"Climb every mountain..."

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
-- Isaiah 55:12

My big challenge of climbing Mt. Iwate--the tallest mountain in this area--is only five days away! Yipes.

I've been doing my best to exercise daily to prepare for what I know will be a rigorous climb. And on Saturday, I climbed Mt. Hakkoda (about three hours northwest of Kuji) with Liz, Jarlath, and folks from Kuji City Hall. It was a good workout and good prep for the BIG climb coming up so soon.

But more than that, it was a great chance to be out in nature, feeling so close to God.

The view from about half-way up.

Looking up...

...and looking down.

Woohoo! We reached the summit! (where it felt like winter.)

On the way back down, it definitely felt like autumn with all the beautiful leaves...

As always, the way down was more relaxing than the way up. I absolutely love fall scenery, and it was great to be out in fresh air.

It was also good to talk to Jarlath about faith on the way down the mountain, and my personal faith journey. I told him that I don't claim to know all the answers; there's so much I don't know and don't understand, but I accept that. I'm just trying to follow the teachings of Jesus, my Savior, as best as I can and shine light in this world.

I'm a work in progress. :)