So, when you got out into the wilderness and get lost several things happen to you. Suddenly a sence of desperation comes upon you, your sences heighten, you realize how easy you have it at home lol, and you start to realize how much you actually depend on God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Me and three other former racers (Ryan Stewart, Colby Gardner, & Phillip Cron)whent to Cherokee, NC to go backpacking in the backcountry. We saught out adventure and boy did we get it! We had to hike 6 miles the first day because we started on something that looked like a trail but actually wasn't. So after we went down one side of the ridge, my friends Colby and Phillip got about 40 hornet stings between them because one of them stepped on a nest. After that we decided to go back to the top and try a little further. Well, the ridge eventually just turned into brush, so we followed common sence and headed down to where we herd water and had to hike down a 45 degree incline all the way down to a creek bed. The creek bed is where hiked the last 4 miles of the day.
Thankfully Colby had a GPS that worked without having phone service. This was Definitely God's grace. The whole time I was singing praises in my head and eventually needed someone to help pray for peace. I was going nuts between the darkness and stumbling over rocks and getting snagged by lymbs and branches. After reallizing how tired we actually were we decided to make camp on a steep bank for the night. BTW hiking on a river bed at night is intense, but God definitly granted me peace when we prayed for it. Normally when im out in the woods, i'll admit, i get a little scared but now it was a combonation of God's grace and just being to tired to be scared lol.
The next morning we get up around 9 and hike about another half mile and finally get to our trail around noon!
We found a camping spot and got settled in. That night we were really able to bond as brothers in Christ Jesus. Lies were exposed, men were encouraged (me), and God revealed himself through some heavy prayer, and I think he might have big plans for me in South Africa. Through this experiance I can say that God showed me that relying on him is about the smartest thing you can do in any dangerous situation and to never loose faith. When we were hiking and I was singing praises in my head, if i ever got distracted or started singing some other song, almost automatically the trail got rougher and I would start to stumble and get snagged or stung buy the branches and plants and rocks. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ in your time of need. He's there, He's listening, and He will answer!
