Candace Cameron Bure memorized scripture before she flew to the jungles of Malaysia. She told Us Weekly she focused on verses about fear, perseverance and endurance. The 50-year-old spoke in a joint interview with her husband, Valeri Bure, ahead of the Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 finale on Thursday, November 12.
Candace Cameron Bure Found Strength in Faith During ‘Special Forces’
Scripture, Candace described, was a constant reel running through her mind. She kept citing it to herself, she told Us Weekly, as a way to walk through whatever the staff threw at her next.
Her list of feats on Special Forces was long. She climbed down a 30-foot rope ladder hanging off a suspension bridge, got through a stomach flu and jumped out of a helicopter.
None of that was the hardest part.
A Tear Gas Challenge Almost Led to Withdrawal
Chemical warfare broke her. The challenge used tear gas, and Candace told Us Weekly, “I thought I was going to die.” She said she was ready to leave the show and was genuinely going to quit.
Viewers never saw what happened next. Inside the gas, she ripped off her armband, the signal a recruit gives to voluntarily withdraw. She said she didn’t know there was an exit. Her neck was swelling, she was burning and itching, and she believed she was trapped. She admitted she wasn’t thinking rationally, and that she didn’t have to withdraw just to get out of the challenge.
Once outside, she assumed it was over. Then one of the directing staff, Jason “Foxy” Fox, picked the armband up off the ground and asked whether she’d dropped it. She said yes, sir, and put it back on. Relief, she said, was what she felt. She hadn’t wanted to leave at all. She had panicked and could not find the door.
Panic and wanting out are different things, and her story shows how easily one gets mistaken for the other. Candace gave the signal for quitting when what she needed was air. Someone else saw the difference before she did, and handed the armband back without a lecture.
Do you think faith can give someone an edge in an extreme challenge like Special Forces?
Support from Fellow Recruits Provided Comfort
Nights in the barrack were different. Candace told Us Weekly the recruits had really great conversations there, and that they said prayers together after dark.
Other Christian believers shared the room. She called it a source of comfort, and said she suspected it helped plenty of the others too. In her words, it had a huge impact on keeping her going.
Memorized verses got her through the day. Other recruits got her through the night. She told Us she recited scripture about fear and perseverance in her head, and at night the barrack filled with prayers and “really great conversations.” Two different kinds of support. She leaned on both.
Candace Completed the Season with Fellow Contestants
Passing selection in the season 5 finale, Candace Cameron Bure finished alongside Collin Gosselin and Alexia Umansky. The woman who tore off her armband in a cloud of tear gas was still standing at the end.
Us Weekly’s headline says Valeri wasn’t surprised by the win.
Sources: Us Weekly
