Summiting the Swiss Helm Mountains

Today my friend Jeff Schaa and I summited the Swiss Helm Mountains near Elfrida, AZ where they live. I am flying home tomorrow and Jeff asked me what I wanted to do today. I had heard about a time when he and his sons had summited the Swiss Helm mountain and it sounded intriguing to me. I found out later that after Jeff had done it he said he would never do it again! But off we were around 9:30 this morning.



Here we are at the car drop point, about 1.5 miles from the base of the mountain. The peak is in the background.

It was a brutal hike. It took a total of 6 hours and 15 minutes car to car, for a total of 5.33 miles. There is no trail so you have to make your own way to the top. The incline is a beast with slopes as high as 55%. We hacked our way through dense undergrowth at the bottom of the mountain. The top of the mountain is relatively clear but the slope is so steep and it is difficult to get your footing on the loose rock. And the whole time you are keeping a keen eye out for snakes and cacti. I slipped many times but thankfully I never fell on a cactus. The last stretch to the summit was almost straight up a rock pile. At that point I had to keep from looking back to keep from freaking out. It you have a fear of heights this climb is not for you!

The Summit is at 6974 ft. So between the thin air and slopes my heart was pounding. On the way up we had to stop often to catch our breath. By the time we reached the summit it was a bit after noon so we stopped, rested, and enjoyed lunch with a view. Here is Jeff resting and enjoying the view.



You can see in this picture how high up we were. Here is a picture of the same mountain but viewed from the house in the valley below. We hiked to the peak in the middle right of the picture.



All in all it was a fantastic day and a memory that will stay with me for a long time.

Have a great day!

Final day in Sells, AZ

I am winding down this portion of the trip. It has been great to be in Sells on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Today we had lunch at one of the fast food places. Check it out below.



That's right! There are no fast food joints on the Reservation unless you count the roadside stands. But wow the food is great! I had a steak burro. It was huge and loaded with mesquite grilled meat, refried beans, chopped cabbage, and a sauce. I love finding the best local food and this did not disappoint.

Then in the afternoon I attended Sherrie Dodson's O'odham (pronounced Otham) language class at the Community College. The class had given me permission to set in provided I would participate. I figured they would leave me alone for the most part. But oh no! I was treated the same as any other student. For the first 10 minutes the teacher spoke only in O'odham and I was expected to answer (in O'odham) when spoken to. I can't remember when I have concentrated so hard. The rest of the class has been studying since January. When I realized the teacher was not going to skip over me I was deeply concerned. (Read panicked!) I was praying for a gift of tongues. I held my own with a little help from Sherrie, and even the instructor said I did a good job. But that was crazy! Here is the class: (Sherrie Dodson is fourth from the right)



It has been a privilege to be here and I will look forward to being able to come back some day. I'm hoping it will work out to be able to do a ministry event to support the local churches at some point.

Update from Arizona

I am in Arizona for a couple weekends of ministry here in Elfrida. While in the area I drove over to the Tohono O'Oddham Nation (http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/)Indian Reservation southwest of Tucson. I am spending a few days with a Missionary friend of mine, Sherrie Dodson, and Tom and Joanne Kamper who are short term Missionaries from Traverse City, Michigan. It has been a blessing to hang out and fellowship. I am enjoying seeing the work here and serving in small ways the folks here.



Above: Tom and Joanne Kamper.



Above: This is the compound I am staying at on the Reservation. I am staying in the camper seen on the left side of the picture.

It is a privilege to be here and to see the work that is going on here. Hopefully in the future I will be able to come back and help with a ministry event. We will see!

Update on the "Sofa Express"

Okay, for the followers of the newsletter, I was finally able to get a good used sofa for the living room last night. Now the house feels like a home again. And I don't have to access Craigslist from the floor anymore! My friend Bob helped me move the sofa in his truck.

I officially tested it out moments ago and it passed the nap test with flying colors! Wahoo!

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Have a great day!

Update from Edmonton, Alberta

I had a great time in Edmonton for the Mission Fest Alberta conference. It was such a privilege to be there. It was a very busy time but very exciting.

My friend Jeff Schaa flew in from Elfrida, AZ to help me man the product table. This was a large conference held in the Shaw Conference Center in downtown Edmonton. We had a simple product table set up in the exhibit hall area where we gave away copies of the book and CD. All totaled we gave away 800 copies of the CD. We also gave away almost 600 copies of the book, which was all we had with us. What a privilege! The folks there were very generous and donated a lot to help with the duplication of the CDs and the books.

I also enjoyed meeting the guys in High Valley, a Christian Country group that was doing music at the conference. They are from Alberta but are currently in Nashville working on a new CD. We met at the airport in Nashville and had the same flight to Edmonton through Toronto. You can check out their music at http://www.hvministry.com/?p=home. I really enjoyed meeting them and hope we will be able to hang out at my place from time to time. I most enjoyed their heart for ministry.



Left to Right: Bryan, Curtis, & Brad Rempel (High Valley)

I had the great privilege of getting to speak at this conference. On Friday evening I got to preach to about 1200 teens. I talked about the fact that it matters who you follow. There were many, many responses during the invitation.

I also had the privilege of speaking during the closing general session. The theme of the conference was "While There's Still Time" and I talked about the fact that when we are not living out what we say we believe, others pay a price for it. I challenged them to personally love and connect with God and to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that they would then be able to love, connect and transform their world for Christ.

One of my favorite times of the whole weekend was preaching at Calvary Community Church in Edmonton. The second service was my personal favorite. I was exhausted by this time and had to rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit. But wow, what a service. It was a privilege! I will be posting a copy of that service on our web site shortly.

I arrived home safely on the following Monday, wore out but excited to have had the privilege of being involved with this Mission Fest. God has been so kind.