During school holiday we had a lot of outdoor activities. Near our centre was a stream, about 15 minutes drive. All of us would go there in the evening to swim and play. The water was cold and fresh. Everybody was happy and had no struggle about swimming in the shallow part of water.
Then our leader wanted us to climb to the higher part by the rock besides. We lined up to climb up the rock to a higher ground. We could see the pool below from the rock. The rock was about 15 feet high above the water. Then our leader wanted us to jump down one by one into the pool below. It was not difficult for those who could swim well. I could not swim well so I was afraid to jump down. Many thoughts ran across my mind. 'What if I sink to the bottom? Will I be drowned?' The pool below was quite deep.
When it came to my turn everyone shouted 'Jump down! Jump down!' Whenever I looked at the water below I shrank back. I hesitated for about 15 minutes struggling in my heart greatly. I knew I had to do it. So I repented in my heart and committed my life to God. Then I took a deep breath , closed my eyes and plucked up my courage to jump down. I went down inside the water but soon I started to float up automatically. I quickly swam to the shallow part.
After this incident I noticed a change in my heart. Whenever I encounter difficulty I will think of this jumping experience and my courage will be restored.
In another incident we climbed up some hills as they were next to one another. These hills were blacklisted by the police station because some climbers died when they fell down. Again I was very worried about the trip few weeks before the day to come. I started praying everyday about my fear of climbing.
One day my fear was lifted up and I knew God had done something in my heart. I had no more worries. My heart was peaceful waiting for the day.
On the day of climbing I was doing alright. I took the steps of faith and totally trust in God to enable me to do so. There were five hills one after another. The path was narrow and we could only walked one by one. We came down from one hill and then went up another as they were joined together. We could only move forward as it was more difficult to go back. Two sisters who followed us were so scared and started crying. Their legs were trembling and wanted to send SOS for helicopter to bring them back. Then our pastor accompanied them , consoled them and
encouraged them to continue on.
At the edge of one hill we had to go down by holding a hanging rope. It was scary but I manage to do it and landed safely. Some screamed as they went down. At certain part the rock was steep with little foot ground to stand . We climbed up like spiderman. Some shoes gave way and opened up like the mouth of crocodile.
There was another terrifying part where we had to step over to the other hill. The gap between two hills was about a foot only but if we did not cross properly we might fall into the deep valley below.
After this trip our pastor banned us from going to the hill again as it was so dangerous. Thank God He gave me courage to go through the whole thing. It was a thrilling and unforgettable experience. It gave me the strong will and courage to overcome other obstacles in my future life.
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