Burnsville, North Carolina
The
Refiner
But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
Job 23:10Three days in the Blue Ridge Mountains for Christian men who run things. It is not a conference and it is not a team building weekend. It is hard ground, deep Scripture and honest conversation, built for men who want to step away, be tested, and carry something real back into their work and their homes.
The mountain is not the point.
Everything about the weekend points at Romans 5:3‑5. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces a hope that does not put us to shame.
Willy Pascua, founder of Suffer Better Initiative. Twenty three years in the Marine Corps, most of it in special operations and intelligence. He runs the route himself before any man steps on it, and he makes the weather and turnaround calls.
Tyler Sugden, who runs a company and will talk about running it as a Christian. Not in theory. He leads the Friday fireside on stewardship versus ownership and work as worship.
Pastor Rick Brewer, Care Pastor at Renovation Church, with decades as a corporate pastor for Coca‑Cola and other large companies. He leads prayer, the Saturday fireside and Sunday worship, and he is available to you the whole weekend.
The three of us cook every meal, issue the gear and run the safety. There is no staff. That is on purpose.
A devotional arrives at your door about four weeks before the trailhead, and you work it on your own. Two calls with the men before anyone drives anywhere, so you arrive among brothers instead of strangers.
Training and footwear guidance from a coach who does this for a living. A short prep form. A weather and packing briefing a few days out, so nobody shows up guessing. If you are missing gear, tell us. We will have it there.
Once you are in, we send you the full field itinerary. Hour by hour, every meal, every mile.
Lodging, every meal, gear, materials and safety. We ask each man to cover his own, and more if he is able.
What comes in over cost goes to the next walk. A young man on Iron Forge. A brother who could not have afforded this one. Suffer Better Initiative carries whatever is short.
Nobody is buying anything here. Every dollar is a gift to a 501(c)(3), and every dollar is deductible.
Give- Trail shoes or boots you have already broken in. Nothing you have not used under load.
- A real rain jacket that can handle six to eight hours of rain. Not a windbreaker, not a poncho.
- Warm layers in fleece or synthetic. No cotton.
- One dry layer sealed in a bag inside your pack, and a full change of clothes and shoes left in your vehicle.
- Your Bible and your journal.
A man who borrows a jacket and stays warm did it right. If you are missing something, tell us and we will cover it.