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!