Hiking Day

I would have to say, that today was one of the hardest physical experiences I've had. Jess and I along with about 14 others, hiked down a mountain into the valley into a rushing river. It has been raining a lot in the afternoons, so the water was really high and the current was really strong, which made this trip even more dangerous. There wasn't a set trail for this excursion, we just bushwhacked our way down and up. While down at the river, we had lunch and sat in the sun for a while and then Pastor Don ( the head pastor of a church that is here on an outreach) spoke. He was so good that Raul (boys sport site leader) asked him to speak at an outreach in the community that we did tonight.

Going into this hike, I had white tennis shoes. They are a lovely color of brown now, and so heavy from all the sand stuck in them. The way up was the worst, my calves burned the entire time and I almost didn't think I was going to make it. Raul had warned us about these poisonous plants that had spikes on them, and I made sure to stay clear of them, or so I thought. All of a sudden I felt this awful burning sensation in my leg right below my knee. I was like, "hey uhh Jess, my leg is burning" Raul heard me say that and quickly went into Man vs Wild mode. He said that there were bubbles of venom from the plant in my knee, so he used a cactus needle to pop them and squeeze it out of my skin. I took it like a man :)

But I had been noticing all that day that a couple of my bug bites were getting larger and were radiating heat. Jess seemed a little concerned, and said that if it gets worse we need to tell the doctor. On the way back from the hike, I told Raul that my knee was still hurting and he said that there was still more venom in there. I haven't had a chance to go the doctor yet, so just pray that I get a good night's sleep tonight :)

Even with all my cuts, scrapes, and bruises I'm glad I did it. I will be doing it two more times when I'm here, so I better get used to it. :)

Seeing God's creation in a whole new way always shows you how powerful he really is. I took some pictures and they will definitely be on facebook soon!