My stupidity- God's protection

One of my very good friends just recently said something like the following: "OK Deb, you like logic and you're usually quite logical. So, let me try to understand...you live in area that just went through a 6.8 earthquake, yet yesterday you climbed a volcano?!!! Where's the logic in that?" Good point Cerena! And my mom asked me the same thing before I left for this adventure.

Yes, I went up a volcano. Some poor horse carted me about 3/5ths of the way up, and then when it got too rough, we were let off and we hoofed it the rest of the way. As many of you know, I'm a camera/picture freak. The horse ride up the mountain was so bumpy and steep and scary at times, that I didn't dare let go of the saddle horn to take any photos while we were moving. Most people don't use horses, but I would've never made it without the horse. Between me being out of shape, having bum knees, and the altitude...no way! My $5 horse ride was well worth it! Two of my friends that joined me on horseback definitely agreed.

Speaking of horses, at the bottom of the volcano we could all hear a snorting sort of sound...kind of like the noise a horse or buck (deer) makes. We figured it was just some horses that were in the group ahead of us. Each group had a guide and about 20 hikers. Yet, the "snort" sound continued to build as we went up the volcano. It didn't take too much longer before it became obvious that the volcano itself was snorting...almost like a regular exhale of something really angry. Yikes!

After getting off our horses, we hiked some more, then we finally reached the bottom of the lava field. The lava field is a huge area....as far as the eye could see to my left, right, and beyond me...of gray/black rocks. No vegetation. The rocks/boulders have the texture of sponges, yet are very sharp and easily cut human skin. Yet, are much lighter then "normal" rocks of the same size. This also meant that a large rock that would normally look substantial, may not be substantial enough. Sometimes I kind of liked the strategy of figuring out which rocks and which path looked best. Sometimes I had to literally use my hands to pull up on some rock faces. The lava field seemed to never end. Once we reached a certain height, we could feel lots of heat coming from below- like a vent in the floorboard of a car- and the rocks were warm to touch. More than once I thought to myself....this is the closest thing to hell that I can imagine. The pictures in the previous entry show me sitting on some dried swirled lava, and other pictures show some of the active lava river. We watched as the lava tumbled down the mountain, sometimes quickly and sometimes in slow motion. It was quite a sight...one I'm not likely to forget soon.

But here's where's things became tricky. My tour left Antigua at 2:30pm. We arrived at the volcano (somewhat car sick) at 4pm ish. We reached the lava area (our destination)btw 6-6:30pm, and it started to get dark (remember that we're not on daylight savings time) and it started to rain. We knew that we'd quickly be in trouble if we could not see our way and see where to step on the rocks of the lava field. At one point, my right toe caught on one of the rough rocks as I went to take a step. I can remember the people around me gasping in horror as they were about to see me take a tragic fall. Somehow God kept my feet moving forward and I was able to regain my balance. Whew! We just did get off the lava field before it became dark...but we still had the wet steep trail through the woods for another hour to reach the bottom of the mt. The simple dirt trail had lots of ruts from rain run off over time, and lots and lots of roots that were easy to trip on, and rocks of all sizes everywhere. More than once I and others around me slipped on the wet trail, but none of us fell. Once I stepped forward onto a rock the size of a baseball, and I'm sure my legs looked like Fred Flinstone peddling his car as I tried to regain my balance. My guess is that my very experienced guide can tell who the most needy folks are...and she offered me her walking stick. I humbly and thankfully took the stick (that's rented to hikeers for 75 cents at the bottom). I can't tell you how much of a difference the stick made as we wound our way down this totally dark trail. The stick was like another set of eyes to tell me where I can and can't step...and like another leg to help me keep my balance. I never once thought that we'd be coming off the mountain so late...and out of the whole group only one young married couple had tiny but bright flashlights. I was so glad they were right behind me! Honestly it was quite treacherous, dangerous, and scary getting off that mountain. You may think it strange...but I believe God provided for the stick and the people with the flashlight behind me. And just like the guide that could tell which person would need the extra help of the stick....God also knows what I need and when I need it, and then He provides it. Among my many prayers as I was coming down, I told God that if He allowed me get off this mountain safely, then I promised I wouldn't do anything this stupid for...humm...ahhhh...mmmm...at least a month :)
In retrospect, I guess I'm glad for the opportunity for the experience...but it was pretty stupid too. I risked my health, my knee (with 4 previous surgeries), and ultimately the mission that I know I've been called to. I just didn't know what I was getting into. Yet, in my stupidity, God provided.