After hiking straight uphill for over two and a half hours my dear friend Wendi Freilich jokingly made the comment, “If you know anything, you take the shuttle.” For our first day off from ministry we decided to ride in the back of Pastor Manuel’s pickup truck to Mombacho, a nearby dormant volcano that we read about. At the base of the volcano we had been told what the additional fee for the shuttle bus was and, thinking the shuttle was merely a friendly option for inexperienced hikers or those who couldn’t handle the typical climb, we politely declined the offer for a ride in favor of ascending the volcano on foot. After all, we were there to hike and we weren’t about to take the easy way out just because we were Americans.
Much to our chagrin, we later found out that everyone takes the shuttle. We finally realized why the guide at the bottom of the volcano looked at us with bewilderment when we told him we would rather walk instead.
Needless to say, several shuttle buses full of comfortable tourists and native Nicaraguans passed us on the precariously steep hills as we trekked onward to the top of the 3,500+ foot volcano. I won’t speak on behalf of all the girls in my sisterhood, but I will say that I am personally glad that we – albeit unnecessarily – experienced the full range of exhaustion that those who rode the shuttle were exempt from experiencing.
After reaching the summit of the volcano we paid for a guide to take us deep into the Nicaraguan jungle on the Puma Trail, a tedious path that we rushed to complete in a total of two hours, roughly half the time typically allotted to complete the trail. Weary after already climbing straight uphill for two and a half hours before the Puma Trail, our tired bodies were thrilled to hear from our guide that the Puma Trail is relatively flat. However, surprise awaited us yet again as the trail turned out to be a wonderful combination of endless stairs and steep descents on slipper, moss-covered stones through the heart of the jungle.
One of our team leaders, Esperanza (Hope), noted how this seemingly impossible hike that lasted nearly five ours (not including our descent back down the volcano) was highly symbolic of our spiritual journey. Many times all we can do is look at the path directly under our feet because God knows that if the entire trail were revealed to us at once we would become overwhelmed and remain inactive due to fear.
As Wendi said, “If you know anything, you take the shuttle,” but I think during our hike we all learned that sometimes it is better when we can’t see the whole picture and all we can do is ask God to lead us each small, sometimes excruciating, step of the way. After all, sometimes it’s fun to be a little foolish and dive in head first without knowing where God is leading us.
