Regina Bergeron, Cathey Anderson, & me at Regent University School of Law 2012 Human Rights & the Rule of Law Symposium

My schedule has been so crazy lately (and is about to get worse) that I have fallen way behind with my blog posts. So I’m reaching back several weeks to catch up because there are women I want WhitbyForum readers to know.

I don’t know anyone who would associate danger with a women’s luncheon. But trust me, the women’s luncheon I attended several weeks ago in Colorado Springs should be classified as dangerous.

Last November Cathey Anderson, the ringleader of this infamous group, wrote me about her vision (hatched in 2010) for an international team of women to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro “to bring awareness of modern day slavery and oppression of women and children globally.”

I was stunned to learn that reading Half the Church propelled her to act on her vision.

Any sense of elation I felt on hearing that my book had inspired Cathey to charge forward was dashed when a good friend reminded me, “People die climbing Mount Kilimanjaro!”

Much to my relief, the January Freedom Climb was a success. In fact, the climbers set two world records in the process—one for the most climbers (48 of them) attempting the climb and a second for their high rate of success.  91% of them summited.

I had the privilege of meeting Cathey and one of her co-conspirators, Regina Bergeron, in March when I got to hear incredible (and some hair-raising) stories of the climb.

Climbers Jane Morrill, [me], Cathey Anderson, & Tina Yeager

I met with them again in windy Colorado Springs where they hosted a Freedom Climb luncheon to talk about future climbs and recruit more climbers. They aren’t stopping with Mt. Kilimanjaro. (Obviously, my sense of relief was premature.)

Again and again, I’m heartened by how Christian women are stepping up to engage human trafficking and other justice issues and the lengths (or in this case the heights) women are going to to sound the alarm and mobilize others to join them in addressing these evils. The Freedom Climbers have literally raised the bar for what the rest of us can do.

And although I feel a sense of danger for them as they continue their climbs, the one who faces real danger is the Enemy as these ezers battle fearlessly to recover territory and lives that belong to God.  

The Freedom Climbers are definitely a group to watch. If you’re interested in joining this dangerous group of women, September 20-23 is their next event—the first Freedom Climb Conference in Colorado Springs combined (for those brave souls who dare) with a climb to the top of Pike’s Peak.

Hope to see you there!