“All For One and One for All”

Up until my trip to Africa my view of child sponsorship was very limited. I saw a child and failed to see that child’s community. Oh I talked about community and connecting the child, but everything was focused on “all for one.” It was all about that child. What I didn’t realize was how World Vision’s model empowers and maximizes that “one for all.”

Let me explain. When we sponsor a child we promise that “one” an education, food to eat, medical provision, Aids awareness, clean water etc. however when you stop and realize that some of these areas don’t have a school, or clinic, or clean water… Giving a child all the money in the world can’t fulfill the promises. So the genius of the model works like this.

School in World Vision ADP (Area Development Project)

No school… Pool money from each sponsored child in a village and build a school in the village. Outcome… Every sponsored child can now attend school. However so can every unsponsored child in the village…

“All for one” just became “one for all.”

The promise is fulfilled and multiplied to others.

Fresh onions from family farm – because of irrigation project

Lack food... We tend to think that when we sponsor a child money is used to buy that child a bag of rice or a meal. But check this out. We promise that that child will eat as will all the sponsored children in a village. So if we pool resources from each sponsored child we could build irrigation canals and every family can have an onion farm providing resources to feed not just their sponsored child but the whole family.

Hauling water from a WV water source

Gathering water from a WV water source (looks like bad water but all water is boiled from this source)

Lack water… Many children travel many miles a day to collect water. One child in this village cannot attend school because she travels 3 times per day approximately 7 miles per trip to collect water for her family. When water is provided in the village everybody benefits. Children can go to school because their day is not consumed traveling for water.

I think you get the idea… The promises are true… Your sponsored child gets an education, food, clean water, etc but that sponsorship impacts so many more at the same time.

Petro, My sponsored child from Tanzania

WV staff member translating a sponsor’s letter

So what is the difference between my sponsored child and the other children? First and probably most importantly, your sponsored child has a relationship with you. That relationship is personal and the power of that relationship is profound (see previous blog)! The value of this relationship alone is FAR greater than $35 per month. I cannot stress the importance of this relationship enough!

WV staff with file for a sponsored child

The other difference is the relational contact between World Vision staff and your child. Your child receives monthly contact and check ups by staff members in addition to personal visits every time you write your child. These children become ambassadors for their village painting a picture of what is happening in the village with all the children.

WV Core Values on wall at ADP field office

The goal of world vision is to develop a community in such a way that it is self sustaining with all the promises available for ALL the children. Your sponsorship of one impacts all.

We truly are

“ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL”

If you have not sponsored a child and would like to click here. This is our sponsorship page for our Kilimanjaro Team World Vision climb. When you sponsor a child you can simply put my name as “Athlete” to complete the form.

Bee hives from WV honey project

Honey from WV aided honey project

Honey from WV aided honey project

Banking

Irrigation Canal from river

Family Onion Farm

Sampling an onion from a family farm

Maasai family Benefitting from child sponsorship

Lessons learned on Mt. Kilimanjaro

Team World Vision – 10 start 10 arrive

On June 23rd, 10 of us with Team World Vision set out to conquer the mountain and change children’s lives. As I return I am keenly aware that, for many of us, the mountain conquered us and changed our lives forever. Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way…

preparation

If you have followed my blog you know I went probably over prepared. I was glad for my training and physical prep. And even though I over packed a little I was well prepared and glad I did. But it was the little things I learned to appreciate along the way. One of those things was my pee bottle. Yes my pee bottle. When you take Diamox (drug for acclimatization) you have a tendency to need to pee a lot. This is not fun 2 – 3 times in the middle of the night when it is cold out. So I rejoiced often in this. And even though others gave me a hard time about this, my tent mate was grateful when he found himself desperate one night.

Pole Pole (pole A – pole A)

Mt. Mawenzi

This phrase means slowly slowly. This became a valuable lesson for me in life. We from the west are all about getting there and getting there quickly. We say “hurry hurry”. What I discovered was that, not only can this bring failure in reaching the summit but it also causes you to miss the journey. As our guides would say “twin Danny” (let’s go) We would very slowly put one foot in front of the other and begin a turtles pace up the trail. It is at this pace that you are going slow enough to look around and appreciate the journey. So much of life is missed as we hurry along and in another similarity we are killing ourselves trying to arrive at the summits in life instead of simply enjoying the journey.

As we walked “pole pole” we were able to keep our heads up and look out over the clouds and appreciate what God has created for our enjoyment and not stumble along the way. I arrived at each camp with energy and a sense of achievement and wonder.

Success in Weakness

One of the great lessons for me was found in a contrast on the summit. 10 of us set out to conquer this mountain and 10 of us walked to the summit sign at Ahuru point, the highest point in Africa on the tallest free standing mountain in the world, together. We went as a team, we climbed as a team, we arrived at the summit as a team. However, we did not all succeed equally. I learned a great lesson as I came along side team mates who were puking along the trail. I was strong, had only a slight head ache, and made it to the top in my strength… But true success for me was seen in those on our team who made it to the summit in spite of their weakness. We all summited together but I have great admiration for those who pressed through their weakness and did not allow them to determine the outcome.

I have come to believe that the greatest success is success in weakness verses success in strength. It takes great strength of character to press through weakness.

Pride Takes A Fall

I also discovered that no matter how strong you may think you are the mountain can strip you of your pride. It wasn’t the journey to the top that took my pride. In fact I was pretty proud that I had energy at the top. It wasn’t until all “accomplishments” had been met by standing at the sign that I found myself in a weird place. It was the descent that ate my lunch. It seemed to never end. As I headed down the mountain, I found myself hungry and fatigued. I longed for camp and even though I could see it it seemed to never get closer. I found myself with a tear in my eye, my pride left on the side of the mountain, and the reality that I was totally emotionally defeated. My mind was beginning to remind me that even after I arrived at Kibo camp my journey was not over but that we would only stop long enough to take in some nourishment, pack our gear and hike several more hours down to the next camp where we would spend the night. As I entered Kibo camp I realized I was getting sick. I would have to hike the remainder of the evening out with extreme exhaustion and a severe sinus head cold that has lasted for over a week now. This day turned into a 20+ hour day of hiking and I left my pride on the mountain and skipped dinner at camp and went to bed sick. I found myself successfully defeated. I summitted the mountain but the journey is a round trip not one way. Success is only half accomplished at the summit.

Putting things in Perspective

Now as I sit at home and look through pictures I am quickly reminded of thrill of accomplishment and much of the difficulty is forgotten.  Yes there were times of difficulty and even suffering.  But as I look through the pics and the journey I was privileged to be a part of those times were worth it and an important part of the success of this journey in my life.  I am grateful for the difficulty for in it the beauty is magnified.

Rest of Pics can be seen on my face book page

Making a list and checking it only twice… NO WAY!

I am continuing to discover how out of control I am. I have probably checked my luggage for the hundredth time. Guess what, my camera is still where I put it and I still can’t be sure whether I am missing anything or not. However, even as I write this I am thinking, “where exactly did I put my camera”. I am a mess! So why do I continue to look in my bags? Why do I wonder about where things are? Am I just a freak or is it maybe simply nervous energy? I’m going to go with the nervous energy.

As I sit in Los Angeles tonight awaiting our 9:45 departure in the morning, besides checking bags, I am spending time thanking God for all the people in my life who have been a part of this journey. Some have been encourages, some prayer warriorers, some have forever changed a child’s life through sponsorship, some have helped with financial support, and some have picked up the baton and have helped others sponsor children.

My personal goal was 100 children. The final numbers are not in and I won’t know for sure until I return, but if we are not over the goal we are very close. Think about that. There are at least 100 real children’s lives that will be forever changed. They have a new hope and a future that they would not have had had it not been for you! THANK YOU! This is the reason we are climbing this mountain, for the kids.

Put yourself in the position of a parent of one of these children for a moment. How do you feel about those who sponsored your son or daughter? What would you like to say to that sponsor? Now let those word and feelings of gratitude resonate within you because there are mothers and fathers tonight who are filled with gratitude for YOU!

Well, looks like my bags are right where I left them. I wonder if anybody took anything out while I was writing? Maybe I should check? Now where did I put my camera? See you in a couple of weeks.

Rongai Route Itinerary – Follow our journey to the top of Africa

For those of you who would like to journey along with us up Mt Kilimanjaro, here is our itinerary.  We are taking the Rongai Route which is the only route that approaches the mountain from the North and retains a sense of untouched wilderness.  It starts just south of the Kenya-Tanzania border and passes through farmland and forest, past Alpine moorland to the beautiful summit cone at 19,340 feet above sea level.  There are magnificent views throughout , glaciers and ice cliffs of the summit, and across the East African plains far below.

The Rongai route is one of the less traveled routes.  We will bond as a team on the way up and then descend the Marangu route, the most popular trail, and interact with the world on the way down.  Here is where we will be…

Day 1 (Saturday/Sunday June 23/24) – fly from LAX to Dubai to Nairobi then a puddle jumper to Kilimanjaro Airport. – Total travel time approximately 22 hours.

Day 2 (Monday June 25) early breakfast, briefing and then drive to Rongai gate to meet guides and porters.  After formalities a 2-3 hour hike to the fist cave where we will camp at Simba Camp. (9,300 feet). This will take us through the cultivation area of the mountain, where you can see how local farmers tend to their land on the slopes.

Day 3 (Tuesday June 26) Early morning begin trekking out past the second cave and on to the third cave.  This will be about a 7-8 hour day.  The climb will be relatively difficult, taking us through forest and well into the moorland.  We will overnight at Kikelelwa camp (11,811 feet).

Day 4 (Wednesday June 27) We will set out for Mawenzi Tarn Hut, which should take approximately 7 hours.  We will overnight at Mawenzi Tarn Hut, elevation 14,160.

Day 5 (Thursday June 28) This will be a shorter day so that we can get to bed early in preparation for a middle of the night assault on the summit.  We will take about 4-5 hours to hike to Kibo hut, elevation 15,430.

Day 6 (Friday June 29) We will be wakened around midnight to begin a 5 hour hike on heavy scree to Gillman’s point, approximately 19,000 feet.  Using headlamps to see we will hike in the dark while the ground is frozen making it easier to ascend this steep section.  As we reach the crater rim, the sun should be rising to display Africa in all its glory beneath us.  The views will be spectacular and it makes the entire journey  worth every step… (so I’m told). From here we will continue on up another 1-2 hours around the crater rim to Uhuru Peak, (19,340 feet).  After a few photos at the summit and an short time of worship and prayer for our sponsored children, we will begin our steady descent to Kibo hut for a rest and some nourishment, then continue to Horombo Hut for overnight at 12,205 feet.  That is 4,000 feet up and 7,000 feet down on this one day.

Day 7 (Saturday June 30)  After breakfast we will descend to Marangu Gate, (6,046 feet) with sore feet and memories that will last a lifetime.  We will then be transferred to the Keys Hotel for a well needed shower and an evening of celebration by the swimming pool.  The Keys hotel is a modern tourist hotel located in the small town of Moshi offering good views of the mountain we just climbed.

Day 8 (Sunday July 1) We will depart from the Keys Hotel after breakfast and head to Arusha town to be dropped off at our next hotel from where we will visit the World Vision projects and meet our children.

Days 9-12 (Monday-Thursday July 2-5) we will spend time interacting with children, meeting World Vision Staff, touring water sites and gaining inside into how important our sponsorship is to the hope and future of these precious people.

Day 13-14 (Friday-Saturday July 6-7) Depart Kilimanjaro Airport to Nairobi to Dubai to LAX, arriving in Los Angeles at approximately 2:15 pm on Saturday July 7. I will probably overnight with my cousin in LA pretty close to sea level.

Day 15 (Sunday July 8) Depart LA for a 5 hour drive to Phoenix where it will probably be beyond “Africa hot”, but home sweet home!

Well, Bags are packed and I have taken my first Malaria Pill.  It is almost time to go.

Preparation – am I over thinking it?

Well, we are now in the final countdown.  We are only days away. In 4 days I will drive out of the drive way and head to Los Angeles to meet some of the Kili team members before boarding a long flight to Dubai.

The living room floor is covered with clothes, pack back, duffel bags, boots, hiking gear, water bottles, first aid supplies, toilet paper and MUCH more.  Yes toilet paper.  I think I now have everything purchased with the exception of some personal snack items that I will want for the flight and the trail and a soccer ball for Petro.

Am I prepared?  I have trained hard physically.  I have drained the bank account on gear and equipment.  I have checked the list at least 15 times.  I have tried on gear to make sure the combinations of layering works well and I can walk… At one point I began to wonder as I started to look and feel like the boy in A Christmas story.

                    

Am I over thinking it? Probably.  But I have never journeyed down a path like this before.  I have never climbed a mountain 19,300 feet high.  I have never hiked through 5 climate zones in 5 days. I want to be ready.

Great things in life require preparation.  Preparation is not always easy.  This has actually be kind of stressful.  At one point, probably as I was taking out the plastic again, I said, “I thought this was supposed to be fun.”  Don’t misunderstand me.  It has been fun.  The preparation has also been challenging and a learning experience.  I have learned much about my self as I have been preparing.

I have learned that I…

• Second guess myself a lot
• Am cheap – I want the best but don’t want to pay for it.
• Need and value the wisdom of those who have gone before me.
• Am a visionary who often times gets overwhelmed by the details.

Am I prepared… we will know in a few short days.