Hiking

Nancy and I were recently on a hike looking for what was supposed to be a beautiful waterfall. We started out energetic enough. The scenery was beautiful, we felt pretty strong and the destination was supposed to be worth it.

But then the trail just kept going, it started to get drizzly and we wondered if we should turn around and go back. We stopped a couple coming from the other direction and asked if they had made it, to the falls.

They said, “No it’s too far. There’s a river to cross, the water is rising and the streams sound angry. We’re going back.”

We decided to walk a little bit further, but probably turn around at some point soon. Not much further down that trail, we saw another couple and asked if they made it.

They said, “YES! It’s amazing! You have to keep going. It is so beautiful. It’s not too hard for you. You can make it. Keep going.”

The closer we got to the falls, the more we saw people like the second couple. They encouraged us with stories of its beauty and urged us to continue. We never would have gotten there without them. And I’m so glad we did, it was awe-inspiring.

That’s what Nancy and I try to do for our team at Reach Beyond. After 20 years in missions, we've been on the trail for a while and experienced a lot of things. When people are struggling, we've probably been there.

The language, the culture, discouraging people, missing family, marriage struggles, kids in crisis, questioning our call, questioning God are a few of the hard paths we've wandered.

Our job is to say, “Don’t give up. You can make it. It’s hard now, but so worth the trip. You will experience beauty if you keep going.”

Nancy and I certainly haven’t “made it.” We’re just fellow hikers, trying to give others the tools we've found help you in the journey, showing safe places to cross the streams and experiencing the wonder of the journey together.