I have been through Voi many times on my way to Mombassa.  They have postcards of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the restaurant, but I have never seen the Mountain.  They call it the ‘shy Mountain’ because it is almost always wrapped in clouds.  I have flown to Mombassa and back many times and have never seen it.  Shy indeed.  We drove to Taita  Taveta to see a proposed project 24 site and drove right along the shoulder of the Mountain and I complained the whole way because I never saw it  – only clouds.

On that trip were the two District Presidents, Baneck and Fondow, Roger Weinlaeder from Project 24 and me, Al Collver the Director of Church Relations for the LCMS, Jameson Hardy from 1001 Orphans and another member of the Board of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, James Wolf.  He complained about not seeing Kilimanjaro too, but James did something about it.  He climbed it in January, and he climbed it with a purpose.  He didn’t just climb it because it is there.

Concordia Lutheran Ministries Board Member Jim Wolf has a heart for mission work, as evidenced by his many mission trips to South Africa and Kenya over the past five years. He’s currently embarking on another visit to the country, but this time, he’s got something new on the agenda…

This time, 65-year-old Jim (a lifelong Missouri Synod Lutheran) will attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. He will start the 19,340 foot ascent on January 14, with a scheduled summit on January 20. But he’s not just climbing for himself; he has decided to make the ascent a fundraiser for a special mission project in Kenya called 1001 Orphans.

Jim’s goal in climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is to raise $10,000.

Jim must have made it because I heard that he raised $13000 for 1001 Orphans and Jim is going back in May.  1001 Orphans and Project 24 are a partnership that we hope will keep on growing.  I enjoyed traveling with Jim and I will keep looking for the ‘shy mountain’.