“walk to the coffee shop on the corner, order a small coffee and say Charlie”
November 18th-22nd
Hey all! This week was hands down the most unique week on the race. I want to apologize in advance, this is going to be a long post. This week was the craziest adventure and I want you to experience it all!
Monday: In the morning, some if us went to our favorite little café for breakfast. It has some of the best waffles and coffee, I’ve had on the race. It was a treat after a grueling and tiring week. Also, I had the chance to call my dad, because it was his BIRTHDAY!! This week was unique because 16 of us were going to go see Machu Picchu. It was the first time in three months that we were going to be separated from part of our squad. After breakfast we went back to the YWAM base and packed. Some of us decided to take the bus to the airport, to catch our flight to Cusco. We safely made it to Cusco and to our hostel. A good nights sleep was in order, knowing the next two days were going to be insane.
Tuesday: 6:00am. Wake up and get ready for a long day. We ate breakfast at the hostel and got ready to leave at 7am. We pilled onto the bus ready for a 6 hour long bus ride to Hidroeletrica. With Jules next to me, we slept, eat and admired the spectacular views. Just in case anyone is wondering, Jules is a pretty great bus buddy. Lol. We stopped for a ‘light’ Peruvian lunch, it was not light. Then continued on our journey toward Hiroeletrica. About 20 minutes after we stopped for lunch, we hit a traffic jam. We were all very curious to why cars were at a stalemate. Well, a bridge had broke and were stuck. The workers originally told us we were going to have to wait three hours, instead it was about an hour. They rigged the bridge well enough for the passengers to walk over the bridge and then the cars able to drive over it. It was gnarly and definitely raised many of our blood pressures. We arrived to Hiroeletrica around 4, about and hour behind. We arrived and began the 11Km hike to our hostel for the night in Machu Picchu Pueblo. It was a flat hike with tons of views and tons of nature. The beauty of God was portrayed in every turn. I had the opportunity to experience the vastness and simplicity of nature with Jules. Her and I are much faster walkers than the rest of our group. It began to get dark around 6, which added a new layer to this crazy adventure. We arrived at our hostel around 6:30, sweaty and ready for a hot shower. Also, ready for a good nigh sleep because Wednesday was going to be even crazier.
Wednesday: 5:13am, wake up! We had to be downstairs ready for breakfast at 5:30am. After breakfast, we were supposed to leave at 6:00am, instead we left at 6:30, to go buy bus tickets up to Machu Picchu. Some of us decided to only buy bus tickets one way because we were going to hike down. I was one of those crazy lunatics. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu and let me tell ya, that was a view and a half! We arrived, stamped our passports and saw Machu Picchu!! I never fully understood why it was a Wonder of the World. It is not only a wonder but a mystery. It was incredible and took my breathe away. To put the cherry on top, we had the privilege of seeing THREE couples get engaged. Many of the girls cried at these total strangers getting engaged, I may have laughed in the moment, but it was pretty cool looking back. We had the opportunity to go down and walk through the walls and see the llamas! The history of it came alive in each breathe our tour guide Vickey spoke. It was unreal!! As we exited, the lunatics and I meet up to hike down. I became an even bigger lunatic and decided I was going to run down this 2Km hike. I arrived at the bottom and waited for everyone to walk back to the hostel for lunch. We arrived at the hostel at 11:45 and had to begin the 11Km hike can to Hidroelectrica at 12. Many members of our squad wanted to take the train back to Hiroeletrica instead of hiking. I decided against taking the train, mainly because I was too stubborn. I grabbed a quick lunch and hit the trail. So, what I’m about to say breaks a Race rule, I hiked alone. I was not completely alone, I had fellow hikers alongside me, that I got the chance to meet and talk too. The first was an American couple and the second was an English couple. They both were incredibly nice and it was the first time in three months I felt alone. It was the greatest breathe of fresh air, literally. Physically my body was hurting and pretty sore, however Mentally and Spiritually this was exactly what I needed. I arrived back to Hidroelectrica at 2:00pm. The train that the others took, didn’t arrive until 2:10pm. We had about 40min to chill and rest before we got back on the six hour bus ride back to Cusco. Let me begin to say, the bus ride back was awful. I was so dehydrated and nauseous, and the turns made it so much worse. Thank God for Jules being a hero and once again the best bus buddy. We sat in the very front of the van, and I am almost positive that is what kept me from throwing up. Around 9pm, we arrived back in Cusco and ‘walked’…hobbled to our hostel. My head hit the pillow in my room and I was OUT!
Thursday: This was a day to recover and enjoy a day in Cusco. I chilled at the hostel until noon, then went to a coffee shop and had brunch. After brunch, I had the privilege of going and watching Jules get a tattoo. I can now say, I’v seen someone get a tattoo. After that, we walked around Cusco and then found a really cheap place for dinner. It was actually really good and that is something I’m going to miss about South America. I am going to miss cheap food that is actually really good!! After we got back from dinner, I decided that my night was going to conclude watching a movie and eating Oreos.
Friday: 8:00am wake up call! I woke up and got breakfast at our hostel. The lady who ran our hostel has the gift of hospitality, she was so willing to love on us. It made many of us feel so loved and welcomed. It may have not been the nicest hostel, however her hostel spoke so much more! We left for the airport around 9am. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11:30am. We boarded smoothly and were on the plane ready to take off. Then, the fun and this day begun. We were told to get off the place because they had to do maintenance checks. We sat in the Cusco airport, waiting patiently for a decision on our flight. We sat there for 3 hours until they made a decision to cancel our flight. Anna, Megan, Chloe, Paige, and I grabbed everyones passports and ran upstairs to try and get on a flight either Friday night or Saturday morning. As we stood in the very long line waiting for our turn to see the Customer Service Agent. Chloe had an idea, an idea that saved us so much time! Chloe texted her mom all our itineraries and had her book all our flights via phone. If Chloe’s Mom is reading this, THANK YOU!!! YOU SAVED US SO MUCH TIME AND WERE A HERO!! When we got up to the counter all we needed from the lady was for our bonding passes on Saturday Morning, a hotel for the night, and food vouchers. The lady who took care of us, was a trooper. She had been working for 24hrs and spoke incredible English. After she had taken care of us, she informed us that we were her best customers she had the entire day! It honestly made my day, it made my day to know that being nice and kind is always the right choice. Also, I am pretty sure she gave us the best of the best because we were nice to her. After we finished taking care of logistics, we took taxis to our hotel. Let me tell ya, GOD IS GOOD! He gave us a four star hotel and a three course meal for dinner! He gave us this incredible gift and we were all beyond thankful for God and the ways he blesses us. From sleeping on plywood for twelve days to sleeping in a cloud. This Race was/has been wild, you never know what God is going to do next. After dinner, I went back to my room and put on the TV! Yes, TV! I put on basketball and watched the 76ers play the Spurs. I am not a fan of either of those teams, however it was the first minutes of sports I’d seen in three months. Before bed that night, I got on my knees and thanked God. Thanked God for the last three months and each blessing he has given me, both big and small.
Thank you for taking the time to read this! I know it was super long, however it was the craziest adventure! I ask for continued prayer for me, as I have to make decisions in the near future. I ask for prayer for both of the churches in Ventanilla. I ask for continued prayer for the country of Ecuador, for God to restore the country. For God to bring his presence to the people! I ask for prayer for Dunamis and the girls they pour into daily. I ask for prayer for Gina, Dan, and Savannah that they continue to minister well to the girls, as well as each team that comes to serve! I also ask for prayer for Camp Hope and that they continue to bless each child of God!! I also ask for continued prayer for Pan de Vida and the work they are doing there. Thank you and God Bless.
-Ben
