Menu
A glimmer of Hope: Peterson Outdoor Ministries
Nevada Daily Mail
In the secluded community of Bellamy, Mo., in southeast Vernon County, injured veterans and their families have a new resource to help them heal, the Lodge of Hope.
"We want to help as many people as we can," said founder Tron Peterson. "We're going to need a lot of help to do it."
According to the Department of Defense, as of early 2014, there have been more than 6,600 military deaths and more than 50,400 wounded in the War on Terror. Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs has identified more than 200,000 cases of post traumatic stress syndrome in returning veterans.
"I have always had a heart for our military," said Peterson. His family has a history of military service dating to his grandfather's service in World War I, uncles who served in World War II, and cousins who served in Vietnam.
A fourth generation farmer and father of four, Peterson started working with returning veterans in 2006, taking them hunting and fishing on the family's property. He wanted to give them "a reason to hang on." He credits faith and the outdoors when he said, "we started seeing dramatic improvements in the lives of those who we took," hunting or fishing.
Peterson said that what started as a one-on-one effort grew to involve family, friends, and the community. Other local landowners opened their property so the ministry could serve more veterans and the Missouri Department of Conservation loaned the group handicap accessible hunting blinds.
Peterson was laid off from his job in 2009. He said, "I decided I wanted to spend my life helping injured veterans and kids with disabilities." The ministry also serves adults and youth with disabilities, as well as their families.
The first group hunt for disabled veterans took place in 2009.
"That's when the ministry started growing," Peterson said.
In 2010, Peterson Outdoor Ministries came to life as a recognized non-profit entity and has grown significantly since then.
"It was very tough to makes ends meet in the beginning," Peterson said. The ministry has now grown to include more than 200 volunteers from both coasts, several of which are program alumni.
According to Peterson, the ministry, which receives no funding through the government, has served more than 150 families from all across the country. Work is currently underway to bring veterans to the program from Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel.
"We have seen marriages restored. We have seen over two dozen suicides prevented." A significant difference between Peterson's program and others is that Peterson invites entire families to the events. He said program participants credited having their families along with them and the faith based nature of the program for its success.
Peterson said that many similar programs focus on the veteran's physical and emotional well being, but neglect their spiritual needs.
Peterson said that an average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day.
"That's the key right now -- stop suicides," Peterson said. He explained that on more than two dozen occasions, participants from the program later told Peterson that they had attempted or had been contemplating suicide, but the program had given them hope.
"I found purpose again," said one veteran.
Many of the veterans that Peterson works with are physically disabled and often require accommodations not only to exist, but also to live. Pontoon boats have been used to get wheelchair bound veterans out on the water for fishing. Both the main building and the guesthouse at Lodge of Hope will be handicap accessible. Peterson said the volunteers are trained to assist participants with disabilities.
"A testament to our program is that many of these participants come back next year as a volunteer," Peterson said.
The hunts, and other events are not the ministries' only endeavors. Peterson said that when the money is available, they have helped veterans with mortgages, car payments, tuition, and medical bills.
Peterson shared a story from 2013, which began with a phone call from a veteran's wife who was crying.
"She was at her rope's end," Peterson said. Her husband had lost nine of his soldiers in a helicopter crash and was himself suffering from a terminal heart condition. If that wasn't enough, their daughter was also suffering from a terminal illness and their son was profoundly autistic. The mom had called Peterson after reading an article about the program in the Missouri Department of Conservation magazine.
The ministry hosted the family during hunting season and the father went home not only with a deer, but a wheelchair accessible van, a donated washer and dryer to replace the family's broken ones, and a freezer full of meat. While the family was at the program, volunteers also fixed their truck.
Because of the seriousness of their illnesses, the children were home schooled. Peterson said the daughter had always wanted a letterman jacket. At a Monday night banquet, members of the First Christian Church of Lamar presented her with her own letterman jacket complete with her name and home school group on the back.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the place," said Peterson.
"We've done the best we can with what we have," Peterson said. "God has blessed us with what we have but we have never had a place to call home." He said that veterans participating in the program have had to stay in accommodations an hour away due to their handicap.
In 2014, the ministry began considering the property near Bellamy and when it was available again in 2016, the ministry board voted to buy it. The property, which sits just off of DD Highway in rural Vernon County, consists of 200 acres of land with a 35-acre lake, a 7,000 square foot lodge with a guesthouse, a boathouse with cabin cruiser, a boat ramp, a swimming pool, miles of hiking trails, and a sandy beach. So far the group has raised about 20 percent of the cost of the property and needs to raise the remaining $800,000 by this fall.
"I've about given up many times," Peterson said. "We have a plan."
Peterson said the current property owner had set out to build a complete lodge and resort on the property but events in his life left the property only three-quarters done.
"He wants to see a legacy left here," Peterson said.
The Lodge of Hope will offer veterans "opportunities to rest and reconnect as a family," Peterson said. "The goal of this lodge is to minister year round."
The events hosted by the ministry have always been free for participants, Peterson said. Lodging, travel, food, and hunting permits are all paid for by the organization. Peterson said that he had spoken with similar programs elsewhere that were spending $3,500 per person to offer the same kind of program whereas the ministry is spending about $1,000 for an entire family.
In addition to the programs hosted by the ministry, Peterson said the Kansas City Royals have made it possible to bring groups of veterans to home games once a month. He said the trip is used as a follow up for program alumni.
More information on Peterson Outdoors Ministries can be found on its website at: http://www.petersonoutdoors.org/