We finally made it.
Africa.
The final three months before we fly back to the states.
I think a lot of us thought that we’d never reach this point in the Race. The more I look back on everything we’ve experienced on the Race and what we still have ahead of us, the more I can see the comparison of the climbers on Mount Everest. Obviously, there are a lot of differences—a lot of major differences. If you’ve ever seen the film Everest, it tells an amazing story of a group of strangers that came together back in 1996 in order to climb all the way to the summit of Everest. Check it out; it’s really good.
There’s one particular scene where they’re asking each other why they’re trying to climb Everest. And this one line really stood out to me, when one of the men gave his answer, “I’m climbing Mt. Everest…because I can. Because, to be able to climb that high and see that kind of beauty that no one ever sees… It would be a crime not to.”
It’s so much like the Race. We didn’t exactly know what we were going to see when we applied; didn’t know what would happen; didn’t even know if we’d be able to fully raise all of the money in order to get this far. But we’ve seen a kind of beauty that no one ever sees back in the States. We’ve seen God work in ways that can’t be explained other than his awesome power.
God’s been leading us up to the summit: the Death Zone (as it’s called in Everest). We’re in that final stretch to reach the end of this long trek. Some of us weren’t able to fully make the climb, much like many, many climbers on Everest are unable to reach that Summit. But they still persevered to get where they were. And we’re still persevering to reach that summit before we go home.
And then we’ll find the next summit.
And God will lead us on the next trek.
And we’ll reach that next summit.
And so forth.
