SWS Pow Wow 2001
Burn the Ships - We're Here to Stay!
June 7-10, 2001
Camp Twin Echo

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid,
for the LORD your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

The pow wow theme has its roots in the the story of
Hernan Cortés and his expedition to Mexico in 1519.

In the Spring of 1519, Cortés and his army landed on the Eastern shore of Mexico. Cortés did what no other expedition leader before him had done.
He exercised and disciplined his army, welding it into a cohesive force.

Despite the promise of riches of gold and silver that awaited them upon their conquest of Mexico, Cortés' army became restless and discouraged by the hardships of the new world. They wanted to go home; but Cortés was determined to complete the mission.

The ultimate expression of Cortés determination to complete the mission occurred when he burned his ships. By that single action he committed himself and his entire army to survival by conquest. They had no choice now, they had to go forward or die.

When we accepted Jesus as our savior, we did so with great joy and excitement. However, the enemy of our soul is waiting to steal, kill, and destroy. Quietly he whispers, "go back to your old life of sin." But the One who led us here is saying, "burn the ships, we're here to stay, there's no way we could go back now that we've come this far by faith. We've passed the point of no return, our life is here, so let the ships burn. Nobody said it would be easy. but the One who brought us here is never gonna leave us."