THE CHARACTERS – Colorado Expedition

Such were the exploits of these mighty men, wild of heart and gentle in spirit. Yeah are not their works recorded in the chronicles of the faith and guarded by the angels of heaven forever and ever? Yet so that you may know that God is a rewarder of them that believe in him and that diligently seek his name, herein are recorded the names of these warriors as a tribute to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

There was Kevin, the one they call ?Dances with Poles? because of his ability to make strange gyrations in the water when cleansing and his use of poles to keep upright while ascending to the high places. Now Kevin has many gifts and talents and sat under the teachers who keep the sacred scrolls that are in Dallas. Now the fourteen loved Kevin because he preached with authority and helped the brothers to understand the insights and mysteries of the Lord. He was also kind of heart and while he challenged them to rise up, he was also patient and full of understanding.

There was Saint Paul, a compassionate man who, with his wife tends to the lost and wounded four-footed beasts in the east. Paul left his wife and his home and traveled to the high places with the fourteen. Now Paul was a man of few words who listened to the stories of the precious stones that were bountiful in the high places. He listened also to the stories of his sojourners and then would ponder these things in his heart until the time of his understanding when he would then speak. Paul kept a record of their journey with a box that made time stand still and by this record the saints in the region of Birmingham will bear witness with the fourteen of the wondrous works of God almighty.

Now Dan also left his wife and children to journey with the fourteen to the high place. Dan has struggled with many burdens in his two and forty years and was not sure that he should accompany the saints, but as the time approached he gained strength and courage and he set his heart toward the valley of the sand. Now the pressure of the mountain air weighed heavy upon his head and he was reconciled within his heart to stay in the valley of Como while his brothers mounted the mountain they call Blanca. While he was waiting for the brothers to return he tried valiantly to catch fish for their sustenance and assisted Chuck Wagon in the care of their brother Randy and in the preparation of the celebration feast. Now Dan gained respect and love from his brothers and will treasure the friends made in the high places as he returns to the region of Birmingham and they will uphold him as he sets direction to his life and leans not onto his own understanding.

There was also a man named Ray on the Journey. Now Ray had made many journeys before with feet swift and sure but he had never gone to the high places with a burden to bear. Ray was a consistent man, precise in his ways and open in his heart. A man of strength who had suffered in the past a failure of his heart but had regained strength with great speed so as to fulfill his civic duty within one moonrise. Ray walked with purpose to the highest place and marveled at his God and His splendors. In the high places Ray sought to listen to his brothers and to his God and to gain understanding in the ways of the Lord.

Now there was also a man of sixty and three years who had served as a civic servant in the pursuit of thieves and robbers who would, through trickery, gain advantage at the expense of the king and the king?s people. This man was called Robert and he and his wife take special care of the beast they call Molly who is unique in size and toes and looks like a small bobcat. This beast comes from the providence of Maine and Robert and his wife are very fond of her. Now Robert is a man of many words who was encouraged to join the journey by his brother-in-law Gary. Robert walked the mountain with steady feet and tongue moving his body up the mountain despite his doubts and encouraging those around him with words of insight. During this walk he gained insight into his own life and into the precepts of the Way and he found special grace from God on the day when he sat in the place where you can go no higher. Robert was moved in his heart to see into his soul and he also will treasure the thoughts of his mind as he moved in the wondrous place they call Blanca.

Now Skip, the one they call Gray Sock, was pleased to participate in the journey to the mountain they call Blanca and was a strong support and friend to the saint they call Dances with Poles. Now Skip was a man of strength but his shorts were not and he parted ways with the shorts in the first watch of the journey. Skip found strength in the pools of water that made men scream like young maidens and he encouraged the brothers also to dip in the pools and they did so and were greatly refreshed. Now Skip?s journey in life has held both great pain and great joy and he spends his days in the service of those whose afflictions cause them to need care. His heart is easily moved by the things of the Lord and the plights of the people around him. He shared many thoughts and helpful words with the other saints and kept his heart vulnerable and light, which was a blessing to all who sought him out. Skip leans on the Lord as he does his walking stick after his injured leg and the Lord is faithful to help him and Skip?s love for the Lord increases daily as his love for himself decreases. Skip had to lay down his position of strength and humble himself to place his burden and himself onto the mountain chariot which took him to the foot of the mountain ? his summit was not to stand boldly on the high place and cheer the great eagles, but instead it was to lay aside his burden and allow himself to be carried. God was honored in Skip?s choices as he loved his group more than himself.

Bill was experienced in the way of the pack and was anxious to visit the high mountains. His experience was a blessing to others as he helped them prepare their sustenance and take care of their food in defense of the large beasts that are never seen as well as the small critters that visit with hopes of sustenance for themselves. Now Bill saw the distress of his brother Dan and the difficulty he was having with his shelter in the day of the great rain and he opened his own shelter to him and they became friends and supported one another throughout the journey. Now Bill was exceedingly glad to reach the peak of the mountain they call Blanca and to encounter his God there. He also encountered God in the group of men he journeyed with and at the place of the crosses. Here Bill walked in his soul and his countenance shown.

Antonia, a man of thirty years, took himself a wife five years ago and spends himself in the ministry of counseling the children at the house of learning in the town of his dwelling. He and his wife have taken into their care a four footed beast that is now spoiled and very fond of his condition. Antonio is well spoken and it is told that he has a musical voice that melts hearts and ministers to the spirits of the people. He also makes great noises in the night that are likened onto the rumble of many chariots across a Roman road. Now Antonio was not thrilled in his heart to journey to the high place but he was driven in his soul to go there and so he to picked up his burden and moved forward with the fourteen. Antonio saw and heard many things in the mountains and he ponders them in his heart to this day.

Now Jay was a saint who traveled throughout a region in the province of Alabama seeking to protect with paper the men of the city gates. A man of the church, Jay devoted himself to trusting God with all his heart and God has rewarded him with spiritual insight, a sound mind, a family that respects him and the comfort of a pleasant dwelling. Now Jay walked through the desert to reach the high places hoping that God would meet him there in a fresh wave as He had done in the past. But Jay feared that he would not find God there and that his heart, if not his body would remain in the valley of the desert. He was also afraid of the mountain and astounded by its majesty. The mountain challenged his soul, and his head weighed with the heaviness of the air, but he persevered. His heart was once again awakened to the mercies of the Lord and he approached God with the same trembling he experienced on the mountain, as was once his custom. Jay walked with great patience down the mountain from the Lake they call Como to the valley of the sand with his brother Gary who was kept from falling by Jay?s strong arms. Now Jay returns to the community of believers at the Mountaintop with a fresh flame in his soul and visions of majesty in his heart.

John, who has the bodily appearance of a youth even though his head is adorned with gray hair, was loved by the fourteen and he was charged with bringing the group together. Now John left his family and his box that remains at his side and tells him many things he would like to not know, and chose to walk to the high places with the fourteen. John is consistently doing the Lord?s work in the region of Alabama and did not change his ways in the high places. He was often found helping those who were struggling, as was Joe the rider of the chariots that are pedaled. When walking he too would return to the place of the beginning and help others by carrying their burdens down from the high places when their hearts or bodies were faint. John was also involved in the preparation of the fatted calf and in the serving of the food to the saints. Now John and his wife, who is named Laurie, became servants to the saints who are at Mountain Top through their daughters and John and his household serve the Lord with all their hearts. John loved the high places and is returning from the mountain top they call Blanca to the Mountain Top in Alabama seeking to return with other pilgrims to the high places.

Now Joe, the carpenter who uses his hands to serve the Lord and to paint in the houses of the people, came with the fourteen. He is known for his ability to pedal the chariots that ride through the mountains without horses and he also pedals the chariots that ride in through the gates of the city that is Birmingham. Joe pedals these chariots as swiftly as some go on horseback. Joe is full of strength and compassion and he helped many of the fourteen ascend to the Lake that is called Como because of his strength time and again returning to the place of the beginning and carrying the burdens of the brethren so that they too could experience the high place. Joe had compassion on those in the group who fell ill and desired to take care of them. Then God called him to the higher place at the top of the mountain they call Blanca and Joe surrendered his will on his knees at the waterfall that is near the lake that is called Blue, and heeded the will of his God and went forth onto the mountain, his heart heavy for those he was leaving behind. Now Joe reached the place where you could go no higher and was a support to the brethren there and returned once again to the Lake that is called Como and greeted his brothers there with joy. Joe found his summit at the trail of the crosses and there at the foot of the cross he gave his heart fully to the Lord and to his brethren with great joy.

Randy, who was called by the Lord to be one of the fourteen, had a condition that needed continual attention by the physicians and he knew that a journey to the high places would be difficult. Forsaking his own comfort and leaving behind his wife he journeyed with the fourteen to the mountain that is Blanca because of the voice of the Lord in his heart. Now Randy suffered many afflictions due to his condition and the harshness of the high places. Now Brian who is called Chuck Wagon was learned in the ways of medicine and continually stood by the side of the brother Randy. It came to pass that Chuck Wagon grew increasingly distressed by the lack of response from Randy to the medicines he had brought and it was decided that Randy should return with all the brethren at his side to the foot of the mountain to the house of healing. Now Randy gave his burden to his brothers and began the long journey to the base of the mountain and was aided by the mountain chariots whom the Lord had sent forth. Randy?s journey ended at the house of healing where he was cared for by the men of medicine, Chuck Wagon and his brother who is called Lee. Now later in the journey the brothers were reunited at the house of healing and Randy was recovering there and he passed on to the brethren that the Lord was doing mighty things in him while he was at rest.

Lee, who lives in the region they call Florida came to be one of the fourteen through his nephew Joe, the rider of the chariots you pedal. Now Lee desired to fellowship with the fourteen in the high places and bound himself to them even though he had many reservations. Now Lee, who was skilled in the ways of the Mountain Chariots, sought to relieve the distress of his brother Brian who is called Chuck Wagon when he saw how distraught Brian was at his inability to help his brother Randy to the foot of the mountain by driving the chariot. Lee skillfully took the chariot with Randy and the burdens down the steep rocky slopes of the high places to the Great Chariot that is like unto behemoth, and Brian ran beside them, the Lord lifting him with his wings and helping him move with the chariot down the mountain to get Randy to the house of healing in his time of need. Now Lee stayed with Randy at the house of healing until he was sure his healing was secure and then he rejoined the fourteen at the trail of the crosses where he ministered to his nephew.

Now Gary the Patriarch of the men, is loved by all for his insight, patience, wisdom and walk with the Lord. Gary ministers with those who lean on their own understanding and use substances contrary to the ways of the Lord. Now Gary can understand them because he too had used such things and at one point looked at facing the dungeon. At his point of distress he called out to the Lord and the Lord rescued him from the jailers and now Gary, day and night, continually serves the Lord and his people. Gary?s journey to the high places was long and difficult for him, but he persevered through the day of the climb to the Lake they call Crater and then rested from his burden. Gary also praised the Lord for the Mountain Chariot that came to take him down from the high places where his affliction could be straightened out. Now Gary loves the Lord more than silver or gold and delights in his presence and serves Him in all his ways. He leans not unto his own understanding, but trusts in the Lord with all his heart and God is faithful and directs his steps.

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Thus is recorded the story of the mighty men of Mt. Top, a fellowship of believers in the Region of Alabama in the city of Birmingham, who ventured to the High Places in the year of two thousand and six after our Lord?s birth.