Day 4

“Emma…Emma…Are you awake? … Emma?”

The voice of Juma, our porter, woke me each morning. On the morning of day 4, I had no intention of getting out of my sleeping bag. While I knew we had an early start, I was done.

When I finally opened my eyes, I realized Juma had crawled inside my tent. 😂 “Emma… Emma… I’m going to help you pack up your bag. Please get up!” I wasn’t sure if that was enough to get me up, but Juma was determined, and I eventually joined the team at breakfast. Someone asked the group, “How is everyone doing this morning?” There were various answers: 6…7…8…9…great sleep and a 10! Then, all eyes were on me, and I began to cry again.

“I have nothing today. Emotionally, physically, mentally… I’m a zero.”

I couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering me, but I knew something other than exhaustion from the previous day’s hike was the culprit for my emotions. As we began to walk, it dawned on me.

Today was the Barranco Wall.

I had dreaded the Barranco Wall for months. When I first agreed to go on this climb, I had done some research (clearly not enough. Don’t trust YouTube Documentaries!), and the Barranco Wall seemed to be the most technical day as we scaled up and over a 400-foot rock wall. The previous fears coupled with my newfound fear of heights left me paralyzed. My tears could have filled the ravine as I cried the entire walk to the wall.

We reached the base, and with John on one side, Yusuph on the other, and Kayla right in front of me, they said, “You’ve got this. We won’t let you fall.”

At that moment, I could hear my dad’s mantra whenever we were afraid or angry, “Emma, who are you thinking about right now?” That phrase caused much frustration growing up because I usually was thinking of myself. In that moment, God reminded me to dwell on him. I told those around me to remind me to keep my eyes on the rocks rather than the cliffs and edges we climbed so dangerously close to.

Lesson #4 – Always keep your eyes up.

“Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God. For consider him who endured such suffering amongst sinners against himself, so that we won’t grow weary or lose hope.” Hebrews 12:2-3

We reached the top of the wall, surprisingly, one of my favorite parts of the climb. My watch clocked 623 feet of elevation gain. After sitting for a well-deserved snack break, John asked me, “Emma, are you ready to continue?” To no one’s surprise, I asked for two more minutes and then got ready. We had to cross a ridge and descend into a ravine before climbing back to the top of a second hill. While this sounded easy enough, the journey always took longer than expected. As John and I walked, I didn’t even realize we had left the rest of the team behind. We hiked and talked for about 20 minutes before Yusuph caught up with us. After catching us, Yusuph exclaimed, “I can’t believe you left without me!”

John, Yusuph and I hiked for over 3 hours, only stopping once for a break before the final hill. As we walked, we talked about everything God was teaching each one of us on this journey. I explained the fear I felt in the morning and how God was renewing me and filling me as I gave my worries to him with each forward step. John quietly hiked in the lead, leaving just enough distance that I was unaware he was listening as I spoke. When I finished sharing, he said, “Emma, God is using your journey to teach me something right now. I didn’t know if you had it in you this morning, but God is proving me wrong as I see him push you on. Your journey is strengthening my faith.” 

Lesson #5 – We never know when someone is watching. The way we walk matters.

“I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” Ephesians 4:1

I was the first to camp that day. The rest of the team arrived 45 minutes later. We ate dinner, laughed together, and shared stories from our day. At this camp, the clouds cleared away after dinner, and we had the most beautiful view of the city 14,000 feet below.

To Be Continued…