There are so many things I could say about trekking to Mt Everest base camp. I could talk about God’s faithfulness. I could post snippets of my journal giving a day by day rundown about what God was doing. I could actually just cry because it was such an unbelievable experience and gift that the Father allowed me to share with such beautiful friends. But, what I feel like I’m supposed to write about first is the glacial river. What? Yes, the glacial river that runs down the mountain.
New Year’s Day of this year, I was with WR team Mosaic in Jordan. We all prayed for words and scriptures for the year. As I prayed into this prompting, I received the word BLAZE and I was led to Isaiah 41. God specifically highlighting verse 18. It says, “I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water”
One of the wildest things about the scenery of this trek to me was the glacial river we followed all the way up. We followed a glacial river from day one in Lukla all the way to the source, the Khumbu ice field next to base camp. We followed this river from 10,000ft—the bed surrounded by lush vegetation, pine trees, animals, thriving villages. The powerful water rushed around the large rocks that were within it. We crossed over countless suspension bridges and drank of it’s springs.
We continuned following the river to 14,000ft and pet the many dogs that drank from it. As we continued climbing and the vegetation started to dwindle, the river continued. The water was continuously flowing and roaring powerfully. The river continued to be a source of life, even when life became harder to sustain.
As we trekked, each day that passed was marked with less and less vegetation. The villages had less and less farming and the ground was scattered with more and more rocks. By the time we reached 17,000ft, there was very little life around us. The air didn’t have enough oxygen for even little parcels of grass or flowers to grow. As we trekked into day seven, I stopped hearing the sound of the river. It was the first day I hadn’t found strength from the rushing of its waters. Instead, there was a hush, an eerie silence. As we hiked, all I could hear was the sound of breathing. Haha. What was once a glacial river was now stood as a massive glacial field. SILENT and feeling quite desolate. As I continued walking and climbing on the rocks towards our final destination of basecamp, I was reminded of Isaiah 41:18. In an instant, the verse, “I will open up waters on bare heights” took a new form and meaning. Though it is the lowest off all the camps on Mt. Everest, it is not suitable for a thriving life. There was no vegetation, yet this glacial field is breeds such life giving power all the way down the mountain. We celebrate the high place. But, as we arrived to basecamp, I was reminded of the spiritual parallel and reality that the unseen life in desolation brings incredible hope and new life to the low places. After walking through the lower places and the valleys on the way to basecamp, I saw with my own eyes the beauty of the life that flowed from this silent, harsh place. As Ive dreamed of visiting basecamp for so long, I couldnt imagine the conditions there. Though we celebrated immensely as we arrived to basecamp—dancing, celebrating and smiling with great joy, there were so many other parts of the trek and journey that require much celebrating. The whole time we walked I was reminded of the faithfulness of our God. The river reminded me that He uses everything for life. And as He speaks, we can trust, be still and know that He is God.
