[Tuesday, October 07, 2003]
Hola todas mis amigas y familia!
I really haven't said much about Spanish, but I have learned a lot since I've been here. I understand so much more than when I first came. I'm enjoying the learning process. On Tuesday after school, an older man from my church comes to the school. He helps me with Spanish for about a half hour and I help him with English. It's a neat opportunity. Anyways, onto other exciting things. My weekend.... my first experience rappelling and rock climbing ( or should I say cliff climbing.) Well, on the way to Valsequillo, I was able to see all 4 volcanoes! I saw Mt. Oresabe for the first time. The morning was beautiful. The sky was clear and the mountains looked like you could reach out and touch them. We also got to see the valley of Puebla. I never really realized how much we are in a valley. We were up about 8,500 ft above sea level in Valsequillo. Puebla is about 7,000 ft. So, we were up on some cliffs and it was gorgeous! It made me stop and think, "Lord, did you carve the cracks and crevasses in the cliff with your hands?" Well, first I did some yo-yo climbing. These are small routes set up near the base of the cliff. They don't go very high, but can be difficult. You have to find any little ledges or cracks you can to wedge your feet or hands into. It was fun. I did both yo-yo routes. Then, I decided I was going to walk the trail back up to the top and rappell for the first time. Let me tell you, it's a little scary to step backwards off the top of a cliff, even though you have a waist /leg harness that is hooked to you by and rope and that rope is hooked to the harness of the person at the top and that person has a rope tying his harness to a tree. The rope itself can hold 7,000 lbs. Nevertheless, it was scary. It took me a few steps to get used to walking down backwards on the side of a cliff, and I was nervous from the top all the way to the bottom, but it was great! I enjoyed it. At one point the cliff curved inward and my feet didn't touch, so I was just hanging in my harness, slowly letting myself down. Interesting I know. It may also sound dangerous, but the school takes this annual trip and from the nearly 8,000 students that have gone, there have been no injuries. It is a very safe sport when you have trained people in charge (which we did.) So, if the rappelling wasn't enough fear and thrill, I decided I wanted to climb back up the cliff. My goodness, does it make you nervous to climb 3/4 of the way up and look down. I just thought, "Hmm, I'm climbing up the side of a cliff. It's a long way down." The climbing up was scary (in a good way) and difficult. It took a lot of strength and energy. At one point, when I was about 3/4 of the way up, I just felt like I couldn't go any farther (as if I had a choice whether I was going to climb anymore or not. I had to either go up or down, you know) and I just prayed, Lord help me finish this. So, I waited a few seconds and got the strength to keep going. Boy was I shaky when I got to the top, but it was a tremendous feeling! Now, for a spiritual thought. Those of you at LBT know that around August, Pastor Hohman decided he was going mountain climbing and invited us to go with him. (Spiritual mountain climbing that is) Well, now I can understand a little bit more about how that works. I was all excited to start on my journey up the side of the cliff. I thought, "I can do this just fine." Then, not longer after I started, there were a few set-backs. The rope got stuck in a little crevace and wouldn't come out. (Kind of little how we sometimes get stuck in our Christian walk) After pulling and yanking, I was able to work with someone to get the rope unstuck and I was able to keep going. (Hmm.. kind of like how as CHristians it's hard to get through tough things on our own.) Then, several times on the way up, I'd get to a spot where it seemed there was no place to put my feet and I'd yell down to the people at the bottom, "I can't do it!" Then, they'd yell back up, "Yes, you can!" That was all I needed, just the encouragement from my friends. I really didn't want to give up and I knew I could go on, but I just needed the encouragement and support. (We all need that in our lives. Especially when we go through times when we just don't know what move to make next.) Then, when I got to that spot where I prayed, I knew I was almost there, but I needed some more strength. (Usually it's the hardest when you're so close to attaining your spiritual goal as well.We need to go to the Lord and give it to Him and let Him be our strength!) ) Oh, but then, when I got to the top- been through it all- had the scratches and a few bruises to prove it- I was so so so glad I didn't give up, that I kept on going! What a feeling- to make it to the top- to overcome the difficulties. Thank the Lord he is there with us through it all! For those of us who know Him as Savior- we can testify of all the things He's done for us, the strength He's given and the feeling of being victorious for Him! SO, I hope you all are doing well on your climb up the mountain. I KNOW it can be difficult- but when you get to the top, it will be worth it all! Love- Angelina
I really haven't said much about Spanish, but I have learned a lot since I've been here. I understand so much more than when I first came. I'm enjoying the learning process. On Tuesday after school, an older man from my church comes to the school. He helps me with Spanish for about a half hour and I help him with English. It's a neat opportunity. Anyways, onto other exciting things. My weekend.... my first experience rappelling and rock climbing ( or should I say cliff climbing.) Well, on the way to Valsequillo, I was able to see all 4 volcanoes! I saw Mt. Oresabe for the first time. The morning was beautiful. The sky was clear and the mountains looked like you could reach out and touch them. We also got to see the valley of Puebla. I never really realized how much we are in a valley. We were up about 8,500 ft above sea level in Valsequillo. Puebla is about 7,000 ft. So, we were up on some cliffs and it was gorgeous! It made me stop and think, "Lord, did you carve the cracks and crevasses in the cliff with your hands?" Well, first I did some yo-yo climbing. These are small routes set up near the base of the cliff. They don't go very high, but can be difficult. You have to find any little ledges or cracks you can to wedge your feet or hands into. It was fun. I did both yo-yo routes. Then, I decided I was going to walk the trail back up to the top and rappell for the first time. Let me tell you, it's a little scary to step backwards off the top of a cliff, even though you have a waist /leg harness that is hooked to you by and rope and that rope is hooked to the harness of the person at the top and that person has a rope tying his harness to a tree. The rope itself can hold 7,000 lbs. Nevertheless, it was scary. It took me a few steps to get used to walking down backwards on the side of a cliff, and I was nervous from the top all the way to the bottom, but it was great! I enjoyed it. At one point the cliff curved inward and my feet didn't touch, so I was just hanging in my harness, slowly letting myself down. Interesting I know. It may also sound dangerous, but the school takes this annual trip and from the nearly 8,000 students that have gone, there have been no injuries. It is a very safe sport when you have trained people in charge (which we did.) So, if the rappelling wasn't enough fear and thrill, I decided I wanted to climb back up the cliff. My goodness, does it make you nervous to climb 3/4 of the way up and look down. I just thought, "Hmm, I'm climbing up the side of a cliff. It's a long way down." The climbing up was scary (in a good way) and difficult. It took a lot of strength and energy. At one point, when I was about 3/4 of the way up, I just felt like I couldn't go any farther (as if I had a choice whether I was going to climb anymore or not. I had to either go up or down, you know) and I just prayed, Lord help me finish this. So, I waited a few seconds and got the strength to keep going. Boy was I shaky when I got to the top, but it was a tremendous feeling! Now, for a spiritual thought. Those of you at LBT know that around August, Pastor Hohman decided he was going mountain climbing and invited us to go with him. (Spiritual mountain climbing that is) Well, now I can understand a little bit more about how that works. I was all excited to start on my journey up the side of the cliff. I thought, "I can do this just fine." Then, not longer after I started, there were a few set-backs. The rope got stuck in a little crevace and wouldn't come out. (Kind of little how we sometimes get stuck in our Christian walk) After pulling and yanking, I was able to work with someone to get the rope unstuck and I was able to keep going. (Hmm.. kind of like how as CHristians it's hard to get through tough things on our own.) Then, several times on the way up, I'd get to a spot where it seemed there was no place to put my feet and I'd yell down to the people at the bottom, "I can't do it!" Then, they'd yell back up, "Yes, you can!" That was all I needed, just the encouragement from my friends. I really didn't want to give up and I knew I could go on, but I just needed the encouragement and support. (We all need that in our lives. Especially when we go through times when we just don't know what move to make next.) Then, when I got to that spot where I prayed, I knew I was almost there, but I needed some more strength. (Usually it's the hardest when you're so close to attaining your spiritual goal as well.We need to go to the Lord and give it to Him and let Him be our strength!) ) Oh, but then, when I got to the top- been through it all- had the scratches and a few bruises to prove it- I was so so so glad I didn't give up, that I kept on going! What a feeling- to make it to the top- to overcome the difficulties. Thank the Lord he is there with us through it all! For those of us who know Him as Savior- we can testify of all the things He's done for us, the strength He's given and the feeling of being victorious for Him! SO, I hope you all are doing well on your climb up the mountain. I KNOW it can be difficult- but when you get to the top, it will be worth it all! Love- Angelina
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