Mountians and Valleys

Hello everyone, I am sorry that my time is so limited when I have Internet access. Last week I was hopeful to write and visited an Internet cafe, but the connection was so poor that it took me 45 minutes to bring up only three pages and I did not have time to write. But here I am and I am thankful to have a few minutes to connect.

The reality of 26 different cultures and backgrounds living together is beginning to set in. The group still enjoys each other, but I think we are having a harder time setting ourselves aside for the other person. We become irritated with each other more easily, but the challenge is good and shaping.

I have not written about our mountain adventures yet. During the course of our training we are exposed to 5-6 wilderness training activities that incorporate spiritual and physical disciplining with teamwork and community building.

7/27/07---Our first day together before the sun rose, we climbed into "combies" (mini vans), wearing the warmest clothing we had and drove in the rain almost 3 hours to a place we did not know. There we were dropped off in a field in front of what look to be an old church building and were told to get into teams. We did not know each other, we were all from different nations and many people on my team did not speak English well. We were given two poles of bamboo, one rope and trash bags for raincoats. Our instructions were to create a structure with the poles and the rope so that, as a team, we could carry one man. We were given a small map and told that we must carry one man over the mountain and he could not touch the ground. It was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but I learned so much about myself and the others on my team. I felt like the true self in each one of us was pushed to the surface as we struggled, bled and hurt together. These people who had been strangers to me became a part of my heart in 6 hours time.

This passed Friday was our second "adventure" we were told to wear warm clothing and left for the mountain. We began climbing in two teams of 12 at 6:30 pm. We were told that the trail was very dangerous because of how sheer the drop was, how narrow that path was and how strong the wind would be. Each team was tied on to a rope together. The rope between myself and the person in front of me was too long, so in addition to the loop around my waist, I had the rope wrapped twice around my chest and once around my stomach. This was done so that if one person fell they would not be lost down the mountain, but the others could pull them up again. We didn't know how far we would go, but we knew that we would not be back until the following morning. The sun set as we hiked and meditated . We had small wind up flashlights in addition the moon. We rested for ten minutes every hour and continued to to top of the mountain as a team. When we reached the top at approximately 2 am, it was explained that we would have 20 minutes to rest and then travel down again. It was an amazing view even in the dark. Large water falls, thick vegetation, enormous rock faces, slowly creeping mist and incredible stars. We arrived, utterly exhausted, at the trail head again around 9:30 am. We had been angry, tired, excited, encouraged and many of us injured (I re-injured my right ankle), but we had done all of this before God, together.

I learned enormous lessons here about community, God's connection with me, asking for help, loving others, taking risks, changing my understanding of pain and the power of bonds for good and for evil. I am still sorting through and processing the experience. The trail was so narrow and the drop was absolutely terrifying, there is really no other way to describe it, nearly straight down for what looked like a mile. I was thankful for the dark because it forced me to stay focused on the path, if someone slipped with just a potion of his foot sliding on some wet plants, it would be over if he did not have others to pull him up by the rope. I am thankful for that night, the lessons and for my sore muscles today.