21,464 steps across the mountains—the equivalent of climbing 208 floors. Whoa! I was going to need God’s strength for this journey.

I ascended the steep mountain in the bright morning light; the varied greens of the jungle set against the blue sky delighted my eyes. Upon arriving at the top, I was sweaty, winded and parched from my hike from the lowlands, but happy to see Raly, one of our teachers, and some students from Kamantian who had hiked from the other direction to meet me.

We needed to perform maintenance on our internet relay station atop the mountain ridge. Raly and the students had brought the water required to maintain our batteries, while I had the key to get into the metal box housing them. The batteries were about five liters low on water and needed someone to regularly add more to maintain the correct level and operate effectively. 

With the first task complete, I hiked down into Kamantian to program a router for internet service at another location. Along the way, God graciously prevented me from a serious fall. Now feeling as parched as the previous batteries, I entered the town and headed straight for water, then went about my work. Soon after, I happened upon Rupid, who has been a friend of the missionaries for a long time but only recently has been attending worship and growing in faith. He was sharing with everyone how God had recently healed him from a severe illness.

After I finished programming the router, I tested the internet signal by seeing if I could pull up a video of one of my favorite SDA preachers. He quoted Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” God knew I needed that message. Though I had wondered if I could make it back home that night, I am thankful that God gave me the strength to walk the distance across the mountains and reach home. Psalm 16:5 says, “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.” Yes, Jesus truly is everything to me. He is upholding this mission as we work with Him. He continues delivering us, and He is growing the faith of our friends like Maman Rupid. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

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