News

Often when working with the Boys In CTO I ask them to tell stories about the adventures we have together. The big part of telling a CTO Story is starting the story correctly. We ALWAYS have to start a CTO Story with the words “And there I was…”. Without those magical words the story wouldn’t have that special something that makes it a CTO adventure.  It’s a kin to “Once upon a time…” when telling a bedtime story. With that being said I’m gonna tell you the story about the archery hunt we had in October.

And there I was with Shaun on a Saturday morning sitting in the east stand.

It was about 7:00 in the AM and was pushing 68° much too hot for deer hunting, but then all of a sudden it happened a deer was making his way south briskly walking the path that went right in front of us. Shaun was ready as the deer moved into the first open window he had. The deer stopped, but only for a second, it was a Buck! He started to move forward again and Shaun lost the first window of opportunity! Then Bear sprung into action with a soft grunt. To no avail the deer kept moving then Bear, not to let this opportunity slip away sounded a GGGRRRUUNNNNTTTT that was both sound and obnoxious and sounded nothing like a deer would sound, but oh my it worked! He stopped in his tracks and started to look around.right then you heard the sound of the crossbow release its bolt just as the bolt reached the ground, both Bear and Shaun thought that he might have shaved the belly, but I watched the Buck as he ran off he ducked into the tall CRP grass and was making his way to safe ground when all of a sudden he stopped! I couldn’t believe it the buck was on Wobbly Leg Street! the Buck swayed first to the right then to the left back to the right then to the left and fell over! I said, “Shaun I’m not sure what you hit, but you definitely have a deer down over there.” Being that it was early in the morning we waited to see if another doe was going to show up. We joked about recreating this picture. 

As the morning went on the excitement of shooting his first deer got the better of Shaun and he wanted to get down to go see his deer. D’Lige and our other Sportsman Trevor met us at our stand and we began to track Shaun’s buck. We went to the bolt that Shaun had used and sure enough there was blood all over it. This was promising!We tried to look for a blood trail but we couldn’t find any. None at all. Luckily I was able to watch the whole path the deer took and was able to look back at the stand to estimate where he went into the grass and started to walk the CRP in hopes to bump into Shaun’s harvest. We eventually found the buck and then the test of hauling him out of the grass began. It was a exciting and fun hunt & I look forward to seeing how well the shoulder mount will come out.

Our campfire time consisted of walking in your calling we discussed how God has a plan for us and that even when it seems like He isn’t with us that He is preparing us for our future. We talked about how God often puts challenges in our life to help us develop into the spiritual warriors that He wants us to be. We shared the hurts we had in our lives and how God used those adversities to make us stronger.

I have often wondered with the rise of social media and virtual friends do young people today have a lack in genuine relationships? During our youth hunt weekend our campfire discussions were about Proverbs 27:17 Irons sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. We spoke of true brotherhood; what it means to hold each other accountable, and that sometimes we have to have the hard discussions involving confrontations rooted in love in order to help our brothers see when they are in need of correction. It was during these discussions that one of the young men revealed that he has over 200 “friends” on Facebook, but none of them were really “friends” that he could turn to in times of need; moreover they were definitely not going to fulfill the proverb of helping sharpen him.

It was then that CTO Guide Charlie Woodard brought a great word inspired by Holy Spirit. He reached into the campfire and pulled out a log that was burning well, he then yawped at the sportsmen that the log represented them. “How easy is it for the log to be engulfed in flames while in the fire with the other logs that are also on fire!” The youth answered, “easy.” Then Charlie threw the log over his shoulder and it landed about 10 feet away from the campfire. “Notice how when the log is all out there by itself that it begins to loose its flame. That is us! As men, when we don’t surround ourselves with other Christian brothers how easy is it for us to loose our flame?!”

It was after this demonstration that the young men began to see the value of Christian brotherhood. Their eyes were opened to how bad we need each other. We also had a successful hunt with two of the boys harvesting their first deer ever. Please see the pictures with the link below.

Click here for pictures

The Jo Daviess chapter took a small group of boys out for some sporting clay shooting instruction done by Will Pick, certified instructor and elite shooter.  Evangelism strategies was the topic of discussion on the way to and from the event. Once there, the boys were taught shot-gunning techniques while shooting nearly 100 rounds each at various stations and presentations.  Progress and improvement was clear in everyone's shooting. A final demonstration by Will dazzled all attendees and gave them all something to "shoot" for in the future.

As we close out our 5th year of summer camps I was reflecting on all the lives of the young men we have influenced for the cause of Christ here at Cross Trail Outfitters of Illinois. As the State Director I have had the privilege to witnessed many boys turn into responsible young men. Moreover watching these young men make responsible choices for their futures as they leave high school and start planning for adulthood. These boys continue to choose Christ, and grow in their faith.

When the youth arrived at this summer camp I began to realize the Lord was blessing us with a whole new crop of young men. All but two of the boys in attendance were new to the CTO Ultimate Summer Camp Experience. All the young men came eager to learn outdoor skills and were excited to get to use all the equipment from archery to clay shooting. We spent time with each of these youth helping them develop their skills and then gave them the opportunity to use what they had learned.

While on the river as we experienced the jumping Asian Carp. Many of the boys were capable of catching a carp or two with their new found archery skill. Making time on the range we the youth were able to experience many different types of firearms including rifles, revolvers, and pistols. Lastly we worked on clay shooting allowing the youth to learn how to shotgun hunt for upland birds and waterfowl. Each sportsman discovered the tools and methods at which he excelled, and which ones challenged him. All the Sportsmen were able to demonstrate their abilities for the Sportsmen’s Challenge.

Our campfires were lead by our Jo Daviess Outfitter Paul Hansen. Many of the young men in attendance may have been new to CTO they weren’t new to church. Many had a background in religious tradition, but needed a lesson in scripture. We had discussions about the difference between what the scripture says and what man has added over the years. We discussed how tradition may not be bad if the “why” is understood along with the action. As we read in Mark 7:1-13 tradition for traditions sake is powerless, but tradition wrapped in scripture can be spiritually powerful. A great example of tradition mixed with scripture in 1 Corinthians 11: 1-2 & 17-34 where Paul (the author, not our Outfitter) gives us instruction on the Lord’s Supper and the tradition in which we are to participate. 

We were able to share with the Sportsmen that we must first go to the scripture and learn first from what God’s word is telling us. Then if tradition parallels Holy Scripture it honors God, If the tradition is not rooted in scripture then it is useless and has no power. We asked them to look into their traditions, and to measure those traditions against Scripture. If you are reading this I ask that you do the same thing. We can only grow in Christ if we study to show ourselves approved, if we follow blindly we have no power just like the the tradition so many cling to.

Click here to see pictures

Unlike the weather for the fishing outing, God provided us with AMAZING weather for this event.  We started out with a picnic lunch followed by a short devotion.  The 10 boys were challenged by the story of the rich young ruler: Does God have first place in your life or is money, sports, video games, music…your “god”? 

Then on to the marina where Lee Butler (from Freeport) brought 4 kayaks for the boys to try out.  Some of the boys had done some kayaking before, others had not; but they all gave it a try and had fun paddling around Lake Le-Aqua-Na here in northern Illinois. Three of the boys brought their own kayaks so the remaining 7 boys had to share the four kayaks.  They did a pretty good job sharing, but it was hard for some of them to be self-less.  So - back to the Bible question: Does God have first place in your life — or do you?  The boys were each able to get 2 opportunities to try their skills at kayaking.

When not paddling, the boys broke into groups and did some hiking and just horsing around in the water.  Dead fish seemed to be a pretty exciting find, along with a snake (Hey! What if it’s a cottonmouth?).

When time came to load up the trailer, the boys all chipped in to help and gave Lee a round of applause for giving up his time and kayaks so we might have some fun.  Another lesson in selflessness. 

I had a chance to meet some of the moms when they dropped off their sons.  The Gospel message was shared with some of them and they were all thrilled at the opportunities CTO is bringing to their sons (& their son’s friends). They all — moms and boys — are excited to know about the next Jo Daviess County CTO adventure — and of course, so are we.  Please pray for the boys (and their moms) that the soil would be ready to receive the seed of truth as we move forward serving God through outdoor experiences!

See more pictures

Well, we didn’t feed 5,000 and there sure weren’t any leftovers — but we did see God at work in Jo Daviess County! God did not send us the weather we were expecting for a fishing outing, but he did send us boys with good attitudes and enough fish (25 large mouth bass) to feed them.  Jerry, our expert fisherman on hand, showed the boys how to clean, prepare, and cook the fish that were caught. He must have done it right because everyone was a member of the “Clean Plate Club”.  We had some interesting conversation while watching the movie “Do You Believe?”.  Most of the boys had good knowledge of Scripture but there is still work to be done in the hearts of the others.  Continue to pray for the boys as they continue to learn about the love of God here in Jo Daviess County.  Our next event on the calendar is a kayaking experience at a local state park scheduled for June 6.  Can’t wait to see what God has planned for that!!

When we first began doing hunts here in Illinois our biggest challenge was shelter. We had many a landowner willing to allow the CTO Sportsmen to tromp all over the property to harvest game, but they didn’t always have a place for us to lay our heads. Over the years we have become very creative in finding ways to be comfortable and catch some Zz’s while in the great outdoors; some of which included trailers, sheds, and more times than not - tents! To keep warm, some of us even had to go to two sleeping bags.

In recent years we have seen God’s blessings as our landowners have built shelters, cabins and homes. Theses shelters allowed us to leave the tents in the trailer and stay warm and dry. Although those initial outings helped build character there is something to be said for the warmth a home provides. This was the case during our Turkey Hunt Outing the final week of April.

Turkey hunting has limited hours starting thirty minutes before sunrise through one o’clock the in the afternoon. Another caveat to hunting turkey is that you are only allowed to hunt the males, called toms. As you probably guessed, every time we should have been able to hunt, it rained. On top of that, the only turkey that was seen was a female turkey, called a hen. These conditions did not leave us hopeful for a successful turkey hunt. However, as the rain let up we discovered a different hunt - morel mushrooms. It took a few minutes to find the first one but it wasn’t long before the boys couldn’t stop finding them. Each sportsman was able to find at least one, while most found several (some even underfoot but a success nonetheless.)

The lack of success with the turkey hunt coupled with the surprise mushroom hunting success mirrored our campfire time as we discussed the question “What does success look like?” The Lord lead the group to review the passage of the rich young ruler. Boys gave answers to the question that echoed much of our society - money, big house, nice cars, fame. The boys were challenged to think of success in the way Jesus describes in Mark 8:34-38. So often the trappings of this world can lead us to fulfillment in ourselves, our successes which can lead down a road of pride and ultimate unhappiness. Jesus calls us to lay down our ideas of success and trust His plan. True happiness comes from our relationship with the Lord as He shows us the deep contentment of a life lived for Him.

See Pictures

Hooray! The first outing for the Jo Daviess County chapter of CTO is on the calendar!! Our first official event is scheduled for May 13-14. The agenda will include a pizza dinner, casting competitions, a movie & camp out Friday night.  Saturday will start with devotions, breakfast, and clean up, then off to do some fishing at a pond on a local farm.  The boys were excited to hear about CTO at at the after-school program at “The Hangout”, a Christian based gathering spot for kids in grades 4-8. We are praying God will send the boys who need to hear the truth and experience outdoor life up close! Please continue to pray for God’s truth to be realized in the lives of all who attend. Stay tuned for more details and pictures.

God is simply amazing. This Sportsmen’s Night what like any other, we did pellet gun shooting on turkey targets. We had moved them back a little farther then the weeks before to create a new challenge. 

I was talking to one of the sportsmen that night about guns being fun when used properly, but also can be deadly if we don’t use them the right way. Earlier in the week, some parents reached out to talk to me about their son. He was being bullied in school causing him to become upset, and his reaction was to say some highly inappropriate things to those that were bullying him. The parents were not sure if he should be allowed to participate in CTO as part of his punishment, but I told them, “Hey at least here he will see other Christian kids and maybe they can turn his week around.

The bible study that week was held by the usual CTO Guide that helps in this fashion, and here is where it gets fun. The entire bible study was about being mad, angry, and wondering why bad things happen to good people. It was like a light when on in this kid! He was eager to read more about this in the bible. He carried on a good lengthy discussion about what we should do when we get mad or angry, and how to handle ourselves in this position. It was simply amazing how God took two leaders and had them on the same page. Neither of us had discussed what had happened earlier in this young man’s week, but Holy Spirit knew, and changed this young mans life for the good. 

Youth all over are being bullied at school. It is awesome that we are not bullied by God, but that he directs us to Him and shows how His love is amazing.

Congratulations to the winners in our 2016 20 Gun Drawing! If you have not been contacted yet, please contact CTO Illinois State Director Eric St. Pierre at (217) 480-2327 or email estpierre@teamcto.org.

1. Ed Goeckner (Effingham, IL)- Remington Versa Max 12 ga Turkey Camo and Mossy Oak

2. Jonathan Buening (Homer, IL) - Uberti 1873 Rifle and Carbine and 357 Mag

3. Brian Conway (Champaign, IL) - Smith & Wesson M&P15 .223/.56

4. Ed Clem (Homer, IL) - Smith & Wesson M&P15 .223/.56

5. Brian Conway (Champaign IL) - Stag Model 1 AR 15 .223/5.56

6. John Pruett (Fisher, IL) - Henry American Beauty Rose .22 Long Rifle

7. Steve Logsdon (Champaign, IL) - Ruger 1911 Lightweight Commander .45

8. Anthony Hancock (Homer, IL)- Henry Silverboy 17 HMR

9. Bob Treach (Mahomet, IL) - Henry Goldenboy 17 HMR

10. Delbert Retteman (Rantoul, IL) - Remington 870 compact 20 ga. In Mossy Oak Pink Camo

11. Wayne Shaw - Remington 887 Nitro Mag Tactical 12 ga

12. Greg Pressom (Sadorus, IL)- Smith & Wesson AR 15/22 22 Long Rifle

13. Tim Lopez (Champaign, IL) - Remington 870 Express 20 ga

14. Ray & Deb Griest (Urbana, IL)- Ruger American .30-06

15. Ron Steward (Springfield IL) - Ruger American Rife .22-250

16. Dan Erbes (Urbana, IL) - Ruger LC9S

17. Joseph Stokes (Tremont, IL) - Ruger 10/22 Takedown .22 Long Rifle

18. John Whitney (Belleville, Il) - Ruger 10/22 Collector Series Two

19. Sean Viernum - KelTec P-3AT .380

20. Jeffery Hallett (Champaign, IL) - Double Tap .45 Ported