Fishing with a Mission: Combat Style
The lady evidently felt a tug on the line and went to set the hook on a Red Salmon along the mighty Russian River. The only problem was that her brightly colored red fly was hooked in my left hand. Unknowingly (I assume) she jerked on the line and soon realized that she had hooked a 180-pound North Carolinian wearing a camo hat and a backpack. I quickly pulled the hook from my hand and tried to smile through my watery eyes as I handed her hook back to her. I felt like it would be a good idea at this point to move to another spot down stream. Along the way I met up with Mark Ridenhour who was headed the same way and we soon encountered a large grizzly bear patrolling the stream looking for something to eat. I’d heard that sometimes mission work can be dangerous, but this was not what kind of danger I expected.
Each summer, Alaskans and fishermen from all over the world descend on certain Alaskan rivers to catch a variety of salmon species as the swim up stream to spawn. Once these summer salmon runs begin the banks are literally lined with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder attempting to land these gilled beasts. This kind of fishing was very different to me and it actually took a while to get used to it. People often refer to this particular type of fishing as “combat fishing.” One man said that it resembles “a crowded subway station in the Bronx.” With all the fishermen standing in such close proximity to one another and hooks whizzing back and forth, it’s not unusual for people to get hooked in the ear, nose, head or hand as I can attest to. I read that the hospital in Soldotna, Alaska actually has a human silhouette hanging in the emergency room where they place all the hooks that they remove from combat fishermen each year; and there are many!
The Heart of a Sportsman fellas headed to the “last frontier” of Alaska with a mission. The mission was to fish, however, not “fish” in the normal sportsman sense of the word, but fish for men. Our objective was to help break down stereotypes of what a Christian, especially of what a Christian man is. So many men believe that to be a Christian means giving up your manhood. They think once you become a follower of Christ, you must become a wimpy nice guy who has no adventurous spirit and that you must flee from any kind of confrontation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was definitely not that way. Hoping to begin dispelling these misconceptions we hung out with guys along the stream, formed friendships, engaged others in conversations while handing out DVD’s and giving away fishing lures. All the while forming relationships and building on relationships that had already begun by the teams before us. We even had the opportunity to personally share what a life following Jesus was all about with a few men.
Jesus asked us to follow Him and he would make us fishers men. I guess that’s what fishing with a mission is all about. We had a wonderful time on this awesome adventure and I trust that as we continue to follow Christ daily, he will transform us into better fishermen. FISH ON!!!
The lady evidently felt a tug on the line and went to set the hook on a Red Salmon along the mighty Russian River. The only problem was that her brightly colored red fly was hooked in my left hand. Unknowingly (I assume) she jerked on the line and soon realized that she had hooked a 180-pound North Carolinian wearing a camo hat and a backpack. I quickly pulled the hook from my hand and tried to smile through my watery eyes as I handed her hook back to her. I felt like it would be a good idea at this point to move to another spot down stream. Along the way I met up with Mark Ridenhour who was headed the same way and we soon encountered a large grizzly bear patrolling the stream looking for something to eat. I’d heard that sometimes mission work can be dangerous, but this was not what kind of danger I expected.
Each summer, Alaskans and fishermen from all over the world descend on certain Alaskan rivers to catch a variety of salmon species as the swim up stream to spawn. Once these summer salmon runs begin the banks are literally lined with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder attempting to land these gilled beasts. This kind of fishing was very different to me and it actually took a while to get used to it. People often refer to this particular type of fishing as “combat fishing.” One man said that it resembles “a crowded subway station in the Bronx.” With all the fishermen standing in such close proximity to one another and hooks whizzing back and forth, it’s not unusual for people to get hooked in the ear, nose, head or hand as I can attest to. I read that the hospital in Soldotna, Alaska actually has a human silhouette hanging in the emergency room where they place all the hooks that they remove from combat fishermen each year; and there are many!
The Heart of a Sportsman fellas headed to the “last frontier” of Alaska with a mission. The mission was to fish, however, not “fish” in the normal sportsman sense of the word, but fish for men. Our objective was to help break down stereotypes of what a Christian, especially of what a Christian man is. So many men believe that to be a Christian means giving up your manhood. They think once you become a follower of Christ, you must become a wimpy nice guy who has no adventurous spirit and that you must flee from any kind of confrontation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was definitely not that way. Hoping to begin dispelling these misconceptions we hung out with guys along the stream, formed friendships, engaged others in conversations while handing out DVD’s and giving away fishing lures. All the while forming relationships and building on relationships that had already begun by the teams before us. We even had the opportunity to personally share what a life following Jesus was all about with a few men.
Jesus asked us to follow Him and he would make us fishers men. I guess that’s what fishing with a mission is all about. We had a wonderful time on this awesome adventure and I trust that as we continue to follow Christ daily, he will transform us into better fishermen. FISH ON!!!
Matthew 4:19
Jeremy B. Harrill
Jeremy B. Harrill
