More Hunting

Josh went to Hamilton to go hunting with the Berens this past week. He left right after therapy on Wednesday and came home late Saturday night. I think he is the luckiest beginning hunter because he got a doe on opening day (Thursday) and then got a buck on Saturday afternoon. Plus he got a doe and a buck at Legends Ranch over Labor Day Weekend, and he got a small buck during a handicapped hunting weekend in October. I bet you can guess what is filling up our freezer this fall!

Josh is in his glory. He LOVES hunting. He has shot squirrels and pheasants as well. He will be heading back out to Hamilton again this coming Wednesday and will probably stay until the weekend. We will miss Josh for Thanksgiving, but it brings me extreme joy to see him so happy and moving on with his life. Besides his wonderful physical therapy, this is the best kind of therapy for his spirit. Josh is a different person (in a VERY GOOD way) since he has filled his life with hunting and the Berens. They are the most wonderful people you could ever meet. They just love Josh and find so much joy in seeing him happy. And they all get to go hunting together!!!

Clarks in Saginaw

We finally got to meet the Clarks. I have been cooresponding with Mrs. Clark (Charee) for several weeks now. Her son (Chad) was in a motorcycle accident in July this year and he is struggling with being paralyzed. I could hear the hurt and despair in Charee's CarePage postings and I knew we had to meet and share our experiences with them and give them some hope. We have also found out over the past 3 1/2 years that you have to know people in order to find out what is available for people in wheelchairs and their families. Now we can share what we have found and pass it on, like others have done for us.

The Clarks were going to be sharing their testimony at their church today, so Josh and I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet them. We have tried to get together for a few weeks, but it just hadn't worked out, so we surprised them today at their church. They ended up inviting us to their home to share dinner together before we headed back home. Since Charee and I have been emailing back and forth, it felt like visiting a good friend when we finally met today. They had lots of questions for Josh and he was in his element sharing what he had experienced and learned over the last 3 years.

These are exciting times now since we are at a point where we can help someone else out that is just starting out on the same road we have already traveled. I think this is the beginning of a great friendship between our two families. As Chad and Josh get to know each other better, I think great things are going to happen for both of them.

The two boys have so much in common. They both love the outdoors and hunting. They both are adventuresome and stubborn, hate to read and dislike school. They are a perfect match - two peas in a pod! I think Josh will love hanging out at their house because they have lots of land around them where the two boys could roam around in. Chad also has a collection of hunting guns that Josh took an interest in. Chad hunted before his accident but hasn't been hunting yet because he is still getting his strength back and also learning how to deal with his paralysis. I'm sure he can teach Josh some things about hunting; and even though Josh has just started hunting this fall, he can show Chad the little tricks he has learned about hunting in a wheelchair.

What a wonderful week we have had. Josh went hunting, plus we got to meet the Clarks. What more could you ask for? Well, we could ask for healed bodies, but we will settle for this right now. God will take care of the healings. He's pretty good at that. :)

Sue