One More Mountain
August 26, 2010 | ETO eReport | Written by Benjamin Anna
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Step by step we climb the hill,
Looking onward we battle our will,
To catch a glimpse of the peak ahead,
On this upward trail we tread.
Times we stop and rest our feet,
Not willing to drop into defeat.
Just like life- it's up and down,
But on we trod with nary a frown.
We reach the summit with hearts on high,
And look around as if from an eagle's eye.
God's wondrous creation lays down below,
As we turn our gaze to and fro.
Praise Him for his glory and might,
This path we trod was worth the fight.
This short little poem is just a taste of what the middle of our week was like, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The week, as a whole, went well. The Lord has used different avenues to remind us of His greatness and sovereignty.
Monday, as is most of the time the case, was our day off. I had spent the weekend visiting some other missionaries in Fastov and returned to L'viv on Monday morning. The rest of the day was spent prepping for our hiking trip. We found out last minute that two Ukrainians (from English club) were planning on accompanying us, so we moved the trip to Wednesday to accommodate them.
Tuesday was spent in Lviv tracting, followed by English club in the evening.
Wednesday started quite early for us. We had to be at the train station at 7:30 AM to catch a train to the city nearest Parashka (the mountain we were hiking up.) The train ride took approximately 2.5 hours. Once we got there, we commenced hiking. Since this was an overnight stay, all necessary food and water (3-8 liters per man) plus tent and gear had to be carried to the top. That equals a heavy pack! The hike up (all 5.5 hours of it), as attested to in the poem, was a great picture of life. It was a reminder of Pilgrim's Progress, how we had "heavy packs" before salvation that had to be coped with on the ups and downs. During our hike, there was a point where we dropped packs and finished the hike to the summit, which had a cross on it. This is like salvation where we no longer have the weight of sin on us and while it still is a difficult path, we no longer have the extra burden to bear. Once at the top, it was like reaching heaven where all the toil was made worth it all (a hymn comes to mind) and we were able to see all around us. We saw where we had come from, how all those little trails came together to lead us to the prize. It was a great picture of our lives. The view was truly splendid! We could see for miles and miles and take in God's creation. We picked a semi-flat campsite and had to assist each other in pitching our tents due to the high winds (2-4 people being needed for each tent). Praise the Lord it didn't rain at all.
Thursday we broke camp and headed back down the mountain. It took us only 2.5 hours to get down. Unfortunately, we missed the train back to L'viv so we had to return on a bus. Praise the Lord the only real injury that occurred was Nathan slipped and scraped his arm on a tree, but it was nothing too serious.
Friday Jessie, Teresa, Josh, and Kelsie went to Poland, due to their registration being up. We were given the morning off to prep for the mountains on Saturday and to allow Chris to pack for his departure on Monday. That afternoon, the Days had us over for church, a splendid dinner, and some games.
Saturday was the last camping trip in the mountains (tear). Jessie drove the team out to the village, where we passed out invites for next week's showing. We had the privilege of camping at our favorite spot one last time. We definitely capped our last time off well, as this camping trip had several CMO signature moments: people being thrown in the river, village people yelling at us for trying to start a fire in the "wrong place," a nice cool night complete with campfire (yes, we relocated it), and just some good laughs. It was a bittersweet night.
Sunday we went swimming one last time and had lunch in our favorite little cafe. It was a beautiful day for a film showing. We had around 18 people at the showing. Because the "club" was located adjacent to the two village stores, we were able to hand out a lot of literature to those standing near the stores. All in all, we gave literature to about 40 people, which will be a good representation in the village.
So, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. CMO is almost over. We have already started the "last times" segment of our summer adventure. May God be pleased and glorified in what has been done.
Prayer Requests:
- Our final film showing coming up in Kalna
- Safe travel for Benjamin Anna and Nickoli Morrissey who are both leaving soon for the US
- Health for the team
- Strength for our staff as we continue to manage our growing Bible course (547 enrolled so far!)
- Jessie's van. Had some more mechanical problems this week.
