40th Birthday Challenge

Often the list of reasons not to do something is enough to keep us from trying. It's just easier that way, right? Anyone reading the list would agree, it's just not possible given the obstacles before you. Why even try? 

Except there is that nagging feeling in the pit of your being that says "What if? Maybe there is a possibility it will work." There is a scene in the appropriately named movie "Dumb & Dumber" where Jim Carrey's character, Lloyd, asks if he has a chance at a date and the reply is "One in a million." Not daunted by the odds, Lloyd exclaims, "So, I have a chance!!"  

What I often fail to understand or see is that my "list" is not the only perspective on the situation. There is a verse in Isaiah (55:8) that says "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord." What a relief!

When it came to my 40th birthday I wanted to do something different. Not the normal blowing out a candle and eating a cake. So when my friend started talking about a trip to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, it seemed like a fantastic, pie-in-the-sky idea. There was the list of reasons this might not work out... too much money, too much time off work, too high, too long without a shower, and the list could go on. But there was the feeling in the gut that said, "What if?" 

After much prayer and encouragement, I'm taking the leap to climb Mt Kilimanjaro to raise funds for water projects in Africa. We are working with Compassion to support a water project in a slum community of Arusha, Tanzania. We will have the opportunity to visit the community before the water well is installed, which I'm sure will be a lot to process, as we see children subjected to unclean conditions. 

It is unfathomable to not have access to clean water at the turn of a faucet. Millions of women and children make a 3-mile trek every day to collect water, and not clean water. Here is a video from another organization involved in providing clean water in communities around the world that helps explain the state of water.

If the funds raised by my climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro can put a small dent in the water crisis, then I've accomplished more than I ever thought possible in my narrow perspective. This just may be one of those times where a little faith will move a mountain (Matthew 17:20). 

If you want to join me in climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in October of 2014 or by making a donation to Compassion, here is a link to more details.