Memories from the mission field: Mountain

This has been my all time favorite picture taken while on missions. This trip was our church's 1st time ministering on the Nez Perce reservation in Idaho. It was my 2nd missions trip.
This picture was actually taken on the 2 year anniversary of me dedicating my life to God. This photo has been very metaphoric to me.
I had been in a very dark place in my life when I cried out to God to help me. All I could see was the "mountain" of a struggle to get my life in order.
In 2007, Idaho 2 years later, a group of us saw this giant hill, and we wanted to try and get to the top where the cross was. It was so hard climbing up, because it was so steep. I had to cling to grass and roots to stop from sliding back down. But I had the others right there with me, and we all encouraged each other to keep climbing. When we finally made it to the top, we were so excited that we were waving our hands around and cheering, feeling so victorious.
2005, I felt so overwhelmed by what I could foresee in my future. I clung to the Bible just as tightly as I would cling to the grass and roots 2 years later. And days when I thought I couldn't make it, I had Christian family and friends cheering me on just as I did later on that hill.
2007, only 2 years later, my life had already been taken so much further than I thought I would ever go. God began to take me all around the world, showing me what I was made for.
Now, almost 8 years after crying out for help, God has taken me through 6 nations, several states, introduced me to many people, and made all my dreams come true. Just as I stood cheering at the cross at the top of the mountain, I feel I am still jumping for joy at the peak.
Now I prepare to accomplish a dream in the making since I was 4. And I know I never would have made it there, with out first asking God to save me, when I was in that dark place.