THE PRAYERS OF A GREAT EXPLORER
Roald Amundsen was born in Norway. When he was a young boy, he loved to think of himself growing up to be an explorer. Reading of the lives of great explorers sparked within him the idea of going to places where no man before had ever set foot. At the age of eight years, when other boys were playing simple games, Roald was hardening his body and climbing dangerous hills to improve his ability to meet the challenge he knew he wanted to face in his future. When Roald was very young, he would often ask, "Mother, why did God make such lonely isolated outposts in the world while so many other things are so beautiful?" His mother, a wise peasant woman, would wrap him on his head with her thimble and tell him not to question the ways of God. His mother wanted him to become a doctor, but Roald held fast t...