"Taking off the oxygen mask, he began singing a hymn of praise. After being joined by the rest of his team, he made a symbolic gesture that, for him, was the sole purpose of the expedition."
Good News Staff/TN (Feb. 19th, 2007)
At 52 years of age, with a wife and four children, Frenchman Philippe Martinez was uncertain whether he should accept an offer to guide a French expedition to the summit of Everest. According to a report in Good News, he had been a mountain guide since 1981, but had later become a Christian and subsequently a pastor and was no longer as reckless as he had been in his youth.
Resisting the call at first, through prayer he gradually came to believe that God was indeed calling him back to Mt. Everest, a mountain that the people of the Himalayas call "The Earth Goddess." Ultimately, however, it was his wife Brigitte, who had just finished treatment for cancer, who convinced him to follow God's call.
After spending a year in rigorous training, Martinez and the team set off in April of 2006 to scale the mountain. As they neared the summit, the report states: "The weather conditions were favorable and Philippe knew that God was leading the way. Indeed, he was so strong, both physically and spiritually, that he arrived at the summit 20 minutes ahead of the others.
Taking off the oxygen mask, he began singing a hymn of praise. After being joined by the rest of his team, he made a symbolic gesture that, for him, was the sole purpose of the expedition. He buried his small Bible in the snow. In this way he wanted to show that God's Word must be proclaimed to the furthest reaches of the world. He also added a personal touch in the form of photos of his wife and children and a message: "Thank you, Lord, that You have protected me so far. I place into Your care those whom I love and I ask that my children will serve You one day."
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