Huairasinchi

I wrote this up the day most of us got back (4 Nov. 2007). It took two more days for the rest to make it back to Quito. No injuries apart from a few scrapes and blisters but some very tired team members.

The experiences of the past few days are ones that I am having a hard to fitting into words. They encompassed hundreds of kilometers, involved landscapes whose dimensions and beauty defy capture and description, and involved hundreds of lives, many of them indelibly marked.

Those indelibly marked include a handful of young people in their teens and twenty’s whom El Refugio has been training over the past six months to run control points for this race. These young people are Christians who have demonstrated a strong desire to learn more of God’s creation and the skills needed to survive in and enjoy those places less frequented by humans. The group ranged from those who hold leadership positions in their churches to some who would be considered at-risk youth.

The race began from Cotopaxi national park touching 15,450 ft. before wrapping and winding down to the jungle ending at 5,000 ft., 200 kilometers later. Challenges included rain, snow, cold, and altitude. One of my companions stated that he never would have imagined that he would have the chance to be up that high and that close to the mountain. In spite of the discomfort he was amazed by the landscape and God answered his request for snow our second morning. Later, as we spent most of a day driving from one location to another he confessed he had always stayed at home and was getting to know much more of his country than he had before. Several of the others also had their first experience with snow and were also overwhelmed by the settings God fashioned for them whether by sunlight or starlight.

This morning we had the joy of meeting an elderly Christian gentleman who gave us a history of how the truth of God’s word came to the small town we stayed in despite much persecution and how that from there it had spread to many surrounding towns. His passion to see Jesus preached as the Way, the Truth, and the Life was very evident. The importance of this message and the impermanence of life were driven home as he told us with tears that a mudslide had killed a very close friend of his along with three others this morning due to the heavy rains last night.

It was fitting that these young people hear and see that God’s people are at work even in remote parts of their country. During our debrief last night they shared how even in the little interaction they had with the race teams they desired to share their love for God even in small ways like a “God bless you” as the teams departed. The desire to serve in whatever way possible and do every task with excellence I believe also was a visible difference.

The challenges of the race are not yet over though the last team crossed the finish line this morning about 9:00 am. While writing this I received a text message that one of our checkpoint teams is still on its way out of the jungle. The team on a point closer than them walked 12 hours to get out. After that it’s a 4-5 hour drive back to Quito.