Texas Youth Hunt Weekend

After several failed password attempts, I finally was able to log-back-in to my blog. I then realized it had been well over a year since I had written. So I thought, why not give it a try again?

This past weekend, Jordan and I spent our time with 8 youth hunters and their parents/guardians on 1100 acres of land owned by some very kind families. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department runs the Texas Youth Hunt Program (TYHP) across the state in many different areas, several times a year. Jordan has completed the required course to become a “Huntmaster” and help run these hunts. I go along with him as the cook and have named myself the “Cookmaster” of the weekend J. The “facilities” are very primitive. We camp in tents, cook over a propane heated “stove”, use a water hose about 25 yards away for cooking, go without electricity, and use a hole dug in the ground with a pop up tent for a bathroom. Let’s just say, feeding/organizing/arranging/teaching/transporting 30 people in these conditions with little sleep can be a little interesting at times. Here is a schedule of our TYHP Weekend:

Friday:

-Arrive at camp (around Gonzales, near Palmetto State Park this time) around 5:00 pm.

-Unload the food and coolers, begin to set up camp, and go for a tour with the land owners to find and mark the way to the hunting blinds where we will be taking the hunters and their parents all weekend.

-Finish setting up camp, make sure the hunters have turned in their paperwork/qualifications/requirements/etc, have a short introduction/rules/timeline/schedule meeting with everyone, then go to sleep.

Saturday:

-Wake up at 4 am to get “cold breakfast” ready for hunters and parents. This include cereal, pastries, pop tarts, coffee, hot chocolate)

-Load up to take hunters and parents to blinds by 5:15-5:30.

-Come back to camp around 6:30-7:00 and take an hour NAP!

-around 9 am, I start making breakfast (breakfast tacos) and Jordan goes to pick up the hunters at 9:30.

-Then we eat, clean up, clean deer, give the hunters a “skills test” (hunter safety), have lunch (sandwiches), and take the hunters back out to the blinds around 3:00.

-I start getting supper ready around 4:00 (stew), then we pick them up and eat around 8:30. Clean up, clean deer, and get to bed around midnight.

Sunday:

-Same morning routine…4 am for breakfast, take hunters and parents to blinds, pick them up, have hot breakfast (pancakes, sausage, and eggs), clean up and clean deer.

-Have the hunters write thank you notes, pack up camp, take pictures, and head home around 12 noon!

To some, this may sound like an awful weekend; however, it really is not that bad, and at times, is enjoyable! I like being outdoors, seeing the excitement in the hunters, preparing food for them, etc. I do not exactly care for the bathroom situation, flies, hard ground for sleeping, or lack of shower. Anyway, we volunteer to be there to help teach the young hunters about the outdoors, hunter safety, cleaning harvested animals, etc. What a great opportunity Jordan and I have to be an influence on these families. We have a chance to be an example to them by our actions and our words: praying before our meals, thanking God for His creation, being patient, being helpful, being servants, etc. Although we had a great opportunity to be Godly examples, I find myself looking back and asking, "Was a Godly example for these people I volunteered to help over the weekend? Could they tell by my words and my actions that I am a Christian? Or did I sigh and become frustrated when the hunters left trash on the ground? Did I mumble and complain when those who were supposed to wash the dirty dishes rushed off to head home and left a stack for me to clean?" I am ashamed to say the answer is yes, I did sigh and become frustrated, I did mumble and complain.

Reflecting on the weekend, I thought about Jesus as a servant, I thought of John 13. Jesus showed the apostles how to be a servant. He knew that Judas would betray Him, He knew that Peter would deny Him, He knew His crucifixion was nearing, but He still washed their feet! He could have easily said, “I am doing all this for you, yet you are going to betray me, so I don’t want to wash your feet.” He could have sighed, mumbled, complained about the road He was about to travel to the cross, but He didn’t. Jesus showed us the heart of a servant many times, and I am so grateful for His example. All I had to do this weekend was cook for the hunters and their parents, yet I too easily became frustrated, complained, mumbled, and sighed because they didn’t help clean up. Jesus gave so much more than a weekend of cooking for the entire world, and He did it without mumbling and complaining. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn from God's Word and so thankful that Jesus showed us how to be true servants. I was on the hunt to be a servant, but I pray that I remember that I was put on this earth to be a servant everywhere, everyday.
Although these TYHP weekends are meant to be learning experiences for the youth hunters, this past weekend was a learning experience for me.

Mark 10:45…”For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”