Meet Madalyn. Madalyn has spent the past two summers guiding young adults through the wilderness. Madalyn is a mountain guide, but she is not only a mountain guide. She has led many young people to understand the healing power that emerges from the wilderness. Van Eaten has learned that as humans, we need the wilderness. She considers spending time outside to be “vital to the human experience.” Van Eaten is on a mission to make the world a better place by guiding young people up strenuous mountains in an effort to show them who God is. She says, “I want to empower people to go beyond themselves and reach for higher things in their lives. I also want to emphasize that it was not their own strength that got them up the mountain or enabled them to go beyond themselves, but it was God’s. And if God was faithful in the mountains, He will be faithful in the valley too.”
It takes a special person to summit a mountain every week for the entire summer. Van Eaton says,”Summiting a mountain every week can seem like an impossible task, especially when you take twenty other people up with you; and yet, every week we summited or got extremely close.” Van Eaton learned more about herself through her time in the mountains. Hiking uphill for hours on end can be a challenge both mentally and physically, but as time went on, Van Eaton learned how to push herself and develop determination. Van Eaton claims that her “hope and determination skyrocketed” as the summer progressed. She has learned that if you push yourself and work hard for something, “then you will experience immense joy and satisfaction in the heights that you are able to explore.”
During her time in the mountains, Van Eaton worked hard to go beyond herself daily. Van Eaton valued her campers and wanted them to have the experience of a lifetime. Even when she was exhausted and every part of her was aching, she chose to keep going beyond so her campers would get the best experience they could. She would spend time reflecting on her greater purpose rather than focusing on the current pain. Van Eaton claims that “God was the only reason that I was able to accomplish this. He provided me with the strength to go beyond when I was empty and unable to move on my own.”
Madalyn Van Eaton has learned countless lessons from her many weeks in the mountains. Van Eaton says, “No matter who you are or where you come from, you can accomplish a task that seems beyond yourself. I have witnessed the most surprising individuals summitt fourteen thousand foot mountains, and it was because they believed that they could. It was not their physical strength that pushed them to the top, rather it was their decision to become their own biggest advocate and reach for something beyond themselves.”
Madalyn spends her time during the school year working with us at Beyond Boundaries Life. She fills the store with her passion and energy and our business is better because of her. Even when adversity strikes, Madalyn moves forward because she sees a greater purpose. Madalyn believes it is important to find a strong community who will support you as you choose to go beyond. Seek opportunity and take it to the next level. Believe in yourself. You can make a difference in your own life and in those around you.