Greetings from Costa Rica. I had a very interesting weekend this past weekend. All the men from the language school went on a Men's Retreat. We went to the International Royal Rangers Campground (the same camp where we had the Campamento for the Royal Rangers). We had no idea what we were going to be doing. The leaders kept us all in the dark. So, we were kind of nervous before we got there.
It is about a 2 hour drive to the campground. After we got there, we went on a tour of the campground, and the leaders kept saying that we need to pay attention to what we see. It would be important later that night. Then, we had a class about surviving an emergency. There has been a lot of missionaries who either had an accident or were stranded somewhere. It is necessary to have an idea of how to survive a crisis. Sometimes, even here in Costa Rica, if you travel across the mountains there are mudslides, and you might be trapped on the mountain for a day or two. Jeff Cooper, an A/G missionary here, taught us how to be prepared in case of emergency. It was an eye-opening experience. Then, we had a lesson on spiritual survival. In the physical survival, we learned what we need to put in our survival kits and backpacks. In spiritual survival, we talked about what we do not need to put in our spiritual backpacks, what we need to take with us, and how we need to prepare for a spiritual crisis.
After a lunch of awesome french fries and hamburgers, we had a lesson on knot-tying and how to build a shelter. Then, we were given two hours to find a place for our shelter and to build it using a knife and some string. We were assigned a partner, and then we got to work. My partner, Bob Perez, and I built a pretty nice shelter using bamboo and several different types of small trees, palm fronds, and other leaves. After we were done, it was time for dinner. We had chili for dinner. It tasted awesome. Then, we went on a walk in the jungle. For some of it, we had to turn off our flashlights. There was moonlight, but man is it dark in the jungle at night! It was nice to be able to have other people around talking and walking together. I cannot imagine being lost in the jungle at night and alone. It would be really difficult. I remember the most important thing Jeff Cooper taught us. He said the most important thing was to NOT PANIC, just remain as calm as possible. I thought, yeah right, like I wouldn't be panicking if I was lost in the jungle. After this weekend, I think I might be able to survive and to get my family out of a crisis situation.
After we got back from the hike, Jay Dickerson, our director at Cincel and the other leader of the retreat, asked us where our accountability partners were. During the hike, they were told they would be going on another trail then us; however, they were tricked and they were captured by the enemy. You can fill in the blanks on the spiritual meaning of this. Then, we were told that they were being held captive in the "stable" near the ampitheater of the campgrounds. There were several guards with spotlights, flashlights, water balloons (filled with paint), and paintball guns. We were give 3 chances to go in, find a key, open a lock, and get our parntner out. We could not be "killed" with paint from the paintball guns or "water" balloons. We were given almost two hours and no "rules" except one. We only had 3 lives, and we must not allow our partner to get hit. After we found the key, we must lead our partner out of the prison. We must be willing to take the "hit" for them. So, we had to stand between him and the paintball guns.
It was a fun night. It was a man's weekend. We got dirty, we worked hard, we played hard, we prayed hard, and we got to know each other better. I cannot share everything that happend, but it was a lot of fun.
After that, we had a snack. We went back to the ampitheater, and what campout would be complete without a bonfire, praise & worship, and a time to share what God is doing in our lives. It was amazing! Men were men, and we shared our hearts with each other.
Then, we went to out shelter to try and sleep out in the jungle overnight. Bob and I did sleep on the ground in our shelter until it started pouring rain. I think it was about 4 or 4:30 in the morning when it just began to rain, hard! So, we left our shelter and jumped into one of the permanent shelters at the campsight. The picture above is a picture of our shelter. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. It rained all morning long. In fact, it rained all the way back to San Jose. We made it back safe, but really tired. I am still tired tonight, but it was worth it. One more thing, on the night we had to rescue our accountability partner, I did it. They never even touched me with a paintball. (Be sure and check our website for more pictures: www.mattixfamilynews.com)
Good night and God bless,
Charley
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