The Outdoorsmen Christmas tree give away finished off very well. On Friday December 19, a few of us met at the church to load up the trees and deliver to the Toys for Tots distribution site. Thanks to the Chard family for lending us their trailer and to the Kauzlarich family for showing up to help out. On Saturday morning Glenn and I met Frank Foster at the distribution site for the 9:00 AM start. It was -17 degrees and snowing. The time really flew by quickly as we kept busy not only loading trees for families that wanted one but also keeping the distribution line stocked with milk and butter, unloading groceries delivered by Vans Thriftway and helping recipients get their cars loaded. It was a very rewarding experience. We plan on doing this again next year and would really like to see a better turn out of Outdoorsmen. Remember, this is one of our efforts at a community outreach and we all need to take an active part.

Sunday's (tonight's) meeting at Starbuck's had the best turn-out ever (that I know of, at least); we had eleven guys show up. Good job! Bible study was on Luke 16:1-9. I, for one, find this parable very confusing. The discussion was great this evening particularly with so many in attendance to offer insight and opinions.

The next Outdoorsmen meeting is on Tuesday, January 6 at Smith's in East Helena, 7:00 PM. The following meeting is Sunday, January 11 at Starbuck's on Prospect. Note that Starbuck's is now closing at 7:00 PM on Sundays which means we may want to find a new meeting location. If you have a suggestion please e-mail it to me. I'll compile all the responses and bring them to the next meeting.

Outdoorsmen Wild Game Feast -- Saturday, January 17
Setup and prep begins at 12:00 noon. We really need everyone to show up to help with this. We are expecting ~200 people to attend this years event. There's a lot to setup including removing all sanctuary seating, setting up dinner tables and chairs for 200 in the sanctuary, etc., etc. Additionally, we need to pick up rental equipment (chairs and tables) in advance and need to have some guys meet Glenn Morrison at the rental warehouse about an hour early. Once the event is over, we need to clean up the entire church and have it prepped for Sunday services. There will be plenty to do so please make the commitment to helping out both before and after. Doors open to the public at 5:00 PM....let the feasting begin!

Outdoorsmen Family Ski Day -- Saturday, February 7 at Great Divide
Group discount on both lift tickets and equipment rentals. Keith Newmeyer has negotiated a very good discount rate so be sure to plan to take advantage of it. Even if you don't ski yourself please spread the word as we need a minimum of 40 paying skiers to get the discount. Sign-up sheets in the church foyer between services and after second service.

I haven't received any feedback at all from anyone on interest in attending a BattleZone course (http://battlezone.echurchnetwork.net/). There's a BattleZone introductory meeting, Monday January 12th, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM at Hannaford. A new BattleZone course begins on January 19 so if you're interested you'll want to make sure and attend the introduction meeting. Both Glenn Morrison and Thomas Fleury have completed a BattleZone course so contact them if you have questions. We may attempt to schedule another BattleZone course starting a bit later (perhaps February?) but without interest from you this seems unlikely. Please let me know if you are interested or need more information.

John Noble Outdoorsmen@Hannaford.org
HSBC Outdoorsmen

Thursday 12/18/2008

!!!!! Family Sledding Day has been cancelled !!!!!
The Outdoorsmen family sledding day scheduled for Saturday 12/21 has been cancelled due to weather. Forecasted high temperature for Saturday is -6°.

There still is an Outdoorsmen event on Saturday however. The Toys for Tots gift distribution is taking place on Saturday at the Salvation Army. The Outdoorsmen will be giving away the Christmas trees we cut to families at this event. It'd sure be nice to have some Outdoorsmen in attendance to help out. The event starts at 9:00 AM and goes to 5:00 PM. We'd like to have Outdoorsmen present until all our tress are gone.

The next Outdoorsmen meeting is Tuesday December 23, 7:00 PM at Smith's in East Helena.

The following meeting is scheduled for Sunday December 28, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM at Starbuck's on Prospect.


Outdoorsmen Wild Game Feast
Saturday January 17th, 5:00 PM
Setup begins at 12:00 Noon ----- that's when the Outdoorsmen are supposed to be there. There'll be lots to do so please come and help out.


BattleZone http://battlezone.echurchnetwork.net/
Introduction meeting, Monday January 12th, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Come and find out what it's all about. The Outdoorsmen will be looking to launch a BattleZone beginning some time later than the planned January 19th start date. Stay tuned for more information.



If I don't see some of you before Christmas I wish you the best this season. Please keep the real meaning of Christmas in your hearts. It's all about Him.

John Noble