Since writing Kilimanjaro and Beyond with my son Chris, there have been moments that have taken me totally by surprise. I was hoping the book would provide inspiration to some to get up and do something for themselves and others. Every once in a while, I will receive an email or someone will come up to me and say that they have been inspired by something in the book. Those moments are precious and I just never know when one might occur.

Two things happened in the last two weeks that really moved me. The first occurred at church when a shy 10-year-old named Jeremy came up to me with an envelope that he had decorated. He said he had saved some of his allowance and he wanted to donate it to our project. The envelope contained $11.50 and I was really touched that he would do that. I believe that education and the power of kids is key to getting the world out of the mess it is in. It bodes well for the future as long as there are kids like Jeremy out there.

The second came to my attention via Facebook. A FB friend in Connecticut sent a message to direct me towards a classroom website prepared by a young teacher of 5th graders.  She had chosen as a theme for her class, “Reaching New Heights.” She had chosen my quote to display at the bottom of her page as inspiration for her class. The page is at the following link:

http://hinehappenings.weebly.com/index.html

The point of all this is that we just never know who we are influencing by what we say, how what we say might be used or where others might be when they use it. People remember things that are said in idle conversation that they might be influenced by. We all have the power to influence so we need to keep that in the back of our minds as we go through life.

You just never know…

My new humorous travel memoir is creeping towards publication as I’m working on final edits with the editor now. A new page will be added to this site and to my Facebook site at www.facebook.com/authorbarryfinlay.

More to come.

I’m proud to recommend a project sponsored by the Integrated Rural Community Centre for Agriculture (IRCCA) Foundation to put up an agricultural community training center for 100 teenage single mothers in Kumbo Cameroon. The total reliance of these young girls on others for a livelihood dangerously exposes them to acquire unwanted pregnancies. Because of the endemic poverty in the community, they risk losing focus in life and becoming a serious problem to the community and a burden to others.

Training the girls to practice sustainable agriculture together with other non agricultural activities will open them to huge opportunities, thus enabling them to face the challenges on their own. If the project is able to meet the challenge threshold of raising $5000 from at least 40 separate donors by the end of April, they will be invited to stay on at Global Giving. They will be eligible to continue receiving donations from the general public, private and corporate foundations through www.globalgiving.org and take advantage of Global Giving’s fundraising tools and services.

This is an important initiative for the IRCCA and I urge you to get involved by clicking on their site at:

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/train-100-teenage-single-mothers-in-cameroon/

Kilimanjaro and Beyond is now featured in the top 10 best Nonfiction covers of Substance Books.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-do-judge-our-books-by-their-covers/329128607147633

Also:

Check out my title on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bookpublicist/great-books-with-amazing-covers/. Click on “Follow” to see more amazing and high quality book covers and all by Independent Publishers like myself.

My friend, Stacey K. Black, is working on a film documentary on musicians in Nashville. What makes this documentary unique is that it features the “up and comers” not the “already made its.” She will be posting trailers from time to time and hopes to have it finished this year.Stop by on the Facebook page and give her some encouragement with a “like” at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/SendMyMailToNashville?fref=ts

Here are a couple of pics from the ceremony that took place February 2, 2013. It was a day I will always remember. The presenter was Sarah Muir from Plan Canada. Thanks to Robin Chu for the great photography.

First of all, Happy New Year to anyone who might be reading this. I hope 2013 is everything you would like it to be with lots of good health, safety and happiness!

There are a few things planned for 2013. We are continuing in our efforts to help the children and young adults of Tanzania. We will once again have the golf tournament in August and the Variety Show in October to raise money for the cause. Our Golf Tournament organizer, Debbie Harbridge, has it well in hand and plans for the Variety Show are circulating in the back of my head.

On a personal note, Plan Canada has named me as a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal and there will be a presentation in January. The time is TBA. I am flattered and honoured to be receiving the medal as I know there are many deserving people out there. As I have often said, none of this would be possible without the involvement and support of so many people, including Plan Canada.  I may get the credit, but the medal is thanks to all of you.

The manuscript for my new book, I Guess We Missed The Boat, is complete and is making the rounds in search of a publishing home. I am a little apprehensive since it’s a humorous book about travel with my in-laws. Two things make me apprehensive. It is difficult to write humour and to get people to laugh. Secondly, it IS a book about my in-laws. Hopefully, I won’t be looking for a new family any time soon. On the first point, someone whose writing I really respect just told me she thought it was funny! Phew! Now, if the publishers think so…

2012 was an awesome year for Kilimanjaro and Beyond as it received many awards. One that I’m particularly proud of that resulted from the book and a subsequent interview on the Authors Show is that I was named to their list of “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading.” There is a book available on their site with essays written by each author on the list. That’s me 3rd from the left at the top!!

I was sorry to see 2012 leave but who knows what will happen in 2013?  There is one thing for sure: Life is never dull!

 It’s that time of year again when thoughts turn to giving a gift to a loved one. Why not give a gift of hope?  We have our Education for Africa project, which gives women and youth in Tanzania an opportunity to start small businesses. Every dollar we raise is matched 3:1 by the federal government. Just click on the “Donate” button on the right to donate securely to this project.

Please consider making your gift this year a gift that will help the less fortunate for years to come.

KILIMANJARO AND BEYOND (A Life-Changing Journey) ~ by Barry Finlay with Chris Finlay                                                                 ~

I loved this meticulous chronicle of one man’s ascent (together with his son and another individual fulfilling a lifelong aspiration), to the highest mountain in Africa ~ at once so inspirational and courageous, so human and humane, and so deeply personal that the reader feels they are climbing right along with this small and highly determined group.  I was so struck most particularly at how the author, Barry Finlay, shows how everything in his life had been significantly interrelated, from early childhood on the farms of Rapid City and the noble values  instilled, to the precipitating health crisis which led him to completely transform and repair himself physically, so much so that the ultimate trek seemed an inevitably from the very beginning.  “I am sitting here because of everything that has come before.”

The writing style is so personal, filled with richest detail of all the steps leading up,  perfectly interspersed with comments from Barry Finlay’s son and best climbing friend as the 2 scaled the mountain, together observing changes in blood pressure, oxygen levels, avoiding altitude illness,   confronting points where it just seemed impossible to go on, and the culminating victory of arrival at the summit bearing the flag, signed by 200 glorious names, who had supported their dual purpose journey of not only climbing to the summit but raising funds to build a classroom and to restore clean water for the heartbreakingly impoverished children of Tanzania’s Mwanza.

This is a story of victory and renewal, of overcoming of every obstacle, of determined physical and spiritual renewal ~  the heart and substance of which can be applied to any challenge the reader may be confronting in their own life, and certainly if one is interested to climb Mount Kilimanjaro themselves, every detail from the choice of right tour guide to thorough descriptions of all that one needs to make a successful trek up, is richly shared with the viewer.  For truly, one feels as if they are indeed viewing the whole climb, experiencing the breathtaking majesty, facing the awesome “unknown”, and coming to new attitudes about life and precious existence in the eternal now, far more than just reading.

I highly recommend “Kilimanjaro and Beyond” ~  to all who seek to rise above limitation in their lives, or to simply partake in a most wonderful, transcendent and exhilirating  journey, for as Barry Finlay shares with us, there is nothing that cannot be overcome nor achieved with right determination and preparation.  Yes, Kilimanjaro…And Beyond!  A life changing experience!!!

By Reverend Dr. Linda De Coff,  Author/BRIDGE OF THE GODS, A Handbook for Ascending Humanity, The Golden Pathway to your Highest God Self!

Founder/New Thought International, Inc. (An Association of Global Centers for World Peace and Enlightenment)

Thanks to everyone who voted, we made it to the Author’s Show’s list of “50 Writers You Should Be Reading.” The shiny red medallion on the right has changed to reflect that! This has been an amazing year for our project in Tanzania and for Kilimanjaro and Beyond and I am grateful for everyone’s support. It couldn’t have been done without you!

A complete list of winners is available here:

http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShow50Writers2012-VoteClose.html