As the end of our first month arose and we returned to our sweet retreat in Banos, a quiet little tourist town in the middle of the mountains, where my team felt lead to come and pray over the town earlier in the month. This town is a cozy and artistic town that welcomes wanderlust wonderers of the globe along with Ecuadorians seeking a weekend refuge from the bustling city life. Presently, we are overjoyed to be able returned to this town that has captured our heart, but are also excited to welcome our sweet team mates, squad leaders, squad mentor, and squad coaches. We have all come filling the streets of this tiny town to relax and debrief over this month before we head onto Peru!
My team arrived to Banos a day earlier than the rest of the squad and were able to stay with Dr. Wes and Donna King, one of the contacts God placed in our path along the way our months ministry of Unsung Heroes. The King’s are a fabulous couple that we were so blessed to spend time with, they shared their life stories with us and the grand adventures God has taken them on. Dr. Wes is a man of many gifts and talents, one of which is using rocks to make art. Within the gates of his property is a garden of rocks and tropical plants that welcome you to explore, relax and listen to the ragging river below.
On Saturday night as we enjoy our last day of ministry and time with the team before being reunited with our squad the following evening, we gathered together in the rock garden with a camp fire. William our team leader, brought his guitar out and played some worship music that some of us joined in with singing along praises to our king under the mountains and stars that surrounded us. As the month had progressed our team had gone through quite a bit of hardships and refining, that brought out things that we needed to leave behind in Ecuador, and we found this night by the campfire was the right time.
Earlier in the week, there had been discussions of labels and limitations set upon us by ourselves and by the world that are holding us back from accepting everything that God has for us. My team mate Sally had a splendid idea to write down labels on pieces of paper, speak the label aloud and replace them with a truth of the Lord, then place the paper in the fire to burn away that false identity. What a great picture to resemble what God does in our lives, we speak what we need forgiveness from and things that are not Christ-like in our lives and He burns it away. In the burning away, the fire is hot and its not comfortable but in the end we are more beautiful for it.
During our time by the campfire, I felt lead that we leave an Ebenezer of how God has helped us through our time here in Ecuador. This thought came from my church back in college, Cottonwood Baptist Church in Dublin, TX. We would write on a rock how the Lord had helped us and give a testimony of His great work in our lives following we would place the rock in the garden as a symbol of His great work and blessing. This idea comes from 1 Samuel 7, the prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines and fearing for their lives. The Israelites asked Samuel to pray protection for them in nearing the battle. God Listened! The Israelites won the battle and after they retreated to their own territory. 1 Samuel 7:12 says, “ Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’’. From this my team mates and I wrote something on a rock and shared how the Lord has helped us in this month then we threw our rock into the ragging river near us.
For me, my Ebenezer, said, “Trust”. The Lord, has been showing me that He has everything I need. He has everything everyone in my family needs and my own ability will greatly lack compared to His. That I can let go of the feeling that things I do are the only way things are going to work out the way they should. Also, trust that what He is working in will come to fulfillment in His timing and my pushing is not going to change that. I am also learning to trust the things in my life that I cant control..( other people lol) not only here on the race but at home. To let go and know He will take care of all the details!
Then the sun arose on Sunday morning to chatters of excitement as we were on our way to an adventure with our Squad Leaders, to go repelling off of a waterfall called Chamana in the heart of Banos. As I stood above our first waterfall my focus was on encouraging those around me, as many of you know I enjoy these types of things and work with ropes at my job back home. Then it was my turn to repel down this waterfall that appeared more ragging as I looked over my back on the path I was about to take. I took a deep breath, telling my self that this is going to happen and its going to be great! As I navigated down this waterfall the guide indicated that I needed to move to my right where there was a huge wave of water that was taller than me, and I looked at the guy perplexed … is he serious…. this wave is going to shove water up my nose!! But, I did get through the wave with lots of water up my nose and a great, you did it face from the guide looking down at me!
As the day progressed with hiking, a water slide waterfall, my feeling were all over the place and my mind was reeling, trying to decide how scared I was and how much of my concern can I show. Then came the 44 meter tall waterfall we had heard about and been waveringly anticipating. I sat back and watched as each one of my friends was preparing for what was to come and as fear absorb their faces following looking down the waterfall. Then the guide said jump and all we heard was a scream and then silence. From above the waterfall we were not able to see what was about to happen, we could see that the solid ground we were trying to get to was not close and the water we were standing in was rushing off the edge of the cliff. The struggle was real and I did contemplate walking back up to the main road, but one of my friends said she was scared but found herself safely on the ground below, so I felt compelled to follow through with this and fully trust that if my friends made it safe so will I. So, the guide said take a big jump 1. 2. 3. and I DID!! I was free falling backwards off of this waterfall looking up in panic to then have the guide put a break on the rope and my breath taken away at the beauty of what I was in! I was being belayed through this gorgeous waterfall with my friends cheering me on from below. It was one of the most incredible, beautiful, and adventurous moments of my life!
From these last couple weeks of our month in Ecuador, I have learned that accepting the Lord’s plan, trusting the Lord, jumping off the cliff, and be willing to free fall into His arms will most likely be scary and take away my breath, but be absolutely worth it!
Thank you so much for following this journey with me! Thank you for your prayers for Ecuador and I pray you will continue to follow and see what God is going to reveal in Peru in a few days!
God Bless you!!!
Love
Christina
