Elaine Fallesen
Former Vice president (2004-2014), current staff member
Residence: Hilton, N.Y.
Personal: One handsome husband and two beautiful kids.
Occupation: Marketing Communications for a health insurance company.
How long have you climbed? I've hiked for more than 10 years.
Type of climbing you do: Family hiking.
Highlight of climbing career: Climbing Fairview Mountain in the Canadian Rockies. Hiking around the Eiger in extreme weather runs a close second — another cliff-hanger trek (for me, anyway).
How long have you been a Christian? Always.
Type of ministry you are blessed to serve in: Climbing For Christ and senior high youth counselor at Hope Church.
Favorite Scripture verse (and why): Philippians 4:6. “Don’t worry about anything – instead, pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.” I need it as a constant reminder to not worry so much, even though I keep learning over and over again that God provides for all our needs.
Special “God moment” you'd like to share: In December 2006, while listening to our pastor speak about Abraham’s unquestioning faith and total obedience — even obeying the Lord to the point of killing his only son — the two-by-four finally hit me hard enough. As I sat there in church trying to fathom and marveling at the depth of Abraham’s faith, I finally took my leap. I had known in my heart for two years that God wanted my husband to leave his old job and plunge fulltime into His work through Climbing For Christ. But for two years my apprehension and thoughts of insecurity loomed too big. I was so gripped by anxiety that I couldn’t bring myself to verbally agree with Gary when he’d talk about giving up his newspaper career to run Climbing For Christ. That morning in church I finally accepted and let go of the fear, the worry, everything. I told God I fully believed that what He’d been telling me for a long time was true: “Don’t worry. I want your husband to come work for Me. So I’ll take care of you and your family. Just look at what I did for Abraham. I’ll provide for you, too.” Just like Abraham called that mountain, “The Lord will provide.” Two weeks later, Gary told his managing editor that he was leaving the paper. I believe God patiently and graciously waited for me to buy in to His plan for this ministry before launching it full-steam ahead. Thank you for the gift of time, Lord!”
NOTE: Elaine stepped down from the Board to begin working part-time (paid) for C4C on April 20, 2014 (C4C's 10th anniversary).
4231