From a CTO Apprentice Guide, who recently helped a boy harvest his first hog:

I had a blast this weekend guiding Zech on getting his first hog. That was my first one-on-one guiding as an Apprentice Guide. You know, just me and the hunter, and it was awesome! At one point while waiting for the hogs to get out of the tall grass and on the road, Zech turned to me and said something like, "I have a lot of adrenaline going right now." I replied "me too!"
I looked at him and the gun and he had it very under control but I was shaking pretty bad. I guarantee you that I wouldn’t have been half as excited if I was the shooter. I haven’t had that kind of excitement since I shot that buck in October and since then I’ve shot two doe, and that ram in January. I can’t wait until I have my own son and can share that all over again!

It definitely adds a new aspect to hunting and I thank God for that opportunity. Zech may never know that that little ol' pig may have possibly meant more to me than to him, but I’m sure glad he was selected to shoot and not me.



From an 11-year-old son of a single mother:

Thanks for giving me a scholarship to go on my first hunting trip. I really liked it. Well, I hope to go on another one but on breaks or during the summer so then I won’t miss any more school. Any ways, I got a Corsican ram.  It had brown fur with a black mane. Mr. Greg was with me when I shot mine. Mr. Arnold was with Taylor getting his ram. When we were at the campfire I liked to talk to other people and know that it stays between us. I liked the food that we ate, also. We had meat that was in tortillas then the next day we had sausage that had a chili recipe in it. Well, thank you again for the scholarship. I can't wait for the next hunting or fishing trip that I will be able to go on.



From a single mother of a 13-year old who attended a recent hog hunt:

My son has been pretty amazing the past couple days, he said he had a great time. He mentioned he had talked about me around the campfire devotion (of course, didn't need to know details) how he appreciated me and it circled around the others. He had the excitement of the Lord in his voice about watching his thankfulness pass to the others and see Him move in them all. I was especially proud of him praying before leaving on Friday night, hearing him talk to the Lord, he sounded so mature. Gonna cry again...  He has expressed a lot of affection to me also, thank you for helping him love those around him!  :)



From his mother:

Kenneth talked non-stop on the way home from his first hunting trip. He liked the food (sausage is one of his favorites), Bible studies around the campfire, and he even liked getting up early in the morning! Mr. Greg Flores gave him some questions to think over before they go on another trip. Very thought provoking! I need to discuss them with Kenneth and should answer them myself. I am looking forward to Kenneth going to summer camp. More trips are coming up and I hope to be able to send Kenneth on some of them. With your help, I will be able to. Thanks again for making these trips possible for our young men. God bless all of you.



From a teenager on a recent ram hunt:

I just wanted to thank you and Mr. Arnold for letting me join y’all this week on a great life changing trip that I will never forget!! Thank you so much for being tolerant with me and I hope that I was helpful enough! Like you and Mr. Arnold said, I will not be ice but the rock and I know from experience that especially for me that is very, very hard, living with my mother and all, but I will always look at that ram and think of all that I have learned from y’all! And thank you for letting me spend some good time with my father.



From a longtime youth participant:

Thank you Mr. Arnold for everything you have done for me and taught me. You and Greg both have been huge leaders and mentors in my life. Y’all have taught me many things about hunting and my spiritual walk with God. Thank you for being there, and I wish there is someway I could show you two this. I'll figure something out. Thanks.

Education

Thank-You Letters