From: Judy Pitt
Date: Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Subject: MY THOUGHTS
To: "Young life expeditions Drew Yoyles (E-mail)"
Drew, here are my thoughts. I know you said a short piece but I just had to write and tell the story. You can use whatever you wish. The trip was a once in a lifetime for this old Mama Judy. I also must say that I have reread all your devotionals numerous times. Oswald Chambers is the best. Did I tell you that Ray and Jayne Donatucci gave me a copy when I was on committee in Boulder?
My legacy is that I came to yield to Christ through YL, camp, on cross talk night, out there looking at the stars that I love at Mt. Princeton. From Bill Starr, to Ray and Jayne Donatucci, then Scott Downey, Ken Tankersley. Just too much fun. Such a wonder. Now knowing you and the YL Africa folks I think I am already stepping to heaven! Here goes.
The clouds are but the dust of our Father’s feet.
The clouds are a sign that He is there. Oswald Chamber 7/29
More than forty-seven years have passed but the blessing of the experience is still one of my richest memories. In July, 1962, high on the top of Mt. Princeton, next to the Silver Cliff of Nathrop, Colorado, I yielded my life to Jesus Christ. It was the classic “Cross Talk” night at Silver Cliff. I was a sophomore from Park Ridge, Illinois visiting Colorado for the first time. Now fast forward to July, 2009, and you would find me at the Machame Gate soon to trek Mt. Kilimanjaro with YL Africa.
Genesis 228:15 sprang off the page as I awoke to begin the climb of my life. I remember well being told by Bill Starr, oh, so many years ago, “This camp week at Silver Cliff will be the best of your life.” Well, now I’ve had two such weeks. As in Genesis, God promises that He would keep me in all places-yes, even atop the highest freestanding mountain in Africa.
Our fearless leader, Drew Voyles, gave our team a devotion each day. The one to start was titled, “Will you go out without knowing.” I can affirm that I have seen with my eyes how Hebrews 11:8 is alive for me. “He (Abraham) went out, not knowing whither he went.”
Each day on the mountain was remarkable. Our guides, Johane and Gabrielle, continually surprised us with their level of expertise. Years of going to YL camps as a summer staff, driver, etc. I have always been amazed with the devoted service to campers.
From the forest canopy laced with moss, to the valleys reaching above the clouds, the journey forced me to look at the stars, the waterfall, the desert, streams flowing from where I am not sure, and sheer cliffs, I felt I was in able hands. Our guides and the diligence of Drew always provided a safety net of stamina, confidence and kindness for each team member.
Each morning Aninya and Alpha gifted us with hot water for a cup of tea before putting on our boots. Really helpful for old Mama Judy who had tight knees that often had a hard time getting out of the sleeping bag! Smiling faces, welcoming comments, and always an extra hand to place that bag over my shoulders was a real treat.
True YL style-surprises on every turn! Imagine walking in the rain forest being struck by the ferns that are bigger than my car and suddenly there is a table set with Masai tablecloth, laden with energy producing foods. Every night we had a menu that was fit for Solomon. Just when I was a bit tired I would hear Johane singing at the top of his lungs-singing from Lion King or Little Mermaid. He would always say, “Welcome to my office. I am so glad you came to visit.”
Then there was just unthinkable kindness when Johane (a guide extraordinaire who has climbed the Mt. Over 200 times!) came to promise me that he would help me to summit Kili. At one point I was climbing up a steep wall when my knee locked and I thought I would not be able to go one step more. In fact I thought it best if I go back down. Johane told me,” Mama, come up to my office. You will love the view. I will be with you to your summit.”
I had a flashback of being on the ropes course of Frontier and I stood frozen, unable to jump. But the staff kept saying, “ We’re here with you. We will not let you fall. Trust us.” In both cases tears welled in my eyes. My courage had oozed away. Christ gave me the excellence of His power to go to the next part of the journey.(Eph 3:14-20). I was like The Little Engine that Could. I prayed, Lord, I think I can. I think I can. That day was my Kilimanjaro summit.
Reaching camp I was met by our servant porters and my YL team,(did I mention that nobody called me the weakest link?) The porters started to sing. One very tall Masai friend lifted me up to his shoulders and sang for me. It beat any YL song sung. Jesus is very present in the common places.
This experience could have been the end. It was complete. It was the best ever in my life yet God had more planned as the team left Kili and went to the YL International committee/staff training meeting in Dar Es Salaam. Met with song (5 languages), dance, national foods from around Africa I met YL Life staff who I had prayed for in years past. It was heaven on earth.
We heard testimony of life being lived on tight ropes. Nothing glorious, nothing glamorous, just teams of leaders committed to one thing: YL=every kid, everywhere, for eternity.
My life story is full of legacy. YL is a significant portion of this legacy, forming the interior of my soul . I never imagined Kilimanjaro would be more than a mountain trek. Having worked in Kenya since 2003 I imagined that this might be a time to meet leaders to help me bring YL to rural Kenya.
But God is always up to something bigger than our eyes or hearts can dream. The YL staff arranged a “field trip” to a rural village named, Bagamoyo. Bagomoyo is a “place of memory” for human suffering and humiliation caused by slavery and the slave trade and the imposition of European colonialism.(Antiquities Dept of Tanzania.)
We walked down a path to the “Cross by the Sea.” If you are at YL camp you know there are those teachable moments at cabin time. Those times where kids face the true Living God in His Majesty. Well, this was such a time for me.
God has given us the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18). Bagamoyo was a trading post , the last point reached by expeditions of the slave trade. The name of the town is said by the local museum curator to mean, “lay down your heart, “ a reference to the despair of slaves who were about to set sail from their homeland and never to return.
It would seem that we were just tourist to see Tanzania’s 7th world heritage site. Yet as the African leaders and the American team gathered around the cross, God came near. Very quickly it became apparent that there was going to be unspeakable reconciliation in front of our very eyes.
Did you know that the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act (1807) prohibited slave trade within the British Empire? But it was not until the Abolition of Slavery Act (1833) that emaciation began. Leading up to these Acts two men resolved that slave trade would end. Those men were William Pitt(my great grandfather) and William Wilberforce.(Maybe you have seen Amazing Grace, the movie)
Zimbabwe. Sierra Leone. Congo. Ethiopia. Rwanda. Kenya. One by one the YL leaders placed their hearts on the granite cross where we stood. It was prayer uttered. Tears flowed as often as the waves crashed unto the shore behind us. Silence was broken. Purge of anger, hatred, isolation, dread, corruption, killings, genocide, rape, pillage, and tribal atrocities. This place was a true,”place of memory” for human sufferings in all the nations represented by the various YL leaders present.
One Kenyan leader stepped forward to embrace another leader from the “other” tribe. These young men had worked in a YL camp together yet hardly spoke. He stated, “ You have ignored me. You know how things were after the election. We must forgive.”
The Zimbabwe team came forward and asked the Americans to stand with them. They asked for forgiveness as they felt hate for the British, all the whites who had oppressed their nation for decades. Yes, tears flowed. River of healing covering the marble monument.
I thank Jesus for the opportunity to be on Mt Kilimanjaro and at the Cross by the Sea. These were the best two weeks of my life!
“Through dangers, through darkness,
by day and by night,
Thou ever hast guided, and
guided us right.
In Thee we have trusted, and
peacefully lay
Our hand in Thy Hand, for the
rest of the way. A.J. Flint
Drew, now do you see why I needed those photos… Asante sana for listening.
