Alternative Gift Market

The weekend before Thanksgiving First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, TX held their Alternative Gift Market. This type of ‘Market’ is where charities from around the world setup tables with information regarding their organization so those wishing to do so can make a contribution for a friend or loved one in lieu of a gift from Amazon, Walmart, etc. For example one organization digs wells to provide clean drinking water in poor countries. Some participants had tangible items you could purchase made by people whose only source of income comes from the sale of these items. One such organization had soy candles of various sizes and fragrances made by women who have been rescued from sex trafficking.

This was the second year that Wounded Warriors at Nebo has been invited to participate. Our ‘Gifts’ were: Spiritual Fitness $10; Care Giver Respite $25; Couples in Crisis $50; Family Christmas R&R $100.

Richard & Sharon Ready to tell the Nebo story

Obviously receiving the donations is wonderful and helps us to continue serving veterans both active duty and retired. However, every bit as important is raising the viability of the ministry. It is amazing how many local people have never heard of us and what we do.

So thank you, First Presbyterian Church for including us in your market and thank you to all of the generous people who purchased gifts.

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A Beautiful Day to Golf

Boot Ranch has one of the premier golf courses in the country. Their generosity is equally incredible. Two weeks ago Alex Rhyne , the golf pro, told us they would like to have 12 – 16 warriors come play 9 holes of golf, complete with caddies and carts, as guests of Boot Ranch and asked us to provide the golfers. Of course we agreed and obtained approval to treat the warriors to lunch in the club house. Last Saturday, October 19, we met 11 warriors for lunch in the club house at Boot Ranch. Two men were accompanied by their wives and a young lady was there to ride along with her dad. After lunch the wives headed for Fredericksburg and shopping while the guys headed for the course. It was a beautiful day. Most of the warriors had only heard of Boot Ranch so were duly impressed. Those who had played it before were telling others how great it was.

It was so good to visit with old friends and make new ones. Everyone kept expressing their gratitude to Alex and the Wounded Warriors at Nebo team for the opportunity to play and the recognition of their service. They explained how these types of events help with their continuing recovery process.

As a bonus God answered a prayer with that event. The ministry has been praying for guidance and received it in the form of two of the attendees. One works through the Warrior Transition Battalion creating events to get soldiers out and keep them active. The other gentleman has similar responsibilities for the Navy. Both told us “We need to have a meeting and see how we can help each other.” We are excited!!

The only out of pocket expense for our guests was their transportation (except for souvenirs).

View photos from the event by clicking on “Photos” on the Home Page menu bar then select the Boot Ranch albumn.

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Marines in Seguin

June 14th started bright and early for Jackie, Dottie & Sharon as they were joining Marines from the Marine Annex, Fort Sam Houston at the Lazy U Ranch in Seguin for their town hall meeting. We arrived about 9 a.m. and were greeted by Brandon, our POC and several others who took the peach cobblers (still warm) to the kitchen area for us while we joined other marines and their families in the pavilion just as the meeting began. We were one of several organizations who had been invited to address the families letting them know what our organizations do and how they can participate. After the presentations everyone disbursed to enjoy being outdoors and some of the many activities available. We provided lunch from Bill Millers BBQ with dessert of fresh peach cobbler from Clear River Pecan Co., Fredericksburg. Of course there was ice cream for the warm cobbler. It was a beautiful day to be outside with just enough breeze to keep from being hot. In addition to fishing and canoeing there was archery complete with an instructor, board games and miscellaneous other games to keep everyone busy & involved. Fun day with good people.

Photos from the event can be viewed in the album “Marines in Seguin” by clicking on photos at the top of the page.

Like us on Facebook.com/ww.nebo

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Nimitz Golf Classic

Every year the Nimitz foundation has a golf tournament as part of their fund-raising activities. This year Wounded Warriors at Nebo was honored to be a part of that. We had three warriors who rode back seat in WWII airplanes doing a fly over to kick off the golf tournament at Boot Ranch Golf Club. Saying they were excited is obviously an understatement. All had flying experience but said this was like nothing they had ever done. In addition, there were 8 golfers who participated in the actual golf tournament. It was a perfect day with a breeze to offset the high temperatures. One of the joys of this event was seeing wounded warriors and their family again whom we hadn’t seen since they were medically retired. Each golfer was paired with a foursome. It was obvious at the close that new friendships had been made. Anthony Iwuchukwu, one of our wounded warriors, was on the team winning 3rd place in the tournament. What a wonderful day.

To see more pictures click on “Photos” at the top of the page. They are also posted on our facebook page.

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Kick Up Your Boots

May 26th was our annual fundraiser featuring Bernie Nelson and Thomas Michael Riley in concert. What a great night!! Great Music! Packed Crowd! Generous People! It was a perfect storm. People were competitively bidding on silent auction items and trying not to miss any of the great music. We interrupted the music from time to time to draw prizes. Grand prize, $1,200 toward a cruise from any port to any destination, was won by Nathan Crenwelge. Second prize, $1,000 in $50 gift cards went to Jim Heupel. Third prize, $550 cash, to Farley Hemphill. In addition, there were multiple gift baskets, gift cards, etc won. People’s generosity was overwhelming and not just those attending the concert but all who purchased tickets for the drawing and donated items for the silent auction. In addition to the numerous local supporters (Fredericksburg and surrounding area) there were many who were visiting our fair town from Houston, Midland, New Mexico to name a few. GOD really blessed this fund raising event. Proceeds will help WWAN to provide respite to the wounded, injured, & ill active military, medically retired veterans and their families.

In a true act of selflessness and generosity, several winners of both the drawings and silent auction items immediately gave their winnings to a warrior(s) attending the concert or donated their winnings back to WWAN to be used at a future event for the warriors.

SPECIAL THANKS to Western Edge Cellars who provided the space for the concert and their staff for excellent service, Inn on Barons Creek for discounted rates for the warriors who attended and all the tireless volunteers whose labor is priceless.

Click on “Photos” on the menu at the top of the page to see more photos from the fundraiser.

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Evening of Elegance 2/9/2019

A special note of thanks to Kris Lara for her help with this article.

Couples, dressed in semi-formal attire, gathered at Maggiano’s Restaurant at the Rim for a special evening designed to remind couples of the little things that keep a marriage alive – things that can often be forgotten or taken for granted. The mood was set with heart shaped balloons and chocolate decorating the tables. Building Blocks for a Healthy Marriage was the theme of this magical evening.

Chaplain Thompson started the evening with some ‘ice breaker’ games which require couples to interact with each other and other couples. Except for the entrée which each individual selected, appetizers and dinner were served family style thus everyone was able to sample several different dishes. By all reports the meal and service were outstanding.

Later the guest speaker, Dr. Yancosek, spoke about how important communication is to a healthy relationship. She stressed that couples need to honor and respect each other and how to reconnect during troubled times. Dr. Yancosek’s presentation was followed by Mrs. Thompson who reiterated the importance of communication in maintaining and strengthening a marriage. She also shared information about their new baby boy.

Entertainment was provided by Kezia Brel who played the guitar and sang while the couples socialized. A total of 44 people attended the event.

To view more photos from the event click this link https://wwnebo.org/photos and select the album “Evening of Elegance”.

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Deer Hunt

Brad Bowen, DOD Military Adaptive Sports Program, brought three wounded warriors from the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Sam Houston to Fredericksburg to help a local rancher thin the deer on his property. While the ministry doesn’t promote or arrange hunting trips we do provide the ranchers with military contacts. Both the rancher and the warriors benefit.

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Warriors at Natural Bridge Caverns

The following provided by Jackie Heupel and Sharon Massey

The Wounded Warriors at Nebo treated seven warrior families, a total of 30 adults and children, to a day at the Natural Bridge Caverns in Schertz on June 16^th. We gathered in a beautiful grove of old oaks with picnic tables next to the main information building at 10:00. Soon after, the group went with one of the park guides for a tour of the Maze. Once they returned, we all had a wonderful lunch of barbecue beef and hot dogs followed by several desert choices provided by Diane Smith, Annie Matthews, Dusty Smith, and Debbi McCurdy of the Republican Women from Fredericksburg. Lunch was followed by another group tour, this time of the cave itself. By the time the tour was over it was 2:00 and everyone began their trips home.

The day was a true gift from God, and the location of our picnic was so well shaded by the oaks that we hardly noticed the heat of a Texas summer day. As usual, the food and fellowship were wonderful and everyone seemed to have had a delightful time together in the park.

A special thank you is owed to the ladies of the Republican Women of Fredericksburg.

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Fishing – Fun – Fellowship

The Fredericksburg Fly Fishers Club hosted a fishing day out for eight (8) soldiers from Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio on May 19. When the soldiers arrived they were greeted by club members who assisted them in getting their rod and reel ready and selecting bait. They then accompanied “their guest” to a fishing spot and stayed with them visiting and tutoring where necessary since for some this was an entirely new experience.

They were fishing for bass although there were also hungry perch in the lake. It was catch and release so the excitement of catching fish was what was important. The first fish caught was about a two pound bass!! Naturally it was caught by the one person who on arrival stated “I am not going to fish”. By the end of the day everyone had caught at least one fish.

Lunch was from Backwoods Barbecue followed by yummy HOMEMADE desserts made by Fellowship Connection First Baptist Church. After everyone stuffed themselves they went back for more fishing and or kayaking.

As they were getting ready to leave, the soldiers revisited the dessert table for something to ‘munch on’ on the drive back to San Antonio. There were lots of smiling faces as people said their goodbyes.

Volunteers: Jackson and Judy Leddy, Roger Eppright, Gary Killion, David Cross, Jon Morse, Bob Spencer, Buddy Phillips, Lawrence Zenner, Keith Masters, Joe Salinas, Larry Ottmers who also donated 2 rods and Earl Robinette

Sponsors:

Fredericksburg Fly Fishers- Earl Robinette organized event
Ron Spencer- Donated 10 rods
Backwoods BBQ – Provided Lunch at a Discount
Hill Country Pump Service – Donated use of portable toilet
Fellowship Connection First Baptist Church made deserts
Bill and Pat Collins Donated use of the Back 40 for fishing
Ben Kvanli, Olympic Outdoor Center, San Marcos, donated the use of kayaks for the day.

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Card Party

Several friends at WFSC (Warrior Family Support Center) kept asking us to plan a day in Fredericksburg for them to come out and make cards. Those plans finally came together on April 27. The plan was to meet at the Cypress Room at Fredericksburg Inn and Suites where everyone would make four cards in the morning and four after lunch. As it turned out only half of the people signed up were able to come due to appointments, etc. , which meant the people who intended to teach were able to relax and make cards and visit. There was also a special treat for the guests. They each got a 30 minute chair massage!! What a fun day!!!