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Hurricane Mitch -I flew to Tegucigalpa, Honduras in Central America recently. I was there one year ago when Hurricane Mitch smashed into Honduras killing thousands. Even so, this is one of my favorite trips each year. The country is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the dollar is so strong against the Limpira that I buy many beautiful gifts for family and friends there. As VP for Quality and Safety for DynCorp Aerospace, I audit places like this all over the world. My driver took me up to Soto Cono AFB, Joint Task Force Bravo (Army, Marines, AF personnel) where I was to work all week. The base is surrounded by mountains and the sunsets are spectacular. They teased me about my visit when it began raining on Monday night. However, the rain came again on Tuesday and Wednesday night and washed out all of the bridges to the base except one. They really began wondering if I had brought bad weather again by Thursday. They were all too glad to take me back to the airport. The base radio station advertised that I would be speaking on Wednesday. On September 22nd I spoke to many military men and women at the Chapel. It was a terrific meeting and the Chaplain, Captain Horton, is a wonderful example of Christ's love. But, I figured that since these were seasoned Special Forces type folks, that the response to my message would be minimal. I was delightfully surprised when 100% of the men and women came forward to pray. I asked for one of them to close us in prayer. The biggest, meanest looking man in the room began to pray. It was one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard. It was as if heaven had opened up and this soldier had the key in his hands. The prayer was full of scripture, love and compassion. I saw something in his eyes that I had missed earlier - it was the love of Jesus.
The Colombian Connection: After short trips to Atlanta and Charleston, SC, I flew to Miami and met a business associate in order to fly to Bogota, Columbia, South America. Bogota is high in the Andes Mountains (7,000') so it took a while for us to get used to the thin air. We were met at the Bogota airport and taken to an incredible hotel (101 Plaza Hotel). My suite had a large bedroom, living/dining room with a fireplace, kitchen, and huge bathroom. There are 1,950 Pesos to the US $, so we were able to splurge on the hotel accommodations. We rose at 6 AM each day and watched gorgeous sunrises while sipping Colombian coffee and ate real Colombian dishes for breakfast (Taco Bell eat your heart out). We drove across town and a scenic mountain range each day but we didn't leave our hotel rooms at night because of drug related crimes against Americans. I also bought beautiful emerald jewelry for the wife (a happy wife means a happy family). Colombia is known for coffee, drugs, and emeralds and I was directly involved with all three.
It's a Jungle Out There - My alarm sounded at 5:00 AM, I drank coffee w/ the guys, and I said goodbye to the beautiful hotel for a three-day trip to the jungles of interior Colombia. We drove to the Bogota Airport and went through Colombian Police Security. We were loaded, along with thousands of pounds of drug eradication equipment, into a C-27 (a US Army paratrooper/ cargo) aircraft. It had a large loading ramp in the back, so I just rolled up the ramp to my jump seat. We flew just one hour to city deep in the jungle (the location is classified). Bogota was very cool because of the elevation in the Andes, however, the jungles were going to be very hot and humid. The jungle city is a small town with an air strip for the Dept. of State, Colombian Police and locals. Upon landing, we were escorted by armed Colombian Police into the small camp completely surrounded by jungle. I held classes for the employees to familiarize them w/new Quality and Safety methodologies. Recent aircraft incidents and gun handling processes had resulted in fatalities and I wanted to help them establish safer procedures (as safe as can be in such a dangerous work environment). I inspected the aircraft, records, maintenance and management. That night over a locally cooked meal of lentals, rice, and beans, we met for several hours and slapped the huge insects hovering around the lights. Later, I lifted weights with many of the Search and Rescue soldiers (big, mean, strong boys). They watched me curiously as I benched more than my weight (nothing for some of these boys), then we got real serious and I loved the fellowship with these tough men. Around midnight I went to the perimeter of the camp with one of the Special Force type guys and he said, "listen." We heard the cries of almost a hundred types of birds, insects, lizards, frogs, and animals. Every once in a while the locals heard the cries of big cats like Jaguars. Were guerillas right there watching us? I didn't want to know. We slept three to a room in bunks. It struck me as awesome that just a few days before I left TX, spoke in OK, worked in SC and FL, and was now standing in the Interior of Colombia South America. We flew out to our next destination at 10 AM.
May the 'Special Forces' be with you- The next jungle town was very close to local guerilla activity, so I was amazed to see how many men and aircraft we had there. The closest large cocaine field was only 15 miles away! Three Americans ran up to me and said hello. They looked familiar and they told me we had met in Germany on another contract. One of them showed me around the base quickly and told several people standing nearby about my world records and who I was in the company. You never know who you are going to see, and who you can encourage just by following Christ! It was great to see them again and we talked briefly before I began my audit and training. The landing strip was very small so the landing was exciting 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.