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Letter Re: Prepping for Missionaries and Other Long-Term Foreign Workers

Hello, 
I have been a regular reader of SurvivalBlog and am very grateful for your efforts in maintaining such a great resource for those of use concerned with survival-related topics.  I would like to make mention of a recently-published book that is one of the best I have read in this field: Everything That Follows Is Based on Recent, Real-Life Experience That Has Been Proven to Work: Professional Survival Solutions [1], by James Shepherd-Barron 

Here is a description: “James Shepherd-Barron has worked in more than 26 countries, including the conflict zones of Iraq, Kosovo, Croatia, Central Bosnia, Burundi, and Rwanda. Once a helicopter pilot for the British army, he now runs a humanitarian affairs consultancy, working with the Red Cross, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other clients. When not “on mission,” he advises and trains senior UN operational staff.” 

It would be very appropriate to make reference to this book in relation to the recent Prepping for Missionaries post since Shepherd-Baron’s expertise is in training aid workers and missionaries to manage the challenges of living and working in crisis situations that are about as close as anyone can get to experiencing an actual WTSHTF [2] scenario.  What’s unique about the book, compared to the dozens of survival books out there, is that Shepherd-Baron’s advice is based on what he, and thousands of other foreign aid workers and missionaries, have directly found to be effective in actual civil wars, disaster zones, and communities living through long-term crisis and conflict.  The title of the book is, perhaps, too long and difficult to remember.  But book itself has the advantage of being in a very compact, neutral paperback format without conspicuous words like “survival” in a large font on the cover: most survival books have covers that call attention to the reader when consulting the book in public places.  I have not personally been on a mission in a conflict or disaster area but I provided logistical and administrative support for aid and development projects managed by a major university and funded by USAID [3].  Shepherd-Barron’s book should be essential reading for everyone considering missionary work and for anyone concerned with the realities of surviving WTSHTF.