"He answered,  ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27

The greatest obstacle in life is getting along with others.
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 People always seem to be the problem. Statistically, the primary reason that missionaries quit the mission field before their intended time is that they cannot get along with their co-workers.  In order to address this issue, we train our students in the wilderness of the Western United States, where they learn basic camping skills, primitive living and embark on an intensive backpacking expedition. ​

 Just like with classical scientific and exploratory expeditions, missionaries and their objectives fail not because of their goals, environment, or cross cultural dynamics - but because of failed human behavior. 
On an expedition like Mountain Gateway's Wilderness Semester, all the good human dynamics needed for team success can be developed through an intentional progression of steps.  This is done without exposing the missionaries or indigenous cultures to the backwash of failed human behavior caused by undeveloped character and a lack of skills such as conflict resolution, leadership and communication.  
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During this time students are forced to discover the reality of their own strengths and weaknesses.  They begin to become good leaders as well as active followers. They learn how to give and receive feedback, effective communication principles, servant responses to one another, tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, responsibility, self sacrifice, vision and action, competence, judgment and decision making, and self awareness.  These are relational values they must use in the years to come. 

Logistics 

"Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers." Proverbs 11:14
What:
The Wilderness Semester is extensive and requires intentional preparation.  Teamwork that employs proven planning, organizational methods and strategies are necessary for success. Rations, equipment, and risk management planning is essential in the safe and successful execution of wilderness education. 

How:
As a team, we plan meals, address the specific caloric needs of the group, resource availability and limitations, packability and weight, as well as equipment needs.
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​Why:
​We do this to aim for a safe and quality experience as we spend 90 days in the back country. Good logistics allow us to focus upon the process of surrendering to God and allowing Him to forge us into people who can stand the test of time, instead of being distracted by situations caused by poor planning.  

This concept is woven into everything we do in advancing the Gospel across the globe.  These principles help to reduce the negative impact of moving to a foreign country, promotes readiness, problem solving, resource awareness, and planning. 

Wilderness First Responder

"...and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Luke 9:2


What:
Mountain Gateway Missionaries-in-Training take the 80 hour Wilderness First Responder course conducted by NOLS Wilderness Medicine in order to be prepared for risk management protocols and search and rescue and medical emergencies in remote locations.  

How:
The WFR course by NOLS Wilderness Medicine "is designed to provide you with the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions in remote locations. Classroom lectures and demonstrations are combined with realistic scenarios where mock patients will challenge you to integrate your learning. Learning takes place both in the classroom and in outdoor settings regardless of weather conditions. The 80-hour Wilderness First Responder course is the industry standard." - NOLS 

Why:
​During the Wilderness Semester this education is implemented on both a small and large scale. Students and Instructors effectively dealt with Acute Mountain Sickness, cuts, scrapes, burns, blisters, tendonitis, as well as an emergency situation when a log busted open Britt Hancock's forehead.  The entire team responded rapidly with calm unison.  He was driven to a hospital 5 hours away where the emergency room personnel were impressed with the care that he received in such a remote area.  He continued backpacking after receiving stitches and a few days of rest.  
Not only is this essential for the Wilderness Semester, but the training in how to think under pressure, act with calm competency, and problem solve medical situations in a less than ideal environment is essential for the mission field.  Often, remote areas will have no access to medicine, and the urban areas have less than desirable facilities.  The ability to think, solve, and act can save a life. 

Outdoor and Traditional Living Skills 

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 
1 Corinthians 9:24,25

​What:
This portion of the training starts with 2 weeks of general camping skills, referred to as Outdoor Skills. 
You will be taught fire craft, tool craft, camp craft, lashing, knots, and water conservation and purification, among other things.

This is followed by two weeks of Traditional Living Skills.  You will build your own shelter and have only the basics with you, a blanket and a knife.  No electronics. No flashlight.  No compass.  No matches.  No tent.  Friction fires only. 

How:
A team of instructors will facilitate the learning environment, both for skills acquisition and for personal internal growth.  They will teach a classes on the skills, which the students will then have the opportunity to put into practice. This course focuses on demonstrated as well as experiential learning.  
 
Why: 
This process is designed to help you learn to cope with hardship. It will begin the process of developing the mindset required to navigate the unknown road ahead. This happens by helping you learn to have tolerance for adversity and uncertainty. Removing modern conveniences reveals your level of flexibility and shows you about yourself.  It is astonishing to people when they realize that they are able to be comfortable and live without most of the modern conveniences that they take for granted.  

Adversity and uncertainty, or life's difficulties and unknowns, are different for each person.  In this context, it may be the backpacking, the personal interaction with new people, lack of convenience, or the learning of new skills.  What is a joy to one may be a trial to another.  

​"Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty" is a core value that gives us longevity in the process of walking by faith.  Walking by faith demands forging ahead into the unknown, apart from personal experience or outside expectations. Experience can truly only tell us where we have been.  If we believe that success in life or ministry is about gaining experience,  then we fall prey to walking by sight and not by faith.  

This course is designed to help us walk with faith and flexibility, instead of caving to adversity and uncertainty. 

Backpacking

​"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3

​What:
Backpacking is the heart of the Wilderness Semester.  A team of trained Mountain Gateway instructors will teach leadership based upon the NOLS leadership curriculum covering group leadership and character development: Interpersonal behavior, competence, communication, judgment and decision-making, tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, self-awareness, and vision and action, conflict resolution, how to give and receive feedback, how to work as a team, navigation skills, outdoor cooking, water preservation and purification, and personal and group safety.

How:
Mountain Gateway utilizes the National Forest areas in the United States whenever possible. The fully self-sufficient team will backpack for 7-10 days before re-rationing via truck supply or at a remote base camp.  The instructors will lead the students through a process of learning that transitions from dependent to independent travel.  Each student will be stretched beyond their comfort zone and required to lead and follow in new ways.  

           As has been stated, every participant is required to obtain their WFR Certification.  Each hiking group has in their possession a Satellite phone or other satellite communication technology, and the base camp is equipped with the same state-of-the-art communication equipment.  

There is no tuition charged for any of the training, since this is not a time of withdrawing from "real life" to train.  It is actual engagement as real Gospel workers, doing real work, with real people, in real foreign countries.  Each person is expected to raise their own support and cover their own equipment and expenses involved with this entire process.  

Why:
This time is designed to teach each person how to proactively engage with who they are and who God has made them to be.  They discover that Leadership is not a personality type, but rather a set of character values that can be developed within every person, regardless of natural inclination.   An essential part of true leadership is learning how to be good followers, which can be difficult for natural-born leaders.

It's been said that 'you can't cheat the mountain' and we see truth in that statement.  There is something that happens to an individual when faced with hardships.  In the mountains, they find it difficult to avoid coming face-to-face with their own strengths and weaknesses.  

And in discovering and addressing those strengths and weaknesses, there is incredible opportunity for true growth. 
NOTE:
​Britt Hancock is a graduate of two NOLS expedition field courses.  In 2009 he graduated from an Outdoor Educator course in the Wrangle Mountains of Alaska, and in 2010, he successfully completed the NOLS Mountain Instructor Course, the same course used to train all professional NOLS field instructors.  He also is a BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) graduate.  He has had thousands of hours of experience hiking in the back country of various countries. His skill and expertise has been developed over his lifetime and used to train young men in the Royal Ranger program, to take the Gospel to remote locations, and to train missionaries. ​  All of Mountain Gateway's wilderness field instructors are required to complete a NOLS training  expedition, and maintain a current Wilderness First Responder certification as well as pass Mountain Gateway training and wilderness skills proficiency standards.