Thursday Hike {Spring 2013}

Though we were busy most days working in the school and the guys on the construction project, a crew of us took Thursday off to hike to a local village.

Our crew ready for the hike, with Rosinda
(second from right, standing), our Tarahumaran interpreter

The plan for the day was to hike to the village about 2 hiking hours away, distribute the supplies/care bags that we had brought for the women, and do activities with the children there. The guys had to take turns carrying the 60-70lb backpack (filled with our supplies) up the steep hill.



Ben scrambling up the steep slope with the pack and Cy taking his turn with the load 

Looking down as we hiked-- on the bottom left you can see our
cabin; on the right - the green house, and top center - the goat pen

Basically, our hiking route took use straight up the slope from mission and across the mountains. As you can well imagine, the view was spectacular. I'll let these pictures tell the story...



Daniel hauling the heavy pack

Notice the road to the mission, winding down the hill

Rosinda, our guide and interpreter -- she hike all the way in these sandal, which are the traditional Tarahumaran
sandals, made and worn by many of the native people



One of the more rigorous parts of the hike



 After trekking for about 2 hours, we met up with a group of Tarahumaran people who had hiked from their village to meet us. Right along the trail, we stopped to hand out supplies, bracelets, and candy and do activities with the children.

Once again, I'll let our many pictures portray the beautiful Tarahumaran people, the children who captured our hearts, the activities we did with them (bubbles, paper airplanes, string games, running games, etc), and the special time we spent with the people there...

Hannah and Raessa doing string games

Mom and I giving out bracelets

Beautiful, grubby faces!

Daniel handing out goodies

Blowing bubbles

Handing out the care bags we had packed and brought for the women

The bags we handed out had basic items such as soap, bandaids, antibacterial ointment, socks, hairbrushes, shampoo, toothbrushes, baking soda, etc.  We also gave the children bags with socks, hair brushes/combs, and a toy each. (Thank you to everyone who donated items and helped pack them! You touched lives and brought smiles to many faces.)

This pictures just makes me smile :) One of my favorites.

Her I am, blowing bubbles with these precious little girls-- just look
at their radiant smiling faces; these children find so much joy in
such small things! 

Mom doing bubbles with some of the boys

 

One special part of the trip, was when we decided to have lunch with the people gathered there. None of them had brought any food with them, so we decided to share ours with them. When we gathered everything we had together, it was amazing how much food we actually had. Together we had enough to share with everyone.

 

"Doggy, doggy, where's your bone?" game with some of the kids

"Red light, green light!"

We ended our time playing a few running games with some of the kids and then making bracelets. After that, we said goodbye and headed back to the mission, our hearts overflowing with the special experiences of the day.

As the saying goes, "Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more!" This couldn't be more true-- the more love you show others, the more you are filled with love and joy and are shown so much love back. As soon as we met up with the Tarahumaran people, many of the people came right up to us and greeted us with their traditional "Quida" greeting and brushing of the finger tips. They were so warm and friendly. And then as we spent more time with them, it was evident that even though we were giving them physical things, they were giving us so much more with their grateful hearts, bright smiles, and loving spirits.

How is it that those who have so little seem like they have so much, even more that we have? On this trip, I came to realize that when we rid our lives of all the chaos and material things, we can experience Christ so much more deeply and closely. These people are void of almost everything in life. They have nothing. Thus, they have room for Christ to fill their lives and find all their strength in Him. He is all that they have! This was my second trip to Mexico and when I go down there, I experience a new kind of joy and peace that I struggle to find in my comfortable life at home. It is beautiful to see how Christ is able to completely fill every need in one's life and heart. Those Tarahumaran people who have come to call Christ their Savior have found something that is worth more that any earthly treasure or material possession. They are so rich.