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When we left our base camp in El Carmen, Ecuador this week for the village of Higueronas, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.  At least somewhat.  I knew that we were going to a remote place that would require a long journey (2 hours by bus followed by a 3 hour mule ride), that we would be doing hard labor to help build a bathroom with limited supplies, and that we would have few, if any, luxuries.  But now that we’re on the other side of the journey, I’m so grateful that I didn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into.  Because if I had, I would probably have chickened out.  And I would have missed one of the most challenging, and growth-spurring, experience of my life…at least thus far.


I’ll spare you the many details of exactly how difficult it was, and focus in on this:  the journey.  God taught me a lot about journeys this week.  And you know how he did it?  By making me walk. A LOT.  And not just walk…it turns out the 3 hour mule ride was actually a 6 hour hike through the jungles of Ecuador.  Up the sides of mountains.  In knee-deep mud.  In the middle of the night.  If that wasn’t exhausting enough, after waking up early the next morning and helping build the bathroom, I was asked to translate for a small team going to a funeral in the next town that afternoon.  Did I mention the next town was another 4 hour hike away?  So again, begrudgingly, I donned my mud boots and we set out. 



 

Now, what I expected to be a grueling physical challenge was exactly that.  But what I didn’t expect was the way the hike would challenge me, and transform me, spiritually.  Let me put it this way:  when you’re trudging through knee-deep mud in the Ecuadorian jungle during the hottest 4 hours of the day, barely able to take a step without slipping into the mud, crawling over hill after hill, your legs giving underneath you more than supporting you, you either have your own misery or the Spirit of God to keep you company.  And I have never experienced his Spirit, or dependency upon his Spirit, in a more physically tangible way than I did that day.  The journey became a living object lesson about life.  With each step, I was crying out to God.  My dependency on him became more and more real and desperate…until suddenly I was flooded with a new understanding of some very simple truths:

 


·         “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.â€�  Philippians 4:13


·         Never underestimate the value of good traveling companions.


·         All other ground is sinking sand.


·         When God tests us, it’s not so HE can see what we’re made of.  It’s so WE can see what we’re made of.  


·         “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If


either of them falls down, one can help the other up.â€�  Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12


·         Do not follow blindly


·         He sees the road before you.


·         “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.â€�  Psalm 23:2-3


·         “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?  My help comes  


from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip – he


who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will  


neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD watches over you – the LORD is your shade at  


your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD  


will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over 


your coming and going both now and forevermore.”  Psalm 121 


·         In my weakness, he is strong.  (2 Chorinthians 12:9)


·         “It was then that I carried you…”  (Footprints, unkown author)


·         Sometimes you just have to wade through the crap.  Smile


·         It takes fire to refine. 


·         God knows your limits.  He is beyond them.


·         One step at a time. 


  

I also want to share the lyrics to a song that God laid on my heart during our trek.  I’ve heard it a million times before, but this time it came alive with new meaning.  (Side note…this all started when I looked down at my mud-soaked pants that I have to carry around the world with me for the next 9 months, and my first thought was:  “God, you can make all things new!â€�  So yes, he does use the small things to speak to us.  Smile)


“Shadowfeet� by Brooke Fraser


Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
towards home, a land that i’ve never seen
I am changing; less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began
And I’ve sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day

[CHORUS:]
when the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and the mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through
I’ll be found in you

There’s distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
but I’ve heard rumours of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

[CHORUS]


You make all things new


You make all things new

You make all things…you make all things


[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2:]
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I’ll be found in you

 

The story doesn’t end there…I have so much to tell you about what God did once we arrived!  But that’s for another time…stay tuned.  🙂