Friday, October 24, 2008 - Thanks for Visiting the Blog!

Here at our blog you can stop in to see what we are up to and learn about our mission to Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The purpose of our blog isn't just to keep our supporters informed of what we are up to but to also allow you to get to know us as a family.   The years (good and bad) we have spent in missions here in Brazil, Patty growing up here, our two year short term from 90 -92 and our time as full-time church planters since 1999 have shaped us into the family that we are.

As I say often, the Christian life is not a life without problems, it is a life with solutions.  We are dedicated the fact that Jesus Christ is the solution to the problems of mankind. 

There is no human pain that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will not fix.  That is the essence of who Jesus is and that is what he offers to bring into your life.

We view this blog as part of our ministry to point you to Him.

Prayer Requests

1. Missionary Co-workers - We don't have any!  We have been "alone" in Belo Horizonte surrounded by 4 million people for about three years now.  Pray that the Lord would send us a couple or three.  We are especially praying for a couple who are called to sports evangelism.  The Sports Center will be the location of a new church and the opportunities for working with kids there are practically limitless.

2. Our 2009 Meeting Schedule -  Our meeting schedule is currently booked through December 14th!  We want to fill our 2009 schedule with new churches that might be interested in our ministry to Belo Horizonte.  Please pray for a full schedule! 

3. Our Support Level - We are currently under-supported due to the fall of the US dollar.  This year we are praying to return with full support.

Many people have asked us about giving online, you can do that through PayPal at ABWE by following this link - Donate Online.

4. Reorganization of Hope Baptist Church - We have decided to move Hope Baptist to the Sports Center for the following year.  This will take the financial pressure off of them as they won't have to pay rent.  They will be meeting as a small group this year and when we return we plan to reorganize them as a new church meeting at the Sports Center.

You could also help by forwarding this blog address to friends in other churches who might be interested in our ministry.

By His Grace,

Friday, October 24, 2008 - Our New Prayer Cards

Friday, October 24, 2008 - Recession's Gift

Friday, October 17, 2008 - New Family Photo

Friday, October 3, 2008 - Our Fall Meeting Schedule

I am positive that many of you have been praying for our fall meeting schedule.  We are now fully booked with meetings through December 14^th!  Here is our schedule.  We would greatly appreciate it if you would keep us in prayer not only for these speaking engagements but also to fill out the rest of the year with meetings.

Fall 2008 Meeting Schedule

Sep 27 & 28   Grace Independent Baptist of New Berlinville PA

Oct 4 & 5        Independent Bible Church of Sand Beach, Hummelstown PA

Oct 8 AM        Quakertown Christian School Missions Fair

Oct 11 & 12    Grace Baptist Church of Muncy PA

Oct 19             Living Stone Baptist Church Quakertown PA

Oct 20 – 22     First Baptist Church of Perkasie Pastor’s Conference

Oct 25                                 GIBC New Berlinville PA Harvest Festival

Oct 26              Faith Baptist Church Phoenixville PA

Nov 2               First Baptist Church Perkasie PA AM Services

Nov 6               Small group Bible Study - Perkasie PA

Nov 9               Highland Baptist Church Parkesburg PA

Nov 13             Small group Bible Study - Perkasie PA

Nov 16             Bethel Baptist Church Cherry Hill NJ

Nov 23             Westkill Baptist Church, Westkill NY

Nov 30             Open Bible Baptist Church Reading PA

Dec 7                Independent Baptist Church Towanda PA

Dec 14                               First Baptist Church Newburgh NY

Jan 23 – 25      First Baptist Church of Perkasie Missions Conference

Right now our schedule for 2009 is wide open.  If you would like to schedule a meeting with us please contact us via e-mail – dmcintyre@abwe.cc as soon as possible.

Expecting great things of Him,

Dave McIntyre

Monday, September 1, 2008 - A walk in the woods (by Erin)

Remember, Lord, when my dad would take me in the woods for those long walks? Do you remember, Lord, how I would feel if I couldn’t see him any more? My dad never left me alone in those woods; I simply was too slow to keep up with him!

Lord, you take me on long walks in the woods. When I can’t see you, you know how I feel! Lord, you never leave me alone in the woods! Even though I am going in the right direction, don’t let me slow down!

In the woods, Lord, there are slippery rocks…

In the woods, there are snakes…

In the woods, Lord, there are paths that lead to destruction…

All these things make me afraid…

If I stumble on the rocks, you, Lord, pick me up;

If the snake comes to bite me, you kill it;

If I go down the wrong path, you find me and bring me back again!

Many things scare me in the woods, but you are here and every thing will be alright!

Take me on long walks in the woods!

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - A Rare Opportunity

Glacie told me that she has a team of 22 girls that want to play soccer but they have no place to play.  They have tried renting space in a local court but since the girls in the team are all from low income families they many of them can’t participate. The local school won’t let kids from other schools come in to play.  She asked, “Pastor Mac, is there any way you can help us with this?  Nobody supports us because nobody is interested in girls soccer, nobody cares about girls.”  Understand, Glacie is a sweet kid but she is a product of this neighborhood, she looks hard as nails, but she had tears in her eyes when she finished talking.

I told her, “Glacie, we have space to play over at the Sports Center but our purpose isn’t just to make space available for kids to play soccer but to work in the lives of the kids that are playing soccer there.  I need to find a woman or two who will be willing to work with you in this who will get involved with you and teach you the Word of God.  Are you and the girls willing to play there if that’s the deal?”

“Pastor Mac, we really need this. That would be just fine with us.”

The next day she showed up at the afternoon event with most of her team.  I have put the word out that we need one or two women form our local churches to work with them on Saturday mornings.  I put her in contact with Alberto, one of our seminary students to try to recruit a leader or two for them.  Please make this a matter of urgent prayer that God would call a few of our women to take them on as a ministry. It is a rare thing that something like this just falls out of the sky.

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - Erin

I am very happy to report that Erin has decided that she wants to become a career missionary.  I know I’m biased in my opinion that she is a special kid. She already speaks English, and Portuguese fluently and she has a working fluency in Spanish.  On her own, she has decided to learn Arabic as well.  She is seriously praying about missions in the Middle East, possibly Egypt.

This week she jumped into the Pepe program with both feet and has seen some amazing results.  The other day I was at the Cora Coralina public school where she was working with the kids from Pepe.  I noticed that she was sitting with a kid on the steps so I snapped a picture of her.  I later asked how things went and she said he had received Christ. 

A few days later she and another kid from Pepe visited him at home and his mother received Christ as well.  That Sunday they were at the Copacabana church.  Pray for Luiz Fernando and his mother. These are only two examples from a very fruitful week for Erin many opther kids prayed with her for salvation as well.  I told her the other day that I believe she has the gift of evangelism.  The thought of returning to Brazil next time without her is something I avoid thinking about.

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - PEPE - For Him and By Him

I have to admit that with all we have had going on in the last few weeks and preparing to leave for a year that I had been more than a little apprehensive that we were planning to host a group of over fifty young people for two weeks of intensive evangelism here in the neighborhood.  This entire experience has shown me yet again that the battle is the Lord’s.

The Pepe group is composed of young people from many different Baptist churches in Sao Paulo who have a real commitment to evangelism.  They are well trained and well organized and they have brought an infection with them, enthusiasm.  There has been so much going on in the last two weeks that it is actually hard to know where to start.  Tim Moody has done a great job of cultivating a right attitude in the kids.  He constantly asks them “Was Christ glorified in what you did this morning?  OK, then that’s all that matters!”

The basic strategy is to team up kids from Pepe with kids from the local churches and send them out in small groups assigned to certain streets in the morning to do door to door evangelism and invite kids to the various events in the afternoons.  One group of kids stays behind at the Sports Center and prays for the groups that are out in the street.

The groups going out have found people very receptive to the survey they are conducting.

In the afternoons there are two main events every day.  For the younger kids we have a program that we are running in two of our local public schools.  The schools were gracious enough to open their doors and give us full use of their facilites, gym space, classrooms, everything. 

These meetings have been very well attended by the kids and there is even a separate activity for the mothers and older sisters that come along.

For the older kids we have been running sports events at the Sports Center.  The kids start arriving about 2 PM and we have both courts in full use for both boys and girls soccer.  All over the Center while kids are waiting to play there are conversations taking place.  Young people from both Hope Baptist and Copacabana Baptist, have been teaming up with kids from Pepe to sit in little groups with visiting kids from the neighborhood to share the gospel and develop relationships.

The entire time that the sports activity is taking place there is a group of young people up on the rooftop patio of the Sports Center praying for their friends evangelizing down below.  The Pepe group is dedicated to the power of prayer, in fact they do nothing without prayer and it has shown in the results.

I don’t have the statistics for the second week yet but in the first week the teams had made over 250 home visits, over 100 families have requested a follow-up visit and over 60 people had received Christ as Savior.  All of this data has been collected and presented to the Copacabana church for follow-up.

There is not a single verse in the New Testament that tells anyone out there in the world to go to church.  The Words states emphatically that the Church is to go out into the World with the message of the gospel.  The Lord has blessed this effort beyond our wildest expectations.  I think Paul said it best, “And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

Friday, July 4, 2008 - Car Accident

Last night Patty and Erin went to the mall.  On the way back Patty dropped Erin off at home and went to fill the car with gas as I was headed out to camp in the morning to meet with the realtor.  On the way back just down from our house she was going round the curve and a bus was coming the other way.  She moved right to let the bus pass as she went around the curve and there was a cow in the road right in front of her.  She hit a telephone pole.  She had her seatbelt on and the airbag went off. .  She had a full set of x-rays and didn't break anything but she is feeling pretty beat up from the impact. The car is totaled, but insured.  It was very fortunate that she had dropped Erin off at home beforehand.  A metal toolbox, jack, and other assorted tools that had been in the trunk broke the passenger side windshield right about where Erin’s head would have been.

Last week I sold my car as it had developed a crack it the chassis and if it got any worse it would not sell.  So right now we are without a car and I have more to do than can get done. 

The mission has decided to sell the camp property.  With the fall of the dollar and the loss of our other personnel here in Belo it is just too much to manage.  Over the past two years I have tried everything I could to keep it up and running but it’s just too much.  Last Monday I hired a truck to move the kitchen facilities and 44 of our mattresses to the Sports Center property.  I have been going back and forth to camp trying to work out the values of the camp property with a realtor about an hour and a half away.  Much remains to be done with that so this is no time to be without a car.

In two weeks we will be hosting a group of about 50 people at the Sports Center for an evangelism campaign.  They will be spending one week each helping Copacabana and Hope Baptist conduct child evangelism in two public schools and in the neighborhoods.  This was put in motion back before we knew we were leaving in August.

Tarik, who had been living at the Sports Center and doing a fantastic job of taking care of the property, has been granted a visa to go to the US to get married.  I need to find someone to replace him for the year we will be away.  Valcione, on of my church young people (OK he’s 34) wants to do the job.

You can see, we really need some prayer right now.  We trust the Lord still knows what He is doing and know this will work out for His glory. We are thankful that Patty wasn’t seriously injured in the accident.  On the bright side, we don’t have to sell her car so I can scratch that of the list of things to do.

Please keep us in prayer this week.

By His Grace,

Dave, Patty, Erin, Karina, and Daniel Luke McIntyre

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - Hope Baptist Update

There has been a lot going on these last few weeks.  Today is the first day I’ve had time to catch my breath so I figure I’d better post some things to the blog before things get crazier than they are.

My father died on May 9^th.   He had been struggling with Alzheimer’s for the past few years. It is hard to say that my dad lost his fight with Alzheimer’s.  The disease wasn’t delaying the inevitable but rather delaying the glorious.  My father knew the Lord.  While it is sad to say goodbye, we have been saying goodbye for a long time.

Our plans were to go home on the 12^th but we discovered that Daniel’s passport had expired.  Sunday night after church he and I took a night flight to Rio and had the passport problem solved by 3 PM on Monday.

We arrived home on Wednesday evening.  The memorial service was on Saturday morning at Concord Liberty Presbyterian Church.  The service was well attended; my parents’ pastor preached a solid gospel message.   It was good to see my mom and brothers.  My younger brother Carl’s boys are both talking now so it was fun to see the cousins all together.

We were able to borrow the Jeep and stop in to see the folks at First Baptist of Perkasie.  It was good to hear they have our housing arraignments all sorted out for when we come home in August.

We arrived back home a day late (see The Unexpected) and had to hit it running.  I had to pick up Tim Moody (ABWE São Paulo) and Thiago, one of his seminary students at the airport around midnight.  In addition to church planting, Tim leads the Pepe Ministry.  They, and a group of 30 volunteers from São Paulo and the US, will be conducting two weeks of intensive evangelism with us in July. 

Tim Moody at Hope

Due to the small size of Hope Baptist we have joined forces with Copacabana Regular Baptist Church nearby for this effort.  Friday we spent driving around the area to give them a feel for the type of neighborhoods they will be working in.  Saturday night we held a joint training seminar for the two churches taught by Tim and Thiago over at the Sports Center.  We had about 30 people out for that.  On Sunday morning they presented the project at Copacabana in the morning and Hope Baptist at night.

Monday afternoon we visited two public schools near the two churches and both of them opened their doors allowing us to use their facilities in July.  Diana, the school administrator near Hope, is an evangelical Christian and had been the administrator there for one of my youth leaders, Renato.  From the 12^th to the 26^th of July we will be doing street evangelism in the mornings and then holding children’s meetings at the schools during the afternoons.

This had all been set in motion before we made the decision to return to the US in August.  A seminary student from Copacabana, Alberto, is currently praying about the opportunity to cover the preaching duties at Hope while we are away for the year.  Please pray for him in this decision.

With only two more months to go before furlough things will be moving very fast for us down here.  Please keep us in your prayers as we have much to do before we can leave home to head home.

By His Grace,

Dave, Patty, Erin, Karina, and Daniel Luke McIntyre

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - The Unexpected

Our return flight from Philly to Miami was delayed for several hours due to weather.  We were scheduled for a late night flight to São Paulo that we would miss by at least an hour or two.   The next available flight wasn’t until 8 PM the next day and since it was due to “weather” they wouldn’t give us hotel vouchers, we were on our own.

I booked us a room in Miami and joined Patty and kids waiting near our gate. The gate was packed as there were several other flights waiting there.  I struck up a conversation with a woman sitting next to me and mentioned her that we had to spend 24 hours in Miami at a hotel.  She said “That’s crazy; you have to come and stay at my house. I have a nice place and you can have the whole upstairs if you’d like.” She didn’t look like an ax murderer, very well dressed, flying first class, so we took the chance.  I canceled our reservation.

Upon arrival in Miami the plane parked and went blackout.  We deplaned at 1:30 AM in the glare of a six million lumen flashlight held aloft by a crew member. “Thanks for flying American, sorry for the delay… Head towards the light…”

Barb was waiting for us when we got off with directions to her house.  We hired a van and got there a few minutes later.  (Nice house in a nice neighborhood)  She has gone on ahead and had an air mattress set up upstairs in the master bedroom, giant bed for us, and a couch for Daniel.  She had towels laid out in the giant bathroom.  We all fell into a coma.

Barb lives in Miami but works in Philadelphia, marketing consultant, single. Her mom was visiting.  They had been a military family so they wouldn’t hear of people having to stay in a hotel if they had room.  I cooked breakfast (eggs), Patty made the coffee, Barb made bacon.  She just completely opened her home to us as if she knew us all her life.  The kids spent the morning swimming in her pool.  Later she took us out to lunch with her mom and drove us to the airport in the afternoon.

Barb had said that when we sat down with her, her first impulse was to move, but since our kids were so well behaved she stayed.  That just goes to show you that first impressions can be, um, inaccurate.  We had a great time staying at her house and hope to meet again under less stressful circumstances. 

Barb, we owe you dinner but you’ll have to stay at our house to collect.

Mac

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - The Power of Parables

I love stories.  I don’t think anything has the power to communicate a message like a good story.  Recently I have been leading Hope Baptist in a Wednesday night study on the personality of Jesus and we have rediscovered the power of the parable.

When Nathan confronted David over his sin of adultery and murder he had every right to just walk in and blast the king with the horrible impact of his deeds.  Instead he totally blind-sided David with a story.  You’ve probably heard it before.  He told him about a rich man who stole the only lamb of his poor neighbor and had it slaughtered instead of taking a lamb from his own herds.  Of course David was thinking correctly about such a man and it made him rise up in righteous indignation.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son.

I think it is interesting that He told these to a mixed group of “Sinners” and Pharisees.  This wasn’t the age of the public address system.  Nobody was viewing this sermon from a distance on the big screen off in the church annex.  They were literally rubbing shoulders, at bad breath distance, so to speak.

I picture the Pharisees wanting to hear Jesus speak, maybe to take Him seriously, maybe just to try to trap Him yet again, but having to do so in the company of people they would never associate with, ever.  There, also wanting to hear Jesus, were the down and outers, the cast-offs of first century society.  It offended the Pharisees that they would have to stand in the company of such obvious undesirables.  The down and outers and the up and outers, like oil and water these people just don’t mix.  It is a vivid picture of how the Lord will look both high and low for the lost.

In one series of short parables Jesus identified with the rural man looking for a lost sheep, the urban woman looking for a lost coin, and the rest of us looking for a way back to God.  I imagine the Pharisees just waiting to hear the “Father” figure in the parable blast his irresponsible son upon his return, only to realize that they are not like the Father at all.  At the same time that the parable speaks directly to every person assembled there it also reaches far out into the church age showing that the Gentiles would also be made acceptable to God through His mercy and compassion.

I know of no mere human being who can speak simultaneously on so many levels yet with such simple words.  “And they marveled at His teaching… He spoke as one who had authority…”  Jesus knew us well.  We throw up our guards when we think we are about to be attacked. The power of parable is that it  leads people to a correct conclusion before they realize it requires them to make a change.  It allows our own thoughts to convict us.  What is your story?  What has He been telling you lately?

Mac

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - We're Heading Home for Furlough

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - Getting Things Done by David Allen

A few weeks ago my brother-in-law, David Tufts, was here helping Terry and Carole move out of their house.  David works for Radio Bible Class back in Michigan.  Sensing my need for organization and stress reduction (it is obvious) he gave me his copy of Getting Things Done by David Allen.

(LINK TO WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE)

This isn’t the kind of self-help book you read through and think, “Well that was interesting but I could never be that kind of person.”  It’s the kind of book you stop every few pages, apply what you just read and start getting things done and reducing stress right away.

Since I’ve been applying his system to my life I find myself moving multiple projects forward on a broad front.  My mind is free from the constant pestering of odd tasks and “to-do’s” that didn’t happen today.  I still have a long way to go but I am headed in the right direction.

So, thank-you David.  While most people can see what is painfully obvious not many offer timely and practical help.  Life here is getting better.

If you are like me and have way to much to do, no inherent organizational ability, a mind crammed full of “stuff” to “get done”, and an evil chimpanzee throwing wrenches at you all day you really should check out this book.

Mac

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Our First Baptism!

Sunday night we had a fantastic time at Hope Baptist!

When I got back from Carnival Camp Wednesday afternoon I was promptly informed that our portable baptistery was no longer in condition to hold water.  The wood had degraded to the point that we were due for a sudden flood.

I gave the design to a member of Faith Baptist who lives in the neighborhood and runs a cabinet making shop.  By Saturday afternoon he had assembled a replica of the former baptistery and we set it up after adult Sunday school and started to fill it with a few cubic meters of water.  Mateus, my engineering student was helping with this.  He did some quick calculations of weight and pressure that said “Be afraid, be very afraid.”  I had this mental image of a loud crack and sudden flood washing people out the back door.

As the song service got into full swing people started arriving until almost all of our seats were taken up.  We only seat 65 and ended up with 52 in the service.  Fully 27 of them were first time visitors.

I preached a message on the meaning of believer’s baptism and the gospel from Acts 16. The baptistery held water, no loud crack, no sudden flood.  All went well and the Lord blessed.  Michael and Monica are now members of Hope Baptist.

Monica and her father.  Her dad came right up to watch.  The look on their faces needs no comment.

Monica Dias Santos

Michael Xavier de Araujo

Hugs

Thanks for your prayers,

Mac

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Visions of a Deeper Wilderness Ministry

Last month the week before we left for the All-Brazil conference I was able to take three of my young people out to run the wilderness survival course.  It is always a great time, I never know quite what to expect, but it is always greatly used by the Lord to challenge the guys to live on a deeper level.

Wilderness ministry has been effectively used in a great many places and different contexts.  There is something about the wilderness that opens people up and makes them teachable. There is an incredible interpersonal dynamic at work that makes the job of teaching and interacting with others wonderfully efficient.  Jesus Himself often led his disciples off into the wilderness, and He didn’t even have a cell phone.  Life is stripped down to the basics and every decision and action has immediate consequences.  You couldn’t ask for a better learning environment.

At the All-Brazil conference, Bruce McDonald challenged us in his first message about returning to our first love, getting back to our passion in ministry.  The experience of leading three guys through the wilderness course was fresh in my mind.  I hadn’t had time, correction MADE THE TIME, to run the course this year. I had let some of that passion slip away in the flood of the urgent that rules my life.

I decided that passion is important. It is a gift from God to take the drudgery out of life and ministry. It breaks up the routine and allows us to recharge and approach life from a fresh perspective.  I am determined to take the wilderness course to a deeper level and truly understand that dynamic that makes it so effective.

Recently several people I got in contact with via the internet have helped me greatly in this effort.  Ben Wilhite from Pilgrimage sent me a pile of information from their WILD training program.  Marcus Andrusko of the Boundary Waters Experience sent me his masters’ thesis.  Ashley Denton of the Wilderness Ministry Institute showed me where to download his doctoral thesis as well.  I now have a load of information to draw from in rewriting my own curriculum.  I am really excited about this project.  Other people involved in wilderness ministry have also offered to act as a sounding board for me in developing this aspect of my ministry.  There are a lot of people out there who know what they are doing. 

Thank you to all who share in this vision of using God’s general revelation to focus young people on Christ, and have helped me closer to making this happen here in Central Brazil.

Mac

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Scenes from Carnival Camp 2008

This years Carnival camp was a great success.  We had a total of 113 campers and staff for four days out at the Living Waters Camp.  This year it was Faith Baptist, our former church that organized the event.  The two weeks before camp were very busy getting everything ready out there.  There was a great deal of maintenance that needed to be done but we had a good crew of volunteers to share the load.  They are the real heroes this year as the effort really was superhuman.  My part in that was to make sure they had all the materials and supplies and shuttle people back and forth.  When I got back from the ABWE All-Brazil conference they called and told me that everything was ready, all I had to do was come and preach. 

Carnival is during rainy season and we got plenty this year.  It is a good time to reconnect with friends and have some good one-on-one talks with kids who really need it.  The theme of the messages was intended to bring them to a realization of who Jesus is and that the facts demand a decision from them as to what role He will play in their lives.  In all we had one decision for salvation and several others who decided to stop playing around with their faith.

Scenes from this years camp

Pretty grim for Futebol

  And the call this "The Beautiful Game"...

  Carnival with so much rain, always provides lots of time for talk.

Chapel

Me doing the part I love best

It wasn’t all rain

Making cordage by hand.  This is a skill I picked up a while back that makes a perfect rainy day activity.  Cordage making is a great object lesson on working together.  I love my new hat.

This fooze-ball table was rescued from a life being wasted in a bar, just like the kids playing it.

Thanks for being a part of our ministry here.

Mac

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Out of the mouths of babes...

Recently we went to the ABWE All Brazil conference in Gramado, Rio Grande Do Sul.

During the landing approach to Porto Alegre the wheels on the 737 popped out like they are supposed to but gave that awful bump/noise as they did.

Karina (9), overly dramatic, wide-eyed, and a bit startled shouted “What was THAT!”

Daniel (6), calmly sitting next to her said, “Karina I don’t know what that was, and it was scary.  But God is good, and He loves us, and we don’t have to be afraid.”

Daniel on the bus

Several times since the conference those words have echoed through my head at times when things have happened that are truly not able to be processed on a rational level.  “God is good, He loves me, and I don’t have to be afraid.”  There is a lot to be said for the power of simple faith in the big facts that control our lives.  Mac

Monday, January 21, 2008 - Lessons from the Wilderness

This year has been too hectic for me to get out and do any real camping.  I have a waiting list of about 30 guys who want to do the wilderness survival course but I keep putting them off.  After all that has happened recently with Carole and Terry moving out of their house, my Mom’s visit, the Southwell’s visit, problems at church, camp, the sport’s center etc; Patty (very lovingly) told me to go camping.  She didn’t actually pack for me but I was given no choice in the matter.

I had planned to head out for two nights alone and made the mistake of mentioning it.  Weverton and Valcione begged me to take them with me.  I had promised to take them out as soon as I could find the time so I reluctantly agreed.  I normally run the course with four and two is half the work.  By church time Wednesday night I had all our packs packed and the excess gear stowed away.  The phone rang, Andre had heard we were heading out and wanted to go too.  He has been out with me before.  He is very enthusiastic and squared away.  I hemmed and hawed a second or two and decided to let him come too.  After church I tore down all the gear and made up a pack for him.

I picked them up at 6AM Thursday morning and we arrived at the Uaimíí Forest (pronounced why-me) before 9.  About two years ago Weverton had been run over by a car.  His left leg had been crushed. Over the last two years he has had several surgeries and extensive physical therapy to recover the use of his leg. This was to be the first time he has done anything like this since the accident.  Taking that into account I didn’t want to push him too hard the first day so I selected a campsite I had used before about 1 km in on the backside of a ridge.

The location includes a small forest of decent sized trees for hanging hammocks and a huge, overhanging shelter rock for making camp fires.  I have used this place before several times.  With Weverton’s leg being a big unknown I wanted a campsite that was a sure thing.

At the start of the adventure I have them spread out and find a place to sit quietly for a half hour.  This in itself is a challenge as none of them are used to solitude or the bush.  I ask them the question “What do we really need in life?”  In the bush we are stripped down to the basics.  The course covers our need for Shelter, Water, Fire, Navigation, and Emergency Signals.  They live on a Spartan diet of instant oatmeal and Ramen noodles, food is not a 72 hour survival consideration.

One of the main premises of the adventure is that everything we need to survive is already out there in the bush, we just have to apply ourselves and make it happen.  God has blessed us abundantly but those blessings are often secured through hard work.

I find that this wait at the start puts them in the right frame of mind.  When they came back we had a little talk about what I expected out of them, what they could expect out of me, and the question we were trying to answer, “How do you survive out here?”

Much of the course material is taught as we meet each need during the course of the day and by necessity it is unstructured to account for the unpredictable nature of nature.  I have attempted to organize it here in an orderly fashion and give an idea of the greater life lessons each component of wilderness survival can teach.

SHELTER – Mankind is essentially a tropical mammal.  We need two things, warm and dry.  God has loaded the wilderness of Minas Gerais with places easily adaptable to create those conditions.  The giant rock overhang in our campsite is a perfect example.

I asked them, “Forget about our big shelter rock for a minute. If you had to build a shelter right here in the forest with just your basic equipment how would you do it?”  They all came up with some form of ground shelter idea.  I turned up the six inches of rotting leaves on the ground to reveal a mass of ants and assorted creepy crawlies. 

“Do you really want to sleep in all of that?”

“NO WAY!”

“We need to sleep up above it somehow.”

This shelter was created from what the Lord provided.  The only man made materials used were a machete, a poncho, and a liberal portion of elbow grease.  Andre spent the night in this shelter.

WATER – A human being needs close to a gallon of water per day.  Here in Minas Gerais at this time of year we drink at least 3 liters of water.  The campsite I selected had no water nearby and I hiked them in with dry canteens to emphasize a point.  God has provided for our needs but that doesn’t mean that provision is always within easy reach.

On the hike in we dug out a sandy seep that filled with muddy water.  This water is perfectly palatable once filtered and treated and there was easily enough to keep a person alive for days.  We decided to hike about a kilometer to a creek to fill our canteens.

For more lessons on wilderness water see the blog post The Rule of Threes.

FIRE – We use fire every day, it is the one of our most basic needs to cook food, heat our living space, and provide light for the multitude of small tasks we couldn’t get done during the day.  Naturally it is the focal point of human community and has been for our entire history on earth.  Fire equals fellowship.   Almost every natural shelter space in Minas Gerais shows evidence of past campfires going back centuries in some places.  Fire, like fellowship is essential but it doesn’t happen by itself (at least not the way we want!)

NAVIGATION – Getting lost in the wilderness is no fun.  Valcione had been part of a day-hike gone bad a number of years ago. The experience of being lost in the wilderness left a deep impression on him.  Getting lost in life is even worse. Compass navigation renders up more teaching opportunities about life than can be recorded here.  It is a simple process of using a fixed point of reference and long term goals reached through a series of short term objectives that take you closer to where you want to be.

These guys did a fantastic job the second day of navigating many miles over rough terrain that included open country as well as short visibility, dense jungle thickets that literally had to be chopped through, steep ravines, and a large dose of the unexpected. Just like life.

 (Yes that is a "pungi stake" sticking out of my boot!  Fortunately it only left a decent bruise on my foot and didn't break the skin.  One more hole in a jungle boot makes little difference.)

SIGNALS – Knowing when you are in over your head is a lesson in humility.  We all wind up in situations beyond our capability and have to let others know we need help, now!  During the course I cover emergency signals such as the cell phone, whistle, signal mirror, and fire/smoke.  Letting others know where you are going and when you will be back (accountability), prayer, asking for advice and help with life’s problems are all things we need but avoid doing at times.

Here the guys are approaching my location after I called them back from a distant ridge using the signal mirror.

Life is a Wilderness

There are a multitude of subtle lessons the bush can teach as well, working together, working hard, looking after each other, taking the initiative, understanding your needs as opposed to your wants, valuing the things you have, etc.  The list could go on for pages.

Aside from learning how to manage a wilderness emergency they came back knowing a little more of how to manage the challenges of life. 

For Weverton (standing) the trip marked the end of his exile from life limping around trying to recover.  He covered a great deal of broken ground and did everything everyone else did.  It was hard on him but he did well.  Weverton has told me he has seen the Lord’s purpose for his accident and the growth it caused in his life.  This adventure was a huge milestone and gave him confidence that he is physically capable of far more than he thought.

Andre (right) jumps into life with both feet and told me that soon he will be inviting me to head out to the bush.  I look forward to that; he is a strong, natural leader and someone I want to invest more time in.

Valcione (left) is dedicated to the vision of a church that truly reflects the character and personality of Jesus.  It was great to spend time with him as he hasn’t yet committed to membership at Hope Baptist.  He told me on the phone today that he can’t live the rest of his life without a plan and the navigation course showed him that.  He said, “Pastor Mac, I fail because I don’t have a clearly defined objective and a route mapped out to get there.  I also have to know how to get back to the last place I was sure of and start again on the right course.”  Can somebody say AMEN!

Me?  The Lord knew just what I needed…

Mac