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Ana Mendez Ferrell and Mount Everest
The other side of the story
by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.
December 20, 2010
O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on
Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works
righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart (Psalm 15:1-2).
To the Reader: Ana Mendez Ferrell is a minor, but key player within the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Under the spiritual covering of Rony Chaves of Costa Rica and C. Peter Wagner of the United States, Ana claims to be an apostle and prophet who has risen to the rank of "general" in God's spiritual warfare army. As such, she works to train an army to battle against and destroy the works of demonic forces worldwide. This is done, she says, to "usher in the glory of God" ( http://tinyurl.com/2vsyzt6 ).
According to the NAR, powerful demons dominate major territories of the world, including third-world countries, and have such a stranglehold on people that the unsaved cannot be witnessed to until the demons are removed--permanently.
As for Ana Mendez Ferrell, battling demons reached a new height in 1997, when she claimed she was led by God to climb to the top of Mount Everest to battle against and bring down the "queen of heaven" and its demonic forces ( http://tinyurl.com/2vsyzt6 ).
Furthermore, in a December 1, 1997 Memorandum to his International Spiritual Warfare Network members and Selected Leaders, C. Peter Wagner wrote that before the expedition got underway, Ana "sought the agreement of Rony Chavez, Harold Caballeros, Cindy Jacobs, George Otis, Jr., Fred Markert, Chuck Pierce, Doris Wagner, me, and others" ("Operation Queen's Palace," http://www.etpv.org/1998/opqueen.html ).
While Ana's claim has survived now for over thirteen years, she and high-level officials within the NAR failed to tell their followers the other side of the story. In fact, according to reliable sources, Ana and the members of her expedition did not climb to the top of Mount Everest in 1997. The sources also revealed that Ana's expedition never made it beyond Base Camp at 17,600 feet ( http://www.greatoutdoors.com/files/everest_route_map.jpg ).
What you are about to read is the result of a joint research project between Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason Ministries and Bud Press of Christian Research Service. The research was painstaking and laborious, and involved long hours on the internet night and day, watching documentary videos, reading articles and books, writing letters, translating foreign languages into English, and studying maps and photos of the Cordillera Neovolcanica mountain range in Mexico, the Andes mountain range in South America (Peru), and Mount Everest and the surrounding countryside.
The research also included a careful review of the English version of Mount Everest Expedition (Operation Ice Castle) DVD by Dr. Ana Mendez Ferrell ( http://tinyurl.com/2g6q7gz , on file with Let Us Reason Ministries).
One of the highlights of the research involved communicating with world-class experts in the field of mountain climbing, including those who have risked their lives to stand at the top of Mount Everest.
Therefore, be informed that virtually everything available concerning Ana Mendez Ferrell's expedition to Mount Everest has been carefully researched, scrutinized, and evaluated. For an in-depth analysis of the expedition and what it takes to climb Mount Everest, please refer to Mike Oppenheimer's article, "Ana Mendez Ferrell Battles the 'Queen of Heaven' on the World's Tallest Mountain" at http://www.letusreason.org/Latrain64.htm .
As you read this and Mike Oppenheimer's article, bear in mind that when a person makes a claim, there should be no hesitation on the person's part to back the claim with irrefutable evidence. Words are important. Truth is paramount. Bold claims require bold proof.
From mental institution to the mountain
Along with her second husband, Emerson Ferrell, Ana Mendez Ferrell is the co-founder of Voice of the Light Ministries, based in St. Augustine, Florida. Voice of the Light Ministries is affiliated with Ambassadors Ministries, based in the Netherlands. According Ana and Emerson,
Voice of The Light Ministries is a Prophetic-Apostolic Ministry with a mandate from God to equip the army of the Lord. Our mission is to train believers throughout the world to identify the powers of darkness and destroy them. [ http://tinyurl.com/3xaegq6 ]
Ana's rise within the NAR came after her alleged involvement in a Haitian voodoo cult, which she claims contributed to her confinement in a mental institution in Mexico. While there, Ana claims that "Jesus" appeared to her and showed her "his glory". Later, after a prolonged search for her "Jesus/Avatar" within the New Age movement, Ana claims she repented and was saved.
("The Ana Mendez Story," July
5, 2002,
http://tinyurl.com/AnaMendezStory ).
It is important to note that "The Ana Mendez Story" mentions a man named Torcuato Luca de Tena as Ana's "previous husband." But a confidential source close to the Luca de Tena family informed Christian Research Service that Ana was once married to Torcuato Luca de Tena y Benjumea, the son of the late Torcuato Luca de Tena Brunet of Spain. According to the source, Ana's marriage to Benjumea lasted about one and one-half years, and ended in divorce.
While married to Benjumea, Ana claims she began an intercession ministry and worked as a translator for Morris Cerullo. From there, Ana's claims progressed from strange to surreal:
"In Mexico, I repeatedly experienced something like Philip in the desert. The Holy Spirit transported me to conferences, sometimes over long distances. The Bible speaks of the widow in Sarepta, who never ran out of oil and flour. I had the same experience with money: for six years, the money in my purse never ran out, enabling me to invest in the Kingdom. The Lord also allowed me to raise three people from the dead." [ http://tinyurl.com/AnaMendezStory ]
Somewhere during the process, Ana became involved in the NAR through C. Peter Wagner and his wife, Doris, and became convinced that powerful demons occupy seats of authority in major territories throughout the world, and that Satan's throne of power ("Queen of Heaven") was located on Mount Everest.
While there appears to be no evidence to verify Ana's confinement in a Mexican mental institution (research is ongoing), she has yet to provide evidence of her numerous "Holy Spirit" transportations, her purse filled with an unlimited source of money, and her raising three people from the dead.
Bold claims, but no names.
However, there is evidence of Ana's participation in an expedition to Mount Everest in September 1997. But more on that later.
The other side of the mountain
Standing at 29,035 feet above sea-level and located between the border of Nepal and Tibet, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on the face of the Earth, and one of the most dangerous of all mountains to climb.
Climbing to the summit (top) of Mount Everest is no cake-walk. For those who are physically fit, conquering the world's tallest mountain requires months of rigorous physical training and mental preparation, thousands of dollars worth of climbing equipment, cold weather clothing, permits and fees, and courage and determination above and beyond the norm. The list of dangers faced by both the amateur and world-class climber is mind-boggling:
Although not considered one of the most technically challenging mountains to climb (K2 is more difficult), the dangers of Everest include avalanches, crevasses, ferocious winds up to 125 mph, sudden storms, temperatures of 40°F below zero, and oxygen deprivation. In the "death zone" above 25,000 feet, the air holds only a third as much oxygen as at sea level, heightening the chances of hypothermia, frostbite, high-altitude pulmonary edema (when the lungs fatally fill with fluid) and high-altitude cerebral edema (when the oxygen-starved brain swells up). Even when breathing bottled oxygen, climbers experience extreme fatigue, impaired judgment and coordination, headaches, nausea, double vision, and sometimes hallucinations. Expeditions spend weeks, sometimes months, acclimatizing, and usually attempt Everest only in May and October, avoiding the winter snows and the summer monsoons. ["A History of Everest," http://tinyurl.com/3y2bgyn ]
Added to the list is temporary or permanent blindness, broken bones, twisted ankles, serious cuts and bruises, getting lost and disappearing, and death. While thousands have ascended and descended Mount Everest and lived to tell their stories, hundreds have paid the ultimate price:
The dead are left where they perish because the effects of altitude make it nearly impossible to drag bodies off the mountain. Those ascending Everest pass through an icy graveyard littered with remnants of old tents and equipment, empty oxygen canisters, and frozen corpses. [ http://www.infoplease.com/spot/everest2.html ]
Indeed, there is another side to climbing Mount Everest. And, there is another side to Ana Mendez Ferrell's claim to have climbed to the top of the world's tallest mountain.
Requests for information
During the research phase for this and Mike Oppenheimer's article, letters were written to Ana Mendez Ferrell, Doris Wagner (wife of C. Peter Wagner), Rony Chaves, and Rebecca Greenwood. This was done in order to give them ample opportunity to verify their claims, and provide additional details not covered in their public statements. The following letters are arranged by the date in which they were sent.
Letter to Ana Mendez Ferrell
November 10, 2010
Ana Mendez Ferrell
Voice of The Light Ministries
P.O. Box 3418
Ponte Vedra, FL 32004
(904) 940-0325
Dear Ana:
My colleagues and I have spent a considerable amount of time researching your claim to have led an expedition to climb Mount Everest in September 1997. Our research into your claim began with the following articles:
"The Ana Mendez Story" by Ana Mendez
"Operation Queen's Palace" by C. Peter Wagner
We are having great difficulty verifying your claim, and would appreciate your providing the following information:
the names and contact information of team members who participated in your September 1997 expedition to Mount Everest.
the dates of your arrival to and departure from Mount Everest.
photographic evidence of you and your team members during your expedition to Mount Everest in September 1997.
Ana, thank you for your your cooperation. I look forward to your reply at your earliest possible convenience.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
Letter to Doris Wagner
November 11, 2010
Doris Wagner
Global
Harvest Ministries
P.O. Box 63060
Colorado Springs, CO 80962
Phone: (719) 262-9922
Dear Doris,
In a December 1, 1997 Memorandum titled "Operation Queen's Palace," your husband C. Peter Wagner stated in part that,
Ana Mendez established an AD2000 Prayer Tower in Mexico City some time ago in order to mobilize powerful prayer targeted on the 10/40 Window. While in prayer in her tower, the Holy Spirit clearly showed her that a principal stronghold over the 10/40 Window was located on Mt. Everest in Nepal, and that she was to lead a team of intercessors in a frontal attack on this power of darkness, who was none other than the Queen of Heaven. Before finally deciding to go, she sought the agreement of Rony Chavez, Harold Caballeros, Cindy Jacobs, George Otis, Jr., Fred Markert, Chuck Pierce, Doris Wagner, me, and others.
For three weeks at the end of September 1997, what we called "Operation Ice Castle" was underway. Ana, her husband, and Rony Chavez led a team of 11 who operated out of the base camp at the foot of Mt. Everest at 18,000 feet. Doris Wagner led a team of 8 English speakers operating out of the Everest View Hotel at 13,000 feet, and a third team of 5 Spanish speakers from Mexico and Colombia, led by Silvia Valenzuela, were there also. Doris provided the necessary bilingual bridge. [ http://www.etpv.org/1998/
opqueen.html ]
My colleagues and I have spent a considerable amount of time researching "Operation Ice Castle," and are having difficulty verifying the claims. I would appreciate your providing the following information:
the names and contact information of your team of "8 English speakers".
the dates of your arrival to and departure from Mount Everest.
photographic evidence of you and your eight team members during your stay at the Everest View Hotel in September 1997.
any information you would care to share that would help verify your part in the expedition to Mount Everest.
Doris, thank you for your your cooperation. I look forward to your reply at your earliest possible convenience.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
On November 11, Janine Emrick, Executive Assistant to C. Peter and Doris Wagner, replied with the following:
I have forwarded this to the Wagners. They are currently out of town and are scheduled to get back this weekend. It might take them a while to respond as things tend to pile up when they are gone.
After six days and no reply from Doris Wagner, the following letter was sent to Janine Emrick:
November 17,
2010
Janine M.
Emrick
Executive
Assistant to C. Peter & Doris Wagner
Global
Spheres, Inc. - Colorado Mission
(719) 262-9922
Dear Janine:
I was hoping to have heard from Doris Wagner by now, but six days have
passed and there has been no reply. Please let me know when she will
reply to my November 11 letter.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.
admin@
Letter to Rony Chaves
I am conducting research on Ana Mendez Ferrell's expedition to Mount Everest in September 1997, and would appreciate your assistance.
In C. Peter Wagner's December 1, 1997 article, "Operation Queen's Palace," he states in part that,
For three weeks at the end of September 1997, what we called "Operation Ice Castle" was underway. Ana, her husband, and Rony Chavez led a team of 11 who operated out of the base camp at the foot of Mt. Everest at 18,000 feet. Doris Wagner led a team of 8 English speakers operating out of the Everest View Hotel at 13,000 feet, and a third team of 5 Spanish speakers from Mexico and Colombia, led by Silvia Valenzuela, were there also. Doris provided the necessary bilingual bridge.
Rony, since you were a team member on the expedition to Mount Everest, I would appreciate your providing the following information:
the names and contact information of your fellow team members.
the date that you arrived and departed from Mount Everest.
the highest point you and your team members reached on Mount Everest.
photographic evidence of your expedition to Mount Everest during September 1997.
Thank you,
Rony. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to
your reply at your earliest possible convenience.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.
E-mail
admin@
Letter to Rebecca Greenwood:
November 17, 2010
Rebecca Greenwood
Christian Harvest International
PO Box 63628
Colorado Springs, CO 80962
(719) 243-3302
Dear Rebecca:
I am conducting research on Ana Mendez Ferrell's expedition to Mt. Everest in September 1997, and would appreciate your assistance.
In his December 1997 article, "Operation Queen's Palace," C. Peter Wagner states in part that,
For three weeks at the end of September 1997, what we called "Operation Ice Castle" was underway. Ana, her husband, and Rony Chavez led a team of 11 who operated out of the base camp at the foot of Mt. Everest at 18,000 feet. Doris Wagner led a team of 8 English speakers operating out of the Everest View Hotel at 13,000 feet, and a third team of 5 Spanish speakers from Mexico and Colombia, led by Silvia Valenzuela, were there also. Doris provided the necessary bilingual bridge. [ http://www.etpv.org/1998/
opqueen.html ]
Please
note in the above that "Doris Wagner led a team of 8 English speakers
operating out of the Everest View Hotel at 13,000 feet..."
Further, Doris Wagner wrote the
following in your January 2005 book, Authority to Tread:
"I have served alongside Becca in the trenches on a prayer journey to Nepal just short of the foot of Mount Everest in 1997. She is a serious student and practitioner of all three levels of spiritual warfare, and I am delighted that she has now become an excellent teacher of this highly specialized subject, drawing on her solid, extensive experience. What a delight for me personally to see the baton of strategic-level spiritual warfare passed into such capable hands of the next generation." [ http://www.elijahlist.com/
words/textonly.html?ID=6778 ]
Since Doris Wagner places you with her in Nepal at the bottom of Mt. Everest in 1997, I would appreciate your providing the following information:
the names and contact information of the members of the expedition.
the dates of your arrival to and departure from Mount Everest.
photographic evidence of your prayer journey to Nepal and Mt. Everest.
any additional information concerning your participation in "Operation Ice Castle".
Rebecca, thank you for your your cooperation. I look forward to your reply at your earliest possible convenience.
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
[End of letters]
With the exception of Janine Emrick's November 11 reply, as of this writing there has been no reply from Ana Mendez Ferrell, Doris Wagner, Rony Chaves, and Rebecca Greenwood.
Bold cries, but no replies.
Statements concerning Ana Mendez Ferrell and Mount Everest
The following information documents what Ana Mendez Ferrell and others within the NAR have stated about the September 1997 expedition to Mount Everest. The reader is encouraged to examine the statements carefully, and compare them one with another. The statements are arranged in sections, with bold print added for emphasis. Some statements are translated from foreign languages to English.
Section 1: Ana Mendez Ferrell and Mount Everest
As a general in spiritual warfare, Ana has coordinated many of the most important prayer initiatives in the darkest places of the earth, confronting major territorial spirits. The most difficult assault that she and her team undertook was the climbing of Mount Everest in 1997, which resulted in major spiritual breakthroughs in the 10/40 window (the less evangelized region in the world). Ana was also the special task coordinator for operation "Queens Palace," the first worldwide prayer initiative, involving nearly 75 percent of the nations in the world in a war against a dominion of darkness known as the "queen of heaven", the ruler of Babylon. [Voice of the Light Ministries website, http://tinyurl.com/2vsyzt6 ]
This is about Ana Méndez Ferrell`s climbing and spiritual warfare expedition to Mt. Everest [Mount Everest Expedition (Operation Ice Castle) DVD, Libreia La Roca website, http://tinyurl.com/236trwo ]
Ana Mendez Ferrell explains the challenges God placed in front of her to bring a newly trained team to climb to the top of Mt. Everest to tear down the powers of hell. What steps are you willing to take to set your nation free? [Introduction to The Making of A Prophet DVD by Ana Mendez Ferrell, http://tinyurl.com/2b3whbf ]
As a general in spiritual warfare, she has coordinated many of the most important prayer initiatives in the darkest places of the earth, confronting major territorial spirits. The most difficult assault that she undertook was the climbing of Mount Everest in 1997. The result of that has been major breakthroughs in the 10/40 window. She was also the special task coordinator for operation "Queens Palace", which was the first worldwide prayer initiative that involved almost 75% of the nations in the world to war against a dominion of darkness known as the Queen of heaven. ["Ana Mendez Ferrell Biography," Voice of the Light Ministries, archives.org for October 10, 2002]
As a general in spiritual warfare, Ana has coordinated many of the most important prayer initiatives in the darkest places of the earth, confronting major territorial spirits. The most difficult assault that she and her team undertook was the climbing of Mount Everest in 1997—which resulted in major spiritual breakthroughs in the 10/40 window. Ana was also the special task coordinator for operation "Queens Palace," the first worldwide prayer initiative, involving nearly 75 percent of the nations in the world in a war against a dominion of darkness known as the "queen of heaven." [Ambassadors Ministries website, http://www.ambasmin.org/en/
MinistryAnaEmerson.html ]
As a general in the spiritual war has many important initiatives coordinated prayer in the darkest places of the world and the confrontation with key spiritual powers over certain areas. The most difficult attack that they undertook was to climb Mount Everest in 1997. The result was a major breakthrough in the 10/40 frame. She was also the coordinator for special operation "Queens Palace". That was the first global prayer initiative involving 75% of world nations were involved, to fight against the kingdom of darkness, also known as the Queen of Heaven. [Ambassadors Ministries, http://tinyurl.com/23q5bea ]
As a general in spiritual warfare, she [Ana Mendez Ferrell] has coordinated many of the most important prayer initiatives in the darkest places of the earth, confronting major territorial spirits. The most difficult assault that she undertook was the climbing of Mount Everest in 1997. [anamendez.org (now Voice of the Light Ministries), web.archive.org for October 10, 2002, italics theirs]
As a general spiritual warfare, she has coordinated several prayer marches in the darkest places on Earth, facing large territorial spirits. The most difficult challenge [s]he has faced has been climbing Mount Everest in 1997. The result of this was the opening of the 10/40 window. She was also the coordinator of Operation Queen's Palace "which was the first global movement of prayer and about 75% of the world's nations were at war against the dominion of the principality known as the "Queen of Heaven" [Facebook]
Section 2: C. Peter Wagner, Doris Wagner, and Mount Everest
Ana Mendez (her full name is Ana Mendez de Luca de Tena) is the person appointed by Harold Caballeros as the Coordinator of the Spiritual Warfare Network for Southern Mexico. She and her husband, Torcuato Luca de Tena, pastor the New Anointing Church of Mexico City. ["Operation Queen's Palace," Memorandum, December 1, 1997, http://www.etpv.org/1998/
opqueen.html ]
For three weeks at the end of September 1997, what we called "Operation Ice Castle" was underway. Ana, her husband, and Rony Chavez led a team of 11 who operated out of the base camp at the foot of Mt. Everest at 18,000 feet. Doris Wagner led a team of 8 English speakers operating out of the Everest View Hotel at 13,000 feet, and a third team of 5 Spanish speakers from Mexico and Colombia, led by Silvia Valenzuela, were there also. Doris provided the necessary bilingual bridge. [Ibid.]
One day, while in prayer in the 10/40 Window prayer tower, God showed Ana that a major stronghold of darkness over the whole 10/40 Window was located on the highest of high places, Mt. Everest in the Himalaya Mountains. At that moment, she knew that she was to lead a prayer journey to Mt. Everest. [Confronting the Queen of Heaven, Wagner Institute for Practical Ministry, 1998, p. 36, book on file]
As Doris [Wagner] prayed about it, she felt that God was calling her to join the expedition, despite crippling arthritis for which three total joint replacements would be required when she got back home. Rony Chavez [sic., Chaves] assumed the apostolic respnsibility for the expedition and volunteered to go with the team to Mt. Everest base camp. All together, twenty-six intercessors from Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, United States, and Viet Nam flew into Kathmandu, Nepal, and then continued to Mt. Everest. This was September 1997. [Ibid.]
Some of the intercessors, including Doris [Wagner], prayed for three weeks in the Everest View Hotel, with no hot water, at 13,000 feet. Others prayed at the Everest Base Camp at 18,000 feet, where we came within a whisker of losing a brother through cerebral edema. Ana's team, which had taken professional alpine training in Mexico and Peru before leaving, scaled the ice cliffs and crossed bottomless crevasses, climbing to 20,000 feet. [Ibid., p.37]
Operation Ice Castle, 1997. An experienced prayer team scaled Mt. Everest in the highest level (both topographically and spiritually) prophetic prayer initiative to date. ["Summary Report: AD2000 United Prayer Tract" (under the subheading "The 10 Major Milestones of the 1990's," June 25, 2000, http://www.ad2000.org/re00623.
htm )]
In September 1997 a team of strategic intercessors were deployed in Nepal. A group led by my wife, Doris, prayed for three weeks in a hotel with no hot water at 13,000 feet. Others prayed at the Everest Base Camp at 18,000 feet. Ana, and a team that had taken Alpine training with her, crossed bottomless crevasses and scaled the mountain to 20,000 feet where they did a series of prophetic acts at what they perceived to be the physical power point of the Queen of Heaven. This involved such physical, emotional, and spiritual risks that we kept the strategic expedition a secret until all were safely home. [C. Peter Wagner, The Queen's Domain: Advancing God's Kingdom in the 40/70 Window, Wagner Publications, 2000, p. 18, book on file]
Section 3: Rebecca Greenwood, Doris Wagner, and Mount Everest
I was privileged to be a part of the intercessory team of Operation Ice Castle, a spiritual battle that focused on Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. ...Our team, led by Doris Wagner, prayed in a hotel thirteen thousand feet up into the mountains. We provided prayer coverage for a team of intercessors who climbed to twenty thousand feet on Mt. Everest. This team was led by Ana Mendez, Spiritual Warfare Network Coordinator for southern Mexico. [Authority To Tread: An Intercessor's Guide To Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare, Chosen Books, 2005, p. 67, book on file]
I have served alongside of Becca in the trenches on a prayer journey to Nepal just short of the foot of Mount Everest in 1997. [Doris Wagner, Acknowledgements, Authority To Tread: An Intercessor's Guide To Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare by Rebecca Greenwood, Chosen Books, p. 1, book on file]
Section 4: Rony Chaves, Eduardo Villalobos, and Mount Everest
And Eduardo Villalobos Chaves Rony first Costa Rican to climb Mount Everest, have his dramatic experience to the "roof of world" in September 1997. [Apostolic Legacy No. 15, Spiritual Warfare 1, On Top of the World, http://www.tiendaronychaves.
com/shopexd.asp?id=173 ]
In 1997 he led the International Team of Advocates sent to take the 10/40 window by AD-2000, in a project called by Dr. Peter Wagner "Operation Ice Castle." Together with Eduardo Villalobos, Costa Ricans are the only two in the history of his country who have risen to the top of Mount Everest (the highest mountain in the world), to make war territorial demonic powers. [Bio on Rony Chaves, Apostle-Director, Universidad de la Palabra, http://tinyurl.com/3xnp776 ]
Bear in mind that the above statements originated from people who claim to be apostles and prophets of God, who claim to operate in all of the spiritual gifts, and who claim to be Christian. Clearly, the statements contain both claims and contradictions.
The other side of the story
It would be easy to conclude this article here and allow the contradictions to suffice, but doing so wouldn't be fair to those who are loyal to C. Peter Wagner, Ana Mendez Ferrell, and the New Apostolic Reformation.
While it is true that Ana conducted an expedition to Mount Everest, not one person in the expedition, including Ana, climbed to the "top" of Mount Everest (29,035 feet). They never made it beyond Base Camp (17,600 feet).
Another side of the story that Ana and NAR officials failed to share is the statement from a woman who commands the respect from mountain climbers worldwide, Miss Elizabeth Hawley:
One of the most important figures in Himalayan climbing may be someone who has never been to Everest Base Camp, and is not a climber. In 1960, a young American woman, Elizabeth Hawley, moved to Nepal as a reporter for Time, Inc. Initially sending home political dispatches from the kingdom, it wasn’t long before Hawley’s pen found its niche: mountaineering in the world’s highest places. She quickly became part of the Kathmandu scene, socializing regularly with an eclectic group of adventurers, climbers, royalty, politicians and entrepreneurs. Hawley is still in Kathmandu today and has been the unofficial chronicler of every detail of every expedition mounted from Nepal in the Himalaya from more than four decades. [Bernadette McDonald, introduction to I'll Call You In Kathmandu: The Elizabeth Hawley Story, http://www.himalayandatabase.
com/hawleybio.html ]
Along with Richard Salisbury, Elizabeth Hawley is the co-author of the 2007 e-book, The Himalaya by the Numbers: A Statistical Analysis of Mountaineering in the Nepal Himalaya. In it, Miss Hawley describes in detail what actually took place during Ana Mendez's expedition to Mount Everest:
A planned climb that did not actually happen was an attempt on Everest from the Nepalese side by three Mexicans and a Costa Rican under the leadership of Mrs. Ana Mendez from Mexico City. Their expedition was called Summit for Peace – Everest 1997, and their intention was to pray at the highest point on earth for peace in the world and against poverty. As Mrs. Mendez explained, "The top of the world is a symbol of the world. By standing on the top of the world, I intercede with God for the world." She said that 50 million people around the world from a large number of Christian organizations would pray with her team as they held a brief ceremony on the summit. She acknowledged that none of the four climbing members including herself had known much about climbing one year before, so they had done some "intensive training" in Mexico and Peru.
However Mrs. Mendez never received a permit from the Nepalese authorities to set foot on Everest, and her party never moved above base camp. She claimed her Kathmandu trekking agent robbed her; the agent said she never produced the funds for the permit and instead made a concerted effort to convince officials that disasters would strike Nepal if they could not pray at the summit, and they should not be charged any fee for their vital services to the country; the tourism ministry said no permit was issued because only part of the $50,000 royalty fee was offered by a representative of the team (not the agent).
So Mrs. Mendez’s group fascinated others at base camp by their unprecedented activities. One Spanish leader reported that they explained their goal was to take the devil away from the summit of Everest so that God could come to Nepal and the Hindu and Buddhist people of Nepal could be evangelized. They wrote with an ice axe on seracs near base camp "Jesus Lives," and they made an altar in the ice at which they prayed every day. Even before they reached base camp, they were praying, he said: it took them six hours to travel the final normal one hour’s walk into camp because they frequently fell on their knees in prayer. They found a big hole on the way to camp, and they said this was the gateway to Hell; they prayed to God to close it. (He did not.) When they didn’t receive their climbing permit, they declared that they realized base camp was just as good a site as the summit for their purposes. ["The Hallelujah Summit? From The Seasonal Stories of Elizabeth Hawley-Autumn 1997," p. 39, reprinted by permission, http://www.himalayandatabase.com/downloads/HimalayaByNbrs.pdf ]
If there is any doubt as to Elizabeth Hawley's credentials and reputation, the reader is encouraged to review the following articles:
"On Highest Authority" by Nicholas Dawidoff (September 19, 1994),
"Elizabeth Hawley, grande dame of the Himalayas" (April 29, 2010),
"Elizabeth Hawley, unrivalled Himalayan record keeper," by Joanna Jolly (August 28, 2010), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10268549
"Biography Miss Elizabeth Hawley" (The King Albert Memorial Foundation),
Closing comments...
The validity of a claim rests on factual evidence and documentation that cannot be refuted. When people make claims, they should welcome scrutiny and be prepared to answer questions to the very best of their ability. If their claims are true, they have nothing to hide or fear, due to the fact that truth will stand up to intense investigation.
On the other hand, when people make claims, but refuse to communicate and answer simple questions, they arouse suspicion and instill a lack of trust. As such, their claims should be called into question and judged accordingly.
Bold claims require bold evidence.
Instead of accepting a claim at face value, Christians should investigate the claim and weigh the evidence carefully and objectively. Words are important. If misused, words will return to haunt the writer.
Ana Mendez Ferrell's claim to have climbed to the top of Mount Everest has laid dormant for over thirteen years, but her claim and words have returned to haunt her. This is a prime example of what happens when people fail to share the other side of the story.
Acknowledgements
We at Christian Research Service and Let Us Reason Ministries extend our sincere appreciation to the following for their valuable assistance during the research phase of our articles:
G. Richard Fisher: Senior researcher and writer for Personal Freedom Outreach.
Sandy Simpson: Deception in the Church outreach ministries.
David-Alan Holland: Christian researcher.
|
Dennis Borel: Executive Director of Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, and Project Director for Team Everest '03. |
Miss Elizabeth Hawley: journalist, historian, and co-author of the book, The Himalaya by the Numbers: A Statistical Analysis of Mountaineering in the Nepal Himalaya.
Richard Salisbury: creator of The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley, and co-author of the book, The Himalaya by
the Numbers: A Statistical Analysis of Mountaineering in the Nepal Himalaya.
Stacy Allison: first American woman to climb to the top of Mt. Everest, and author of the books, Beyond The Limits: A Woman’s Triumph on Everest and Many Mountains to Climb; Reflections on Competence, Courage and Commitment.
Mark Ryman: world-class mountain climber, guide, and instructor for Mountain Madness, Inc. in Seattle, Washington.
Tom Murphy: the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). instrumental in the development of AIARE course materials and is the AIARE Director of Operations.
Brad Clement: professional high altitude filmmaker, mountain guide, and one of an elite few to have reached the top of Mount Everest from both the North and South sides of the mountain.
Khamsum: Adventure Travellers Club, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Gordon Janow: trek leader, Program Director for Alpine Ascents International, and Editor of the Alpine Journal.
Todd at EverestSpeakersBureau.com.
© Christian Research Service 2010
