Most people who know me, know that I like to go on walks or a hike every now and then but I’m not super into exercising or being really active. Life on the race is pretty much the same but some days I find myself in situations where I have no other options. This past week I have faced two of the most physically straining experiences of my life.
Let me tell you about our travels from Santa Cruz to La Paz. After about 5 hours on our super fancy bus, we noticed that the bus stopped for what seemed like a traffic jam. It was around 1 am so we just went back to sleep and didn’t think much about it. At 6 am, we woke up to find out that a bridge had collapsed and our bus would not be moving forward anytime soon. And by soon, they tell us it could be a week before they are able to get the bridge fixed and buses moving on the road again. We quickly realized that the only option we had was to walk and cross the bridge on foot and then find a bus on the other side to take us to our destination. So at 7 am, we stepped off the bus into the rain, unloaded all of our packs from under the bus, and began our supposed 5-kilometer trek to get across the bridge. Everything around us looked like scenes from the South American version of the Walking Dead; masses of people abandoning their cars, trucks, and buses and walking endlessly to unknown destinations. Every person we asked said the bridge was at least 2 more hours away and I was considering leaving all of my belongings behind. I was wet, tired, sore, and everything about the situation seemed hopeless. As each step became more difficult, I would simply pray. “Lord, give me strength. Keep my muscles working.”
After 3 or so hours of walking (a majority of it was uphill), we finally got to the bridge. It had in fact collapsed; with a milk truck on it. Workers were in the process of pulling the truck out of the river when we got there and crossed on the small pedestrian bridge. Unfortunately, there were not buses waiting for us on the other side of the bridge to take us to Cochabamba. (We had to go through Cochabamba in order to get to La Paz) We walked for probably another hour or so until we even saw a bus. And remember, we have all of our stuff with us. My big pack weights about 42 pounds and my daypack and purse together weigh between 25 and 30 pounds. So I’ve been carrying around at least 65 pounds on my back for going on 4 hours at this point. We found a few buses and that gave us a glimmer of hope. We made a pile of our stuff on the side of the road and then Rose and I went to try to track down a bus that could take 8 people plus all of our bags (3 hours in the opposite direction that most of the buses were going, no less). We got turned down a lot. The bus was either too full or they were still going to try to cross the bridge that no longer existed. We finally found a 7-passenger van going in the right direction. The driver was reluctant to take us but he agreed to after we told him we were missionaries. Rose and I practically got in the van before he could change his mind. Miraculously, we were able to fit all 8 of us in the van first and then our mountain of bags in the middle and on top. Even though the final 3 hours to Cochabamba was very squished and uncomfortable, it beat walking all the way there. Wet, hungry, and exhausted, we made it to Cochabamba where we then had to get on another bus for 7 more hours to La Paz. Praise the Lord, we did not have to get off or walk any part of the last leg and we made it to La Paz, 32 hours after leaving Santa Cruz. (Funny side story, when we flew out of La Paz on our way to India, we had to stop in Santa Cruz for fuel. It took us less than an hour to fly from La Paz to Santa Cruz.)
A few days after our grand travel day, we were invited to go hiking by some of our Bolivian friends in La Paz. The most important thing to know about La Paz is that it is the highest capital in the world. The center of the city sits around 13,000 feet above sea level and the city is shaped like a bowl around the center, rising to over 14,000 feet on some sides. We had been in La Paz for three days and my muscles had recuperated from our last adventure but my body was not quite adjusted to the altitude still. I was taking altitude pills at least once a day but even the four flights of stairs up to my room at our hostel made me pant like I had run a marathon. Thus when we left for our hike, I was somewhat worried. They assured me though it was only like a 20 minute hike after a half hour taxi ride to one of the highest parts of the city. The original plan was to watch the sunset but it had been cloudy all day so the sunset was more of a sandwich in between the western mountains and the clouds. Still it was astonishing and we were only at the beginning of the hike by the time the sun set. It was definitely more than a 20 minute hike. Our Bolivian friends might have been able to do it in 20 minutes but they could have basically run the whole way. For them, it seemed like we were at sea level rather than the same altitude as Pike’s Peak. Several times I wanted to quit because it felt like I had needles in my lungs. I even asked if they would just leave me to rest until they came back down. But the Lord spoke through Nancy to remind me that He is the one who sustains me and gives me every breath, no matter the elevation. We took it pretty slow because of the altitude but it also became a perfect reason to take lots of pictures! And as usual, the view from the top was definitely worth the climb!
As difficult as life can be at times, some times all we can do is pray for strength and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t give up and trust in the Lord to sustain you!
“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.”
Psalm 54:4
Photo credit: Phil Kittelson
P.S. I am currently waiting in the terminal at JFK airport in New York waiting to board our 14-hour flight to India!! Asia, here we come!!!
