“Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven, praise Him from the MOUNTAINTOPS: Praise Him, all you his angels, praise Him all you his warriors. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, you morning stars…Let them Praise the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky!”
-Psalm 146:1-2, 13
The bible speaks about praising God from the Mountain tops. Until now I have taken that verse symbolically. I have chosen to praise God during the Mountain Top experiences and in the valleys of life. It’s something I am always striving for. But yesterday I got the chance to not only praise Him in this way figuratively, but LITERALLY. We climbed a mountain in Malaysia and did just that! It was one of the most amazing, breathtaking and terrifying experiences of my life!
A friend we have made here in Malaysia asked us earlier in the week if we wanted to go on a nice hike to see the sunrise. We had planned to get up early and take the scenic route and he assured us it was more of a leisurely hike. We were stoked! I love God’s creation. It is on the most beautiful ways God speaks to me. I can hear his voice so clearly when I am taking in His creation. So, we made a plan!
One thing I have learned on the race is things don’t always go as planned. We woke up a little later than anticipated. Our friend told us that we could take the short cut through the middle and potentially still make the sunrise. He said it was a little more challenging, but we would be fine. Those words made me nervous. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my hiking and rock climbing ability. But I have committed to having a yes in my heart so we set off in the dark for our journey to the top.
A journey it was! The shortcut was straight up hill. I was immediately regretting my decision to have a small breakfast and slightly regretting coming at all. It was dark, it was wet and it was STEEP! As we were getting deeper into the woods those old familiar lies that the enemy likes to entertain in my heart came rushing back to my mind. Are you crazy? You are not in shape for this! You can’t do this. Just turn back. Your body can’t hike up this mountain you have a chronic illness. You can’t handle this! Just give up! He knows when I am doing something physically challenging those will get to me. Honestly, I wanted to believe those lies and at some points I did.
But I didn’t come on this trip to do easy things. I came here to be challenged, to be stretched. I came here to do things I’ve never done before. I didn’t come here to give up. The Lord was faithful to continually put verses in my heart to keep me moving. I am not going to lie I did a lot of praying. God used my amazing team and the awesome new friends I have made this month to remind me that I can do it. They didn’t leave my side. They were full of encouragement and would not leave me behind, even though I tried to convince them to go ahead. I knew I was slowing the group down. But they didn’t care. We were all in it together. God reminded me the importance of allowing others to help you when you can’t do things on your own. I am stubborn about that sometimes, okay maybe more than sometimes. I am working on that! I am a very independent person. But I literally couldn’t do this on my own. I would probably be still stuck on the mountain if it wasn’t for them. So, we made it up the steep hill. I was relieved until I noticed the huge vertical climb standing between me and the top! We got to the rock climbing part.
I was aware that part of the hike involved a rock climb. I didn’t exactly understand what that ment. My family never did much hiking or rock climbing growing up. I probably should have stayed at this point and not tried the climb. But I was determined after that steep walk! I had made it this far, I WASN’T giving up till I made it to the top. The mountain we had to climb was straight up and was mostly free climbing. There was a few ropes but we were encouraged not to rely too much on them as they would not hold everyone at the same time. I made it to the top! It was hard, but I did it with the help of my Rockstar rock climbing instructor! I felt so accomplished when I made it to the top! It was breathtaking! Just take a look at the pictures. We literally got to praise the Lord from a mountaintop! It was a moment I will never forget! We took it all in and snapped some photos of course!
Then came time to climb down. One thing that ran through my mind as we were climbing up the mountain was I wonder how we get down. I didn’t ask because I had a suspicion I already knew the answer. Yep I was right! We were getting down the same way we came up! Getting down the climbing part was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. I tried really hard to hide my fear. But I was tense and just attempted not to look down. One of our friends had to guide my steps and sometimes even take my foot and place it where it should go. I can honestly say if it hadn’t been for the help I received I might have been still stuck on that mountainside hanging on for dear life! It was definitely a trust exercise. I had to trust my team and rely on them! Once we got down the climbing part it was time to go down the steep and wet muddy hill. As you can see from the pictures I did more sliding than walking down the hill. We may have gotten ridiculously muddy but had a good time doing it! It’s an experience I will never forget!
Putting my final step on the ground was a beautiful feeling! I had made it! I didn’t die or get injured. I climbed a steep hill, free climbed up a mountainside, experienced the breathtaking view from the top, starred over a cliff at God’s amazing creation, and slid most of the way back down! I’m glad I did it! Friends try hard things and rely on the people around you to help you. God designed us to live and thrive in community. This adventure day was just a taste of what God is teaching and working in me during this incredible journey!
We will be leaving Malaysia on Saturday and heading to Bangkok, Thailand for Debrief. From there we will be heading on Chang-Rei where we will spend the month of December.
BIG PRAYER REQUEST! Two days from now is the final financial deadline for our squad. On Nov. 30th all squad members need to have finished raising the full $18,000. We have about 15 people who still need funds. Please be praying for them. Two of them are my precious team members, the AMAZING ladies I do life with everyday! They are my people and I would love for you to help them in any way you can! If you are interested in helping them meet their goal and continue this race please follow the links below or contact me for other ways you can help! Love y’all and miss you!
britsmith.theworldrace.org
caitlinnewton.theworldrace.org
