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As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

This scripture is the verse that appears on the top of the main page of the web site of my men’s group called “The Field and Stream Team of Kensington Community Church”. This group of men holds events that gets kids and men into the Lords great outdoors, with a message of his love and grace. This group has increased in numbers over the past three years by more than 50% from when I got involved in 2008. Through those three years I have become quite addicted to hunting, fishing, shooting and the great outdoors. My sporting goods collection has taken over my garage and storage space, not to mention the gun collection that as of 2000 was none existent. This brings me to the fore mentioned scripture.

As of the year 2000, I had never been hunting before. At that time my girlfriend Robin, asked me to Thanksgiving dinner at her parents house in Charlevoix, MI. She told me that her dad wanted to take me deer hunting, and that this would be a great way to get on his good side, in her words, “Because he really doesn't want to start liking another guy that isn’t going to stick around”.  So I told her “Ah, this doesn’t sound like a good idea for me. I have never hunted, it will be cold, and your dad will have a gun with a scope on it!” Never the less, I put my city slicker cold whether clothes on and was handed a rifle with little to no instruction to its operation. He says to me “Here is the safety, here are some shells, (they looked like bullets to me, but who am I to correct him.) Keep the safety on until you have a deer in the crosshairs”. “ Oh yah, if it’s brown it’s down, we have enough tags so put the crosshairs just behind the front leg and half way up the body and squeeze the trigger”. So off we went to the hunting property.

We arrive at the hunting property before dawn on a cold and windy November morning. Mr. E (Robin’s dad) loads the thirty odd six, and hands it to me and says, “Now remember the safety is right here, and don’t smoke in the blind!” Well, I remembered where the safety was, but I don’t think I will be able to not smoke in the blind. I no longer smoke but I will tell you this, it is really boring just sitting in a box on the side of hill in the freezing cold and not smoke!

I was escorted by Mr. E about 400 yrs down this path, on my right there appeared a gate and a barbed wire fence that starts to accompany us on our journey. And on the left is a hill that is covered with what looks like swaying cedar tree monsters. The path starts to turn slowly to the left, around this hill and Mr. E stops and points up the hill and says to me, “About 20 steps up the hill under that cedar is a blind with a bucket in there, you will see when the sun comes up the shooting lanes out to this field in front of you, good luck!”. I started up the hill and after 5 steps I looked back to ask him where he was going to be and he was gone. A slight sense of fear crept up my spine and I quickly flipped on my flashlight for the rest of my approach to the blind. I settled in to the small box and set the gun up on the wood wall that was opened to the field in front of me.

I have never hunted before, so every sound I heard was a deer coming to get me! I’m just a city boy sitting in the woods with a gun and a Detroit Tigers Jacket on, (because it had an orange color in it like hunter orange.) As light slowly revealed to me my surroundings, I was in complete awe of the beauty that was unfolding. With every passing moment something new came into view. The cold was no longer an issue with all this to keep my attention, along with the lit cigarette that I was holding in my right hand.

Out of the left side opening of the box blind was a shooting lane that was limited to about 80 yards until it hit the dense forest. I heard some leaves and twigs crackling that way, so I put the rifle out the opening, resting it on the 2 x 4 that supported the wall of my hiding place. For what seamed to be an hour, I heard this crackling. While looking through the scope on the rifle I see the head of a deer from the left of the shooting lane. “HOLY CRAP! THERE’S DEER OVER THERE! SHSHSHSHS!!” I said out loud, but not loud enough for them to hear me. A few deer walk from left to right through this six foot shooting lane and then one just stops, right in the middle of my view, a huge doe just standing there in full view of my scope. I was not able to catch my breath and my shaking was uncontrollable. I could not believe that this deer was not moving away, I kept telling myself “it’s going to move away so don’t shoot! If it waits one more second I’m going to have too shoot”. This deer was in that position for one second to long. I centered the crosshairs on the middle of the body just behind the front leg and exhaled, then, BOOOOMMM! Fire and smoke came from the end of the rifle, just outside my secret hiding place, and man my ears where ringing like crazy. The deer jumped up and ran off. I had just harvested my first deer! HOLY CRAP!

My two way radio interrupts my excitement and the calmness of the morning. It was the voice of Mr. E, “was that you shooting?” he asks. “Yah, I think I shot a doe, now what do I do?” I said. “I’ll be right there, just wait for me.” So I picked up the casing of the “Bullet” that I shot and hid the cigarette buts. He just appeared behind me in no time. “Were did she go Pards?” he asked. I pointed to the spot were I last saw the deer. Now Billy Gangle, Mr. E’s cousin also is on the seen. “We will not need to track this deer” Billy says. All of us could hear this deer struggling in the brush. Poor Billy just had surgery on his shooting shoulder and he turns to me and says, “You’re going to have to put her down?” I replied, “I have to do that?” “No, I’ll do your first one, but after this you’re on your own kid”. Shooting with his left arm, it took poor Mr. Gangle three shots from eight feet to hit this deer and put her down. Mr. E and I were laughing so hard, Mr. Gangle just kept telling us how it wasn't his right shooting arm and that he was doing me a favor I better “watch it.”

Well, Mr. E and I dragged the deer out into the opening and he began to field dress my harvest, explaining to me step by step what he was doing. Then with the guts all out on the grass he says to me, “I hope you were listening, that’s the last deer I’m cleaning for you”. I’m glad I was listening, and that I got a “B” in high school biology, because I know he was not kidding. He then says “nice job, good going!” I thanked them both and we loaded my prize into the atv and headed back to the car.

That night at dinner Mr. E said grace before we eat, just like he always did, but this time he thanks the Lord for Jim’s harvest earlier that day. My ears were still ringing and my mind kept running over the day’s events. Mr. E asked me if it was ok to give that deer to a farmer in need. I completely agreed with it. Hunting with Mr. E and Mr. Gangle, along with Dan, Robin’s brother-in-law was now part of my life every November in Charlevoix. I then tried to find other things to hunt and convince all of them to come with me, just so we could all be out there together more.

  If it was not for Mr. E getting me out there to hunt I would not be involved with a men’s group in a church that takes kids and the unsaved out to the Lords great outdoors. This is just one of many stories of our adventures in the Lords wilderness. Being able to ride in a golf cart with him for “no more than four hours” was always enjoyable. I will never forget him or his laugh; it was a success for me to get him to let out a big belly laugh… I will miss him every day, and the upcoming golf and hunting seasons will not be easy for me! What will be easy for me is that I know through the grace of our Lord Jesus, I will have him with me on another hunt or round of golf. So, just as proverbs states in chapter 27 verse 17, As iron sharpens iron, so Robert Elzerman has sharpened Me!  

                                                I can’t wait for our next meeting!

                                                          Love ya Man,

                                                          Simmy