Freedom Climbers

Your breaths become more and more shallow as your eyes follow the steady clomp of your boots, carefully avoiding icy patches and other obstructions across the trail. Reaching the Uhuru summit your feet come to a painful yet relieved halt and your eyes can finally take a break from their careful glances and look up. Once again your breathing is labored and the sight of all of Tanzania beneath you takes your breath and squeezes it straight back into your lungs. The tremendous pressure in your chest cannot contain the adrenaline and excitement that wells up within and spills out in tears from the corner of your eyes. Thoughts run back to how many have died on this mountain you are now climbing and wondering if this may be your fate as well. You grasp your hiking stick tighter and begin the steady ascent again content that if the mountain were to claim another life that day at least it would claim a heart that was free.

In January 2012, women from across the globe united to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in the name of freedom.  They hiked for women all over the world who suffer oppression, slavery, or marginalization. I had the privilege of meeting some of these women yesterday and heard their climb changed a whole lot more than what they had set out for in the beginning.

The group came under Operation Mobilization to help raise awareness and funds for their projects helping suffering women have a new life in societies all over the world. Many of them said they set out to climb for other women and in the process found themselves changed. As inspiration the dangerous women creed by Lynne Hybels depicts how these women chose to not only climb mountains but live their lives.


They prayed,


Dear God, please make us dangerous women.

May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow,

     and be radically alive for God.

May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs.

May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot

    speak for themselves.

May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor.

May we pray deeply and teach wisely.

May we be strong and gentle leaders.

May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear.

May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us,

     and righteous anger energize us.

May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world.

May we dismantle abusive systems and silence lies with truth.

May we shine like stars in a darkened generation.

May we overflow with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus.

And in that name and by that power, may we change the world.

Dear God, please make us dangerous women. Amen.

I don't know about you but for some reason I am drawn to this extreme stand for justice. My heart longs to step out of the ordinary, the menial, the every day and do something extraordinary. If your heart is seeking something more, a way to stand out, stand up... in your own way choose the mountain you'd like and climb.

More info on the freedom climb and where they're headed next plus how you can get involved:

http://www.thefreedomclimb.net/