Jason and Angie Bechtel Bringing Hope to Unreached People Groups 
Angie and I had a once in a lifetime opportunity last weekend—we climbed to the top of a mountain. Not just any mountain, but the most active volcano in the country of Indonesia.
Our trip to the mountain started at 11pm when we loaded into Tim’s SUV. As we drove toward the mountain, (in many ways, up the mountain) and it began to rain. It was raining so hard that we considered turning back and cancelling the trip.
I wanted to keep going.
When we got to the starting point a little after midnight, the guides suggested it would clear up by 2am, and we could start then. We decided to stay and see what happened. Shortly after 1am the rain had stopped, and were hiking by 1:30am. Rachel Whatley, Tyler Whatley, Karen Whatley, me and Angie, and Brant Whatley were the adventurous ones on this trip.
It was really dark. Our flashlights only lit up where we wanted to put our feet. Within the first half hour, I had blisters starting in my feet. I was breathing quite heavily from the start of the climb. I knew it was going to be a long hike.
![part way to the top, we stopped to make a fire and dry our clothes<br />
so we wouldn`t freeze” width=”150″ /></a><!--EndImportThumbnail-->Several points along the way, we stopped and rested. We had brought snacks and drinks to keep us going. After several hours of steady climbing, our guides started a fire. We needed to dry out. I was wet from the inside out, and the outside in. Our guides also needed us to wait for the fog to clear before it was safe to press on.</p>
<p>One surprising thing was just how cold it was up on the mountain. The peak of Mt. Merapi is 9,560 feet above sea level (we climbed the top 3600 feet of it in 4.5 hours). So toques and jackets were needed, but while hiking, I sure sweat a lot.</p>
<p>This what Wikipedia has to say about Mount Merapi. “[It] is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. Its name means Mountain of Fire. … Although smoke can be seen emerging from the mountain top at least 300 days a year, several eruptions have caused fatalities. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 43 people in 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.”</p>
<p><!--StartImportThumbnail--><a href=](http://blogs.ntm.org/jason-bechtel/files/2008/09/2568_43957.jpg)
There was a plato just before the last and most difficult part of the climb. Brant and Tyler decided to hang out there while the rest of us continued on, as they had been to the top just two weeks before.
Our guide skilfully picked his way up the rocky slope, leading the girls and I. As we were nearing the peak, the sun rose over the horizon with magnificent beauty.
At the top of the volcano, we could see a massive crater. Everywhere we looked, steam was forcing its way out through the rocks. Yellow and green sulphur deposits were staining the rocks all over.
What I found even more beautiful was the neighbouring volcanoes poking up through the clouds that we were above, but that blocked our view of the beautiful valleys below.
After checking out the very top, and taking lots of pictures (look at them here), we headed down the mountain again. Only this time, we could see where we were going, for the sun was now up. We hiked down the barren top, covered in lava rock. He hiked through national forest, some of which had been recently rearranged by a large mudslide that tore huge trees clear out of the ground. Closer to the bottom, we hiked deeply eroded trails between terraced fields where workers were diligently working.
Where were our trail reached the road, our group was shuttled further down the mountain into town where we enjoyed hot sweet tea and banana pancakes while we waited for Tim and Kathy to pick us up.
