Bryan's Blog: Walking with a Guide

By Bryan Wiegers, EHMI President

Greetings to everyone who is connected to the EHMI Cabin on top of East Haven Mountain. East Haven Mountain is an incredible place, but as we all know, we are blessed with incredible mountains and wilderness areas all over New England. 
 
Over the years, one of my most treasured traditions is an annual hunting/hiking trip that I do with a close group of friends to some remote mountain range in New England. I look forward to the camaraderie of deer camp, the solitude in the woods and the challenge of climbing mountains void of any hiking trails. 
 
This year, I did something completely different and was accompanied by a guide. I chose to hunt with a guide because I wanted to learn from someone who had much more experience, skill, and knowledge than myself. The guide knew the area, and I didn't. The guide made the plan each morning, and I had to follow. The guide had walked those mountains and river valleys for decades, and this was my first time to northwestern Maine, and I found myself questioning everything. I was humbled, exhausted, and not in control. 
 
To be honest, this made me very uncomfortable at times, but wow - did I learn a lot!  I am grateful for the lessons the guide taught me on being thorough and patient. I was reminded again that positive growth so often requires challenge, effort, and uncertainty. Importantly, the influence of a mentor in your life, like a guide, can accelerate this process.
 
At the core of EHMI, our desire is to Encourage, Help, Mentor and Invite others into deepening relationships with God, themselves, and others. As you look back on 2023 and into 2024, I encourage you to consider how you could be a mentor to someone in your life, to help them make some real positive gains. Pause and take some time to consider who you could walk alongside to help or who you could invite to be a mentor into your life. I promise that if you do, that you'll be amazed at what happens.
 
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time this year to volunteer to take care of the EHMI Cabin, so that some other person – who they may never meet – could enjoy that special place!