This past weekend, The Father’s House church hosted the 15th annual Hunting with Soldiers guided hunt for 17 veteran soldiers who traveled from all over the state of Texas. One of the veterans even came all the way from Kansas.
Statistically, 22 veterans commit suicide every day. The focus of the hunt is to minister to veterans and to bring everyone together in hopes of encouraging and supporting one another with prayer and fellowship.
The weekend kicked off early Saturday morning with a homemade breakfast at the church fellowship hall led by Brother Tom Brand who was assisted by Charlie Cummings, Larry Crump, Tony Johnson, and Billy Deeds. The breakfast consisted of sausage, eggs, biscuits, gravy, pancakes and prayer.
Following breakfast, each vet-eran was paired with a personal guide and went to a wide variety of San Saba County landowner’s properties where they hunted with the goal of everyone getting a deer to process and take home to feed their families.
The following guided hunts: Will Robertson Jr., Justin Hoyt, Stefan Hunt, Tony Johnson, Ramiro Cisneros, Shawn Barbour, Bill Jones, Brad Bisset, Javier Baez, Dave Stewart, Payton Hogan, Barry Townsend, Larry Crump, Steve Crump, Charlie Cummings, Billy Deeds, Deryl Hoyt, and Brian Doty.
Landowners included: Will Robertson Jr., Barbara Riggs, Terry Smith, Charles Nichols, The Lamberts, Les Hardy, Mary White, Marge Wagner, Larry Crump, Charlie Cummings, Will Smith, and Marsha Childress.
For the veterans who were not successful on Saturday morning, the guides took them hunting again Saturday evening. In total, 11 deer and 1 hog were taken from the hunt. Dave Stewart provided the meeting location for all deer to be processed.
A special thanks goes to Ramiro Cisneros and Bill Jones for providing transportation for Winfield Basham as it was needed.
For lunch, Ramiro and Maria Cisneros hosted at Pepperybellys in the banquet room where a hot meal with fellowship, testimony, and prayer took place. Each soldier was also given a new Bible.
Veteran guest speaker was Michael Culbertson who gave a powerful and encouraging message to the entire group. The main organizer of the weekend was Winfield Basham with the support of The Father’s House church in San Saba along with the president of the organization, Gordon Melton.
Acustom boot maker who specializes in prosthetics, Tom Cartlidge, also came from Henrietta, Texas, and fitted each veteran’s foot to make a custom pair of boots as a token of appreciation for their service to our country.
Guides came from all over Texas to help, as well as several local men. We are so grateful for the service of our veterans, and it is truly an honor to host such an event for them in our community. A special thanks goes to all the landowners, guides, The Father’s House, Pepperbelly's, Lynn Hamrick, Merideth Deeds, Michael Culbertson, Dave Stewart, Ramiro Cisneros, and Bill Jones.
The hunt this year is dedicated in memory of Benjamin Edwards, grandson of Winfield Basham, and Larry Smith.