Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in blogs. its really hard to get good wifi here. This specific blog I’ve tried to upload a total of 5 times unsuccessfully. Anyways lets jump in! 🙂
Friday the 27th we went out on our adventure day. We had a full and exciting day planned. We walked through a big dark tunnel where you can’t even see your hand in front of you. Went to the Thermas ( hot springs ) On the side of a mountain by a volcano. Hiked a little to a water fall, Then we went horse back riding up a mountain. It was a great day for sure! But little did I know, God had a lesson planned for me.
I have never been on a horse before. Most of my life I’ve actually been afraid of them. When I was younger one of my friends was killed in a horse accident. But I was not going to let fear hold me back from having a new experience with my team… Or so I thought.
The day went on and we had an amazing time! All day though I was unsure of how I felt about the horse ride drawing near. I really wanted to do it, but I couldn’t deny that I was also a bit scared. I was determined to go into it confident though because I know horses could sense your emotions and I didn’t want to scare the horse. All day I joked about how I wanted the old, fat and slow horse. Trying to make light of my fear of getting a wild horse.
The time came… We were going horse back riding later then we had originally planned. The sun was Slowly starting to set but there was still enough light for our hour ride. We walked up to the horses, I was the second one to be placed with a horse. I was on my best behavior, I greeted the horse and was remaining clam. The horse was staying still and I was feeling confident. Then the horse stared to walk away from the group while everyone was still getting on. I realized I had no clue how to stop this horse, or really how to make it do anything.
I was told to say stop and pull back on the reigns. The horse listened for a second and then started to walk away again.I told him to stop again and he did. Once everyone was on their horse we went out the gate to the street. My saddle was very interesting to say these least, it wasn’t a real saddle and it was moving around. As we went on I was still just trying to be calm and enjoy the ride and I was, until… My horse leans its head down into a ditch to eat some plants, the angle it was eating at was making me fall forward. I thought for sure I was going to fall off. I held on and pulled back on the reigns. The horse lifted its head and shook it around and took off running towards the group. I told him to stop and pulled back on the reigns again trying to slow him down, He shook his head again and wouldn’t stop. As we caught up to the group again my horse ran over to the ditch again and flung forward to eat. We stayed on this pattern for a few minutes he would walk me into trees or lean into ditches to eat, and then go running and get mad if I tried to stop him.
*Keep in mind I have ZERO experience with horses* It was getting to me and honestly I was on the verge of tears. I was officially scared. I called out to my friend from Chile Steffi and said “ I can’t ride this horse, I want to go back” I felt incredibly defeated. I wanted to be able to just ride the horse, not be afraid and have a cool adventure. But instead I had a crazy horse and was scared out of my mind. Steffi sweetly replied “we can switch horses, mines calm” She told the guide in the front what she was doing and started walking back towards me to switch. As she did the second guide Camilo, who is good friends with Steffi’s dad and had actually been with us all day. Asked her to see if I wanted him to help hold my reigns. She told me he wanted to help and I said yes without hesitation. As he came over and grabbed my reigns he smiled and started talking to me, only he was speaking in Spanish. I told him I only knew a little and I didn’t know what he was saying, He chuckled a little nodded and kept talking and pointing out cool things like the mountains and neat buildings as we made our way to the path.
I could tell that he was just trying to get my mind off being scared, it was very sweet but I honestly felt a little embarrassed that I couldn’t control my horse or the fear I started to feel and was now being led and calmed like a child.
But it was in that moment that God began to speak to my heart.
Even though I was a little embarrassed and shaking off the fear I was feeling, I started to feel at peace. My horse was still being crazy but now when he tried to go off path and go running like crazy Camilo was there to calmly and expertly bring the horse back in line. All I had to do was hold on and enjoy the ride. Another neat thing, as he led my horse Camilo was also watching everyone else on the path and when a horse strayed He would walk up alongside them and lead them back to the path. Even when a couple times that meant He had to walk up along the edge which was pretty creepy. Camilo didn’t want to make me feel embarrassed, He knew I didn’t know how to do this, he saw I was afraid and he wanted me to enjoy the ride, learn and get to see the view of the mountains at the top. So he came along side to help me where I was at.
God started talking to me about this is how our relationship is. We are on a path up a mountain. Sometimes I start to get confident in myself and my abilities and start to live life according to my will. But suddenly the ride gets crazy and I don’t know what to do, I don’t even know how to ask for help. But God in His steadfast love is always near and always watching. When its too much for me to handle on my own, God in His goodness is there to help guide me. He sees me as His child who needs help, not in a patronizing way but in a way of a loving of a Father. He’s there to talk to me and continues to talk to me even when I don’t understand what He is trying to say because God wants to communicate with us! He is there to keep me on the path that seems to steep and too scary, because he wants to see the view, learn to enjoy the journey, help others along the path. God is concerned about my character He wants me to finish well. He put me here for a specific purpose, He doesn’t want me to miss out on anything he has planned for me. That is the reason He keeps me on the hard, scary and narrow path. He wants me to live a life of fullness, to live life full of Him and all he brings, peace, joy, wisdom, love, compassion, justice, mercy ect. He also wants me to share it along the way, help others along the way.
I am a thinker. Sometimes I can get SO caught up on my situation and my problems and how big they are. That I, like the Israelites forget how big and how great my God is! How faithful he is. God is there in every problem, He can take even the worst situation and turn it for good.
So to finish the story,
As I was being led up this path I was able to be at peace knowing no matter how crazy my horse got I had Camilo there to help and talk to me in Spanish, which led to a lot of laughs because we could barely understand each other. But we made it to the top and it was beautiful! The sun was getting lower and it was that beautiful golden hue. We started to make are way down which was a little scary because it was steep and the horses would slide a little but I still felt at peace. Once we made it down, Camilo asked if I wanted to let the horse run back. I said yes and it was a lot of fun! It turned out to be a great experience all around. He jokingly said “since you decided to like it we will come back and try it again tomorrow”, I laughed and said “sure”. ( we didn’t really go back, it was pretty far away).
In closing I’d like to say,
If you are in a crazy, scary, hard situation or time in life, Know God is near. He is watching and He wants to communicate with you. He wants relationship with you. I challenge you to press into the hard things and learn to see God and hear God in the scary situations because He’s there! God is always there for you even when you don’t know how to ask for His help, even if you don’t “know” how to pray. Even if you don’t know if you believe in Him, He is there for you, He knows your heart and He hears your cries. Call on Him, you WILL see He is faithful!
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious in anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Thats all for this time but as always, please keep my team and I in your prayers! *Fundraising update* I still need $2000 to meet my next fundraising goal on November 30th. Please consider donating so I can continue on and continue to serve! Love and blessings :)Megan(:
Check out the photo’s below! 
Camilo and I
My Crazy horse and I
The views
