04 Nov 2025 On a prayer and a hope

By Judy Riley

When commitment, love for kids, and personal tragedy come together for a cause greater than themselves, the kids of Central Arkansas reap benefits. This is evident in the work of the Hope Outdoors Chapter in Arkansas. 

Paul and Christy Parsons’s son Joe had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and lost the ability to walk at age 9. They took advantage of every opportunity to provide experiences for him. In 2006, they connected with an outdoor group called Hope Outdoors, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in Alabama. With their help, the Parsons took Joe on a guided hunt to bag his first big buck, and the experience transformed the three of them. Joe had the time of his life, and Paul beamed with pride for his son’s accomplishment, which they never thought possible.

“It felt like home,” Christie said, recalling her son’s reaction. “Joe was so comfortable with other kids facing similar special needs. We knew this was a calling for our family.”  After praying together, they opened the Arkansas chapter in the summer of 2007.

The primary mission of Hope Outdoors is to fulfill the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ by reaching individuals with special needs through outdoor experiences, all at no cost to the participant or their family. All chapters rely solely on donations. They stop at nothing to restore a sense of hope in children and adults living with special needs. When the world says, “No,” they say, “Yes!” When the world says, “Can’t,” they find a way. Their motto is “Let nothing stop you!” according to hopeoutdoors.org.

Each chapter has a team of volunteers who provide guide service, financial support and even lodging for families whose kids participate. “We share Christ’s love by trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus, caring for those with special needs in everything we do. Whether it’s teaching a child with an amputation to fish or helping a child learn to hold a rifle, even being still in a deer stand, we do that in love. Many of these children have never had the opportunity to hunt or fish,” the Parsons said.

Resources were found in unlikely places. Their friends, Pastor Jeff Overstreet and his wife, Natalie, raised 14 children. He is a cabinet maker by trade. The Overstreets converted their large home into Two Rivers Lodge in the Georgetown river-bottom area. They regularly rent it to deer and duck hunting groups but also decided to offer their 10-bed facility to Hope Outdoors for lodging, though it would need some renovations.

That’s not actually how it all began for their current land provider, Nicky Hamilton. He is a lifelong farmer from Griffithville in southern White County, who had two major life-altering events that led him to Hope Outdoors. First, his granddaughter was born prematurely with complications. Hamilton asked God to take him and let his tiny granddaughter live. Two weeks later, he had a medical emergency — a cancer diagnosis, followed by major surgery, a severe reaction to an immunotherapy treatment, and a life-threatening infection, which led to a five-week stay at M.D. Anderson in Houston. His granddaughter lived and is thriving, and Hamilton recovered. He gives great credit to his wife, Melissa. “She got right down in my ear with her coaching voice (she is a retired high school basketball coach and teacher) and yelled at me to fight and fight hard.”

With encouragement and support not only from his wife but a collection of medical professionals, Hamilton took a long look at why he survived and what he could do with the remainder of his life. As he recovered from treatment and his final surgery, his good friends Jeff and Natalie Overstreet contacted him about partnering with Hope Outdoors. Soon after, the couples began working to renovate Two Rivers Lodge in earnest. The lodge just happens to be located near Hamilton’s land and offers lodging, places for meal preparation and meeting spaces in a home-like setting. The lodge was readied for disabled guests and the Hamiltons offered their nearby land for hunts.

Their first joint endeavor began two years ago when seven kids hunted. Last year, 13 kids bagged nine deer. They are expecting 17 kids this year, all hunting at various places on the farmer’s land.

Hamilton, a big man in stature, work ethic, humility, and every way one could be measured, is quick to assert, “This story is not about me; it’s about these kids. I’ve been on big hunts both in Arkansas and out west and came home with some trophy deer. But nothing, absolutely nothing, feels as good to me as seeing the excitement of these kids with their first hunt.”

The Overstreets’ lodge, the Parsons’ leadership and the Hamiltons’ commitment of land, along with other landowners, make an unbeatable team. Their zeal to help special needs kids is an inspiration. For the Parsons, they are paying it forward, and “I’m paying it back,” Hamilton said. 

More information can be found at hopeoutdoors.org.