Day 16 in Ecuador

Wow. That about sums up today in one word. Since Wednesday's attempt was cancelled for inclement weather, today was the day that we decided to climb Pichincha. We got up fairly early in the morning and left la Casablanca around 8:30. We took a Teleferico, which is a Gondola, up to the top of one of the mountains in Quito. Once at the top, we started our trek to the top of Pichincha, which was around 10:00 am.

The top of the mountain where we took the Gondola too was about 12,000 feet above sea level. We were hiking to a point that was about 15,000 feet above sea level. As you can imagine, the altitude made this hike very strenuous. The first hill alone about wore us all out, but we kept moving along. We stopped at around 11:30 to eat lunch and were a little more than half way there. After lunch came a very strenuous part of the hike. We finally made it to the top at around 1:00 pm. The hike took us around 3 hours which Patrick and Anna said was a very good time.

This was the most physically demanding hike I have ever done. The hills we had to go up were so much worse due to the fact that breathing was difficult. There was in inward battle inside of me. Part of me wanted to stop and go back but the other part of me desired to get to the top of the mountain. It was so worth it to complete that hike. Standing on top of that mountain was a feeling like none other. What we had to go through to get there made us all feel very accomplished.

Our view at the top of Pichincha.

For me, this whole trip was a reflection on this upcoming summer. When I was at the top of the mountain, I went off on my own to a rock to stand on. The wind was blowing fiercely and I sensed the presence of God around me as I stood in awe of his Creation. Before we had gone off on my own, we had read scripture mostly about the greatness of God and how He is always with us. As I was standing on that rock, I realized that any "mountain" that I would have to face throughout the summer I would be able to go through because I serve a God that's love is never ending and that's power is stronger than I could ever imagine. This moment gave me so much courage for this summer and helped to calm the fears and anxieties that I have. 

I wish I could have stayed up on that mountain for the whole day. You could not see anywhere around past the rocks because the clouds were surrounding us. It was a very unique experience that I will never forget. We eventually made our way back down the mountain much quicker than it took coming up. We took a Gondola back down and after stopping at the supermaxi for dinner, made our way home. 

The rest of the evening consisted of cooking dinner, relax
ing after a long day, and watching a movie. As you can see from the pictures, today was an amazing day. Though the pictures don't do it justice, I hope that you are able to see just a little bit of what I was able to experience today. Praise God for the many wondrous ways that He works and for the many forms of encouragement that He sends down. God is so, so good.

Dios Bendiga,

Nich