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A dream come true for sick Metter boy
Boro group led by Claude Howard sponsors hunt
W BO MILLER
Bo Miller
      A 10-year-old Metter boy soon will experience a dream come true.
      Bo Miller suffers from kidney disease and he will spend Dec. 4-6 enjoying a weekend of deer hunting and fishing at Scarboro Bluff Plantation, thanks to a group of compassionate Bulloch County sportsmen.
      The “Dream Hunt” weekend is sponsored by www.bullochsportsmendevotional.com, a Web site created by local business owner Claude Howard.
      “I was watching a hunting show on television one day and went to the website advertised and saw a sportsmen’s devotional,” said Howard, who owns the Howard Lumber Company in Statesboro. “It was located in the Midwest. I knew God was talking to me telling me I could do this for Georgia, so I started brain storming. God was really talking to me telling me that a weekly sportsmen’s devotional from sportsmen is a great way to get Jesus’ word out.”
      One of the group’s projects is to host a “Dream Hunt/Fish” for sick children 8 to 18 years of age once a year, he said.
“We have two deer hunts, one fishing trip, and one turkey hunt.”
      Bo suffers from FSGS (focal segmental Glomerulosclerosis), a chronic kidney disease that attacks the kidney’s filtering system. It is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children. His big dream is to go on a successful deer hunt, but his weekend will include a fishing trip as well.  
      “His dream is to kill a deer. We will also take him fishing and skeet shooting,” Howard said.
      A film crew, Crowridge Productions, Inc., from Columbus, Ohio, is expected to come down and spend the weekend following Bo as he enjoys the exciting weekend at the Howards’ plantation in Scarboro.
      “There will be a story and pictures shown of the ‘Dream Hunt’ on the Web site shortly after the hunt is over,” Howard said.
      In addition to hunting and fishing, Bo will have a birthday party, since his birthday is that weekend. The Bulloch Sportsmen Devotional group is planning to present him with hunting clothes, boots, his own orange vest and a rifle, Howard said. .
Howard met Bo at a recent fundraiser by the Southern Cruisers at the Statesboro Kiwanis fairgrounds. He was speaking to the child and his family when the idea struck him to host another kind of benefit event – the dream hunt weekend.
      When he contacted the Miller family, Bo’s mother was ecstatic, he said, exclaiming that her son loved hunting and fishing more than anything. The idea grew into the weekend birthday surprise for Bo, who has suffered from the kidney disease since he was only 1 year old.
      The “Dream Hunt” idea is but one way the group enjoys spreading the word of God as well as the joy of Christianity and love for humankind, Howard said. He started www.bullochsportsmensdevotional.com in February and his vision “came true,” he said. “The Web site was spreading Jesus’ word all over the internet all over the world.”
      The devotional site has six board members: Barry Bloser, Debbie Martin, Johnny Martin, Bill Mathis, Jr., Keith Barber, and Howard.
      Its mission statement is: “ To provide sportsmen of Georgia and those worldwide a weekly sportsmen’s devotional from sportsmen who love Jesus and the outdoors. These men and women will share their personal relationships with our Lord.”
      “We have a worship service that meets every other Sunday morning at Bill Mathis’ cabin at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast, and Sam Wilder is our pastor,” Howard said. “Brian Rountree had God talk to him and came up with the idea for the Sunday breakfast service.”
      Howard said the Web site, spreads the devotionals.
      “You will get a weekly devotional, pictures, and sportsmen’s tip of the week,” he said. “If you would like to write a devotional, you can send it to claude@bullochsportsmensdevotional.com. Please include with the devotional a picture, bible verse and sportsmen’s tip of the week.”
      While excited about the devotional site, Howard won’t take credit. “I give God all the credit for coming up with bullochsportsmensdevotional.com. There is no way I could have ever come up with all of this alone. Bulloch Sportsmen’s Devotional is proud to spread Jesus’ word all over the world through sportsmen, men and women, who love Jesus and the outdoors. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
      Anyone interested in donating the nonprofit ministry can  contact Claude Howard at claude@bullochsportsmensdevotional.com.

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