Praise God from whom all blessings flow. I have been wanting to write that since the beginning of the summer, but it hasn’t been until now that I have been able to honestly write this in regards to my trips.

This last trip was a bit of a surprise to me in that I was switched onto it after guide teams were decided, but I was incredibly blessed by it. The guys on this trip had one big thing in common, broken lives. Three specific guys had stories that could rival any inner-city sob story. Drug abuse, divorce, alcoholism, and child abuse were all common themes. These guys on the trip, not related, considered themselves brothers because they all came from broken homes, and for the last 4 years have spent almost every day together as a result. All three are very young in their faith, two of them as recently as three weeks ago. But when we reached our 8,300 ft. summit, the prayers that came out of these guys made me understand why Christ said “Let the children come to me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” If I could only listen to one prayer for the rest of my life, it would be one of those prayers. In any other social setting these guys would intimidate principals and teachers, but in the mountains they could be kids again, they could come as children.

Oddly enough the most comforting part of this whole week was the fact that I feel I had no unique impact on these guys. That is to say that practically any guide could have taken my place and I strongly believe that the guys would have been just as affected by the experience. Although I would love to think that the guys were blown away by my Bible studies and questions during their life stories, this is simply not the case, and if it were, I would be worried. I can’t help but think that the only chance for lasting change lies in the fact that it is based solely on God’s moving in their lives, and not my efforts. So I am thankful that my efforts fell short at times, so that I may remember that God alone is our only hope.

The best part of the story is that these three guys are all moving to college together and have high hopes for diving into Your Life there in Montana. If you think of it, please pray for James, Paul and Chadd as they return from the mountains. Pray that they will continue to see God and search after him even more so, than on their trip.

I can feel the end of summer coming and this chapter of my life seems to be mimicking the change of leaves on the trees around base camp. I am tried, but it’s a good kind of tired. I look forward to entering the mountains one last time this summer, only this time with Papa and the others. I assure you, this will be one heck of a trip. All I can do right now is pray that God will completely surround every aspect of it. I can think of no better preparation

I love every one of you, and thoroughly enjoy every one of your letters

In pursuit of the Father,

Ben