Day Five - "Its worth the climb - keep going"

At an altitude of about 8000 feet, Machu Picchu, now one of the 7 wonders of the world!
Jen and I are not big into ruins and past civilizations but this was just amazing.

We took the bus up from our hotel and enjoyed the breath-taking drive up to the ruins from our hotel. The rest of our group left at 5:30 AM to see the sun rise over the ruins. I was not so eager so we took our time and left after 9 am. Unfortunately for my eager buddies, the clouds were too heavy and we were not able to see the sun until after 1 pm.
(Click on the picture to see it larger, pics can never do it justice but I hope you get a taste of its beauty)
We were told to do the zig-zag climb, that would give us the highest elevation to see over the whole ruin . . . we were ruined! To climb steep steps for what seemed to be a mile was not an easy feat, we stopped several times to catch our breath and give our body some rest. Jen has bone spurs in her ankles and every step was painful. . . we discussed walking back but she said, "we have come this far, . ."An American walked by us and said, "Its worth the climb, keep going". It was just what we needed. As we were arriving to the top, a llama jumped in front of us, it was so cool.

"Its worth the climb, keep going". Those words seemed so simple and yet so powerful. Its true that what separates success from failure is perseverance. It's not my favorite word for sure when I'm struggling, because it usually means hard, enduring work . . .but I love it too when I finally succeed. Sometimes all we need is an encouraging word, "Keep going", "You can do it", "Don't quit", etc. . . Afterwards we will say, "It was worth it"! Maybe you have been thinking of quitting . . .don't stop, its worth the climb.


When we finally arrived at the top we were just blown away. There were llamas and tourist from all over the world everywhere. A tour guide took us through and gave us the history of MP and the Incas. It was a great experience . . . put it on your top 10 places to visit in the world.













DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP GOING - ITS WORTH THE CLIMB!



Today in Cusco the men head off to the pastor's conference and the women to a christian school to teach. We are excited to share and partner with other believers.

Several of our members are sick, including Jen, she will have to stay in the hotel this morning, pray that she gets better soon. Its also really cold here, for Peru. We had a heater on in our room last night, everyone is wearing coats. Though our health is not great, we still know that we were called here, that this is exactly where we were supposed to be. Its great to feel God's peace in the midst of chaos.

Keep praying for us! We miss you friends and family . . .we will be home soon!