Cristo puede mover montes :)

This is basically a novel but it is for my self to look back on so forgive me for making it so long.. I think it is worth the read though.. great story of adventure and God’s protection. So yesterday afternoon around noon, 4 of us volunteers left to conquer Montgo, which is something that must be done for all who visit Denia, so we were eager to have an adventure and check it off our list. The first 2 hours were simply walking on a winding dirt path.. we passed a german biker and he told us that we had chosen the hardest route but that we didn’t have more than 2 hours to the top. Well 2 hours later we were beginning to ascend but were more worn out than we ever could have imagined. I kept thinking “this should not be the mountain of God, but the mountain of deception”.. every time we thought we saw the top we would get a little closer and there would be another peak.. this didn’t happen once or twice but at least 10 to 15 times. We were also running out of water but knew we were getting close. One of the girls with us decided to go back alone, despite us begging her not to, because she rightfully knew our bodies were wearing down.

We finally made it to the first peak and decided to go down the other way because it would be easier and faster as the sun would be setting in a few short hours. I think there were 4 summits total on the mountain so we began to try and make it to the final one (where the cross is) to descend.. but we soon found that there was no clear path connecting the summits. We looked for the path as we approached the cross because we were told it would be there, but it was nowhere in sight so the boy (surprise surprise) decided he could make a path that would get us down. As we began to descend the side of the mountain with absolutely no path God was screaming at me to turn around, and I kept screaming “hey guys! hey! I don’t think this is right! This just doesn’t feel right.” But as the saying goes “would you jump off a cliff if your friend did?”.. my answer was yes. I decided I would rather be headed somewhere dangerous with people then alone in safety at the top.

We soon found ourselves surrounded by rock face and cliffs.. above and below us. Neither the top or bottom were in sight. At first we tried to make it better and start hiking to the side but things just got worse. Our little adventure had turned nightmarish and fast. We were walking in full grown bushes for hours which came above our knees and completely tore us up, but we needed them to keep us secure from falling straight off the mountain. We were without water or food and knew with all the energy we had been using we wouldn’t last long. We finally sat down and by the grace of God had phone service to call Pedro, a very serious but sort of father figure at Alfa y Omega. He was very helpful and concerned but I figured there wouldn’t be much he could do. He made many calls including one to the Denia fire department and told us he would send help and that we just needed to make it to one of the peaks. So we began literally climbing rock faces.. i was so thankful for all my years of climbing the rocks at Lake Martin because this is exactly what we were doing over and over, expect without the water below. After some time and countless miracles of God.. including several honeysuckle patches which provided the very slightest refreshment, we reached an area we recognized to be the middle peak. We shouted for joy “Cristo puede mover montes!”

Our hike back would be 2 or 3 hours and the sun was setting in one and a half. I have never felt so much pain, thirst, hunger, and complete loss of strength in my entire life.. there is no way to describe the way we felt. I kept wanting a break but Toby (the 1 boy who was there) was screaming “I know your tired but we don’t have time, be careful but hurry!!” I can’t tell you how many times he had to remind me of this. We reached the final peak as the sun was beginning to set and we still had a good hour hike down. In the rush of things we somehow missed the path and were once again stuck! It really was a never ending struggle.

But we heard voices “Hola? Miriam!! Hola?” sure enough it was 2 guys from the church who know the mountain that Pedro sent.. we looked down and saw 2 ants (seriously ant sized) white shirts.. thus began our descent of “Daveed! (David), aquí (here)!” and before we knew it we could see him. He was a boy about 20 from the church and was able to help us find a way down.. there were a few occasions where we jumped a distance taller than me straight down, if the boys weren’t there me and miri never would have gotten down. When we reached the actual path we looked behind us and saw a rock wall that seemed impossible to have climbed.. it was complete miracle that God brought us down even just that part. When we arrived back there were 2 of our sweets friends waiting for us and so excited to see us back safe, they held me as I cried and we all prayed together praising God..which is just what I wanted and needed at that moment. I was also able to skype with mom and it was great to hear her voice and tell her about everything knowing that I was safe.

Thinking about it honestly makes me want to cry, I don’t think ill ever be able to laugh about it because it wasn’t a laughing matter it was a matter of fear and fearing God. We just kept saying “I CAN’T go any further” and then we would have to remind ourselves “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And I honestly believe without Christ we would not have made it off that mountain, we would have given up, sat down, and said “so what”, and maybe the next day we would have woken up and tried to conquer it but without food and water that would have been nearly impossible. We needed to get down immediately and we needed God to do it. And most importantly we needed His strength and He continued to provide that even when we doubted.

What I learned..
God really can move mountains.
I prayed that He would preform a miracle and give us water but that was not His will, and now I see why, because it truly taught me to appreciate what I have..food, water, a place to sleep, clothes to keep me warm, shoes to protect my feet, cream to heal my wounds, and most importantly people who love me beyond belief, that are not just in Alabama but the body of Christ all over the world, even people like David and Pao who I had never met.

I learned that life really can be like a mountain, if you make one mistake (knowing that it is wrong) you will have so much hassle.. and maybe you come out fine eventually, but maybe not, and if it is avoidable why do we put ourselves through that?

I also learned that the expression for hiking “one wrong step and your dead” is not necessarily true when hiking or in life. We were literally, and I mean literally, hanging off cliffs at many points, and if that saying were true I would not being sitting here writing this. I took many wrong steps and slipped, but as my heart would jump I would always land on a branch or rock or something, and this is the same as life. When we choose to take a route we clearly know God does not have for us we are going to have to be lost for a little while in order to find him again, but if we simply have a little mess up He will always be there to catch us if we are willing to acknowledge his presence and strength.

I learned on that mountain that God is sovereign. More than I have ever known. His power is beyond belief and His control in our lives is absolute, every moment is more than in His hands, it is His.

Before we were lost...

just beginning our "adventure" off the path and into the brush ...

Muchas gracias Dios!!! (please notice the mountain we dominated in the background... all by the hand of God)