Off days are much needed while in full time ministry. We need time to relax, hang out with friends, and do something adventurous. While we were in Ecuador, most of our off days included going to the city and shopping. However this month, we have decided to be a bit more outdoorsy.
Peru is basically the desert. It is dry, hasn’t rained once, and is covered in sand. Visible from the roof of our house are “mountains”, which are pretty much just HUGE piles of sand. On our last off day, we met up with some of the guys on our squad and hiked the sand dunes. The way up was extremely difficult: We had to go a decent distance on sand (killing the muscles in our legs), but then the mountain turned into huge rocks. The whole way up, I was wishing I had one of those little bags of powder on my belt. It would have helped… and I would have felt really legit.
Once at the top, the view was incredible. I could see the entire town, the sea far off in the distance, a graveyard, and of course more dunes. We sat, catching our breath, and enjoyed the view. It wasn’t long before we were rested and ready for the decent.
There’s a catch though: The dune was so steep that we could not simply walk down… We had to run down. My friend Kyle instructed us on the correct way to make it down the dune, and he was off. He had to have been running 30 miles an hour because it was pretty much a very controlled fall. I watched,made mental notes, and then took off myself.
With my legs moving faster than my brain, I made my way down the dune. I wove from side to side in a zig zag pattern, attempting to avoid falling. As my friends were cheering me on, I “ran” faster than I ever had before. I was approaching the bottom and when I neared, I saw that there was a large ravine that I would need to jump over. Kyle was screaming, “Jump! Jump here!”. So, I did just that. Only, my muscles were so tired from the run that all I could do was smack strait into opposite side of the ravine. Mouthful, shoes full, and body sore, I climbed to my feet… Feeling accomplished.
Once everyone made it down, we walked until we found more dunes to jump off of. Everyone started doing tricks: flips, spins, face plants (that was me), and much more. I have been cleaning sand out of my ears and nose for 3 days now… Who said we were too old for sandboxes?
Awkward Family Photo at the Sand Dunes… The mountain behind us is the one we climbed
We found Pride Rock. I think this is how lions sleep?
Looking good a the top!
May He be the cornerstone… And all the filler bricks as well!
