Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 5

Today is Saturday, and due to Fausto’s son getting married today, we will not be working at the center.  So the leadership met last night and decided to go on a brief hike up the mountain behind the church.  Fausto told us it would take about an hour to arrive at the top, so we figured it would be a 3 hour experience.  However, as I was talking with Richard, I was confident it would take us 5 of 6 hours, as things here in Peru never take as much time as they say it will.

After breakfast, we headed off for the mountain, leaving Richard at the hotel.  The group seemed positive and excited about the trek, but it didn’t take long before the “newness” of the experience wore off.  The funny thing is that we really didn’t know what trail we were going to take, but since the mountain rose over 1,000 feet above us, it was easy to find the top from anywhere.  We followed trails – especially those with cow/donkey poop, as we knew those trails had to be easier to get through. 

It was hot, the climb was long, the trail was not always easy, and we took a number of stops along the trail.  On one stop, we took time to listen to Kelly and Carl share their testimonies.  It was a great break, and it was awesome to hear their stories.  Eventually though, we had to continue on to the top.

After nearly 3 hours of climbing, we arrived at our stopping point.  The view was beautiful – overwhelmingly so.  Across the valley from where we were standing at 11,000 feet were a number of other mountains, one reaching over 20,000 feet above sea level.  The snow capped mountains were a beautiful sight, and we took time to be amazed at the power of our God who created it all.

We took time for some videos and pictures, and then headed down the mountain after a time of prayer.  The trip down was much easier than the trip up.  The kids were thankful as we took the road down and enjoyed walking through small villages as we worked our way to the bottom.  The total time of the round trip was just under 7 hours.

When we returned, we took some time for cleaning up, resting and then had dinner.  After dinner we did our daily wrap up.  I love hearing the kids talk about the things they learn, the ways they experienced God, and rehearsing the experiences they had.  It truly is my favorite part of the trip.

Tomorrow we will be going to church in Yungar and Huaraz, and then will be taking the night bus home.  It’ll be a long night, but I pray that the team will be able to rest and be ready for Monday.

Thought for the day:  On the way up the mountain, some of the kids found themselves complaining about the difficulty of the trail we were taking.  I fully understood, because the elevation, the steepness of the climb, the many sticker bushes, etc.  made the trip very difficult, .  However, this evening we spent some time talking about the fact that we eventually made it because we all pushed through the difficulties that we had encountered and eventually reached the top and were able to see the glory of God in a way that we never could without the difficulties we encountered.

My thought was, how many times in life do we miss out on the wonder and amazement of seeing God in an unusual way because instead of pushing through the hard things we take the easy way out.  We quit too early.  We are satisfied with the simpler, less satisfying things, and we miss out on the greater experience of God.

God help me push through the tough times, knowing that you will never give me more than I can handle, and that you will use the hard things of this life to shape me into being more like Your Son.  Help me settle for nothing less than seeing You on the mountain tops, and desiring more than just the easy things of this life.