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These are recent stories - the rest are in my latest book,"Walking Through Adversity."

Stories about South & Central American Trips

Rob bryant
2006-01-07 11:33:13

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to say the least. That night I went into the field to watch Special Force training. They repelled 150' down a line suspended under a hovering helicopter, and performed several practice rescues. We watched them through Night Vision Glasses (NVG). They told me they may let me do it next time - YES! We also watched the Colombian Police march by into the darkness on a night march. A storm blew in during the evening and it rained all night. We slept in rooms right next to the Colombian Police. In the morning, we loaded into the C-27 once again and flew to a new possible location for a spray operation base in the middle of the jungle. We flew to a few hours back past Bogota to the next jungle town.

God is my Co-pilot - They saved the best for last. This town was in the middle of the most beautiful valley. I performed a quick audit then we went to an incredible hotel in the mountains. The interesting part was that it was on a hill, and there was no ramp. I walked up the stairs holding on to the rails. After checking in, I rolled backwards down the stairs to my room. Several people walked over to watch and smiled at me. Once downstairs, we looked over a balcony overlooking the city and watched an incredible sunset. One of the pilots asked me how I handled my injury so well. I told him about my job, ministry, world records, books, world travel, and family; and told him the reason I could do these things was attitude and faith in Christ. I told him just as he had a co-pilot, I did too - God. The same attitude that makes me laugh and see the bright side of life allows me to accomplish my goals. It is so cool that God can use us daily to encourage others as they watch us face challenges in a Godly fashion. In the morning after breakfast, we met to discuss the improvements we had in mind.

Run for it Senor Bryant: At 11AM, an aircraft mechanic ran up and said, "Senor Bryant, we need to get you out of here 'right now.'" I grabbed my bags and we boarded two Bell-212 Helicopters. I was strapped in and they took off. I noticed that several Black Hawk Helicopters (fully loaded bad boys) were taking off simultaneously and heading for the mountains. We flew with a 50 caliber weapon and a gunner with the side door open. Another helicopter followed us at a close distance. Obviously, something was wrong. We flew at 80 knots at 3,000 above the ground (AGL). Once we flew over a mountain chain, things calmed down. It was a beautiful view of the valley and mountains. Occasionally we would see large residences heavily guarded and fortified that were probably drug-related homes (it was right out of Romancing the Stone, with Michael Douglas). The jungle was beautiful and the mountains majestic and green. Once we landed back in Bogota, we were informed that the reason they were in such a hurry to get us out was that guerillas had shot at a Black Hawk Helicopter just 20 kilometers from the base. The Colombian Army Helicopters were flying out to kick some butt. I briefed the Department of State and DynCorp with my audit results and the improvements we were suggesting, and we returned to our hotel for a badly needed night's sleep. I was back home after 6 hours of flight time through Miami. After spending time with each member of my family separately and going to a nice dinner, I left for Louisiana for a weekend revival. Senor Bryant was still running.

Copyright by Rob Bryant

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