This is Why-Just Keep Climbing

I think life is like a mountain. Moreover, a series of mountains. Some of them easier to climb, with comfortable scenic paths and easy summits and with immediate satisfaction. Others, are far more difficult; with many treacherous and precarious portions within the climb. Simply put, while life can be a wonderful adventure, it is often fraught with challenges and trials for us all.

I think we often find ourselves clinging to a sheer face, not sure which path to take and full well knowing that down is not a good option. Not only can you not see the handholds and footholds, but even if you succeed in safely reaching the bottom, you are right where you began, with the mountain still before you. So, you just keep climbing; because there are no other viable options.

Even in the sport of mountain climbing, particularly soloing, the goal is to reach the top. Not the middle. It is only when you reach the top that you begin your descent. But life is not a sport. We don’t often get to choose the mountains set before us. They simply rise up and we must climb; just to exist.

It is not all that different when you choose to climb a mountain in life. Except for the fact that you do have a choice. I guess it all depends on what is driving you to choose to climb that mountain. Some mountains are things like college. Difficult and costly. One can easily get to a sheer face and not find easy hand or footholds.

Other difficult mountains are things like starting businesses. You choose to climb that mountain knowing full well that you have a one in five shot at best of successfully reaching the summit. But there is a summit. And when you reach it, you can choose what to do with that success. You can simply choose to quit climbing and retire by selling the business or simply shutting it down; as you move on to more peaceful pastures in your life.

The point here is that many things in life, like a solo climb, as well as the metaphorical ascents such as college, careers and business, have a relatively clear point of completion, wherein, the “climber” is satisfied with the achievement, or simply stops because they are unable to reach the summit by their own estimation.

There are however, mountains we choose to climb where that peak is never reached. Not because one quits trying, but simply because there simply is no summit.

Twenty-three years ago, a small group of us chose a mountain to climb. That mountain is this mission to serve the least of these, and thus the mission to “come to the aid of orphans and widows in their time of need…”

Interestingly enough, we didn’t begin that climb alone. And it is a simple fact that we could not have made that climb alone. So, we brought all of you along with us on this endless journey.

Along the way we have had the opportunity to simply take a relatively simple path too. That path would have been one in which we simply fed some orphan kids and patted ourselves on the backs for a job well done. But we also knew that path is not one that God would want us to take. After all, is there even a single example of God or Jesus doing something half way? Or giving up part way through because something (“something” being us) was just too difficult to deal with? Nope.

Neither God, nor His son Jesus ever gave up on us. In fact, in the end (or actually the beginning), Jesus ended up making the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, regardless of the fact that we certainly didn’t deserve it. We still don’t. We never will. He could have chosen the easy path.

So, that being our example, it’s clear that we still have a lot of work to do.

If saving the lives of orphan’s and widows is a mountain, one which we have chosen to climb, we are barely in the foothills at the base of the mountain. Together, we are climbing this mountain, knowing that we will never reach the peak in our lifetime, or anyone’s lifetime for that matter. God’s word makes that painfully clear.

But this is not a case of us pointing to the peak and proclaiming “that is where we are going.” It is more like pointing to the endless night sky, filled with stars and saying, “that is the direction we are heading.”

And think about this: It’s not just us on this journey. It is also the orphan children. It is the widows. It is the caregivers. The local community, the governments. Everyone who reads about this good work. They are all on this climb with us. They are facing the same difficult climb as us or at the very least bearing witness to the same.

And so, what does that journey look like so far?

As I mentioned, we may be only in the foothills, but we have come a very long way together.

Thousands of children with absolutely no hope have had their lives saved and forever changed. Thousands have been led to God. They have been given His Word and know and believe that Jesus is their savior. Thousands have received a quality education and experienced the love of a family that they would have never had otherwise. Thousands have grown to become successful adults that have broken the cycle of poverty that creates orphans in the first place.

That’s how far we have climbed. But we have a long way to go.

We are at base camp. In the distance looms a very large mountain with many obstacles… and many opportunities. It is our K-2. To climb it will take careful planning. It will take well placed caches because we cannot just move ahead with what we have. Because where we are going will require more and the timing will be critical. It always has been.

And we will need more people to come along on this journey as well. People to provide the means to make this journey possible. But it will be worth it. It already is.

Inside this newsletter, you will find the date for this year’s Annual Orphan Sunday. This is a major source of our “cache’s” that allows us to act quickly as well as plan for the future. Knowing what we can do and when we can do it saves lives and also makes us more efficient at what we do. If your congregation is not participating in Orphan Sunday, please consider asking your leadership to participate this year.

And we need more of you. So please spread the word and help us get more people on this journey; this mission to help “the least of these” in God’s name and to His glory.

Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your financial gifts. Thank you for caring enough to make this journey with us. The mountain that lies ahead may be daunting. And it has no summit to reach. But we simply must keep moving forward in faith. Just keep climbing.