Thoughts on Three Cups of Tea

I'm almost done with Three Cups of Tea (just a couple more chapters) but I thought I would share some of my thoughts so far.

1. One thing that was somewhat hard for me to get through at first was all the climbing description but as I was reading it I was really impressed. Right now I'm certified to belay at the camp rock wall and I do that for campers one morning a week. I see people struggle on a man-made wall and then I compare it to Mortenson and others who climb God's rock walls. Wow! That takes so much determination and courage.

2. I was also really interested at the parts where it describes the opposition between Mortenson and the Taliban. I read Kite Runner last month (it talks about the Taliban in Afghanistan) and also recently read The Lost Boys of Sudan where there are also a lot of fundamentalist Muslims. Even though the Middle Eastern area of the world has such a terrible reputation in the West, there is still a lot of good going on there and there are real people who struggle through things much greater than I will ever go through. I'm really becoming a lot more interested in the area and what the real pictures of those places and people are.

3. I am thinking also (like Laura) about the difference between a missionary and a humanitarian (not saying that they can't be the same but there is a subtle difference). I believe that God uses people who don't always work in His name. For instance, since Christians aren't welcome in some Islamic areas of the world, God uses a humanitarian who genuinely cares for the people, learns the language, and respects the culture/religion. I guess I'm struggling right now with the fact that Mortenson has been/is extremely effective in helping the poor and oppressed (especially women) and I believe his heart for the people of the area mirrors Christ's heart. But he does it all within an Islamic context-even going to mosque and praying toward Mecca five times a day. If Mortenson isn't a Christian I'm amazed at his selfessness and I would love to see what his potential could be if he had Christ working through him. If he is, I wonder how he reconciles what he is doing in the Muslim communities within the context of his own faith? I'm not sure that I've reached an answer but those are my thoughts right now.

I can't wait to finish it!