So right alongside reaching the Summit of Mt. Kenya, the other “mountaintop experience” of my Climb happened our last night.
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| Old Moses Camp |
After we got settled in at Old Moses Camp, my guide Zach asked me if I would join him and the other two men on my climb support team for dinner in their “porter’s kitchen.” On the first day of our climb, I had told him that I wanted to eat my meals with them, but it was pretty clear that this was not customary, so most evenings Zach might join me, but not Naftaly or Josephat…so his offer was music to my ears.
So at 6, I joined them in their kitchen: a small 8 x 8 room with one small window, a small sink with a faucet and a wood chopping block. They cooked as they had every night over a small camp stove and we had our fourth night of rice, mystery meat (four days old, no refrigeration), veggies and hot tea. But the best part of the night wasn’t food, but the incredible fellowship and real life discussion that followed our meal.
It went something like this:
Josephat: “We see you read your Bible each day, can I ask you a question.”
Me: “Sure thing.”
Josephat: “Can I be a believer if I don’t go to church on Sundays?”
…which led to a ½ hour discussion of what the Christian life is really about and how we need each other as the Body of Christ
Zach: “I believe, but I’m not saved.”
Ned: “What do you mean by that?”
Zach: “Because I haven’t gone forward in my church and been anointed by my pastor, I am not saved in the eyes of my church.”
Ned: “Well I don’t think that’s what the Bible teaches.”
…which led to another lengthy discussion about what Jesus and Paul taught about being saved and how we can enter the kingdom of God on our own without the help of any others.
And our discussion continued on like this for more than an hour, one question after another in the dark of the small porter’s kitchen, three brothers in Christ enjoying a beautiful fellowship.
It truly was a mountaintop experience and was a perfect way to end the Climb To End Poverty.
