Tulsa Minister Shares Experience Of Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

A Tulsa minister just got home from Africa, where, with his team's help, he carried a wooden cross to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

For the past 40 years 61-year-old Walker Moore has been taking young people across the globe as a part of his ministry.

He said this was supposed to be a celebration of that anniversary, but that all changed as soon as they approached the mountain.

From 19,341 feet, you can see the curvature of the earth. Tackling the tallest free-standing mountain is no simple task.

"You start in the rain forest and you end in the Arctic, so every day you're in a different climate zone," Moore said.

8/12/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Minister Carrying Cross Up Mt. Kilimanjaro Reaches Summit

Because of the sub-zero temperatures and lack of oxygen, climbers are only given a 50-50 shot of making it.

"With the cross on top of it, my odds of getting to the top went way down," Moore said.

Moore will be the first one to tell you he isn't an athlete or into extreme sports. So, in order to give himself a fighting chance, he trained for seven months during his ministry in Panama, carrying a 40-pound bucket of water up a five-mile hill.

"But I guarantee you, it was way more than I thought it was," Moore said.

For six days, his 14-man crew took five minute turns carrying the cross over 41 miles of hills, sand and sharp volcanic rock.

Moore said it wasn't a straight shot, either--they would have to climb 2,000 feet at a time and come back down, stair-stepping their way in order to get acclimated to the altitude, all while carrying a 12-foot wooden cross.

"It was with us every step of the way," Moore said.

Some may want to make the connection to Jesus carry a cross in the Bible, but the minister said they're not even comparable.

He said faith did leave an impression, though, not just in the strength to carry on, but in what happened with their Tanzanian tour guides on the mountain.

"They said, 'We are believers too, and this is not your cross, this is our cross too."

So, his 14-man crew turned into 30, two nations working together to finally bring the cross to the peak.

Moore said he couldn't help but break down in tears.

"So, to get to the top and beat all odds...But my entire life has been beating the odds, the places I've been the things I've done, it's always been--the Scripture says, 'I can do all things through Christ,'" Moore said.

Moore said, along the way, people from other countries began changing their plans, just to touch or get a picture with the cross.

When asked if he would do it again, and he said only if the Lord asks him to.