Wet and wild ride!

When I first heard about this little hike I thought it sounded alright (though the beach sounded MORE fun). When my beach option fell through I decided to go with the group on their hike. There were two options… #1: Drive to a place about 40 minutes away, drop all our junk and take 2-3 hour hikes to different places. #2: Drive 45 minutes to Vilcabamba and hike 6 hours WITH all our junk to a refuge. Guess which one I wanted to do. If you picked number two… you know me well. If you picked number one, you know the guys I went with very well. Because Carolynn and I were outnumbered 5 to 2, we went on the 6 hour up hike with all our junk. BUT the guys said they would be the pack mules.
Even so, I did not realize what I was getting myself into. I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally got there (1 hour straight up, 2 hours pretty flat and another 3 hours up), but that was short lived as it began to rain and I mean RAIN for 5 hours. So that 6 hour hike UP became a 4 hour hike down a slippery muddy slope.
As we slid down after one another through muddy water, I learned something… how to follow. I am not a good follower. I think that somehow my way is better. This thought quickly disappeared as I thought that I somehow knew better than the person I was following and dropped into a soupy mess covering my shoe in mud and filling my socks with water. If I put my foot where he puts his, I’ll be ok. If I decide my way is better, I’ll end up knee deep in crap. Does that sound like my walk with God or what?? You have to know and trust the one you are following. If you know that that person wants the absolute best for you, you know that where they walk will be the most secure.
Though I’m sitting here today sore as can be, it was a good hike… I got to see God’s majestic creation and learned a thing or two about following.

If you want to see some pictures of the beauty we saw (and craziness of carnaval), click here:
pictures of carnaval