These Fukken Feelings Podcast© - The Crosshairs of Recovery: Veterans, Valor, and the Wilderness | Season 3 - Episode 301

Episode Date: November 8, 2023

Send us a Text Message.In this soul-stirring second episode of Season 3, "These Fukken Feelings" Podcast welcomes Preach from Doose Outfitters Ministry, to unfold a story where faith, nature, and the hearts of heroes converge. Episode 301 brings into focus an initiative that reaches out to the souls of those who've served: Healing Our Heroes Through Hunting.Join us as we venture into the serene landscapes of Gering, Nebraska, where the tranquility of the North Platte River complements the min...

you don't have to be positive all the time it's perfectly okay to feel sad angry annoyed frustrated scared and anxious having feelings doesn't make you a negative person it doesn't even make you weak it makes you human and we are here to talk through it all we welcome you to these fucking feelings podcast a safe space for all who needs it grab a drink and take a seat. The session begins now. What's up guys? Welcome to These Fucking Feelings Podcast, season 2.5. We're continuing focusing on mental health. I'm Micah. We got Rebecca over here. We're in our new digs, very excited. This is our first interview that we're recording in our new studio. And we have our special guest,

Chris, but he goes by Preach. And actually, so Jason Steiner kind of connected us. Yeah. Yeah. Hero stock and all that stuff that's coming up. Are you going? You're part of that? Oh, yeah. We'll be there. We're kind of a partner organization with him along with Wheels for Warriors. So it's going to be this year.

Hero stock is going to be absolutely crazy. Yeah, we can imagine. We're actually trying absolutely crazy. Yeah, we can imagine. We're actually trying to come. Yeah, we are. Nice. It'll be a good time. Definitely. Well, Preach, we always ask our guests to kind of introduce themselves to our audience because I feel like no one can do it better than you.

So tell us a little bit about yourself and your organization. So my major background is I'm former law enforcement. I was a Goshen County Sheriff's Department out of Wyoming. My captain and I got picked up and contracted with the U.S. Marshals. And then I was also a member of the National Gang Task Force back in the early 90s. So, you know, my expertise was identifying gang members by their tattoos. And, you know, so I spent about seven years in law enforcement, got my fill of it and my fill of the red tape that goes along with it. And we went into, sorry about that.

And then from there, went to work for the railroad just to make some good money and set a future up for me. me and, um, my wife and I, we, uh, started, uh, a out, uh, commercial guide, guide outfitters business. Um, and even at that point we were, it was for us, it was about getting Bibles in people's hands and, uh, just healing people through the outdoors. And after, uh, it just, it got to the point where dealing with the commercial side of things and how cutthroat it can be. And the, the false sense of entitlement that a lot of people have that, um, it's hunting, you know, we're not, you know, people seem to think that guides are miracle workers and that they can, uh, you know, they guarantee full bag limits and trophy animals. And that's not always necessarily the case. And, you know, if you don't fulfill their expectations,

um, you know, they get bent out of shape a little bit. And I just I got tired of dealing with that. And a buddy of mine said, you know, you ought to think about doing what you're doing, but doing it with veterans. And we started discussing the suicide epidemic that was going on even back then. And we, which would have been eight years ago, we started this in 2015. So, you know, even back then they were throwing the number 22 around and anybody that, you know, is, is really connected into what's going on in our veteran communities.

And even our active duty communities knows that, you know, that number's thrown around very, very lightly. You know, the numbers that they far exceed over, you know, 100 and I believe three years ago, we figured it was 147 veterans in active duty military are taking their own lives every single day, which is, you know, on a daily average, that's, we're losing more veterans daily to suicide than we ever lost during a conflict. And that just didn't sit well with me. And so, you know, after discussing it with my wife, this is where we were led to go. And, you know, I was pretty content with doing it three days a week as I kept my main paying job. And God had different plans for me. And I just didn't want to go into ministry full time.

You know, I came from a very small area, small town. And I saw how pastors lived. And I just was not willing to sign up for that, I guess is the best way to put it. And like I said, God had other plans. And in 2015, we started this full time on December 15th. And as of the March, actually May 31st, we've served 315 veterans from across the United States. And we're in a situation now to where, you know, the majority of them have been non-residents to Nebraska. And we really need to focus on the veterans in our own backyard. You know, we're comfortable at this point with saying that we're losing 200 veterans a year in Nebraska to suicide.

And, you know, no light is being shown on that. And there's nothing really being done about it. It's not just in Nebraska. It's across the board. There's got to be organizations that are willing to do exactly what they say they're going to do. That's kind of our stance on it, you know, being a grassroots organization, you know, the only thing we have to stand on is our integrity and our word. And so we protect both of those and we model exactly what we say we do in our walk and how we treat our veterans.

And so that kind of gets you up to speed. We're going to launch an equine therapy program. And hopefully we will have that up and running by early fall. We're in the process of trying to get an equine property secured and we'll be certified through WHO's out of Ohio. Amanda Held is the founder and president of that organization. And we'll be the only Nebraska veteran.org certified equine therapy program. So what sort of activities will be provided for, you know, during the equine program? So it's going to be a lot of, you're going to have classroom activity, a lot of that.

And I don't, I don't know how familiar you are with, with equine healing, um a lot of that and i don't i don't know how familiar you are with with equine healing but a lot of it and so horses and especially mustangs are a prey animal and with that being the the case they're always they're looking for for lack of a better term, the alpha, they're looking for protection. And the only way to gain that, I mean, to gain that horse's, um, trust is transparency. And, you know, which causes us all to be in a position, especially in the equine world, that we've got to be transparent with our feelings and our emotions and in order for that animal to trust us. You know, a horse is so sensitive that it can feel a fly land in the middle of its back. Yeah, they're very perceptive. And so, you know, that, that being that perceptive,

you know, it really leads to how they are so perceptive with how an individual carries themselves and the energy that that individual personifies, if you will. And so, you know, that you've got to build that relationship with that animal. And in order to do that, you've got to gain their trust. And so what that does is that forces that veteran to essentially deal or be honest with himself about the demons that he's carrying and dealing with. And the symbol of a horse in itself is like freedom. So in my mind, when I was doing a little research, I think with a veteran, especially in working with their healing and especially with suicide, potential suicide victims or whatnot, but they are working through their situations.

And I think a sense of relief from those feelings is like a freedom. Absolutely, it is. It's definitely a great way to work through that. So I love doing that. You know, most veterans that struggle with PTS or CSD even, um, they, they struggle with, with relationships anyway. Um, you know, when you're in the military and even in law enforcement, you know, enforcement, the man to your left and the man to the right are who you depend on. They're your lifeline. And so that's the mindset that you've had your entire military career.

And when you come out of that military career, whether it's through medical retirement, whether it's, you know, however that may look, you do not, when general society doesn't react that way and doesn't think that way. Right. General society is about self and self-preservation. And that's really sad because if everybody could get over themselves and really give a care about their neighbor, this world would be in a whole lot better place than where it is right now. Definitely. Absolutely. And then our podcast wouldn't be needed. Yeah.

And then you guys would be upset because you'd be without a job. Right, right, right. No, no, needed. Yeah. And then you guys would be upset because you'd be without a job. Right, right, right. I can talk about anything, so I will find something else to talk about. But it's crazy because as you're talking, we're thinking about veterans.

My dad was a Vietnam vet. And my sister was in the Iraq war. And it's like both of them never really like discussed, well, not with me. They might've had conversations with my siblings, but it's like, I never really knew what they went through. I knew my sister ended up like she had to kill somebody once. And she was telling me how she was like really, really hungry afterwards. But I guess, which is weird, right?

Yeah. She said she was hungry. Like people asked her how she felt. And she was like really, really hungry afterwards, but I guess I, which is weird, right? Yeah. She said she was hungry. Like people asked her how she felt and she was like, I want a chicken sandwich. It's the most ridiculous thing. I guess we all have our own. We're a bunch of weirdos. Right. But I was thinking like, it's crazy that like the military doesn't provide like some kind of therapy service before you enter or, or after, or before you get out. Does that make sense? Like, yeah, I mean, it's sad. It really is. Like why aren't we having these mental health checks?

Well, before we, you know, these, these men and women and, and I'm going to refer to him to exactly what they are, and that's heroes. They're a total stranger to a lot of people, and they're willing to sacrifice their life for somebody they don't even know. There's only one other person throughout history that was willing to do that. And that individual's trust, that individual veteran's trust. And so there's a lot of correlations between that veteran gaining that horse's trust and us having to gain that veteran's trust. And that there's a lot of connections that are made through those

similarities. Now, I feel like before you can get into someone trusting you, I feel like they, they have to admit or know that something's wrong that they're dealing with something. These guys know that something's wrong. Right. They just don't want,

they don't want anybody else to know that there's something wrong. Right. Yeah, we need to change that right now. You hear us, heroes? We talking to you, heroes. If you know there's something wrong, you can reach out to preach. Well, you know, the sad thing is, though, guys, is that we live in a society today that is so judgmental. Very.

And mental health carries such a stigma. Definitely does. And so, you know, and I guess what I, if I were to say anything to any veteran out there today, it would be, it's okay to not be okay. Definitely. out there today, it would be, it's okay to not be okay. The reality of it is, is all of us are messed up to some level. And, you know, the, the worst thing that somebody can do, even myself, and, and I've had my struggles with PTS and, and, you know, some of the stuff that I had to deal with in law enforcement, the worst thing that you can say to somebody is I understand where you're at. I understand because you don't, right. You know, what I struggle with and what I saw and how I received that and how I dealt with it is way different

than the way you're going to deal with something or respond to it. So for me to say that I understand, that's not a fair statement. And the very best that we can do is empathize with that individual. And so a lot of times the best thing that we can do, even as a nonprofit is involved that works with veterans on a daily basis, is don't pry. Don't ask questions. Just let them talk because that's what they want to do. They need to get rid of that weight. They need,

they just want somebody to listen to them and know that that individual cares, legitimately cares. Because the reality of it is is is the majority of society doesn't give a shit about them the va doesn't give a shit about them and then you were saying about judgment you know because people are so quick to judge an appearance or how they love say or you know it just kind of goes back to well Well, and, and the, and the thing is, is you can look at somebody and, and, you know, by appearances, they're all squared away. I mean, they're dialed in, you know, by all appearances. I mean, it's like, man,

that dude's got it together, but you don't know the demons. That dude is battling every single night when he lays down, you know. And, you know, unfortunately, the VA's answer to that is medication. Let's create, you know, a bunch of walking zombies. Well, that's not the answer either, because all medication does is mask what it is that, you know, we need to get to the bottom line of and deal with. Right. And so I think that's kind of like one of the main purposes of our podcast is kind of just to show people that there are so many methods to healing. It's not a one size fits all. It's kind of like you said, not everybody can't have the same

situation. You really can't walk around in someone else's shoes. And if you can, you can't wear it the way they wear it. So you're still not experiencing what they're experiencing. And doctors and medicine, even though it can be helpful to some people, it isn't to anybody, everybody. Right. You know, on the other side of that is that, you know, we we many veterans out there that don't care if they ever touch a gun again, let alone take the life of something ever again. Yeah, I was actually going to ask how the hunting kind of fit in with all the other elements of your program, because I see the art therapy and obviously the Bible and the equine. I just wondered how they took to the hunting aspect of your program. Well, you know, like I said, you know, we've served 315 veterans from East Coast to West Coast.

And all of that's been through the hunting side of things. And, you know, some of them will do the art therapy when there's downtime. But what we're wanting to do is I don't know if y'all are familiar with hooves and Amanda held. I'm going to look her up. She's an amazing woman. And she's a veteran herself that struggled with, with PTS. She had a struggle with suicidal tendencies and, and she found her healing through equine therapy and using Mustangs.

And so, you know, you've just, you, you kind of, you can't tailor your program to just one individual. If you really want to make an impact, you kind of got to, you've, in my opinion now, and, and you can take my opinion in a quarter and go have a really bad cup of coffee. I like that. But you kind of need to be a little rounded as to what you offer. And I'm not saying to offer a dozen different programs, because if you offer too much, you're never really good at any of them. Yeah. But if you can, if you can,

you know, get three or four programs within what you're doing and get solid in them, you can make an impact. And, you know, a lot of it, a lot of the success comes from networking with other nonprofits. So many nonprofits are so worried about working with other organizations because in the scheme of things, it looks like it's just a little pie that we're all scrapping over.

Right. And the reality of it is, is there's enough pie there. There's enough veterans out there that we can all, it's going to take all of us and it's going to take all of us working together and make an impact. It's that village, the community. Exactly.

It's a tribe and it's a family. And, uh, you know, I mean, there's just, there's some really good organizations out there that, that it's, it's about the veteran. It's not about the individuals that are a part of the organization. Right. And, and that's, that's what I've always told my guys is when, if it ever becomes about you and not the veteran, you're doing this for the wrong reason and you need to get away from it. Because it's about selfless service and it's about impacting lives in a fashion that gets them off of that ledge. I like your music. I apologize. The crazy thing is that the landscape for Deuce Outfitters Ministry in the last 24 hours has changed so dramatically because of some things

that are going on. And I would encourage people that are listening to follow us and just really pay attention to what's happening because here in the very near future, you're going to see some real big changes and kind of a facelift almost as to what Deuce Outfitters ministry looks like. because for so long I've been telling our team we're one conversation away from reaching that mark where we are wanting to be. And that conversation happened yesterday. And I got to be very, very vague with what I'm sharing because our board doesn't even know that this, that what's going on has happened. And so it just alters everything. Our vice president, myself and our president are the only individuals that are aware of what's happening right now. So, you know, I'm going to say within the next week to 10 days, we'll make a huge announcement on our social media. And it's really... We'll definitely follow and keep our listeners informed. I just encourage, I encourage listeners that I encourage listeners to get involved because it

takes more people than what honestly our, our grassroots nonprofits have on hand. So like do South fitters ministry is made up literally from a standpoint of individuals that are active constantly of five individuals. And that's doing every aspect of running a nonprofit plus ministering to and dealing. So you say ministry. Do you guys have a service?

Well, I'm an ordained pastor. I am a pastor. And this is what I tell people. It's never, ever been about religion. And that's where people have gotten it twisted. Jesus doesn't care whether you're Baptist, whether you're, you know, whether you're a Christian, whether you're whatever, I mean, Lutheran, it's not about religion. It's not about rules. It's not about somebody standing over you and judging you.

What Jesus wants is a personal relationship. He wants you to talk to him the way that I'm talking to you. That's it. He wants you to lean on him the way that we lean on each other as brothers and sisters. And so it's not about judgment, and it's not about rules and regulations and that. And that's where people have got it just twisted and are so misinformed because for so long the churches stood above people and judged them and condemned them. And that isn't the message. Not once did Jesus condemn anybody.

Throughout his entire ministry of 33 years, there was only one time that there was even a remote question of him judging somebody. It's when the Pharisees caught a woman having premarital sex or being a prostitute or what have you. And Christ confronts the Pharisees and says, let you who are without sin cast the first stone. Well, I'm sorry. I'm a pastor.

That's what I do. That isn't who I am. I'm just as messed up as you are. Right. You know, I'm not I'm just and that's I would never, ever be a good congregational pastor because I don't want to stand over people. And and, you know, that isn't who I am. So whenever I do speaking engagements, I don't even want a stage. I want a chair and I want to sit on the floor and just have a conversation with people. Right. Because conversations are what heals.

Definitely. Conversations are what changes people's minds and conversations are what can bridge gaps. And actually, I got an example of how that's very true. So even with my father and sister both being a veteran, I never considered veterans. You know, it's like it was never on the forefront. It was never important. I never thought about it. I didn't not think about it, but it was just an ignorance to it until Jason came on. And

when Jason came on and said 22 veterans a day, it was like, how do I not know this? Well, because the VA doesn't, nobody ever expresses that number because if the VA were to put that out there, then that would mean the VA would have to be accountable. Right. They aren't going to they don't want that accountability. I know. And that's why I think it's so good that we are having this conversation, because you're educating me.

And, you know, because once again, you know, I have my father passed away, but my father and then, you know, my sister and you hear good stories, but you never hear the bad stories, you know. It's because they don't want to be judged. Right. They're scared to be judged for what they were called to do. And then on other circumstances, there's that worry of being judged to what you were called to stand down from doing when you could have made a difference and you never got the go call. And so, you know, that's where this mental health issue has come into such a huge place because these individuals that have these struggles in their mind. To them, what makes sense is for them to remove themselves from the equation.

Right. If I wasn't here, my family wouldn't be suffering. If I wasn't here, you know, my family wouldn't see me being alcohol dependent or street drug dependent or whatever dependency that may be. So the answer in their mind is if I wasn't here, they wouldn't have to deal with that. But the saddest part of that is they don't realize the ripple effect that that causes in their wheelhouse, whether that is their immediate family or it's their brothers in arms. No matter who that is in their wheelhouse, by them taking their own life, it causes a ripple effect throughout their immediate community that affects everybody. You know, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my 55 years of life as a pastor is face a family, a wife and three children and tell them there's nothing you could have done to change the fact that your husband took his own life. There's nothing you could have done.

And then you have to think about the trauma and now the mental health issues. I guess what you're saying the same thing, but to me is like I'm hearing the words now, the mental health issues that that causes, you know, the fact that my father, my brother, you know, my husband took his own life or her own life and I didn't do anything or I didn't know or I didn't have a clue. Here's the thing. An individual that is serious about taking his own life or her own life, you're never going to know. When you are picking up signs and signals and they're pitching clues out there, they're not wanting to commit suicide. They're wanting somebody to stop and listen to them. They aren't wanting to do it, but that individual that is serious about taking their own life, they're just going to go do it. So, you know,

you know, these families, even these gold star families, you know, that, that are saying, well, I never knew they never, I mean, there was never a sign and, you know, I, there, I never knew. I mean, there was never a sign. And I didn't think there was anything wrong. It's not their fault. And so the sad thing is, is those families and those individuals in that person's wheelhouse carry that guilt. Well, if only I'd have known, if only I would have seen, if only I could have done this or done that, there's nothing you could have done. Is there any recommendation you can make to someone like me who was ignorant to like this subject? Was there anything that you could recommend that I can, something I can do, an action I can do to help veterans and just in my own family, you know, or that I know personally, because, you know,

it's like, I have friends and we talk and it's like, what's up. And we kick it, but it's like, we never, you know, here's the thing conversation, you know, you know, the one thing that, and this is what I tell people, there's a reason why God created us with two ears and one mouth. If we would all spend a little time more listening. A little preach, you ain't going to come on my podcast and tell me to shut up, okay? That's what you're not going to do. God didn't send you to do that.

Are you picking up what I'm laying down? No, I'm going to explain to you and to everybody in the public, right? If you see me and you need to talk, please stop. I got ears for days. Okay? Yes, that's it. However, though, remember that the same way I had ears, now it's going to be your turn to get ears. Oh, Lord.

You don't have to listen to me. Absolutely. But the thing is Lord. You don't have to listen to me. Absolutely. But the thing is, is that don't pry. Right. So, you know, the worst thing that an individual can do is pry and ask those leading questions. Because all you're doing is you're taking that individual back into that situation that he's trying to get out of. And most individuals that are asking those questions, they're just doing it to be nosy. You know, it's in what I tell you're looking at me like, I guess I do ask crazy questions and I am nosy, but I promise you I care.

It's just that there's, it's such a fine line, you know, that those are these individuals that are struggling so badly. The last thing we want to do is take them back into that situation. Right. You know, so it's just, it's letting them know, like for me, every veteran that I come into contact with, whether they've been through our program, whether it's they reach out to me through social media, or it's somebody that heard me on a podcast. Right. And we're going to list all your information. So they're going to know how to reach you. It's my phone is on 24 seven. I don't care if it's three o'clock in New York and there's a two hour difference between New York and Nebraska.

I don't care if you're battling the demons. You call me because you're not going to battle them alone. OK, now that's what the enemy wants. On that right. We have a line that's dedicated for our podcast. It's listed on our website. Usually, we just get a lot of spam phone

calls and those kind of things. The other day, I got a text from... Actually, I didn't know who it was, but it was just a text. I'm trying to figure out who's this. Like, we're talking, just tell me who you are, who you're trying to reach, you know, what's going on. But I guess it came to be a guy who was standing on a bridge and he was trying to, and this was what he was thinking about, killing himself. Yeah.

I'm not mentally prepared for this text. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go. I don't know where to go. I don't know. We're not professionals. Right. It's a disclaimer on our website. I promise you. It's just that I like to talk, and I like to talk about mental health, but I can't cure you right.

I was so scared. I didn't want to do the wrong thing. I suggested they call emergency services. There is a suicide hotline. You can continue to talk to me. You can call if you want. I just didn't know what to do. People, they just need to know that somebody honestly cares, that they matter, that they're not invisible.

You know, and here's the thing i don't care if you're a a korean war veteran whether or you're a you're a you know a an afghan war veteran if i i don't care i don't care if you've never seen battle time i don't care if you're military or if you're not military. The reality of it is, is each and every one of God's creations is priceless. Right. Not only to me, because of who God has called me to be, but you're priceless to God and he doesn't want to see you struggling. What's that? I said, that's something I really do believe. I don't believe that God created us to struggle.

No, I mean, I believe in God. I have to believe in a God that is not that cruel. Well, here's the thing. True love is God loved you, both of you, so much that he sent his only son to die on a cross for you and pay your sin debt.

Right. Before he even knew you. Yeah. It's crazy. So if you had a child, would you send that child to die for society that's why i don't have no kids i can't make them decisions but i mean do you see what are you picking up when i'm laying down definitely definitely definitely and honestly kind of i i mean what i kind of end up doing was um kind of explain to them like you said like this is just a moment

right now yes you can either make this a really really bad moment or it can be fleeing you know you feel this way now but feelings are fleeting and that's that's just it they're making a snap decision on a moment that they're experiencing you want to hear a scary number? One out of every three children that lose a veteran parent to suicide is going to commit suicide themselves. So that's 33% of children that have a veteran parent that commits suicide is going to commit suicide. So now we're talking a generational curse. Where does it end? What can we do?

I mean, I know you're saying don't judge. Well, don't pry. Don't judge. But then what can we do? You know, just be there. Listen, interact with them. If you see a veteran, if you see a veteran on the street and you can, you, you definitely can tell a veteran every time you can walk by a veteran and know he's a veteran, right? Because of the way he wears it, he'll wear a hat. I'm a veteran or you can just tell, take,

take two seconds and say, thank you. If you see a veteran on the side of the road that's asking for $5 or something, it takes two minutes of your time to say, how can I help you? Now, a lot of, not a lot, I can't give you a percentage, but you're going to have those individuals that are going to say, you have $5 you can spare. Well, no, I don't. But what I can do is I can go buy you some groceries or I can take you over here. Let's go grab a bite to eat. So at least you have a hot meal in you. How much time and effort does that take out of a 24 hour day?

And how much of, how much do we have going on in a 24 hour day is so pressing that we can't be humane and care about our neighbor. Definitely. You know, if you suspected that somebody's suicidal, I wouldn't necessarily ask them if they are, but say, hey, you know, let's go talk to somebody who might be a little more qualified

to visit with you than what I am. I may not be able to help you, but I darn sure will try to find somebody who can. And I'll go with you. We could go together. Right. Because so many people, they want to take that responsibility off themselves. Right.

I know I did. I'm not going to lie. When it happened, it wasn't that I wanted to take the responsibility off. More so is I didn't know what to do that was the part that got me it's like first of all I didn't know if it was real I'm like is somebody pranking me you know people being stupid on the phone I kind of thought that at first but then it's like okay we just need to assume that it's real and I was very very lost on what to do it's like what advice do I give what do I say other than don't jump like don't do. It's like, what advice do I give? What do I say? Other than don't jump.

Don't do that. It's just taking the time to say, hey, man, what's going on? How can I help you? Before you make a brash decision on doing something that is going to affect so many people that care about you and love you, can you and I just visit? Use me as a sounding board.

You know, like I said, everything that I say, you can take that in a quarter and go have a real bad cup of coffee. Oh, no, no. It's good advice. It's good advice. There's some good quarter cups of coffee now. Because I don't have all the answers. but I can lead you to someone who does. Right. Definitely. Definitely. That needs to be my new slogan.

Like, hold up. I don't got it. And I'll go with you. Even if you want me to go, we can go together. You know, if you need a hand, let's go. But, you know, it's crazy. You really want to be bold. Ask him if you can pray with them. Can I pray for you? You want to see somebody break down? You want to see somebody that at that point in time, at that very moment, to have somebody say, can I pray with you? That lets them know that you care. Right. But you got to be genuine about it. Your walk and your talk have got to match up. It's not a get out of jail free card. Definitely. Well, you know what? I always send everybody to my sister-in-law. Shout out to Nene real quick. Because that is one praying chick. Right. It's so funny because it's like this morning i'm texting my brother like can you have nini call someone so and pray with them because she prayed now like you need you a nini prayer like you gotta get you a numb prayers but um i'll pray for you though i will i will do that

um and rebecca sorry well yeah i was just gonna change the subject real quick because i wanted to say this before we ended but but I was obviously looking at your website and I saw on there that you guys were setting up like this little bunker type thing. And I was just kind of wondering if you guys do that actually. So no, that's our drash tent. And what that is, is it's a military connex that opens up. So before you open it, it's just a standard 8x10 storage container. But the sides crank out on it and create a sleeping quarters. Well, ours, we've wired with electricity

and it's essentially a very, it's a, it's an apartment that'll sleep five people. It's got a pellet stove in it. It's got a microwave, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, a kitchen table and chairs. It has a love seat, a lounger in it, and then it's got three or four bunks in it. So, I mean, we can sleep five people in there effectively. Yeah, it looks very military-like. But, you know, what Deuce wants to do is we don't want somebody to not come and see us because of money. So what we offer, there's no expense to the veteran except to get here, especially on the hunting side. Yes, you have to buy your tags and license up front.

But the minute you get here and you get to headquarters, we reimburse you for all that. All your meals are prepared for you by my wife, Ms. J. And I would recommend that if you're coming out here to spend any time with us, diet for about seven to ten days. Because you're going to gain about seven to ten pounds. I didn't want to be selfish, but I was like, is Ms. J going to feed me too? Absolutely. Okay. Okay. You know, but your meals are provided for, housing is available if you choose to use it. So you don't have to, you know, accrue an expense there. How many days do they get to stay? However many days they need to decompress. you know, typically on a hunting excursion,

the longest typically is five days that we've had veterans stay. But, you know, we're getting to a point now that the, once we launch this equine program, we don't want it just to be veterans. We want it to be that veteran in his family because the family has got to heal as a unit. Yes, that veteran has suffered and he's got hurts and he's got wounds that are deep, but that family does too. That family is hurting, that wife or husband and those children.

And so the most sacred thing that God ever created was the family unit. And if you look at scripture, that's basically all it talks about is family. Right. And so we cannot heal just one aspect of that unit. And that's why this equine therapy program is so important because if done properly, you can heal an entire family as a unit and that family's going to stay together. My niece, my oldest niece had, well, has CP, cerebral palsy. And she did a lot of equine therapy when she was younger and she just loved it. And she was at the point when she was, I don't know, probably one. And they didn't think she was going to survive.

But she did through my sister is a miracle worker. I don't know how she managed to get through it all. But as she got older, she went through equine therapy for years. And it was one of the things that made her smile and laugh. And it was one of the things that made her smile and laugh. And it was just amazing. If you can just put a smile on somebody's face once a day, that gives them something positive to hold on to. And these individuals that are hurting, they're at a point where they don't have anything to smile about. She could ride a horse.

Absolutely. It's amazing. You know, the first time that I took my wife and we lost our next youngest daughter on March 23rd of this year. And so as a family, we're dealing with some major hurts. And she left behind a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old little girl. And to see my grandson finally smile when we took him out to the ranch where we'll be getting our Mustangs and to have that Mustang wrap its neck around him like a hug and hold him. Oh boy. To see that happen to my wife and then to see her finally let emotion out and have a moment where she can be transparent and just cry because she doesn't have to be strong.

That's when the healing begins. And it's amazing what equine therapy will do. The scars and the wounds. It's not a one and done. I tell our veterans that I don't ever want you to just come one time and never speak or call or come and see us again. Right. Because you're part of our tribe now. You're part of our family.

And we expect you to come back and see us. But as all nonprofits, and especially ours, because we're 100% donation-based. Right. I was just going to ask you, is that information on your website? Yes. But, you know, in eight years, Ms. J and I have never taken a paycheck. Everything goes back into the ministry to make sure that it's going back to that we can continue with this program and healing veterans. Wow. And so, you know, it takes people taking $20, whether it's Do Self-Fitters Ministry or Wheels for Warriors or Hero Stock or SitRep22 or these great grassroots nonprofits that are mom-and-pop run organizations and are doing it for the right reasons.

How much money do we blow a week or a month just pissing it away? Right. We could take that little bit of money and donate it and make a difference. But society is all about self anymore. It's all about crying. And she ugly crying. You got her over here. Ugly crying.

I'm sorry. So we should get off camera because she ugly crying. That's all right, though. I mean, you know what? I was thinking we need to come and cook for Miss J. You know, you guys are more than welcome to come out anytime, you know. And if you guys are coming out for Hero Stock, you'll have an opportunity to meet our entire team, except for one of our board members. And I guarantee you that you'll be treated like family.

Because to us, that's what matters. And that's what we want people to feel from us is that you're part of our family. And we're going to go through hell and high water to make sure you're okay. And we feel the same way. I'm like, you're part of our family. It was like everything you were saying earlier. It was like, I was going to tell you before we finished. You've been here once. Now you got to come back and tell us what's going on. Rebecca and I, we're going to send you guys $1,000, right?

It's a little bit, but it's going to help. I wouldn't have expected that. Thank you. No problem. I mean, we're thanking you and Ms. J and all the organizations that you mentioned. We're going to try to continue to get to know a little bit of all you guys because veterans, community themselves, they're part of our community. Here's something that's really exciting that I can share.

October 7th, we're hosting our first gala event. Wheels for Warriors will be there with their Husker bike that they are giving away to a veteran. Jason Steiner will be there with Hero Stock. He's part of our team as well. And it's a fundraising event to help raise the funds for our equine program. There's going to be a couple other podcasts there that are going to be live streaming from that event. And if you guys had want to come out and live stream from it, you're more than welcome to you. You know, you coming into the event doesn't cost you anything. We're serving prime rib or salmon.

It's going to be a great night. There's going to be a live auction, a silent auction. There's going to be some great speakers there. Think about it. You can fly directly into Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. You got to have some bugs, right? You can walk around with a net. I'm like scared of

bugs and I feel like it just sounds like Nebraska. I think like y'all symbol is a bug. Nah, you'll be alright. You'll be alright. I promise. Especially in October. Okay. Okay. Alright. I just gotta watch out for deer and stuff. Dude, you're gonna be out in eastern Nebraska in September. No.

You want to talk about bugs? It's humid there. Oh, Lord. You know what? It's desert heat where we're at. Jason, sorry. No, seriously. You guys are going to be able to experience things, especially by going to Hero Stock. You're coming in on a ground floor.

And Hero Stock, I guarantee you. You know, I'm trying to get me on paper Hero Stock. I don't know jason told you that is my mission it's it's gonna be amazing i mean literally this year i was talking to jason last night and he's like dude i don't think the venue is big enough wow i've got people coming from 15 different states. I mean, and the venue was set for 4,000 people. So to go from 400 people to 4,000 people in the first year, and it's a one day event and next year it's going to,

it's going to double in size. And so I told him months ago, I said, you better strap it on brother because it's going to double in size. And so I told him months ago, I said, you better strap it on brother, because it's going to, it's going to be, be its own monster and you better be ready for this ride. And it's really cool because it's raising all the awareness that it needs. Yes.

And it's linking nonprofits together. Right. Definitely. And, and just veterans are still going unknown. You know, I'm kind of guilty of that. Not that I did it just veterans are still going unknown. You know, I'm kind of guilty of that. Not that I did it purposely, but, you know, just unconsciously, you don't realize like, you know, when it's not directly impacting your life or right in your

face, it's like, wow. You know, now it's like, I feel like I need to pay more attention if, even if it's just to thank them for my service. Absolutely. I said for my service. That simple statement right there. For their service. That simple statement can make such a difference in somebody's lives because what it does is. Thank you.