The Ultimate Choice (NIV)

As a child, I had a speech disability that influenced the rest of my life. All through school I was reminded by my teachers that I would be a failure in life. To be accepted by my friends I felt I had to be their daring leader in order to prove myself. I was raised in a conservative home, with good parents. At fifteen I took my first drink of alcohol. My buddies and I burglarized a poultry farm. We were charged with burglary and placed on probation for a year. We received fines and had to make restitution to the farmer. By 17, I bought my first motorcycle. Then I hung around with the local motorcycle clubs and began my life of partying. I got into hill climbing and dirt track races. Before and during every race, I always drank to reduce my fear and enhance my courage. I had numerous serious accidents. One time two cycles ran over me and my back was broken. I was lucky because several of my friends were killed during these races. I received the East Coast Champion Hill Climber award for two years. During these eleven years of racing, I won over a hundred trophies. Later I joined an outlaw cycle club and partied every weekend with clubs like Sons of Satan, Pagans, Heathens, and Hell’s Angels. These club members would do anything to outdo each other. One of my friends killed a young couple by decapitating them and one killed a cop and is now serving a life sentence. Every time I was put in prison for breaking the law, I only became more bitter and hard hearted. Several of my friends were shot by gang members. We were ordered by our club to arm ourselves with firearms for our protection against gang riots. Young girls sacrificed their bodies to the gang members for a weekend to gain membership into our club. If any member would pass out from drinking wearing his colors, other members would pour gas on them and set them on fire. I will never forget the horror I felt as I witnessed the agony and torture that they were experiencing. One night, at 11PM, I was cornered and told I had one hour to live. At midnight my life was supposed to be taken. I was convinced this was the end for me. I thought about what I would experience after death. I did manage to escape with only a broken jaw—and with a new appreciation for life. By now, I was married and had a newborn son. My life of drinking and partying was affecting our marriage, and it was falling apart. My wife gave me an ultimatum to choose my family or my life-style. I finally made a good choice and chose my family. Leaving my previous life-style, I took on a new interest in nature and hunting. My hunting interest led me into hunting all over North America and Africa. My life only was threatened again, but now in a different way. On one occasion a thousand pound bear had us cornered all night in an old trappers cabin. We knew if the bear decided to come in, the rotted door wouldn’t stop him. Numerous times I was lost in the bush overnight, not knowing when I would find my way out. Another time the float planes couldn’t get out of camp, and we were left for days without food. One day we were stuck in a snowstorm with winds up to 100 MPH. Planes overturned, boats capsized, and our tents were blown away. Several of the men drowned, and several died from hypothermia. Finally a helicopter came to my rescue. Once we were flying in a float plane during a storm and landed in rough water. As I got out and walked to shore, I looked over my shoulder and saw the wind capsize the plane. As the plane sunk, I lost two more of my friends. In Africa, while hunting for leopards and lions and sitting on bait in total darkness for 17 nights, we had poisonous snakes crawl by us. We also were nearly attacked by a hyena. We have over 150 trophy animals displayed in our home. Each one represents an adventurous hunting expedition and another story which could be told. Presently I am self employed as a booking agent and hunting guide. Because of the US government’s stand on gun control, I had my rights to bear firearms taken from me. My job as a hunting guide is in jeopardy. My arrest for burglary as a teenager has disqualified me from bearing arms, and now I can only use a bow and arrow. From the Northern Lights to the sunrises and sunsets of the East and West; from a polar bear to an African lion; from a bald eagle to a hummingbird; from the snow-capped mountains to the plains of Africa; I finally came to realize someone much bigger than me is responsible for it all. Looking back, I know my life was spared for a reason. I believe the main reason is so that I could share my life’s experiences with you. The experience of seeing people set on fire, along with the memory of their torment and horror, is something that brings me back to my childhood teaching. To you, my friend, who is reading this…I care about your eternal destination, and I want you to seriously consider your future. God planned hell to be for the devil and his demons, not for us. God’s desire is that none should perish but that all would come to eternal life through Jesus Christ. Do you want to find peace with God and experience true joy and happiness? The Bible states that “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). If you want to receive Jesus Christ into your life today, He will come in and change you in ways you never imagined. You can pray this simple prayer like what I used many years ago: “Jesus, I am a sinner, and I’m sorry for the sins in my life. I ask You to forgive me and to cleanse my heart with the blood of Jesus. I give You my life. Come into my heart as Lord and Savior and direct my paths from this day forward. Thank You for giving Your life for me, and help me to always live for You. Amen.” This tract is only a small part of a 300-page book called The Ultimate Choice that I have written. To get a copy, contact God's Great Outdoors. Ken Gingrich’s story is one of the many interviews that can be heard anytime on God's Great Outdoors radio program. Also this true story is just one of a number of booklets (tracts) available from God’s Great Outdoors featuring professional outdoorsmen.