Higuerones. Ever heard of it? I
hadn’t until now. While going over our month of ministry, Elmer
discussed the possibility of a mission trip to Higuerones…a mission
trip within a mission trip, so to speak. All I heard him say was
“deep in the jungle,” “up mountains,” “riding mules”…and
I was sold along with the rest of my team. It
went from Elmer asking us if we were interested, to us begging him to
make it happen. Soon plans were being made and a date was being set.
When the Bible says:
Delight
yourself in the LORD,
and
he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm
37:4 ESV)
it
wasn’t kidding. We CHOSE to be joyful when we weren’t getting what we
wanted and delighted ourselves in God and look at what happened.
It
seemed like it would take forever to get to Tuesday the 15th,
but in reality it came so fast it punched me in the face. “Joel!!!
Wake up, we have to eat, pack , buy rain boots, and be ready to leave
in an hour!” So that was at 9a.m…at 4p.m. we left. Due to a
series of unfortunate events that happened with team Grace Under
Fire, our partners on this endeavor, we got a bit of a late start.
Which wound up not being to bad because it gave me and Robby time to
finish the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. When we got to our
transportation I realized that our 2 hour bus ride turned into 2 and
a half hours piled in the beds of two trucks. After a long drive
full of bumps, mud, and pushing trucks up hills, we got to our
majestic steeds. As I looked at our mules I noticed the numbers
didn’t quite add up. There were 14 Americans, close to 10
Ecuadorians, and 4 (that’s right 4) mules…not really what I was
wanting to see. By this time it is around 8 p.m., darkness had
closed in and we were being serenaded by the music of the jungle.
seemed like it would take forever to get to Tuesday the 15th,
but in reality it came so fast it punched me in the face. “Joel!!!
Wake up, we have to eat, pack , buy rain boots, and be ready to leave
in an hour!” So that was at 9a.m…at 4p.m. we left. Due to a
series of unfortunate events that happened with team Grace Under
Fire, our partners on this endeavor, we got a bit of a late start.
Which wound up not being to bad because it gave me and Robby time to
finish the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. When we got to our
transportation I realized that our 2 hour bus ride turned into 2 and
a half hours piled in the beds of two trucks. After a long drive
full of bumps, mud, and pushing trucks up hills, we got to our
majestic steeds. As I looked at our mules I noticed the numbers
didn’t quite add up. There were 14 Americans, close to 10
Ecuadorians, and 4 (that’s right 4) mules…not really what I was
wanting to see. By this time it is around 8 p.m., darkness had
closed in and we were being serenaded by the music of the jungle.
Now
before we left for our little adventure I had briefly stated that we
got up and went to get rain boots. We were told that they would be
good to have, but not in a way that deemed them necessary. Lets just
put it this way, they were VERY necessary… So let this be a
warning for any future Racer who might wind up there, BUY RAIN BOOTS.
before we left for our little adventure I had briefly stated that we
got up and went to get rain boots. We were told that they would be
good to have, but not in a way that deemed them necessary. Lets just
put it this way, they were VERY necessary… So let this be a
warning for any future Racer who might wind up there, BUY RAIN BOOTS.
We
begin our supposed 3 hour walk and as we turn the first corner my
headlamp gives me a 10 ft glimpse of what I have just gotten myself
into: a steep hill with horizontal ruts from excessive mule use, in
each rut is a watery, sandy, mud mixture the consistency of quicksand
that will eat your boot if you are not careful…let the fun begin.
2 hours later the fun ended. It is safe to say at that point we
started realizing how much we were going to be tested, after we
trudged for 2 hours and were told we still hadn’t made it half
way…up and down hills, knee deep mud, deep jungle, wading through
rivers and still a ways to go. Taking a break to eat some
lemon/oranges (looked like oranges, smelled like oranges, but tasted
like a lemon and an orange had a baby) picked right off the tree, we
collected ourselves and continued to push through. When the clock
struck 1a.m., as I was trying to avoid the poisonous centipede on the
trail, I heard a sound that at the time was music to my ears…the
sound of a generator. Finally, civilization. 5 hours of intense
hiking later we made it. I felt an instant relief, but all in all
this experience wasn’t too bad for me. Honestly, it was right up my
alley…call me crazy but I ACTUALLY enjoyed it. For the majority of
everyone else it wasn’t quite the same, morale was low, tensions &
attitudes were high, and personalities we clashing. People were
done…done physically, done mentally, done emotionally, and all I
could think to myself, “This is what we asked for…”
begin our supposed 3 hour walk and as we turn the first corner my
headlamp gives me a 10 ft glimpse of what I have just gotten myself
into: a steep hill with horizontal ruts from excessive mule use, in
each rut is a watery, sandy, mud mixture the consistency of quicksand
that will eat your boot if you are not careful…let the fun begin.
2 hours later the fun ended. It is safe to say at that point we
started realizing how much we were going to be tested, after we
trudged for 2 hours and were told we still hadn’t made it half
way…up and down hills, knee deep mud, deep jungle, wading through
rivers and still a ways to go. Taking a break to eat some
lemon/oranges (looked like oranges, smelled like oranges, but tasted
like a lemon and an orange had a baby) picked right off the tree, we
collected ourselves and continued to push through. When the clock
struck 1a.m., as I was trying to avoid the poisonous centipede on the
trail, I heard a sound that at the time was music to my ears…the
sound of a generator. Finally, civilization. 5 hours of intense
hiking later we made it. I felt an instant relief, but all in all
this experience wasn’t too bad for me. Honestly, it was right up my
alley…call me crazy but I ACTUALLY enjoyed it. For the majority of
everyone else it wasn’t quite the same, morale was low, tensions &
attitudes were high, and personalities we clashing. People were
done…done physically, done mentally, done emotionally, and all I
could think to myself, “This is what we asked for…”
This was taken the day we left, so imagine this when you can only see 10 ft ahead of you.
Have
you ever hiked for 5 hours, gotten in at 1 a.m., and been woken up to
roosters crowing at 4a.m. so loud that it sounded like they were
actually in the house? It’s not the best, I can assure you. Mix that
with the humidity, the pigeons scraping around the loft/attic thing,
and the unknown bugs landing on me at night…that is the formula to
Joel not getting the sleep he needs. As soon as I feel like I am
asleep enough to actually start dreaming (i’m pretty sure I dreamed
of a Zaxby’s Wings and Things plate), I feel someone shaking my leg
and telling me to get up. It was 8 a.m., and there was a full day of
labor planned for us. We ate our breakfast, which consisted of crispy
rice and a spoon full of tuna fish, in a portion that would anger a
toddler, then split into our teams. One team was digging a trench for
the bathroom in the house while the other, the team I was on, was
tearing down a building to turn the scraps into a new church. The
first half of my day was hard, but it was soon going to get harder.
The clock struck 2 p.m. And the next chapter of my journey began.
you ever hiked for 5 hours, gotten in at 1 a.m., and been woken up to
roosters crowing at 4a.m. so loud that it sounded like they were
actually in the house? It’s not the best, I can assure you. Mix that
with the humidity, the pigeons scraping around the loft/attic thing,
and the unknown bugs landing on me at night…that is the formula to
Joel not getting the sleep he needs. As soon as I feel like I am
asleep enough to actually start dreaming (i’m pretty sure I dreamed
of a Zaxby’s Wings and Things plate), I feel someone shaking my leg
and telling me to get up. It was 8 a.m., and there was a full day of
labor planned for us. We ate our breakfast, which consisted of crispy
rice and a spoon full of tuna fish, in a portion that would anger a
toddler, then split into our teams. One team was digging a trench for
the bathroom in the house while the other, the team I was on, was
tearing down a building to turn the scraps into a new church. The
first half of my day was hard, but it was soon going to get harder.
The clock struck 2 p.m. And the next chapter of my journey began.
Now
before we before we got this day started we began with a meeting. It
started with prayer, then some worship, and a debrief on the day and
what the plans were. Due to recent events that had taken place in
the last 48 hrs there was a need for another journey… a journey
that required 5 hand-picked individuals to be willing to…
before we before we got this day started we began with a meeting. It
started with prayer, then some worship, and a debrief on the day and
what the plans were. Due to recent events that had taken place in
the last 48 hrs there was a need for another journey… a journey
that required 5 hand-picked individuals to be willing to…
To
be continued… Until then here are some pictures I took to look through.
be continued… Until then here are some pictures I took to look through.
