts and moving into the mentorship development position, Darren knew the possible trials, headaches, and late nights that would surely be part of this position’s responsibilities. So why do it? That comes back around to the beginning when Darren first volunteered to help with Kicking Bear.

Having explored and learned about local wildlife habitats, participated in many western hunting adventures, and waded into the world of outdoor media production, Darren felt unfulfilled and tired of it all. After taking a total break and time to refocus on his “Pieces to Peace”, he remembered an organization called Kicking Bear that he had known about and followed for the past 10 years. He contacted the ministry and volunteered for a youth deer hunt which took place in the Hixton, WI area. Thinking to himself, he mused, “How in the world are all these mentors and mentees going to get up and be ready by 5:30am?” That thought lingered with him until he fell asleep. He awoke the next morning eagerly waiting to see it all play out. Amazingly, it went very smoothly and was well organized. After observing this, he decided that this group and its purpose to change kids’ lives met all his “Pieces to Peace” and was all in to help grow the ministry and share God’s Word anyway he could.

Fast forward a couple frames, and a key leadership characteristic was discovered while Darren volunteered at the La Crosse Archery-Kicking Bear Adventure Day. That quality was patience. Darren spent at least 10 minutes instructing a very shy, quiet, young girl how to safely hold and aim the sight of the Mission crossbow down range onto a pink balloon. That shy and quiet little girl turned into a roaring fan in a matter of seconds after seeing the bolt from the crossbow hit and pop the balloon! Her reaction to all this is still one of Darren’s favorite experiences while being a part of Kicking Bear. That afternoon encounter allowed Darren to experience the impact that archery can have on a child’s confidence. He also learned about himself in that God had allowed him the ability to have patience that he didn’t know he was capable of. It was a great opportunity for him that created generational impact.

Darren knew then that this opportunity was going to allow him to help Kicking Bear with its mentorship program. Darren realized this type of commitment might include long hours, ups and downs, and possibly stepping far outside of his comfort zone. Some of the qualities needed for this position would include perseverance, determination, a complete servant’s heart, and, of course, perfect patience. This position would require him to knock on many land owner doors in search of access to property owners who would not only allow us to put on youth hunts but be willing to host our groups, if possible. Darren knew there might be setbacks, but that’s where perseverance comes in. He learned to compartmentalize and move on. There was also the whole thing concerning “comfort zones.” Darren knew he would need to prepare for many of those things in advance, which he did.

In Darren’s own words, “God has given me great joy in my heart to team up with volunteers and mentors to provide these kids the opportunity in the outdoors that they would never have had and to give them hope and a vision for a better life. This has made a life-changing impact, not only on them, but also on me.”

The next time you encounter “wild man”, “General Darren”, flying around a Kicking Bear event or hunt, be sure to thank him personally or send your thanks for what Darren is doing straight to the Lord, because under that great smile and joyous laughter is a spiritually-led man of perseverance.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'”

-Matthew 25:40

Kicking Bear is now going into its 20th year–there are several new camps starting up in 2019 across the nation, and only God knows the heights to which He will take them.

Doggie Easter Egg Hunt at Justin Trails

By Kevin Bonnar

Kicking Bear finished out the month by celebrating Easter with our great friend Dawn Justin at Justin Trails Resort in Sparta for their annual Doggie Easter Egg Hunt! This awesome event gathers supplies and donations for the Chasing Daylight Animal Shelter in Tomah, WI. We were so excited when Dawn asked if we could team up and we love that she wanted to include a time of ministry into this event!

We had so much fun with all the pups and their owners as the dogs searched out eggs filled with kibble! We were also able to spend some time giving a message about God’s incredible desire for us to be in relationship and loving one another. We talked about the unconditional love between dogs and their owners and how that is a beautiful reflection of the love God has for us and how that love is ultimately demonstrated by Jesus going to the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. All so we can be back in a right relationship with our God!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

We loved spending the day this way and are incredibly thankful for our partnership with this event. God is good and we love our furry friends that remind us of that!

By Kevin Bonnar

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

We wrapped up the month of July with our “home” camp in West Salem, Wisconsin. Our awesome hosts at Maple Grove Venues really do an awesome job of giving us an amazing space to hold this event year after year. We had our eye on the weather all week for this event and the forecast seemed to change daily, so we were praying hard for nice weather. Come Friday afternoon it looked like answered prayers, in fact I put out a message on FB saying, “weather looks great, let’s party!”….that didn’t age well. More on that later.

Our night got off to an amazing start as kiddos took trip after trip down the giant slip and slide, so many giggles and smiles. After a bit we grouped everyone up for the safety meeting and then started rotations around the event with groups getting to try archery, tomahawks, sligshots, bb guns, bowfishing, casting poles, arts/crafts, face painting and the KB tough course. We were also blessed to have the fire department and local law enforcement bring out their service vehicles and share with families. One cool new station this year was the Raptor Resource Project, they brought out some birds and shared all about them with kiddos. Everyone was having a blast and things were going great. But, the sky was growing dark and then we got the news that the local flight for life helicopter that usually flies in was not going to be able to make it because of the weather. This got us looking up into the darkening sky a little more and before you know it, we heard that first rumble of thunder. We quickly got everyone off the course and gathered inside the MGV ballroom. Some phones started going off with weather alerts and all the sudden we had quite the storm sweeping in on the area. We scooted the curious kiddos back from the windows of the ballroom for safety but we all gazed out with big eyes as a fierce wind picked up and rain started to fall. Things got wild as that rain turned to some of the biggest hail I have ever seen in my life! It was looking like our night was over and we were really just hoping to get everyone home safe.

I had no idea at the time, but while many of us were running crowd control and trying to figure out our next steps several of our volunteers had gathered to do the most important thing….pray! It really reminds me of the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10. I tend to Martha quite a bit, especially at events, but during this wild storm it is so awesome that Godly men and women stopped and fell to the feet of Jesus to ask him to keep us all safe and let the storm pass. And just like he did in the boat for the disciples, Jesus calmed the storm!! Later that night as we traveled through the neighboring town of West Salem we realized that not only did Jesus calm the storm but that God had really protected us too. In town there were downed trees and no power for most, but just a few miles away we were kept safe and never did lose power through it all. One of those times you could really feel the truth that God really does answer our prayers!

As the storm outside calmed our good friend Nicole shared her testimony with the crowd. Nicole is a recent graduate from Adult and Teen Challenge of Western Wisconsin. ATCWW are great friends of Kicking Bear and the women there are always so willing to help the ministry out whenever we reach out, in fact they had helped us pack all the free backpacks a couple weeks before camp and were also at camp that night helping in many ways. So it was really cool for Nicole to share, especially because in her testimony she shared about serving with KB and even getting baptized at last year’s camp!! What an amazing story of overcoming dark times and finding freedom through a personal relationship with Jesus. Her story must have inspired many because after she shared, even though the storm had seemed to pass, the crowd was not ready to go home just yet, they wanted to do baptisms!! So, we pulled up the truck with the baptismal tank and celebrated as 19 people declared to the world that they have believe and love Jesus!

What an incredible night and way to end an awesome month of ministry! So many decisions for Christ, so many baptisms and so many beautiful memories had by all. We are so very thankful to all the volunteers, organizers, sponsors and families that serve in Kicking Bear and make it all possible. We have one more month of summer fun before we transition to fall events, check out August events at www.kickingbear.org.

We got to celebrate so many baptisms in July!! God is awesome and we are thankful!!

By Ray Howell

26 Sept. 2018

I’ve known my friend Dan Smith and his son Hunter for several years. Hunter is a fun kid who likes to tell jokes, pull pranks, and better yet, he always has a smile on his face. In a conversation with his Dad, I discovered that Hunter had dreams of going hunting, but due to his limited mobility, Dan thought it would be impossible to do so. At that point, I told Dan that I was going to make some phone calls and that we were going to make this happen. I called my friend Craig Mortz, the founder of Foundation for Hope in Michigan, and explained the situation. Craig immediately responded with, “Let’s take him hunting!”

In early November of 2016, at Cedar Hollow Lodge in Grayling, MI, Hunter found himself in a blind. He was joined by his Dad and his guide, Ryan Gati—another incredible man who loves to help kids. Using a gun with the ability to place crosshairs on the target by viewing a screen, Hunter’s limited abilities suddenly disappeared. He was incredibly accurate and made a humane shot on a Whitetail deer, just like any other sportsman. On the second day of his hunt, Hunter harvested a magnificent dream come true—an 8-point buck. He was able to provide meat for his family for a year. Hunter has a new-found love for the outdoors, and similar to all sportsmen, he wants to pursue those dreams.

Hunter had openly expressed his desire to hunt a black bear, so we made arrangements with my friend Joe Paul, a DNR Conservation Warden with the State of Wisconsin. Warden Paul is also the Co-founder of Oconto River Kids, (ORK) an incredible group of people whose passion is helping kids with critical illnesses to achieve their dreams through hands-on outdoor adventures. Annually, The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF) partners with ORK to choose one hunter to receive the WWF state Learn-to-Bear-Hunt tag for use in a WIDNR-sponsored program. Hunter was chosen as the recipient of the WWF bear tag in 2017. Warden Paul hosts a Learn-to-Bear-Hunt program annually in Price County, WI, and Hunter was excited to be chosen to participate in it.

Ryan Gati made the trip across Lake Michigan, bringing with him a specialized firearm system to help with this hunt, and once again, we found ourselves in a blind. This time, we were in northern Wisconsin. We had prepared for this weekend of hunting for months on end, and we were having the time of our lives. Getting to where we were going to hunt was quite complicated, and it took all three of us grown men to push Hunter’s heavy wheelchair through the rugged paths to the blind. On the very first night, in the last hour of daylight, a nice-sized bear walked in and started tearing up the bait pile. There are no words to describe the excitement we all felt! We came close to getting the shot we wanted, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen that night. Every time the bear was in the right position, we couldn’t get the red dot on him quick enough because he wouldn’t stop moving.

Several days went by without the bears coming in close enough for the shot. A few times, we saw the bears circling the bait area, but they wouldn’t enter. Eventually, another bear did show up, but again it wouldn’t quit moving and we couldn’t get the gun lined up for a shot before the bear got spooked and walked off.

The whole time, Hunter’s jokes kept us men on our toes—and with plenty of candy bars and donuts available, Hunter said to me, “Ray, if you get out of line, you know I will tell your wife what you’ve been snacking on!” That made all of us laugh! The most enjoyable moments of this hunt were just spending quality time together, telling stories and jokes, and pulling pranks.

Then, the very last night of the hunt was upon us. Everything was silent when one of the largest black bears I’ve ever seen walked into the bait area. The red dot was on the bear and he only needed to turn to give us the right shot angle, but just like he had a sixth sense, he backed out without any shot opportunity. We went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows—the 2017 hunt was over. Joe said there might be an opportunity to get a tag for the 2018 bear season if he could locate a bear tag donor, which is made possible through the State of Wisconsin youth and persons with disabilities bear tag transfer system. Ryan Gati’s last words to Hunter that evening were, “Whatever it takes, I’m going to help you get your bear.”

That next year flew by, and in the spring of 2018 Warden Paul learned that a hunter who drew a bear tag for a 2018 season wanted to donate his tag to Hunter! The hunt was on! We found ourselves in northern Wisconsin heading toward the blind. Once again, Joe, Ryan, Dan, and I were going to be a part of Hunter’s bear hunt. This time, our equipment was a bit different. Hunter had a new Trackchair which allowed him incredible maneuverability, and Ryan had brought along the new gun—The Guardian. Brian Park, the founder of the Ray Park Foundation, had designed this astoundingly accurate and quiet gun. You could watch everything on the screen without even touching the gun. In fact, ORK was so impressed that they purchased the Guardian so that it will be available to more kids who require this specialized system.

During the first two days we saw bears again, but they didn’t come into our comfortable shooting range. On the third day, we were all in the blind having so much fun that Joe said, with a big grin on his face, “Maybe we should try to be a little quieter,” but he was instigating just as much trouble as we were.

Here we were again, the last hour of that day’s hunt. All of a sudden, Ryan exclaimed, “There’s a bear!” As we looked, we saw a huge bear about 100 yards out, walking towards the bait area. You can’t imagine how hard our hearts were pounding and how loud Hunter’s breathing was—the anticipation of the bear coming within range was indescribable. The closer the bear got, the more excited we got, and Joe once again told us to try again to quiet down… but this time, he wasn’t smiling—he was focused and serious.

The bear lumbered in cautiously and turned broadside at about 20 yards next to the bait. Joe gave us the “Ok”, Hunter touched off the trigger mechanism, and the bullet hit its mark. A perfect shot! The bear ran off about 50 yards and expired. For that first minute in the blind, it was dead silent—but just like a bunch of little kids, the hooting, yahoos, high fives and big smiles came out in total exhilaration at what had just happened. What an awesome experience!

Hunter made a unique bear claw necklace for each of us for a gift. Whenever I look at it or feel it hanging around my neck, it’s a reminder to me how God can orchestrate an opportunity like this—to involve a group of organizations that are focused on Him, all in order to help others achieve their dreams.

On Hunter’s “bucket list” are turkeys, antelope, and moose. We will see what God has planned.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have a dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” -Genesis 1:26

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”–Matthew 19:14

I had the insane privilege to kick off the Summer Camp season in Florida at Grace Church back in March and then we cruised to Warsaw, Missouri the first weekend of September to close it down. In between, there were 46 Kicking Bear events in multiple states!! God truly blessed us all with 6 months of amazing opportunities to serve communities by shooting a ton of archery, meeting new friends, and families, tossing a few tomahawks or marshmallows, and most important of all, sharing the Gospel and baptizing believers!

As Ray and I sent the Kicking Bear van north after the last camp we giggled like school kids. Why? Because we were sharing about the awesome season and just how incredible it was! The way that Kicking Bear is used by God is incredible. The unity in the community of praying, planning, and setting up camps really helps bring us all together and see how God provides. Then on the day of the events, it is so cool to see relationships grow out of all the fun activities we have for families.

Whether it is the first time a kiddo sticks an arrow or tomahawk, or the laughs shared from tug-of-war, tough courses, or marshmallow fights, there is really a special way that people bond at camps. This bond is so important as kiddos feel loved and seen, which is exactly what Jesus shows us in the Gospels!

The highlight of every single camp is the moment we gather to share the message. To see so many kiddos and their families lean in and hear the Gospel and then have so many of them respond is truly inspiring. When you are around it, it will fill you with a special kind of joy. We can never take for granted how God moves through these moments and the kingdom impact that is created through evangelism.

We are excited to now move into our next seasons of ministry. Our mentors are ready to take kiddos on hunts and also land some fish in the months to come! We are also planning to do some Adventure Days with other organizations such as The Boys and Girls Clubs, schools, and Outdoor companies. We have Veterans hunts and speaking engagements scheduled too. Additionally, there are several Center Shot programs as follow-up with Churches and KB events.

Another big task ahead will be fundraising as we get our calendar printed, plan for Giving Tuesday, and also look ahead to our LaCrosse banquet coming back in the spring! Kicking Bear is ready to keep moving as we have already added 3 more states to our summer camps next year!! Alaska’s team is gearing up for nine new events.

There are a lot of people to thank as we change seasons here at Kicking Bear. First, the servant-hearted volunteers who plan/pray, find resources, spread the word, give time, recruit even more volunteers, and show up on the camp day. Thank you!

To the sponsors and landowners that provide such vital resources and spaces so that we can send out big open invites and provide events free for families. Because of your generosity, we have been able to provide every event completely free for nearly 24 years! Thank you!

Thanks to the families who volunteer, share event details with friends, and bring their kids and other kiddos from outside their homes. The kids show up with such great energy and beautiful hearts and smiles. Thank you!

And most of all, thanks be to God! God continues to bless Kicking Bear Ministry and we are so thankful for the opportunity to serve in such an awesome way. Thank you!

May 2025

Keep Following Your Dreams!

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

Donate Here

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 figh t!

Check out the NEW Mathews LIFT [X] at the above video or at

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

Getting back to camp that night was really as good as it gets on a Kicking Bear hunt. Reese and Hunter were showing the youngsters how to clean his bird and taking pictures with his fan, I was sharing the way Ezra gave his heart to the Lord with the other guides, the guys were gathered around the fire one minute and scaring each other in the woods the next and we celebrated it all as together as men. The hunting was pretty slow again Sunday morning and we broke camp with just the one bird harvested. But, we talked about perseverance at camp and Caden and Austin gave us a real life example as they battled the wind and rain so Caden could harvest an amazing tom on the way home Sunday afternoon! And Luke and his Dad Aaron never quit sitting until Luke got one here last week! So, with a little season left the KB kiddos are up to 3 so far! This year’s hunt was really great and we are thankful for the birds God provided, and we are very, very thankful for the most important harvest, the one that made Ezra our brother in Christ forever!! Thank you God!!

Banquet Season 2025!

Kicking Bear Maryland held their second banquet in April and under the leadership of Champion Randy Spencer and his amazing team it was a huge success!

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!

5 Star Telecom hosted their annual fundraiser in April and we were so blessed to be alongside our good friends at Safe Families for Children-La Crosse to be a spotlight charity for this event! A fun night of games, raffles, great food and a chance to share about the ministry was had and we are just so thankful, the support and encouragement mean a lot to us and help fuel the mission going forward! We are excited to be teaming up with Safe Families for a Family Connection night in June!

Also, check out Mission Archery at

https://missionarchery.com/

At Kicking Bear Events, we are blessed to share the Salvation Poem. For more information on the Salvation Poem, and the Salvation Poem Foundation, click below!

Visit website

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).

See how God has been working through the ministry of Kicking Bear!

www.kickingbear.org

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A special thank you to all of our amazing sponsors who help support the ministry of Kicking Bear. Click on the link below to view who we are both thankful and proud to be partners with. https://staging.kickingbear.org/partners-2-2/

Kicking Bear Foundation is a registered non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization. All donations made to Kicking Bear are tax deductible. Federal tax ID# 84-1634016.

“Pray to the Lord of the Harvest”

By Chrissy Wojcik

As I considered whether to share the depths of this with all of you or to just keep it between myself, the Lord, and a few others, it became clear to me that this one was to be shared with the masses to give all glory and honor to the Lord.

This is my testimony of Kicking Bear’s Unity Through Community Camp on March 17th, 2024 out at the Omni Center. By: Goose (aka. Chrissy)

One morning, waking in August of 2023, after having a discussion with a few people the day before about the needs of the many, carrying home the heaviness of how hopeless it all seemed… I woke up to the phrase “Pray to the Lord of the harvest.” And I immediately thought to myself… oh…duh… the solution-less problem was already given a solution; Matthew 9:35-38, emphasis on verse 38… “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;” … I’m going to pause right there to simply reflect on the fact that Jesus feels it too; he sees all the heartbreak, confusion, pain, and the deep hunger to fill emptiness, and he has a deep compassion over the plentiful lost; and he knows… when you feel the weight of the world, remember that he feels it just the same as you do, and even more deeply than you—he is the man of sorrows (Isaiah 52-53)… but then he goes on to say, in verse 38 of Matthew 9: “38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Kicking Bear team has a text thread that we utilize nearly every day–sharing Bible passages, our thoughts on scriptures, devotionals, words of encouragement, prayers, etc., and I felt compelled in my spirit that we were to pray as a team earnestly to the Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers into his harvest field after pondering on what was impressed upon me that morning… now, I’m not sure if I had that fully right; that might have simply been my personal assignment… but this text thread kept me mostly accountable to the “earnest” piece of that; so I filled the team in on what I felt the Lord was calling us into… and proceeded to send a prayer to the Lord of the harvest to the text thread nearly every day for about four months… ha… No one fessed up that this got old, but eventually, I missed a few days here and there and did peter out, and have since been either randomly writing a prayer down in my own notes or just simply praying in my heart to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest field… And the beauty is that in my weakness and short-comings, He was strong, and He is strong, and He remains faithful, even when we give him a weary yes that doesn’t follow through perfectly; he knows we are but dust, and he delights to works with that… it’s how he chose to create us…

Part of this earnesty of prayer was fulfilled in YOU on March 17th (and beyond)… I’m not sure that my assignment is complete in that prayer—I didn’t even realize I had been praying for all of you until Ray waltzed into the office one day in December and said “we’re taking over the Omni Center! All the churches, all the ministries, all the youth programs…”—because the harvest field is great upon the earth and there are many laborers still needing to be sent out all over the world… but the Lord is kind, and he produced over three times the amount of volunteers we had estimated to need for March 17th (we just saw that written on the white board the other day… we wrote down an estimated need of 40, and we received around 130…). Thank you… thank you for answering a call of being sent out into the harvest field in this way; I pray that the Lord increases his love over you and upon you, that he would open your eyes and ears and hearts in even greater measure toward who he is and to the things he is doing; that he would increase wisdom and strength upon the call he has for each of your lives–to himself and for his greater Kingdom work on this earth.

Then… when it came time to gather the harvest and about 2 weeks before Camp, there were only about 60 kids registered… I asked the Lord what his strategy was to gather the harvest to the Omni Center that day; “Lord, you’ve provided the laborers; what is your strategy to bring in the plentiful harvest?” I thought he’d give me some advice on promotional ideas… and all I kept sensing from him was “keep praying,” and that little strategies would come without me striving for them, but “Keep praying to me—the Lord of the harvest—I will bring the masses in, a plentiful harvest beyond imagination.” I specifically sensed that the pre-registration numbers weren’t going to mean anything at all to the actual count of the day… that the Lord was saying, “don’t pay attention to those numbers, I’m going to flood the harvest in.” So I didn’t really, and I just kept praying in faith and joy of what the Lord would do… and the Lord did as he said, once again… I was enamored, but not surprised. He is faithful and he does what he says he is going to do… There are so many little details beyond just these within what the Lord did; miracles that the whole team saw happen—the drawstring backpacks increasing to more than double what Kevin had initially counted; the registration going from around 300 kids to over double that (plus adults… still not sure on official numbers), but not so high to an increase beyond what Pizza Ranch could provide (they literally made all of the pizzas that they had dough for); and my favorite… the baptism water staying hot for 24 hours after Pastor Lynn and I filled it… I was convinced on Saturday that it would still be warm for baptisms on Sunday, and my beloved brother Kevin outright said, it would be a miracle if it did… well, it wasn’t just warm, it was a comfortable hot… God is the greatest dad, simply for doing that.

I share all of this because I really am not anything special in and of myself beyond any of you… I have never worked an office job or been trained in any administration; I had no idea how to operate an Xcel Spreadsheet, relying on my husband, my coworkers, and google to show me all the neat tricks in there, and I am still learning; I’m someone who is shamefully late most of the time (but I’ll always surprise you, once); and I’m easily distracted, so my organization only comes in waves of energy when I get excited about whatever it is that I’m doing… In all reverent truth, I was not the one who brought all of you volunteers together, nor was I the one who brought the massive crowd of people and children into that building… It was truly all the Lord and I simply partnered with what I felt he was calling me into, what I felt was his will; I served him and obeyed him, and prayed earnestly, receiving that which I asked for, knowing that I would receive what I asked because it was in accordance with his will (1 John 5:14-15). And all throughout the two months of preparing for the 17th, in my struggles with discouragement and sin, THE LORD graced me with forgiveness and the ability to simply hand it back to him in faith and say your will be done, whatever it looks like—and with that, he put all the right people in place who said yes to their personal assignments from him. That thing about the puzzle pieces I sent out earlier is true. And that doesn’t mean no one else could do this job at Kicking Bear… it means that no one else can do what you or I have been created and destined specifically by the Lord himself to do in such a time as this in his Kingdom on this earth; he wants you to do it; he wants me to do it; he created us in a way that we would do it exactly as he foresees it all fitting together—in whatever area we happen to be doing it; the little things matter—prayer matters; prayer is relationship; communing with the Lord matters; loving one another in deep brotherly love and communing in unity matters… and no one will get it right all of the time, but your heart posture is what he sees, what he wants—it is what matters. I encourage you all to partner with the Lord in all that you think or feel he’s asking of you; he is faithful to complete every good work he has started in you, and one day he will say “well done, my beloved.”

1 Corinthians 1:25-31 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” All the glory and honor to the Head–who is Jesus, for the humbling and joy-filling beauty of the fullness of his name… for now we see in a mirror dimly; but then, we will see face to face; then, we will know him fully… just as we have been fully known (1 Cor. 13: 12).

I’d like to end this in prayer, if you would partner with me: Thank you, Father for all that you are… thank you that the vastness of your Father heart is beyond our comprehension, but that you give us these small tastes that fill us up to overflowing every time you touch us with your love. Lord thank you that you know us… fully, beyond even our knowing of ourselves—that you see beyond the dust and the shame and you delight in your creation, eagerly stating, “that is good” when you look upon us, stumbling when we attempt to walk, but determining to keep getting up to run our race and one day win life in you, to know you fully, just as we are fully known. Thank you, Lord, that you are the promise keeper and that with our simple yes, you still do all the work so that we couldn’t possibly screw anything up on the whole of your plans and purposes or take any of the credit unto ourselves. Holy Spirit, thank you for working in us the fruits of your love, that we might be able to be the Body to the Body and grow up in love and unity toward Christ, the head, our covering and our Bridegroom; that you might work mysteriously through us, that children and people we meet would miraculously see—truly see—only Jesus when their physical eyes gaze upon the fruits of the Spirit that you clothe us in. Thank you, Lord for all that you did on March 17th in this region to unite the Body of Christ and all that you have continued to do since, and all that you will do beyond today; we are hungry and eager to partner with you in all that you have as One Church. One Christ. One Ministry. And One Thing that we seek and ask to have as an inheritance for eternity. Lord, you are beautiful… Maranatha-come Lord Jesus. Amen.

Check out this video from UTC Camp: https://youtu.be/Ay7rpSbMQv4?si=56mnvjQHlazGgLVI

Wow! Summer has officially come to a close and Kicking Bear has been Blessed with an incredible number of FUN and safe events across the nation where we have witnessed countless victories! With the camp season wrapped up, we are heading into hunting season full-speed ahead.

In the La Crosse Area, Kicking Bear will have taken over 50 youth on mentored hunts this year. We’d like to thank the landowners, our partners like Mission by Mathews, Reconyx, LTM Farms, Living Waters, Mayo Clinic Health System, and Wildlife Research Center, just to name a few.

Thank you all!

Read below about some of the Kicking Bear youth and their bear hunting memories!

The Bear Season

By Tom LaLond

October 1st, 2019

It’s been one heck of a start to hunting season for the Kicking Bear crew, and as the bear-hunting season has gone on many people have come together to make some unforgettable moments for mentors and mentees alike. There were three different bears harvested during the baiting season, and each one has led to some very special memories. There were also some very unique baiting techniques used to bring in the bruins.

Hunting can teach a person many things, including the importance of hard work. For months, this pair had been traveling, baiting bears and practicing at the range. On one of the hunts Greg “Sarge” Symons and Isaiah grew in persistence while fighting through a thunderstorm. Heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning, this storm had everything! As they came to the end of the storm they felt like something good was going to happen soon. Quickly, from behind the bait pile Isaiah sees a bear, and whispers: “There’s a bear!!” to Sarge. Surprisingly that bear walked back off into the woods he came from, but Sarge knew he’d be back soon and urged Isaiah to get his gun up. Then, sure enough, the bear comes strolling back in, and without a word the two hunters watch as the bear climbs the bait and flips the lid off his dinner plate. Isaiah takes a clear, broadside shot, but rather than jolting after he’s been shot the bear just walks back into the woods. After not liking how the bear reacted, and rain coming soon, Sarge went to inspect where the bear was shot, but without finding blood it looked like it might be a tough track, until Sarge looked up, through the woods, to see the bear laying 20 yards away. Then the celebrations began and praises rang out! Thank you Mike Fuge for all your help for this bear hunt!

The next Kicking Bear Hunt Crew, of Kaylie, Trinity, Alli, Abbi, and Austin, went up to Big Bear Ranch for a once in a lifetime hunt. Now my family has a long-standing tradition of making a TON of homemade applesauce each year for all to enjoy throughout the rest of the year. But on this hunt some four-legged critters are the ones enjoying this all-American delicacy. The hunt crew went out with Keith Patrick, the guide, to pick the apples from their own trees. Then processed the harvest right at the house, and with a few taste testers satisfied with the batch they loaded up the baits! For the next day’s evening sit the baits got the same delicacies delivered as the night before, and Kaylie, Alli, and Austin settled into the blind to await the arrival of their well respected targets. It wasn’t a very long wait once the tantalizing aromas of smashed apples and cinnamon expanded into the surrounding woods. Next thing they notice, the bear is coming right into the bait, everyone is ready and steady, and the bear decides to plop down facing straight away from the crew. Then he stands up and starts walking towards the woods to the left of the blind, and as he stops right before the woods Kaylie takes her gun off the tripod and free hands it which leads to a KA-BOOM, and a center-punch shot! After a short track-job the team got to celebrate this incredible hunt and gift from God. Thank you Big Bear Ranch for all the adventures!

One lesson all hunters learn, usually throughout a season, is to wait patiently. Well, that lesson doesn’t apply to Aiden and Zac’s bear hunt! Their hunt officially started Wednesday evening when they got into the blind around 3:30pm and waited through some rain showers. Then, while Aiden was grabbing a few Z’s around 5:30pm, Zac looks to the bait to suddenly see a bear on top of it! He quickly wakes Aiden up, who only believes Zac after he does a double take, and after that his jaw drops and body freezes! Lucky Zac was still functioning and he helped get the gun up, and brings Aiden back with us. Suddenly the bear darts off, only to come right back in, and this time he’s perfectly broadside. He makes the mistake of stopping and Aiden puts a perfect shot on him. The bear only ran 30 yards and piled up, and Zac and Aiden both totally lost it! Zac said, “ I remember him, (Aiden), just being speechless during the recovery and tracking. When I asked him what he thought, he just smiled.” God is so good y’all, and sometimes His plans move quicker than we’re ready for. So stay awake, or have a good hunting buddy who will wake you up!

The common denominator for all these hunts is the theme of hard work paying off and how persistence pays. The other common denominator is a heavenly type of generosity. Many folks came together to donate time, money, or tags, whatever excess or gift God blessed them with; they in turn blessed many others. So a big thank you to ALL those involved, in ANY way! Remember, this is not our home, but we should be making this place a good as we can for as many people as we can while we are here. Kicking Bear is always looking for people to join our different teams; our hunt teams, food teams, special events team, or our local outreach team are just a few that we could always use some kind of assistance with. So, please reach out to us with anything in mind as a gift to assist.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

A message from Associate Director Brad Koehler:

God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

1 Peter 4:10 NLT

The past few weeks, I’ve had multiple conversations about the spiritual gifts that the KB team have been given and the heart and future of the Ministry. All I can say is that God is good and the future looks bright!

Each conversation seemed to include two key words. At Kicking Bear, the word opportunity is twofold. First, and most importantly, we are giving youth and families the opportunity to hear the Gospel and to know that they too can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, we provide the opportunity for them to engage, interact, and learn new skills together in God’s Great Outdoors.

With that in mind, we are excited to announce our 2019 Giving Tuesday campaign: Give the Gift of Opportunity. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on December 3rd and we have a variety of goals we would like to achieve. Here’s the best part: All of you reading this have your own unique gifts that you can contribute as we continue to Give the Gift of Opportunity to at-risk and underprivileged youth across the nation.

We’ll keep you informed in the coming weeks and we ask that you please take time to reflect on your gifts and how you can use them well to serve one another.

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT

Blessings,

Brad

Space Coast Success!

By Kevin Bonnar

Our friends at Grace Church in Melbourne, FL hosted their third year of Kicking Bear last month and it was a huge success. Pastors Aaron and Nicole Olinski and their wonderful body of believers at Grace have really embraced the three year plan that we use for starting new camps around the country. Year one we brought a crew from Kicking Bear and the bus loaded with gear down to get things started. Then last year a smaller team for support flew in, as Grace had acquired the equipment for camp through an awarded grant. This year just Pastor Kevin headed down to help out from KB base camp. We were also able to host a Champion Training course at Grace last year and have three of those trained return to help with camp this year. Pastor Tom Andersen and his wife Sherilin, and our good friend from Trinity Sportsman Ministries Dennis Pawlowski were all on hand this year and they did a great job of putting the training into action for camp. The gradual release of a three year plan and having folks complete Champion Training are an awesome way for us to continue to grow the opportunities around the country as well as have local churches and ministries take ownership of camps as we head on down the road to the next interested area.

One thing that will always stand out to me about the Grace Church family is their amazing volunteers. Again this year they had just the best bunch of folks step up and serve. The camp is located right on the church grounds and families were treated to archery, bb guns, tomahawks, tough course, water balloons, tug-o-war, boat building, marshmallow fighting and even a sweet potato launcher! I also have to say the Grace has some of the coolest arts/crafts options for kiddos. The local Sheriff’s Department brought in a bloodhound and shared with the kiddos, biggest ears I’ve ever seen on a dog! The meals were great, the weather was beautiful and the Gospel was shared with all. We are really blessed to be partnering with Grace and year three was a huge success. A cool thing for me is that I have been able to be there for all three years and I have also got to see the church grow!! They have added a wing to the building, a sweet playground, outdoor archery course, and they are even getting ready to acquire more land. On top of that they have added so many new friends and families to their church! Sitting in service on Sunday it was amazing to take that all in and just celebrate what God is doing in Melbourne. Grace’s motto is to “transform the Space Coast with the radical love of Jesus”, really blessed to see that transformation for this wonderful body of believers, thank you Grace!

If your faith community is interested in being the next success story alongside us at Kicking Bear please email info@kickingbear.org to find out more!

By Ray Howell

2023 ATA was awesome! What an incredible opportunity to share the gospel with so many people who love the outdoors. This year’s Target the Heart prayer breakfast was amazing! We were greeted by Brad Clay and Jeff Danker opened us all up with a beautiful prayer. The theme this year was Ordinary People Extraordinary God and we were blessed to hear testimonies from Adam Carter, Al Quackenbush and Chad Stillman. All three shared how God was with them through some really difficult times in their lives. It was powerful!

Then we honored my wife Karen who loved the Lord and was a founding servant of Kicking Bear ministry. It was amazing to see how God touched so many people’s hearts through what she did here on this earth for the Kingdom. We started by sharing this tribute video: Karen Howell Tribute Video. We shared all that she did in her life to bring others to Christ through the many ministries she was involved with, as well as Kicking Bear. For 24 years throughout the nation, the gospel has been shared to not only kids off the streets, but every adult that attended the KB events. It always amazes me to witness the fruit from each event. Not only in decisions for Christ, but also all the baptisms.

The message for her that I gave at the prayer breakfast was on the cord of three that is not easily broken with keeping Christ in the middle of our marriage. By having Bible studies together couples can put joy and happiness in their hearts in this fallen world. The smaller storms are easier to get through and you are better prepared together for the big ones. Karen was a warrior bride, who loved the lord, more than she loved me. I still cannot believe how much God loved me to give me a gift such as her.

Following the presentations that morning there were many decisions for Christ! Then the Kicking Bear team went out into the arena with all of the vendors and people to share the love of Jesus. It was great to see lots of old friends and companies who have supported this ministry for the last 24 years. There were also several new companies with young people who wanted to help kids get off the streets through our mission. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be able to share the gospel and tell the truth with so many people.

Giggles and Gobbles

By Ray Howell

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” Psalms 126:2

Long-time Kicking Bear mentee, Kaylie Bass, needed one thing to complete the trifecta for Kicking Bear youth hunts. She had gotten a bear and deer with her mentor, Abbi Burke, in the past, but the turkey had eluded her. This year Kaylie is transitioning from mentee to mentor so she only had one more shot to get that bird before starting to guide younger hunters this fall. With prom and soccer and just being a busy teenager, she had very little time to hunt this spring and it ended up that we only had one afternoon to go after a turkey for her.

It was really late in the turkey season and there was not much gobbling going on, so I started watching birds and hunting them like whitetail deer. I found where they were roosting and where they were feeding, so if we had the opportunity to take Kaylie on the hunt, I would know where to set up. We were able to lock in one afternoon so that we could get out in the blind. Talk about pressure! But, I knew exactly where to set up, so hopes were high. I recruited my friend Sally Johnson to come on the hunt and help guide Kaylie. Sally is a wonderful person and a great mentor for kids. When we got to the school to pick up Kaylie, we handed the principal the ‘get out of school to turkey hunt’ note. He had a big smile on his face and said have fun.

Sally and Kaylie hit it off quickly and were talking and giggling about stuff all the way to the area where we were hunting. When we got in the blind I had set up, it was even more of the same, making funny faces, laughing, and joking. I personally did not think we were going to have a chance to even see any birds with all the noise. I mean the giggles were definitely going to be louder than the gobbles at that point!

I told the girls that the birds would be coming through around 5:15 pm. It was a guess but an educated guess because of the work scouting the area before the hunt. I was able to call in a hen but the girls for some reason did not see it. Immediately they started telling me I was seeing things or I wasn’t telling the truth. When 5:15 was on the clock and no turkeys were to be seen, I was being persecuted even worse. Funny stuff! I was having a wonderful afternoon, laughing and joking in the turkey blind with the girls.

Then I saw the redhead of a tom in the distance coming our way. He was with a hen and jake. I told the girls there were more turkeys coming and immediately they started harassing me and telling me I was seeing things. But I’ll tell you what, it got really quiet and serious when Sally saw the birds. When Kaylie saw them her eyes were as big as saucers. She started trembling with excitement.

As the birds worked their way toward us I talked Kaylie through the shot to help keep her calm. When the bird got into range and at just the right spot, Kaylie squeezed the trigger, and instantly the big tom was flopping on the ground. Sally yelled out, “Nice shot! You got him, congratulations!” Kaylie was so excited she was jumping up and down while hugging Sally. Kaylie said her dream had come true, that she finally got a turkey, completing her trifecta! For myself, I have not had that much fun in a long time as giggles turned into gobbles. We pinched!

Grace Church Melbourne

Kicking Bear Adventure Camp

By Kevin Bonnar

On February 15th the Kicking Bear team headed down to Grace Church in Melbourne, FL for an awesome weekend! Cal Ferguson from Texas and Tom Lee from Kansas joined up with Ray and Kevin to form the Kicking Bear team. Cal, Tom and Kevin were returning to Melbourne after helping with Grace’s first camp last year. After hosting their first camp last year, they have really embraced the three-year plan for new camps and are setting a great example for new camps to grow by. This year they added their own Champions to help lead volunteers, were able to expand their campus to create an awesome archery range and also acquired their own bows, arrows and targets through Centershot Ministries. It has been really awesome having Pastors Aaron and Nicole Olinski, along with the Grace Church family, embrace the plan and put it into action! We were really excited to be back at Grace this year and we had big plans for the trip. The three goals for the weekend were to have the first Champion Training Camp, help with a Guy’s Night event and then have our adventure camp for kiddos on Saturday.

On Thursday we gathered for our first Champion Training. Tom and Sherilin Andersen who had recently returned to Florida from ministry work in Alaska joined us along with Dennis Pawlowski the founder of Trinity Sportsman Ministries from Plant City, Florida. The training went great as participants learned about how Kicking Bear was founded and then launched into learning about all that goes into putting on a Kicking Bear camp. It was nice to have Cal and Tom share many experiences from their camps and it added a very real world feel to the learning. After the classroom portion we were able to then hit the campus of Grace Church and put our learning into action as we set up for Men’s Night and the Kid’s Adventure Camp!

Friday Night was for the men at Grace and everything went great! Over 100 men enjoyed a 3-D archery range, flu-flu arrow shooting, tomahawk throwing and even archery tag. It was really cool to see men who had never held a bow or tomahawk in their hand get a chance to learn a new skill and have a lot of fun! Many shouts of joy and surprise were heard from the archery tag course for sure! After spending time on the courses men were treated to a steak dinner and time for fellowship. After dinner Dr. Matthew Burke, an Air Force veteran and founder of 10 Can, shared a powerful testimony for the men. He reminded us all to stick together and never be afraid to reach out for help or to support a brother in need. Ray then shared the testimony of Kicking Bear and how the Lord has used the ministry over the last 24 years to change so many lives. Pastor Aaron from Grace Church closed out the messages with a beautiful invitation for men to join together and a salvation call for all, what a powerful evening! Special thanks to Dennis for bringing in his archery equipment, Matthew for sharing such a powerful testimony and Pastor Aaron for hosting and encouraging all the men!

Saturday brought about the beautiful pre camp buzz that we had kind of missed over the winter months. One thing that really was awesome was that Grace Church teamed up with First Baptist Melbourne to host the camp this year. With this teamwork the two churches were able to provide more than 90 volunteers for camp, what a blessing!! The churches really took the “bring your own kids and a kiddo from outside your home” theme of Kicking Bear to heart as families were given invitations to share with friends during the weeks leading up to camp. The church body stepped up and with over 150+ kiddos registered there was an excitement in the air for sure! The kiddos and families started pouring in on a beautiful day and after gathering everyone for an opening prayer and safety meeting it was time for some fun!

Kiddos enjoyed archery, tomahawks, really awesome arts and crafts, bb guns, archery tag, laser tag, a wide variety of games and even a potato launcher! After a couple rotations for campers we all gathered for a snack and we shared a message. God really put it on my heart to let kids know that the Bible was really written “for and about” each and every one of them. So, we journeyed through the story of the Gospel with that in mind. During the message one girl raised her hand and shared that she thought life was really all about “choices”. I had to agree and that brought us to the most important choice any of us can make, declaring Jesus our Lord and Savior. Many kiddos gave their heart to the Lord that afternoon and counselors were able to meet with them to discuss this awesome choice they had made and also to help guide them on next steps as a believer. We celebrated by hitting the campus again for more fun!

After another rotation for campers we gathered around as Officer Lightsey from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission brought an airboat and a real live gator!! He did an amazing job encouraging kiddos to get outside and appreciate all that God’s beautiful creation has to offer. We then gathered for a little tug of war and wouldn’t you know it, somebody started a marshmallow fight. And oh boy were those marshmallows flying! After a quick clean-up we all headed over to an amazing dinner provided by the hardworking volunteers. With full bellies from the food and full hearts from the day we lit the fire and settled in for one more message to close out camp. Using the multicolored Wordless Bow from Centershot Ministries, Dennis from Trinity Sportsman shared the Gospel message again to all encouraging those who had earlier in the day made that important choice to follow Jesus. After he finished up, I asked for volunteers to close out with a prayer and one of the younger campers stepped right up, her prayer was such a beautiful way to end an amazing camp!

Huge thank you to Grace Church and First Baptist Melbourne, what an awesome event and we are so blessed to be a part of it. One family from Grace shared the impact of camp:

“Thank you to all the Kicking Bear team that came to make this possible and Grace Church for running this event again. Our kids looked forward to this since last year. It was really awesome because one of our sons brought a friend who has never been to church, or an event like this and has never had a chance to shoot a bow and arrow. Cal and Kevin made a huge impact along with many volunteers and he left with this being one of the best days ever!”–Matthew

A September Full of Smiles

By Kevin Bonnar

Kicking Bear started off the month of September serving with our friends David and Valeria Gal at the Youth Wings and Wheels event at the Cambridge Ohio Airport. This was the first event of this kind at the airport and it was a huge success! There were all kinds of classic cars, airplanes and even helicopter rides. Pastor Kevin set up the Kicking Bear archery/tomahawk stations and also had a tough course for kiddos. The highlight of the whole event was a Gladiator Games between the local Sheriff Department and the State Troopers!!! These same officers then helped guide kiddos at the KB activities, talk about bringing the community together!! This was a really cool event and we were so humbled to be serving alongside our everyday heroes in the community that do so much to protect and serve. Thankful.

We were so blessed to get four of our Kicking Bear kiddos out bear hunting last month up here in Wisconsin. This is always such an exciting opportunity for these young hunters and also the guides! We have so many people to thank for these opportunities. Justin Briski who heads up getting tags, the folks who donate tags, the guides for stepping up to go on these hunts and so, so many amazing landowners and hunting outfitters who really go the extra mile to get boots on the ground! Many of these folks open up their land, businesses and calendars with huge hearts towards helping the next generation of bear hunters chase their dreams! We were blessed with 3 kiddos harvesting a bear this year!

David out with Guides Bobby and Chad, would like to thank Scott and Tyler Tubbs and Whitetail Products Gone Wild.

Devin out with Guide Sarge would like to thank The Good Ole Boys.

Riley out with Guide Mel would like to thank Sleepy Hollow Bear Hunters.

Xavier out with Guide Kevin would like to thank the Tom Weaver Crew and the West Family.

These Times

By Tom LaLond

While we’ve been in this pandemic state I’ve heard people say, “these are interesting times.” Or, “ these are scary times we’re in.” And those can be truthful through some perspectives, but I’ve found that reminiscing on joyful and exciting times or memories provide the proper antidote to times like these. As we come into this spring season, Kicking Bear has been hosting youth hunts for 20 consecutive years, and Lord willing, we will be hosting them until He comes again. As spring Wild Turkey hunting is right around the corner we wanted to look back on last years youth turkey hunts. The 2019 season was Kicking Bear’s inaugural MN Turkey Hunting Camp in Nodine, MN, and it was an absolute blast! We also had our annual WI Turkey Hunting Camp in Whitehall area, and this camp had even the adults in awe of God’s massive, brilliant creation. Over the years we’ve gathered hundreds of thousands of stories like the ones below, and there have been hundreds of volunteers to help set up the blinds, cabins and properties. Folks like General Darren, Sarge, and Juice leading the charge and bringing everyone together.

Kicking Bear’s Minnesota Turkey Camp was filled with incredible anticipation because we had several new hunters and mentors. Most people showed up Friday night and the wildly fun times started right away with games like ghost in the graveyard. Which was played in knee high grass, and it had everyone tripping over each other! The night air around the cabin was filled with roars of laughter and the smell of a campfire. For Brad Koehler, Kicking Bear staff, this was his first hunt of any kind and he was blown away by the generosity of the landowners to allow kids and mentors to hunt on their property. Another thing that stuck out to him was how the on and off rain all weekend didn’t seem to lessen the excitement of the mentees or the passion of the hunters to want to brave the weather and get these kids a bird. From the whole experience Brad took this away, “you learn a ton from these kids, and these hunts have a way of totally changing your perspective on things.”

I can attest to this because my whole outlook has changed since being a guide and mentor on these hunts. Now when I got out into the woods it doesn’t satisfy me as much as when a mentee and I go run and gun on some long-beards on the next ridge. At this time we are all eagerly waiting for the Stay at Home order to be lifted so we can get out and chase some critters together with our mentees!

Jumping across the River we had some times that were just as wild, and one dad’s experience gave many of us a perspective change that’s helpful in these current times. Deetra had never been hunting and wanted his boys to experience things in life that he never got the chance to. Then once he learned about Kicking Bear hunts he knew he had to sign them up. He also wanted to tag along on hunt, so he joined the crew for the whole new experience. The guide and landowner Rick Teska said that when Deetra walked into the cabin he was amazed at all the beautiful deer mounts on the walls. “The whole cabin and hunting camp setting had him amazed,” Rick said. As Rick, Deetra, and DJ (the hunter) were walking out to the blind Rick looked back to make sure there were two people following him, but he saw that it was only DJ who walked close behind him. Staying calm, to not concern DJ, the two of them started walking back to find Deetra, and it didn’t take long. He was standing in the middle of a wide-open field, looking up, and completely stunned at the billions of stars in the clear, dark, morning sky. The portrait before him utterly stopped Deetra in his tracks, and the indescribable beauty God painted right in front of him left him paralyzed and awestruck.

As hunters and outdoorsmen we are blessed with experiencing these portraits regularly, but that being said who appreciated it more in that moment? Rick or Deatra? Neither was in the wrong, just like the memory Luke shares with us of the two sisters, Mary and Martha. While Martha was feverously working to prepare the food for their guests Mary was stopped from doing anything by the awe of Jesus and His words. Martha asked Jesus to have her sister help prepare, but Jesus said He couldn’t do that. Jesus says in Luke 10:38-42, “you (Martha) are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” In these current times our perspective of the future can easily be stained dark, gloomy, and hopeless. We cannot let our vision be stained by this darkness because we all know how hard every type of stain is to get out of our clothes. BUT if we, like Mary, focus on one thing (Jesus), rather than worrying about the many, we will only be able to see the hope, joy, and peace we have in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

A First Year Host Looking Back

By Dawn Justin

We asked Dawn to reflect on what it is like to have a seed planted by the Lord to start a first year camp with Kicking Bear! Dawn went all in with us this year and we are so thankful for her “yes,” and her heart for the ministry. If you would like to start a camp in your area please reach out to chirssy@kickingbear.org!

Last spring, Ray Howell visited my church, Horizon Christian Fellowship, and told us about the Kicking Bear Ministry. Listening to him tell his story about not having a father and becoming somewhat of a naughty kid, I could totally relate. I was kind of a naughty kid too.

As I listened to the story of how Ray’s love of archery and Jesus combined to create the Kicking Bear Ministry, I learned Jesus is at the center of every Kicking Bear event and kids learn that God has a plan for everyone, and his plans are for good. I thought to myself, “Now this is something I want to be a part of. Maybe we could host a Kicking Bear Event at Justin Trails Resort.”

The next time I saw Ray at church, I sat next to him as he munched on a brat and asked about hosting a Kicking Bear Event at Justin Trails Resort. He liked the idea. Soon Ray brought his dog, Kaboo, to check out our land and do some shed hunting.

Later, Kevin Bonner and his son, attended our annual Doggie Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday and totally loved the event. Then Kevin and Ray both visited to see if Justin Trails Resort would be a good location.

In my excited, animated way of talking and telling the Justin Trails story, I gave them a tour of our land where I thought there would be good spots for the Kicking Bear Event. My enthusiasm was contagious and soon the three of us were in The Lodge meeting with my mom to get her thoughts. She loved the opportunity to utilize our land and buildings in a new way. We came up with August 26th as a tentative date for the first Kicking Bear event at Justin Trails Resort.

To be supportive of the Kicking Bear Ministry, I attended their fundraising banquet in May at the Omni Center. That night changed my life. I had a “come to Jesus” moment. It hit me hard.

All the volunteering I had been doing the last 4 years, put together, was a drop in the bucket of effort compared to the impact of Kicking Bear. Two days prior, I attended our United Fund for the Arts and Humanities Gala with a little over 100 in attendance, which I thought was a great turnout. We raised just shy of $4K. Not only that, but I was also not sharing the Gospel with folks even though I did attend a class on evangelism at my church.

Kicking Bear presented an opportunity for me to do better. To use my energy for good. God’s good. I prayed. Then I called Ray and told him about my “come to Jesus” moment. He said I’m an odd duck, which is a good thing. I had a ton of volunteer obligations so I wasn’t sure when I could start. The funny thing is, I think God was making a way for me because one by one my volunteer obligations began to fall away for one reason or another.

On July 1st, Ray hosted a Champion training event. Eager to learn what happens at a Kicking Bear event, I also had a blast at the training. I learned that safety is huge.

A highlight was meeting 20-year-old Jaden from Indiana who “grew up” with Kicking Bear, starting at age 6. He was there to learn how to run his own Kicking Bear camps. I marveled at how much Kicking Bear continued to impact his life for years and what a full circle it was. A second highlight was teaching Kevin’s son, Link, how to throw a tomahawk. This was something I had never done before, much less taught someone. What a thrill!

Shortly after training, mom was nervous about how our Kicking Bear event would go. So, Ray took the time to come out to Justin Trails Resort and determine placement of each activity, which greatly eased her worries.

July 28th there was a Kicking Bear event at Maple Grove Venue in West Salem. Excited to use what I learned at Champion Training, I attended the event and helped in Arts and Crafts.

What an awesome event! There were tons of activities for kiddos to do like archery, bow fishing, tomahawk throwing, live birds of prey, waterslide, and special law enforcement vehicles, all while a live praise and worship music band played.

Jesus was at the center of the day and kids received backpacks with calendars and Bibles. Kevin told Bible stories and shared the gospel. The cherry on top was all the kiddos that were baptized. It was amazing!

The Kicking Bear event was very well organized, safe, everyone had a blast, and there was a special effort to clean up afterward. With less than one month until our Kicking Bear event at Justin Trails Resort, I was jazzed!

Thanks to Kevin and Chrissy, our event was shaping up nicely and being promoted heavily. Chrissy called and sent a ton of emails to coordinate local churches and volunteers to help with the event. Kevin created an awesome poster, added website info, a Facebook event, social posts, and more to promote the event. They accomplished much more than this to ensure a successful event, this is just a small list.

The week of the event, Kevin came to Justin Trails Resort to go over the final placement of each activity. On Tuesday, Kevin, Chrissy, and I got together and went over the list of volunteers and created a map with day of event instructions to be handed out to participants. Kevin headed up the preparations, made sure everything was ready, and came out the day before to set up most of the activities. What a whirlwind with so many things to do to prepare for the event.

On Saturday August 26th (the Big day!), we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Kevin oversaw setting up the event. Chrissy, her husband Sam, and Matt from my church volunteered to help Kevin set up. Bryan, our neighbor decided to show up with his ranger and helped me with last minute preparations. What a big help!

Kevin was focused on getting the tough course set up while Bryan and I finished other jobs and volunteers started to show up. Kevin and Ray gathered the volunteers, provided safety training, and settled them at their stations. I was impressed how quickly and how well the event was coming together.

Kiddos accompanied by adults started arriving and headed to registration. My heart skipped a beat as previously filled water balloons whizzed around the blacktop area, splashing anyone who couldn’t get away fast enough. Yikes!

My attention shifted to squeals of pure joy as groups of kiddos slid down the huge water slide. Soon, Ray gathered everyone and gave instructions for how the day would go. The presentation was short and entertaining as Ray explained how to properly shoot a bow without getting a bruise on your arm. He taught the kiddos a special call “woot, woot, woo” which they echoed each time he called out. What a fun way to bring the kiddos back to the task at hand.

Kids wore Kicking Bear shirts in red, yellow, and blue, grouping them as they rotated through a tough course, archery, dinner and arts and crafts. This was an excellent way to organize the large group of kiddos to ensure they were spread out and experiencing different activities to keep them engaged.

Back in the Elegant Barn we were treated to the sweet sounds of praise and worship by Berean Way church. Backpacks filled with calendars, Bibles, and bookmarks were handed out and kiddos gathered in front of the band.

Ray later said he was a ‘grown man crying,’ as he walked in and heard the beautiful music and singing. I popped my head in the side door to better hear the music and capture the moment with pictures and video. I too was struck by how beautiful the music was. It was so nice to hear praise and worship music played in our Elegant Barn.

Kiddos sat on the beautiful wood floor and opened their Bibles as Pastor Travis read a few verses from John 1. He encouraged them to bookmark that page and to continue reading their Bibles.

As I snapped more photos, kiddos paid close attention to Kevin as he shared the Gospel and to Ray giving his testimony. My heart was full. It was great to watch the kiddos be so engaged in hearing about Jesus and repeat the Salvation Prayer.

The Elegant Barn gets even more beautiful the darker it gets. What a gorgeous evening. Great weather, praise and worship, everyone enjoying themselves, the event was already a success, and it wasn’t even over.

Next, we returned to the archery area in the dark where a huge bonfire awaited us. Rounding out the fun was tug-of-war and super fun marshmallow throwing. I giggled as marshmallows pelted me while I took videos with my phone. I loved watching tiny kiddos trying their hardest to throw and really make an impact. Boop, right in the thigh! Barely felt that one! Giggle. Best of all every marshmallow was cleaned up. Not even one remained. Way to impress my mom!

Afterward everyone walked back to the parking lot in front of the Elegant Barn. Basked in the glow of the light streaming between the barn boards, the crowd listened closely as winners were drawn. It was fun to look around in the semi-darkness and see everyone happy and winding down from the day. At last, the group gathered close around a water-filled tank and watched two kiddos show everyone their love for Jesus by being baptized. How awesome!

The event was well organized, safe, everyone had a blast, and an extra special effort was made to make sure everything was cleaned up. We really appreciated Kevin for coming back the next morning and making sure everything, including all the balloon pieces, were cleaned up. Kicking Bear left everything practically cleaner than when they came. Plus no one asked a million questions of my mom or asked to borrow things. She was thrilled. The next day she said she would rather host a Kicking Bear event than a wedding. I wholeheartedly agreed.

I love that we can use our land and buildings to glorify God, host an event that has Jesus at the center, and I can use my energy for God’s good. Everything went so well we have decided to make the August Kicking Bear event an annual thing.

Saturday, August 24th, is the date for 2024!

By Kevin Bonnar

We had so many amazing opportunities to get out in the community and share the love of Jesus last month!

“Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

We partnered up with our friends at The Bluffland Hiking Group to host a Fall Hike on Nov 11th, in La Crosse, WI. It was a chilly morning but we kept things hot with a scavenger hunt for kiddos and some fun contests and prizes too. We stopped during the hike to give thanks to God for His creation and for providing a path to Him through Jesus! For that, we are thankful.

We partnered with Olivet Lutheran Church in La Crosse, WI to have a Blessing of the Hunt on November, 13th.

We set up archery and tomahawks and folks were treated to all kinds of good chili from the chili cook-off. Ray shared one of his memorable hunting trips. This one had everyone laughing and on the edge of their seats!

Ray then shared his testimony and how Kicking Bear got started. To close, we prayed for all the deer hunters who would be heading out for the opening weekend of gun season and gave away some awesome prizes. We are thankful for Olivet and their heart for serving the community alongside Kicking Bear!

Later, we were invited to have an adventure night at the Boys and Girls Club in Sparta, WI on November 16th. We love these events and the chance to partner with great organizations like the BGC, who has a heart for kids and families!

Lastly, we got involved in the amazing Rotary Lights display and parade in La Crosse, WI this year too! If you are in the area, check out our tree down at Riverside Park in La Crosse. We are also signed up to help volunteer after the new year when they take all the lights down. Rotary Lights is a really amazing chance for families to be wowed by all the lights and create a holiday tradition. Definitely check it out if you can!

Wisconsin Youth Turkey Hunt 2023

We kicked off this year’s hunt by having all the kiddos come out to help set up blinds and take a few shots with the shotguns the week before the hunt. It as a great way for some new mentors and mentees to get meet the crew and it also gave the kiddos some ownership of the hunt. We are so thankful to Jim Thill and his family for letting us come up and hunt some birds.

Our youth hunt this year included the hunting pairs of Draven/Jeffrey, Chad/Gary, Darren/Reese, Austin/Caden and Bobby/David on the youth weekend. We are also set to get Kaylie and Raelyn out in May to get their chance at a big ole turkey too. The following article was written up by one of our new mentors Draven from the perspective of him and his mentee Jeffrey, both first time turkey hunters, enjoy!

–-Kevin

Jeffrey’s First Turkey

By Draven Barth

Phillipians 4:13- “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”

When I first learned of the Turkey hunt I was nervous, Jeffrey was also very nervous, neither of us had gone Turkey hunting before and all we both knew was that we would be in a blind with a man named Ray. Jeffrey was a little discouraged having not passed his Hunters Safety Course a few weeks before during the field day event, but little did he know that overcoming challenges was going to be a major part of the weekend!

Upon arrival he was shy, I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I felt the same, we didn’t know what to expect and there was this sense of nervousness being in a new area with new people on a new adventure. I believe Caden having his birthday was a lynch pin that opened everyone up and relaxed the nervousness. It really pulled everyone together as we sang and celebrated with a delicious cake and plenty of thoughtful prayers.

Fast forward to Saturday morning, we are up and heading out around 4:30. It was still dark and I was extremely rusty on what I needed to bring and do. In that rush I initially forgot the gun, chairs, bags, and a few other things. I was beginning to question why I came and if I made the right decision even coming on this trip.

After backtracking to grab some of the forgotten items and finally catching back up we made it to the farm. Upon arrival I felt lost, I’m very thankful for Chad and Ray in guiding myself and Jeffrey through everything. After loading everything up, saying our prayers for a safe and successful hunt, we were in the UTV and off we went. Little did we know how incredible of an adventure we would ultimately go on.

Upon arrival at the blind I did realize I had left the extra chairs in my car and we thought we were going to have to sit on the ground in a blind for the next several hours which would have made for a long morning. However, God blessed us with a little wood shack that had 2 folding chairs and a 5 gallon bucket that we used for seating.

Around 2 hours into our sit, having amazing conversations as time was passing, we started hearing a bunch of gobbling in the distance. Many calls and gobbles later we had one in our sight! A beautiful tom was coming up from behind us with 2 hens following him. He had a bright blue head, big red wattle, and overall he was the perfect first bird for Jeffrey. We resituated to try and get a good shot from the back but ultimately had no luck. To our surprise, he walked right next to the blind on his way to show our decoy who was boss.

After getting situated again we got Jeffrey in line to have the perfect shot, no more than 10 yards from the blind. We heard every other sound but the one we were most excited for. The bang of a firing pin and the dropping of the bird….. Jeffrey had frozen. He was so excited and nervous that he didn’t even remove the safety or put his finger in the trigger guard.

The turkey finally realized the situation and ran off, leaving everyone feeling defeated. Jeffrey was disappointed in himself even though it is a very common occurrence, but he was also fired up and ready for the second opportunity. Not more than 45 minutes later we did hear a gunshot and learned that Chad and Gary got quite the bird! They had spotted some hens coming in and Chad said a quick prayer for toms to follow, minutes later and One-shot Gary had dropped a nice 25# tom with a 10” beard and 1.5 in spurs! You may remember Gary and Chad from an article about Gary’s first deer a few months back. After learning of Gary’s success it made Jeffrey want a 2nd chance that much more. Check out the YouTube of Gary’s Turkey here!

The rest of our Saturday was rainy and windy and unfortunately no one else got another opportunity but we did see many toms on our way back to the farm so we knew they were out there. Darren and Reese told us all about their run in with a hungry coyote and a bunch of hens though, so cool to have the opportunity to sit in God’s creation and watch the animals.

By Saturday night after our second sit, its 30 degrees, raining with 20 mph wind, and many are considering not even going out Sunday as the rain wasn’t supposed to stop until around 1 pm that next day. To top it off there was big winter storm headed right for us, so that second opportunity Jeffrey and everyone wanted wasn’t looking too good.

Come Sunday morning, Darren made a miraculous recovery from a terrible cough, the rain had subsided, and everyone was READY. What once was probably not going to happen was now a definite and everyone had high spirits and high hopes!

Sunday morning we moved spots, our first spot was high up on a hill and the wind was fierce so we knew that wasn’t the best spot to be. We decided to move to where we saw the toms the previous evening in hopes of seeing them again. We set up the blind and situated the decoys and were ready by 4:45. Around an hour later we heard a few gobbles. They were close, we called and waited and called some more. Eventually after about another 45 minutes we saw him. It’s 6:50 a.m, we are underneath a big pine and we see another chance at a tom. He just walked out of the brush line and was out in the open working his way to our decoy. Ray instructed Jeffrey where to prop his gun so when the turkey crossed it would be the perfect shot.

The turkey slowly but surely worked his way towards us, the turkey was in range now, and Jeffrey had the bead. Still no shot, the buck fever was back and Jeffrey was having a surge of emotions. “Shoot, shoot, Jeffrey shoot”. These words in similar fashion were whispered with encouragement by Ray and myself. The tom at this point was showing our decoy who is the boss and we knew the time would come when he would wise up and run off.

While Jeffrey was still frozen, I helped readjust his shot so he had a great angle again and made sure the safety was off. Again, “shoot……shoot……Jeff shoot” whispered Ray and that’s when it happened. *BANG!* We see the bird begin to flop and we knew it was a clean shot. Jeffrey was overcome with many emotions and Ray and I were very proud of him for overcoming that frozen state to make a beautiful shot!

As we were loading up the turkey Jeffrey was welling up and said a prayer for the turkey. He thanked the turkey for serving his purpose and thanked God for the 2nd chance to get him. Jeffrey then overcame another fear and he hoisted up the big ole tom, he fought through many emotions to finally do it, but he overcame and conquered his fears again.

The growth of everyone during that weekend has had a lasting impact on those involved and it was through the power of fellowship, love, understanding, and by the grace of God that we even had the chance to experience that magical moment. Check out the video of Jeffrey’s Turkey here.

Awesome August

By Kevin Bonnar

Our first camp of the month was in Linton, IN with our Kicking Bear Indiana team and hosted by the awesome crew from Shooter’s Archery led by Josh and Krysten McDaniels. This camp has such a diverse menu of activitiesfor families including fishing, archery, trap shooting, fur trappers, bowfishing, tree stands, flu-flu shooting and so much more! This year’s camp was awesome and we want to thank the entire Linton community for their support and participation in this longstanding camp!

Our next weekend was a double up as we had camps in Kimball, MN and Elkton, MD. Our Minnesota camp is hosted by our friends from Flex Seals and led by David and Melody Joseph. The site for camp is called the Preserve and it is an awesome place for a camp. This camp has one of the most extreme slip and slides you have ever seen!! Fun was had by all and after sharing the Gospel several youngsters stepped up to be baptized this year!! Very thankful for the Joseph family and the community of Kimball for another awesome camp in northern Minnesota!

On the same Saturday there was a camp fired up by our Kicking Bear Maryland team headed up by Randy Spencer. Randy has really poured into getting things fired back up in Maryland this year. He worked hard to put on a banquet in the springs to raise funds for equipment and then did all the work to get a camp set up for this year too! Randy and his son Levi even spent every night after work for a week and a half at the local fair shooting on the Safe Archery set up with families and inviting them all to camp. Their hardwork paid off big as the camp was really awesome! One highlight from camp was the local law enforcement bringing out their K-9 unit for a demonstration. We are very thankful to be back in Maryland shooting bows and sharing the Gospel!

After being on the road a little bit the KB team returned to Wisconsin for a camp at Justin Trails Resort outside Sparta, WI. This camp is headed up by our good friend Dawn Justin. Justin Trails is a gorgeous setting for a camp and we are so thankful for it. This camp had lots of community participation with a visit from the Gunderson life flight helicopter, the Sparta Area Fire Department, Sparta Ambulance and Sergeant Fischer from the Sparta Police Department. Sergeant Fischer busting out the riot shield for the marshmallow fight is still being talked about in my house!! We also had our friends from Child Evangelsim Fellowship bring out their Good News Club to share the Gospel and provide face painting and Pastor Matt from Horizon Christian Fellowship gave an awesome salvation message for all. Very thankful for an awesome camp up here in our neck of the woods!

Our last event for August is one that has really become one of our most popular for families and that is our Kicking Bear Bowfishing event hosted by The Siewert Group and this year’s planning was led up by Nkaonyia Yang. We are so thankful to have the support of the Wisconsin Bowfishing Association and AMS Bowfishing for this event. The selfless dedication of so many boat captains to bring out their boats and guide for us every year is so awesome and AMS even donated a complete bowfishing set up that one lucky kiddo took home that night! The weather was perfect which was a real blessing after getting stormed out twice last year. After dinner Pastor Kevin shared a message with all about how fishing can be a greatway to connect with God. We then lined up the captains and started filling boats. Ten boats headed out on the mighty Mississippi River that night and the action was non-stop. We are so thankful for this event and we love that so many families get to enjoy such a unique outdoor activity together!

August was really packed with some awesome opportunities for the ministry and weare so thankful. A month where we really got to partner with folks in unique ways and also a time to be thankful for local leaders across the country who step up to lead teams for camps. We are so grateful for our Kicking Bear family and all they do each camp season. While we still have a couple camps and events lined up for this fall we are also excited to be entering the hunting season! Please join us in praying over all the mentors and mentees who will be out chasing critters this fall. God is good and we are thankful!!

Kicking Bear’s camps are FUN and FREE! Did you know that for 25 years, all camps and events have been completely free of cost for all participants?!! We don’t want finances to be a barrier to block kids from hearing about the good news of Jesus Christ.

Camps cost approximately $7,500 or $50 per child. Would you consider providing the funds needed for a camp or for a few kids to attend free of cost? If God is prompting you to give please, give here : https://staging.kickingbear.org/support -us/

Kicking Bear is seeking to continue to live out James 1:27 and we are asking for your support to continue to do so.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A Joy Filled June

By Kevin Bonnar

Kicking Bear Ministries started off the month of June by heading to the beautiful Gype Hills of Medicine Lodge, Kansas for our 11th year of Kicking Bear Kansas Camp! A highlight of this year’s camp was definitely the large group worship and message on Friday night with a big ole lightening show off in the distance! We also celebrated with 3 baptisms on Saturday and a community wide outdoor church service on Sunday! Big thanks to First Christian Church, Medicine Lodge 1st Assembly of God Church and Medicine Lodge Methodist Church for their heart to be “one church” and serve the community together. Big thank you to the Kansas crew for being amazing hosts and putting on an awesome camp!

The next weekend of June Kicking Bear had two events up here in Wisconsin. Living Word Christian Church hosted an adventure day on their grounds in La Crosse, WI and our friends from Grace Community Church in the Kickapoo Valley set up a camp right in downtown Ontario, WI. Both events had beautiful weather, lots of fun and the Gospel message was shared with all!

The middle of the month was really cooking for Kicking Bear. From Texas, to Minnesota, to Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan!

The 4 Points Kicking Bear Camp in Pampa, TX hosted by our friends the Ferguson family and just an amazing community of family and friends, really worked hard to put on camp this year. The Pampa area was devastated by wild fires this spring which was then followed up with severe flooding. It took a lot of work and a lot of love to rebuild and bring this camp to life this year. God is good and He provided in amazing ways as donations from around the country poured in to replace lost supplies and the folks down in Texas, who don’t shy away from hard work, really came together to make this day happen. The camp was a HUGE success with around 200 kiddos, 200 plus parents, 14 decisions for Christ and 2 baptisms, praise the Lord! More pics here!

In Minnesota we joined up with our good friends from Whitetail Habitat Solutions for a fun day with families. Folks were treated to special tours with Jeff Sturgis from WHS as he shared all his knowledge of deer habitat and kiddos got to spend time with the Kicking Bear crew slinging arrows, throwing hawks and all sorts of other shenanigans! This event also serves as a fundraiser for the ministry and we are so thankful for all the support and encouragement from Whitetail Habitat Solutions and all who spent the day with us.

In Wisconsin the Kicking Bear team got the opportunity to serve with Camp Send-A-Kid at beautiful Camp Decorah outside Holmen, WI. This yearly camp is made available for kiddos 8-12 years old and is supported by some really amazing agencies like Scouting America and local law enforcement personnel from the DARE and GREAT programs. We are so blessed to have this yearly connection with kiddos and this year was a blast!! Click here to learn more about CSAK.

In Ohio the Kicking Bear team was back at Deerassic Park in Cambridge for our annual event. Deerassic has been the home of some of our largest events over the years. The weather this year was pretty tough with super hot temps, but we still had a cool day having fun with all the kiddos and sharing the Gospel. Thankful.

In Michigan we had two awesome opportunities come our way last month. We partnered with our Michigan Champions by joining up with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at their Michigan FCA Sports Camp with over 530 young athletes in attendance! We will be partnering again to host a Kicking Bear Camp at Cedar Hollow Ranch this September. We also teamed up with our friends at the Ray Park Foundation for a fishing tournament to raise funds for kids to get in the outdoors. This is the 10th year partnering with this amazing organization and despite high winds and storms, this year’s fishing tournament at Lake St. Claire was lots of fun and a huge success. We are excited to team back up again this fall to take kiddos out deer hunting!

We closed out the month of June with an amazing weekend with two events up in Wisconsin. First we partnered with Horicon Marsh Archers to host our first ever camp in Horicon, WI. The weather was perfect, the archery club grounds were amazing and these first time camps really encourage us to keep going to new places and sharing the Gospel!

Our last event of the month was another first as we partnered up with Pizza Ranch in La Crosse, WI to have a camp right outside the restaurant! We got a chance to partner up with Samaritan’s Feet for this event and kiddos got their feet washed and a brand new pair of shoes from this amazing ministry. This camp was extra special as two of founding servant Karen Howell’s granddaughters Tristen and Olivia run the Pizza Ranch location and were so key in planning the day. During our closing prayer we honored the memory of Karen and also shared in the joy of how all those seeds of faith she helped plant over the years in thousands of kiddos across the country and her own family here at home had taken root and helped produce this awesome opportunity to share the love of Jesus. We really look forward to partnering with Pizza Ranch and Samaritan’s Feet for more camps coming soon!

Kicking Bear is seeking to continue to live out James 1:27 and we are asking for your support to continue to do so.