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!