Dispatches: Sunday, March 11

NASA isn’t the only one with an international space station. God has blessed Climbing For Christ with a “Space Station” of its own.

This Space Station is a Base Camp dome tent made by Mountain Hardwear and provided by the Lord to do medical missions in places such as Haiti. Our Mission: Haiti team will christen the “Eric Memorial Tent” (or EMT) this week in the Chaine de la Selle mountains.

“The tent sounds amazing. Praise God!” said Dr. Steve Quakenbush, who is going on his fifth Mission: Haiti to conduct medical clinics and teach. Steve, along with other team members from the Western U.S., began to travel East today. The team will meet on Monday in New York City for training before heading to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday and on to Haiti on Wednesday.

In December 2009, Steve brought a backyard tent to hold clinics in, but harsh winds shredded the shelter. As a result, the idea for EMT was born.

The EMT is named in honor of Dr. Eric A. Cederstrom, a brother in Christ and friend of C4C who died of cancer in May 2008. A memorial fund was started shortly after Eric’s death by his wife Lin Cederstrom. Eric’s service to the sick will live on in the mountains of Haiti, and in mountains beyond those mountains around the world.

“The tent sounds wonderful,” fellow returning Mission: Haiti team member Eileen Lakey said.

God blessed us with financial support and then answered our prayers, shared in a ministry E-Newsletter on Feb. 13. Climbing For Christ member Jeff Murray saw the E-News about our desire for a high-end medical shelter and contacted Brian Delaney, who owns High Peaks Cyclery in Lake Placid, NY, USA. Brian in turn sold us a tent at a huge discount.

We originally were shopping for the Mountain Hardwear Stronghold, a 10-person expedition tent that retails for US$3,000. Instead, we received the Mountain Hardwear Space Station, a 15-person tent with a price tag of US$4,900. Brian sold us a Space Station for US$1,500.

All thanks, honor and glory go to our Lord!