Why be an Ogallala Tracker?
The Ogallala Tracker Club is an after school program for boys age 7 and up. We teach biblical values and wilderness survival skills. We also play games and have snacks. We meet every Wednesday during the school year from 4:00 – 5:00.
Maybe the 1st question should be what is a tracker? As a member of the Ogallala Trackers group you are basically a student of ancient earth skills. We also use these lessons to teach the boys about the spiritual side of their lives and how God loves them. We also try to teach them what it means to be a man of God. In our bible lessons we teach that the bible is true and correct in its entirety. We also teach that the values of the Christian faith are a compass for our lives.
The skills we teach were all practiced by our ancient grandfathers. Our ancestors followed the sacred order of survival Shelter, Water, Fire and Food. They developed skills to achieve and maintain these four areas that kept them alive.
So why in this day and age of internet, microwaves and jet planes do we want to study such primitive ways of life?
It keeps in touch with our past. By learning and performing ancient skills we have a connection to our forefathers. We experience life as it was for the 1st man, Adam. We learn many skills that the people in the Bible had. By knowing where we came from we can better see where we are going. Men who know where they are going in life are very much in need in our society today.
By experiencing life so directly in touch with creation we become closer to God the Creator. Almost all of the great men of the Bible spent time in the wilderness including Jesus. Today we are so terrified of the wilderness that we have to take large backpacks food, extra clothes etc. By learning skills the ancient skills we can learn to be confident that God has provided everything we need to live in the wilderness and our modern life. We can go to the wilderness to seek His face without all the concerns that most people have.
We live in a world that worships materialism. We need to show our young men that all we really need in life is enough Shelter, Water, Fire, and Food to stay alive. Everything else is just extras that we don’t really need. Not those material things are bad. God may bless us with many "things". But that they are just "things" and that the things of this world should never get in the way of our relationship with God because they are not really that important.
We are not preparing our sons for the "End of the World". We do believe in God’s word that that day will come but that is not the purpose of learning survival skills. Even if there was a nuclear war and the world as we know it was destroyed it would not be long before the minds of men went to work using the rubble for modern conveniences.
The purpose of learning the skills is to make our young men independent of technology. They can use modern technology however and whenever they want, but they are not dependent on it.
Learning these skills helps our boys become men that can change things. In the wilderness if you are hungry you can either cry about it or go hunt. If you are cold you can sit and be miserable or make a fire. This can be applied to their everyday life. For example, if they are tired of the lack of morals in the business world they can be innovative, resourceful, and proactive to make changes in their world. This is the same type of mentality it takes to survive in the wild. Let’s face it whether you are in the middle of the city or the middle of no where it’s a jungle out there. We want our boys to be men that won’t just survive but thrive.
What are some of the skills they will learn?
Tracking animals and people in different conditions. Even how to track yourself so you can get back if you are lost.
Starting fires without matches.
Wild edible and medicinal plants
How to make cordage, traps, baskets and pottery
Making tools out of stone and bone
How to find water and purify it.
How to make shelters that can keep them warm without a sleeping bag or fire in freezing weather.
Hunting skills like awareness, camouflage, and stalking techniques.
How to make buckskin and furs.
How to use the stars to find your direction.
How to cook and preserve food without pots and pans and refrigerators.
How to deal with bears and other dangerous situations.
And much more.
What does it cost? There is no fee. Donations to Radiant Life Assembly of God are appreciated but not necessary.
What if we do not attend Radiant Life Church? We don’t care. If you do not have a church home we would love to have you as part of our family. However, over half of the boys in our Tracker Club do not attend our church on Sunday.
Contacts: Nathan Holthusen 308-289-4152. Radiant Life Church 308-284-8377.