As I sand screed down Kilamanjaro on day six, I couldn’t believe I accomplished another life goal. Kilimanjaro is the world’s largest free standing moutain and Africa’s hightest point. This volcano has five ecosystems that includes a rain forrest, dessert, and ice glaciers. Kilimanjaro is the misuse of two Swahili words, Kilima for mountain and Njaro for two colors. Global warming may eventually melt the white snow and ice at the top.

I’ve never climbed a 14er before so the idea of being above 19,000 feet in the air created some anxiety even though I was with good friend and He-Man Johnny Hauck. Food poisoning two days before our climb depleted all energy, but we were committed. After 7 hours of climbing, I dropped dead in my tent. Our guide knew it was a crucial moment when he woke me up to eat and give me what Americans call “Juice of Life”. It is a drink with some kind of plant and herbs. I still don’t know what’s in it, but didn’t ask too many questions. If we didn’t eat, there was no way we could continue seven days of climbing.

No matter how hard you train, not much can prepare you for the last day up the summit. We hiked 21 hours with out sleep at a very high altitude that left us vomitting and heads pounding. Imagine climbing over a mile of stairs with one lung and the temp plummeting to negative 15 degrees. Our guide reminded us in Swahili, “Pole. Pole.” which meant “Slowly. Slowly.” The suffering made reaching the summit even more sweet. It was surreal to see the sunrise and view 40 foot glaciers. The beautiful views and sacred moments with God only added to our experience. Drew gave me our handy flip camera to capture some great moments. I can’t wait to share the lessons we learned during our upcoming series – How to Walk with Jesus. It will give us the feel of climbing Kili together, but more importantly climbing a spiritual mountain at a pivotal moment in the life of our church.