"Let's Climb the Mountain!"

"In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it..." Micah 4:1

This text will only be a "pretext" to write about something else. 

In 1955, I was a student at Calvin Seminary. At that time, I owned a beautiful 1952 Pontiac convertible. The color was light blue. I had earned money to buy it from my two years of teaching junior high students at Sheboygan Christian School from 1952 to 1954.

When summer approached, seminary students were given 10-week assignments to serve churches. I was assigned to serve the small, young church in Bellevue, Alberta, Canada. It was composed mostly of immigrants who had recently come from the Netherlands. Their first language was Dutch. I roomed and boarded at the home of Art and Nell Prins. 

But on the way to Bellevue, we stopped in Crookston, Minnesota. There, I preached my first sermon at the Crookston CRC.

In Bellevue, there was a young man by the name of Hank who said to a church group, "Let's climb the mountain!" He referred to the nearest one. The next day, there were a dozen mountain climbers with lunch sacks ready to go.

The mountain was about 5,000 feet high with low vegetation all the way to the top. So we climbed, climbed, and climbed some more. We had plenty of candy bars with us for quick energy. From time to time, we stopped to look down and around. About noon we reached the top. From there we had a beautiful view all around. Down below was the town of Bellevue, the small river, the highway, and a railroad track. We ate snow we found in a cave although it was July. Somewhere, I have pictures to confirm our climb. Then we came down. We were really tired that night!

When the 10 weeks were over, they gave me a farewell gift. It was a Dutch Bible. It was signed by some of the members of the church inside the front cover. A wonderful memento!

On the way back, I picked up a fellow Calvin Seminary student who had served church not far from Bellevue. But we took a detour. We went north with the convertible top down and toured Banff National Park in Alberta. What mountain scenery! We stopped at Lake Louise. Lake Louise is surrounded by mountains and so the surface is calm, so calm that it mirrors the mountains around it. Again, what amazing scenery! We rented a canoe and toured the lake. 

"This is my Father's world, And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas - His hand the wonders wrought!"

Maltbie D. Babcock