Missions, video, and creativity on the web. We're a young couple learning how to serve God with our gifts.

Something that we have been thinking about ever since May of 2008 is the idea of global missions. That May, Rebecca and I went on a backpacking trip in the Rocky Mountains. It was to be a three-day loop in the wilderness and we had already accomplished several trips of a similar nature the previous two years. We started on that trip as well prepared as we could be and seemed to be doing well until the third day. We came into a section of mountains that was still heavily covered in snow from the winter. In the high mountains, snow hangs around into June.

This was a lot more snow that we were really prepared for and we ended up “post-holing”, where our boots would break right through the upper crust of the snow and our entire leg would sink in up the knee or thigh. We did this for hours, since it was too far to turn back, and we had no snow shoes along. We eventually realized we couldn’t find the trail we were supposed to be following, even though we knew where we were on the map.

We ended up deciding to bushwhack our way down out of the valley we were in, hoping to come out of the wilderness area and follow a gravel road back to our car at the trail-head. This idea proved to be a difficult one to execute because of the increasingly steep and treacherous terrain as well as the fading light. So, we found a tiny ledge that was just flat enough for us to set up our tent and rest for the evening. Scared, cold, wet and exhausted we made camp that night, and a change was already taking place inside of us. We had just endured the most physically demanding day ever, and were feeling totally incapable of handling what was happening to us.

That night it began to snow and the next morning it was pretty clear that it was too dangerous to try descending the sheer and rocky slopes that were our only way out, visibility was very poor and we probably would have broken a leg. So, I made some calls to work and family to let them know what was going on with us. We were miraculously high enough up that we had a decent cell phone signal. Eventually we got frightened enough that we called search and rescue to ask if they could help us get out. They weren’t able to get to us that day, communication was difficult to maintain, and there was some confusion about our exact location.

We melted snow for our water that day, and finished the last crumbs of our trail mix. That night we were cold and scared, we were barely able to sleep because we were camped on a slope and we kept sliding down to the bottom of our tent where a puddle of icy water had formed. We had good sleeping bags and warm clothes and a stove and were not in any immediate danger from the elements but it was still a very emotionally exhausting situation to be in. Throughout this time we prayed constantly for God to take care of us and show us a way out.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:29-31

The next day we woke up and the snow had finally stopped. Our cellphone was dead at this point, but we had spoken to the SAR coordinator the previous day and asked if we could try to hike out that day if the weather was clear and the situation looked OK. He seemed to think it would be alright if we attempted to do what we could, if we knew where we were going.

So in the middle of that morning we packed up camp, laced up our frozen boots and prayed for God to guide our steps. He completely took care of us during that descent. Steep and slippery with melting snow, we could have been in a bad situation very easily, but he completely guided us and kept us from falling though we were weak, tired, and thirsty. We eventually found our way back to the car and talked to the SAR volunteer who was waiting there. They were able to call back the crews out searching for us.

For days after that we felt like we were in shock. When you come down off that adrenaline and stress you kind of feel like you are floating and your body is disconnected from your brain. We spent a lot of time thinking about what that time meant, and what happened to us spiritually up there. One thing we definitely learned was that God is more than able to take care of us in any situation. The idea that there are people around the world that survive with little or no food and water and are in a struggle for their lives every day became very relevant all of a sudden. The ability to drive down the street and pick up a pizza with a few minutes notice seems like the most extravagant ridiculous luxury ever. We saw that our life as Americans has insulated us from some of the realities that most of the world faces every day.

Our entire perspective changed on materialism that week, and we began to pray for God to show us what he wanted us to do with our lives now. The answer sounded a lot like “foreign missions” and that was terrifying in an entirely new way.