Standing on the Mountain of God

WOW! What a weekend it was---but I'll get to that in a minute :)

Last week we had no school on Tuesday, so the ladies at our school all threw a baby shower for both my assistant and Mr. Lara's wife.  We all pitched in helping with decorations, games, and more.  We had the celebration at the private hot springs and we all dressed up for the occasion.  The games were in Spanish but everything went smoothly and both mama's to be were very thankful!  Sonia is due on June 3rd, so I continue to pray that I can meet her little boy before I leave; that'd be very special to me!

This weekend Amy, Kiley, Kristi, Tabitha and I set out to hike Mt. Celaque, to the highest point in Honduas; Cerro Las Minas.  We hired a guide through a hotel here in Gracias, and were given camping supplies as well.  At 5:30am on Saturday we were picked up by a driver who took us about an hour and a half away to San Manuel.  Most people hike the mountain straight up through Gracias and back down the same way, but we decided to go over to San Manuel and hike up and then hike back down through Gracias--we were turning a normal 3-day hike into a 2-day hike.  We were greeted in San Manuel by our guide. Santos, and from there we hiked about 2 (hard) hours to where his family lives.  His mother cooked us breakfast which we had paid for, and it was delicious: coffee, tortillas, eggs, beans, cheese, and spaghetti.  

Before we left Gracias Kiley had asked me if my knees were going to be okay from hiking so much (if you don't know I have really bad knees).  I usually associate the pain I get only when running, and I hadn't thought of bringing my brace or anything.  I had a gut feeling I was in for a long trip, and that I was going to have to fully depend on God to get me up and down that mountain.  After breakfast we started our journey to the camp we would be staying at over night, Campamento Quetzal.  Two of the girls decided to take horses up instead of hiking, so we somewhat ended up with 3 guides; Santos, and the two men guiding the horses, as they would be walking back down the mountain after getting us to our campsite.  Our group of girls were encouraging to one another and switching off and on with the backpacks to help one another out.  The hike up was long and rugged and tough, and my knees were in pain from the beginning.  Kiley had cut off her t-shirt sleeves to use as headbands, but we cut them instead the our guides machete and I tied them around my knees to put pressure on the pain.  These were lifesavers for me.  We reached camp at about 4pm.  We hiked down to a spring (not sure if it was an actual spring or still setting water still) and filled our water bottles.  We then set up our two tents while our guide got us a fire ready to cook dinner.  We made hotdogs, spaghetti and baleadas over the fire for dinner.  It was really cold on the mountain, and it soon began to rain, and then hail! It was crazy!  We were all exhausted from the day, so we just sat around the fire playing small games with our guide and then we headed to bed by 6pm, crazy!  

We woke up at 5am and made breakfast and cleaned up camp and then headed out for our 2 hour hike up to the tallest peak in Honduras--so exciting!  My one knee was feeling okay, but the other knee was not doing well at all.  But we made it up to the tallest point, 2,849 msnm, and it was indeed gorgeous!  It was definitely worth the rugged and steep hike.  God is good, and His creation is amazing!

We started back down the mountain, and stopped at a "spring" again to fill our waters.  Kristi had this laser light zapper for purifying the water or something that we had used the night before, but this time she couldn't find it right away, so Kiley and I ended up drinking a little of the water from the spring itself.  We then began our 6 or so hour hike down the mountain.  It was slick and slippery from the rain, and there were many unbelievably steep and scary spots.  Also, going down hill on the knees creates even more pressure on the knees and this is what I experienced the entire way down.  My one knee got to the point where I couldn't hardly bend it to even walk, and my right leg was supporting the majority of my weight.  I had to step down a certain way or the pain would be excruciating.  I have never fully depended so much on God, so I am glad I knew that the only way I was getting down that mountain was by His grace and love for me.  You would think I would have become numb to the pain, but I didn't, and the constant pain with each step just got worse and worse over the 6 hours.  I broke down a number of times crying, but I told myself it was okay to cry.  I was determined to make it down, and I kept reminding myself that God is so much bigger than the pain I was feeling.  But WOW, it was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting.  My one leg soon began to give out often from so much weight on it, and I was slipping and falling often, but I made it to the bottom of the mountain, and gave all the praise to God.  

Kristi's husband Shannon picked us up from the Visitors Center and drove us home.  I can tell you I have never been this sore before, and my knee is still hurting, but it was definitely worth the adventure!  Last night I went to bed feeling very sick and I thought I was going to puke.  I slept it off for about 2 hours, when I woke up and puked 7 more times throughout the night and early morning.  I felt so awful, and I knew I couldn't go to school today.  My body is so exhausted from both the hike and puking, and I hardly have the energy to move.  Kiley ended up coming home from school too, and we are thinking it might be from drinking some of the spring water or something.  Today has been long and lonely, but I am able to keep down gatorade and am hoping to eat something here shortly and keep it down as well.

Our adventure was every bit exciting and every bit worth it, regardless of the struggles we faced throughout it and still face now.  God is good, and I am very thankful we finally conquered Celaque!