I HAVE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN

It is true. I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro. Just barely. Some people say their lives are forever different once they reached the summit. I seriously doubt that will be true for mine...it is pretty special though.

We have now been in Africa one month. The first two weeks were doing the photo safari and the climb. Sue then came to Kigali for her teaching gig and I took a series of buses through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and this week Burundi. Including Tanzania, our first country this year, I have now been all five of the East African coalition countries. What an amazing place and what a privilege.

This week I touched base with the staff at Prison Fellowship Rwanda and was greeted with about as much love as I have ever witnessed. Feelings run deep around here and everyone is so grateful to you all who helped fund the schooling project. Sue and I will visit the school tomorrow, then if time permits join Steven who is Kelly Bean's good friend. He is setting up a clinic with one of Sue's colleagues to try to help the women he serves who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

I went for a walk this morning along the route I jogged last year. A young man who cheered me on last year came up to me and asked if I was going to do "sport" again this year. I explained that I had just had surgery on both knees and had to be careful about sport these days. He broke into a big smile, gave me a Rwandan handshake and loudly proclaimed his prayer for God's blessing in my life. Can you believe that...these folks really do know how to love one another!

So, just to complete a thought...I wish God's blessing on all you who may read this. Whatever mountains you may be climbing He is definitely at the top.

dlm