I booked my airline ticket before I even knew what the conference was about. I believe the Lord directed me to do so over a series of quiet times, one little hint and step at a time. That's probably a good thing. I don't know how I would have handled it all at once.
Part of this direction included booking my ticket so that I would arrive 4 days before the conference begins. I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with that time until after I booked the ticket. I was researching the area and noticed a little town north of Redding by the name of Mt Shasta. I didn't know the town but I'd certainly heard of a mountain by that name.
For those who don't already know, I have a bad habit of climbing mountains. I started back in 2002, the last time I was in southern California. My most recent climb was a few years ago on Mt Rainier. It was the biggest one I'd ever climbed and was truly an awesome experience. It turns out Mt Shasta is its California cousin and only 2nd to it in height in the range. I then recalled that some of my climbing partners on Rainier spoke about their experience on Shasta. I remember thinking then that there was little chance I'd ever get an opportunity to climb Shasta since I'd already made one special trip to the Cascades and it wasn't cheap.
This is a photo of me during my last break before summiting Mt Rainier a few years ago.
When I realized my opportunity I started making plans for a 2-3 day climb. I had many of the details worked out when about a month ago someone suggested I check out some of the other ministries at Bethel. In particular, there is one called Sozo. I agreed to look into it and ultimately decided to pursue the Sozo Ministry. Apparently, these ministry times get booked well in advance. The only time they could work me in was middle of the day Monday. This was also right in the middle of my planned Shasta climb.
Part of this was difficult for me and part of it wasn't. I knew, going through the Sozo application process, that this could happen but I was trusting the Lord's timing. I figured I would secure an appointment before or after my climb. When I learned it was Monday I knew in my heart that I would accept it. I was fairly certain this would kill all of my possibilities of climbing the mountain during this trip. So I confirmed my appointment and modified my planned climb to the summit to a hike only part way up.
Meanwhile, I had placed an ad on a well known mountaineering site for some Shasta climbing partners. Within 24 hours of conceding my climb I received an email from an experienced west coast mountaineer. With the next 24 hours we came up with a new condensed plan that once again brought Shasta's summit within reach. About another 24 hours later I received an email from a 2nd experienced west coast climber and there's a possibility for a 3rd.
We cut the original plan, roughly 48 hours that covered 3 calendar days, to about half that, a forecasted 27 hours covering 2 calendar days. The addition of the experienced local climbers in good shape helped make the big difference. I actually stand a better chance of summiting now than I did before I knew about the whole Sozo Ministry thing. I find that pretty amazing. I give God the glory for that. I've shared with several people recently that I felt like God was leading me to a couple of mountain top experiences during this California trip and now it's looking like there will be room for yet one more.
- Wade Baker
NICE BLOG.
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