NEW EXPERIENCES & BIG MEMORIES

I can sum up my experience with Nimrod Outdoors in three words; hospitality/rest, camaraderie, and experience. The first response that comes to mind is Hospitality. Hugs are given freely and food is prepared and offered generously. There is laughter and joy that surrounds this precious family. M.A. and Chelsea and the kids are all part of what makes this ministry so special. The Sanctuary (Respite Room) was a wonderful break from the hectic and loud and as soon as you walk in, you're invited to quiet and rest.

Personally, I also found wonderful Camaraderie with my friend and brother, M.A. I loved our chats around the campfire, especially when we talked about godly masculinity, fatherhood and what does a godly definition of success look like. We loved sharing our God-stories and bragging on all that He has done in our lives! He even invited me to share my own story on their Nimrod Podcast! M.A. has challenged me personally to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. He even taught me to shoot a compound bow successfully. Our first fishing trip he set up for me and my sons, Noah and Joshua, was with Mr. Jerry. Not only did he do a great job and we caught lots of fish, we had an incredible experience- especially for my sons! I look forward to more fishing trips and hopefully being able to have the opportunity to go on one of the Father and Sons hunts- it would be a new experience for me, Noah, and Joshua! My love for this family and Nimrod Outdoors runs deep. I see a tremendous need- deficient discipleship- which translates to confusion around godly fatherhood, husband and manhood- running rampant. This ministry addresses those very things and goes hand in hand with the devotional M.A. wrote, "The Hands of a Warrior", which I also highly recommend and have sent several copies to various friends already. My hope and prayer is that our family has been even a small portion of the love and encouragement we've received from them over the past several months. What an incredible experience it is to be doing exactly what God has designed and called you to do! Thank you Nimrod Outdoors for all you do and who you are! Love, The Baumans

ANSWERED PRAYERS - A FATHER'S TESTIMONY

Our trip with Nimrod Outdoors was such a blessing in so many amazing ways. For starters, we went on the trip to celebrate my son Miles’ 12th birthday. He loves the outdoors, especially hunting, but neither of us had any real experience deer hunting. Needless to say, we needed expert help. The problem was that we couldn’t afford a guided trip anywhere and Transylvania County is not the easiest place to hunt, especially if you’re a newbie.

When we heard about the opportunity to go with Nimrod, it opened a door for us to go hunting together that we otherwise wouldn’t have anywhere else. The fact that the trip was guided by M.A. and his dad and was free was big for us. My wife Heather signed us up and started to pray. She asked fervently for Miles to get a big first deer for his birthday.

The two days before the hunt my wife had a health scare and we ended up taking a ride in an ambulance and spending the night at the hospital. I just about canceled our hunting trip, but she wouldn’t have it. She insisted I still take Miles hunting and doubled down on her prayers by asking the rest of our community in Christ to pray too.

The weekend was perfect. M.A. and Chelsea welcomed us and made us feel right at home and the food was amazing. The accommodations immediately took Miles right off his feet. He loved it, all of it. From the time around the fire to the devotions on King David that M.A. did, everything pointed to Jesus.

The day of the hunt was no exception. That morning David (who is such an awesome man of God, who allowed us to hunt his farm) dropped us off at our blind and Miles and I settled in waiting quietly, whispering our hopes and dreams that we would see a deer, any deer that morning. As the dawn broke, we saw our first deer, a good-sized doe, way off to the right and out of shooting distance. Miles’ heart raced in the hopes that she would come our way but an hour passed by with nothing in sight. Then suddenly it happened. God’s answer to my wife’s prayers walked right at us.

Miles and I were whispering quietly looking off to the right when out of nowhere a huge nine-point buck walks straight out of the woods directly towards our blind. I locked eyes with him. He raised his head and stopped and stared at me for a moment, all while Miles did everything in his power to remain calm and get his rifle ready. This buck drops his head and starts walking straight at us again! At about 20 yards from our blind, I moved my head slightly to the left and he immediately turns broad side, stops, and looks straight at us. Boom! Miles takes his first ever shot at a deer, a huge mighty God sized deer! I see its body ripple and he ran hard, head down to the left just out of our sight. What a moment for Miles and me. I was so proud of him; he was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. Then the doubt creeped in. “Did I hit it” he asked me. “Oh yeah, you got him” I reassured him, but did he?

After what seemed like days (only an hour or so) M.A. and the rest of our hunting party came to pick us up. They all could see what we couldn’t. Just around the corner, laying in the field about 50 yards to our left, Miles’ trophy deer had fallen. Miles made a perfect shot!

What an answer to prayer! And that was just the start of the trip. God continued to heap His love and grace on us through the remainder of the weekend. A good friend paid for Miles to have his first ever deer mounted so he could see it and always remember that favored Saturday morning with his dad and his God. We both were blessed with harvesting a deer. That trip seven deer were taken, four of those being first timers! The devotions spoke to all of us and encouraged our walk with the Lord while sparking good conversations on the ride home. We made new friends (who live just down the road from us!) and reconnected with old ones. And we have a freezer full of fresh deer meat to last until next year!

We are so grateful to Nimrod Outdoors for answering the call of God to invest in the lives of Father’s and their children. My son and I made memories that we will share for a lifetime, and we look forward to bringing the rest of the crew down soon!

Thankfully,

Shannon Compton (43)

Miles Compton (12)