aint no mountain high enough

this picture was taken towards the end of a month-long mission trip to Tanzania (June 2007).

at this point, my team members and i had finally reached our destination (not the apex of the mountain, but still a good 2-3 hours woth of trail)...at a random waterfall somewhere on a mountain, in the middle of Tanzania. i've never experienced anything like it!...it was like one of those movie scenes...with our very own native tour guide, leading the way with a machete, chopping down unruly branches and paving a path along our way.

i remember how miserable i was throughout the whole hike up...and how i kept imagining myself back at the missionary's home, away from the heat, the discomfort, and the seeming unknown.

i also remember how shocked all my teammates were, seeing me, the most unathletic and "spoiled" of the bunch, trek so fast up AND down the mountain, w/o so much as a word. (they had no idea that the only reason why i was so focused & rushed, was because i just wanted to get the heck out of there. haha).

but as miserable as i felt at the time, i look back on this experienc with a sense of pride and fondness. it's funny, actually, because we all look so happy in this picture-- you'd have no idea that we'd all just been cursing under our breathes, just moments before.

....

i guess that's life for ya-- nothing worth waiting or striving for comes easy. (child-birth, for example. as painful as childbirth is, i heard that the moment the child is born, the mother releases a hormone that causes her to instantly forget all the pain and only focus on the joy-- hence, a woman's willingness to bear more than one child).

without the sweat, the pain, and the heartache...the end product would be worthless, rather than priceless.

i know it's easier said in restrospect, but i can't help but agree that...

every hurdle, every obstacle and every "mountain" in life is well-worth climbing. :)

preach it, Marvin Gaye!
haha!