Today began early as I went around and woke everyone up at 7:30. Well, some were already awake, but I wanted to make sure that they were up and running. By 8, everyone was downstairs eating breakfast. After a brief devotional and “orientation”, we loaded up and headed to the bus station.
We got our bus tickets,
hopped on the bus and headed to Huaraz/Yungar.
We rode up on a greyhound type bus, on the second level. The ride was smooth, and without any
incidents. It took us 8 ½ hours to
arrive in Huaraz. They even fed us on
the bus. Not the best food in the world,
but we didn’t need to stop for lunch.
The gentleman seated next to
me was a world traveler (David Mellor).
A man in his early 70’s, he has climbed 6 of the 7 highest mountains in
the world, and has climbed mountains on every continent. He crossed the Atlantic in a small 2 seat
plane. He has biked from LA to the Key
West… The stories went on and on. When he first told me he was a climber, I
told Jeff, and we ended up changing seats.
Over 2 hours later, Jeff returned to reclaim his seat, and I returned to
my seat. Interestingly enough, we both
had the opportunity to talk about Christ with him. As I talked with him, I sensed a
“disinterest” in recognizing God as creator and as a loving Father who is over
all.
As we arrived in Huaraz, we
took our bags from the bus and loaded them on another bus and truck for the 25
minute drive to our hotel in Yungar. We
arrived, unpacked, and then headed to dinner.
We had a bowl of pasta, ground beef and soup base. It was delicious. Stephanie thought that was the end of the
meal, but the servers returned with fried chicken, French fries, and
vegetables. Dinner was awesome! They also introduced the team to “coca tea”,
a wonderful tasting drink that helps with altitude sickness.
After dinner, we had a
leaders meeting to discuss the schedule and events for the next few days,
followed by a meeting with the kids to let them know what the plan was and
encourage them to get ready for a great week.
Finally it was bed
time. After such a short night last night,
I am anticipating a much needed full night of sleep.
Thought for the day: As I talked
with, or should I say “listened to”, David talk, I was left amazed by the
multitude of experiences he had. From
the boat rides and races to the mountains and treks he has taken, from the 600+
skydiving jumps he made to the bike trips and numbers of times he had been to
various places, you couldn’t help but wonder if he was for real. How could one person live all of the adventures
that this man shared with me.
Yet, as we talked, I sensed
an amazement and an awe with the creation, but a lack of interest in the
creator. He seemed more interested in
experiencing life and seeking the next thrilling story, but when it is all
over, what ultimately will he have?
I pray that if Dave doesn’t
know Christ, that God would draw him to himself. I pray that the history of “religion” and the
various beliefs around the world would not hinder him from coming to know the
only and real God. I pray that as he
sees the majesty of the creation, that it would cause a wonder about the
creator.
God help me to be bold
enough to share with those like Dave that have seen so much more of Your work
of creation than I have but still haven’t seen Your glory. Help me be willing to push past the “disinterest”
to be able to present Your glory in a way that others might receive and
understand. Help me be a testimony of
the glory of Your grace to the world around me.
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