Seeing the Light Through Black Death

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in

you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

—John 15:5 (NIV)

          The bull thought I was dead. He looked up from the shattered mess he made of my bow and arrows and stared directly into my eyes. His empty gaze pierced through me while he prepared to mount his final charge. I knew my life was over. This was the day I was going to die. Only a miracle could change that. As it turned out, that was exactly what happened.

          This is a true story. Not your typical outdoor exploits set in the wilderness pitting good guys against bad but rather a metamorphosis that would question virtually everything I knew about my life,—who I was, what I needed to change, and how I was supposed to live. It’s a story about redemption and working out my salvation, a story about how I seemingly had it all—a successful string of businesses, a long-term marriage, four loving children, and more friends than I could count. The only part of the equation missing was me,—my true purpose for being on this planet and a deeper relationship with God.

Do Everything Without Grumbling

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always

obeyed—not only in my presence but now much more

in my absence—continue to work out your salvation…

Philippians 2:12 (NIV)

          Looking back from age sixty-six over the course of my first forty-eight years, I hoped I’d become a success. I had all the “stuff” to prove it: cars, homes, expensive sports equipment, and —all the manmade material possessions I thought I was supposed to own to live a full and meaningful life. Yet I still sensed something was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew there was a void that desperately needed filling, and I’d never know peace until I found it. I pleaded to God, again and again, to send me an answer, to communicate with me in some manner. But God’s time is different than ours.

          Year after year, I pushed through life, convincing myself that I was doing the best I could with what I had to work with. And I was until 2002, when my eldest daughter, Amy, convinced me to open myself as a vessel to receive the Word of God. Without knowing exactly why, I was finally ready to receive direction from God about what I should be doing with my life. But it didn’t come in the mail. It didn’t magically pop up as a tweet on my smartphone. Instead, the ultimate message I’d been waiting for came barreling down on me ten years later in the form of a two-thousand-pound Cape buffalo. And the beast was intent on making sure I received it. Those twenty seconds turned my life upside down physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’ve never been the same since.

          Seeing the Light through Black Death – Salvation in the African Savanna is also a success story, how a little kid from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, grew up as an honor student and award-winning athlete, a successful businessman, and father of four. But that’s not what made my life a success. It took an angel to finally deliver God’s true purpose for me in the middle of a Cape buffalo attack: focus on God and family for the rest of your days here on Earth. It wasn’t until after Black Death attacked me, that I learned that everyone has a Cape buffalo story. Some have more than one. But it’s up to us to become willing to accept our destiny and walk with Christ.

          This book is divided into twelve chapters as God’s twelve messengers, the twelve apostles, beginning with this introduction, followed by “Chapter Two - All or Nothing at All,” where I start down the road in pursuit of excellence, embracing the Boy Scouts of America while struggling to understand where spirituality fit into my life. The precedent to my team’s spectacular victories at the 1973 Henley Royal Regatta, graduation from the University of Wisconsin,and my first success with understanding the Word of God. You couldn’t create a more poignant story.

          In “Chapter Three - Making God Laugh,” I thought I was invincible. The world was my oyster. After discovering the thrill of successfully creating a new business, turning around bankruptcy, and the successful sale of the company with my dad at Colonial Container Corporation, I embarked on a career caring for and ministering to seniors, pioneering my own company, Senior American Housing, Incorporated. This led to an invitation to Washington, D.C., meeting with our district congressmen and being presented the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award by Pres. George W. Bush. It was also the time when I started to embrace one of my life’s passions: teaching skiing in Vail, Colorado.

          “Chapter Four - Challenges and Solutions for Modern Christians” recounts the most important turning points, or waypoints if you’re a navigator, in my life: embracing the Bible and unconditionally accepting the Word of God. The little brown Bible I received from the Gideons International became my lifelong friend, accompanying me wherever I went—perched high in tree stands above the deer woods of Wisconsin, traveling on airplanes, to the fateful day in Africa. Reading the Bible daily triggered a period of time of metamorphosis when my faith began to mature exponentially while I simultaneously participated in Cursillo weekends and discovered ways to begin serving God here on Earth.

          Even though I’ve tried to be a steward of wildlife and the environment, I understand that the world of hunting can be controversial, particularly the multimillion-dollar business of “Big Five” trophy hunting in Africa. So in “Chapter Five – Trophy Hunters versus Elmer Fudd,” I thought it would be worth spending time discussing the hunting industry, the good and the bad. Even before Cecil, Zimbabwe’s beloved twelve-year-old lion, was stalked and killed in 2015 by an American trophy hunter, hunting animals for sport has been controversial. At the same time, hunting in Africa infuses vital resources into local communities for building schools, hospitals, and water systems. I’m hoping anyone considering themselves a steward of our environment would contemplate the many complex aspects of this discussion. But this is a story about miracles, not a pro or con argument for or against hunting, even though an African venue became the location of the most dramatic miracle.