“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that dang mountain.”
-Jack Kerouac
On Friday my team and I woke up two hours early to embark on a grand adventure two hours away. We were going to do Village Ministry that day, and after we were going to climb a mountain. We were all a little excited, and maybe just a little tired (okay a lot tired, it was only 8 AM!) But we were ready for the adventure day ahead of us, and couldn’t wait to see all that it had in store for us.
Our day started with a ride in the bed of the pick up truck for two hours to get to village ministry. As we zoomed across the streets of Cambodia, I could feel myself getting both wind burnt and sunburnt on my face. But the pain of those two things could not keep the feeling of freedom I felt as I looked out at the beauty of the Cambodian rice fields, and felt the cool wind run through my hair and across my face.
After two hours of jam sessions, my team arrived at the village we were going to do ministry at that day. So, we prepared our drama (7 days of creation works really well when you have 7 team members,) and then sang our song. The older kids at the children’s home we’ve been doing ministry at all month also had the chance to sing songs and do ministry with us, which was something really cool to see. It was awesome to see the people we’ve been pouring into all month, pouring into others. After all our presentation stuff was done, my team got the chance to help hand out care packages to the kids in the village. In the packages were clothes, school supplies, and food. Joy lit up the faces of the children, and warmed all of our hearts.
As we finished our time in the village, my team and I climbed back into the pickup truck to head towards the mountain we were supposed to be climbing. I don’t know what everyone was thinking, but I was thinking that it really wouldn’t be that hard. Our host had told us that to climb the mountain, you just had to climb up some steps to reach the top. So I was thinking it couldn’t be that physically exhausting.
I was wrong.
Because before we even got to the climbing, we had a picnic with all the Shelter of Love staff, and the teenagers who did ministry with us. We had: rice, pork, onions, and ginger.
We had a lot of rice.
And then we started to climb the mountain.
When I started to climb, I was with just a few others, and immediately was out of breath. Humidity plus uneven steps plus being out of shape, equals some hard times. However, I was pushing through. I felt good, and although I was out of breath and incredibly tired, I was determined to reach the top of that dang mountain.
But as I reached a lookout point at about step number 700, I felt my stomach turn. Oh no, I thought. You don’t know true pain until you have to go diarrhea with no bathroom in sight, and 700 steps up from level ground. And so, as my team looked out at the beauty of Cambodia from high in the air, I was laying on a bench in absolute misery.
But then my teammate, Janelle, came over and started to pray for me. As soon as she began to pray, I could feel my pain melting away and being replaced by the goodness of the Holy Spirit.
So I climbed the rest of the dang mountain. (With the Holy Spirit.) And I felt accomplished and fantastic, even if I was still sick after we got done.
That day Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me,) really came to life for me. The only reason I was able to climb all 809 steps of that mountain was because I trusted in the Lord to be with me and to help me make it up that mountain. I knew he would catch me if I fell, pick me up, dust me off, and help me to carry on. Our Father doesn’t leave us on our own.
Especially when we’re almost at the top of a mountain in Cambodia.
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