Mt. Wilhelm

Jeff writes:

I have been away from blogging mainly because the start of a new term is filled with activities. My Wilhelm climb took from Friday (19 Sept.) to my return on (Tuesday 23 Sept.), which meant that I lost three work days out of an already shortened break time between terms. Hence, I was pretty busy getting my church history and Ephesians class notes in order to be printed and bound for the start of term.

Wilhelm has two stories to it. The most obvious one is we hiked to the top of the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea. At 4509 meters (14,793 feet) it is higher than Mt. Whitney in California. It was a difficult scramble to the top as it rained for three hours prior to our midnight departure. I slipped and slid my way up and back down. By the time I reached the top at dawn my pants were soaked and muddy, and my feet were a mess. It actually took me more time to go down than to go up. I fell constantly in the mud. This is a tribute to my lack of knowledge on how to walk on a PNG track and to the fact that fatigue set in. Nevertheless, with the aid of my companions and their encouragement we all made it back.

The other part of the story is I got to spend a lot of time with M. M. is a former rascal or outlaw, who has recently come to Christ. He and his buddy, who was our guide to the top of the mountain, used to practice their trade together. We heard many stories of their escapades. They used to hide out up here from the police. By His grace the Lord really has gotten a hold on M.'s life. He has left his gang, and now is absorbing as much of Christianity as fast as he can. His is a life transformed.

M. was my shadow down the mountain. He stuck with me every step of the way. He picked me up when I fell down. He showed me how to walk the treacherous trails, where to put my feet, and what to avoid. Because I stopped often to collect my strength, we had times to speak of our Lord, His love for us, and what He is like. M. had lots of questions, which is unusual for a Papua New Guinean, about his new-found faith. M. and I turned our walk down into a personal retreat time with our God. Though I was in pain, the joy of the Lord was indeed our strength. This testimony of a truly transformed life along with the beauty of the mountain, bore witness to the grandeur and grace of our God!

As the preachers like to say, "God is good all the time. All the time God is good!"