This past week my squad decided to hike the active volcano Pacaya. I thought that this was just going to be a fun little side trip after a few long weeks of ministry. First off I along with a handful of my friends rode a horse up the volcano knowing that we are not super athletic people. That was my first mistake. I felt so bad for every horse walking up the mountain because you could see the steam come off of them because they were so hot and the tour guides walking with us were also very hot and obviously tired. I can honestly say that I have never seen a horse sweat that much.
At the top you could climb down this hill into a crater with some hot rocks. By the time we got to the top a rain cloud had also covered the top and soon started pouring and soaking everyone and everything. The cold rain mixed with the hot rock created a warm smoky steam. After everyone had gotten their pictures of the breathtaking scenery our tour guide pulled out a bag of marshmallows and some sticks. We moved some of the cooler rocks off the top so we could roast marshmallows on the hotter rocks underneath.
Soon we were all freezing and in a hurry to leave. Then we had to climb back out of the steep slippery slope we had just ran down. As I was walking over to this hill I fell and scraped up my leg and arm a bit. The climb up this hill was very difficult for almost everyone. It was steep with loose rock and we were all very chilled. Many people were saying how the hardest days with the most work often have the best memories, and how true that is.
Between watching the horses carry some of us up to climbing back down I saw a great metaphor about how sometimes the top of the mountain is the hardest part. Because you have to work to stay on top yet there’s very little growth (vegetation) up there. Yet the farther down you go into the lows in life there were trees and bushes all around. This was very helpful during the last week of ministry when I was tired or sick and really couldn’t find joy is walking around passing out flyers for the soccer tournament or translating Spanish curriculum into English. I knew that even though it was hard I was growing in patience and actively looking for joy rather than just waiting for it to come.
