The Best Gift in Life...

What a day! Praise the Lord...

This morning I awoke a little later than I wanted to, but skimmed Joshua 3 and ate cereal for the first time in a while. I threw some stuff together and jogged to the Coupes... no SMAC this morning, I went to CHIMBORAZO.

Yes, the same mountain you have seen in my pictures... the same mountain (due to a bulge in the earth) that is the highest point from the center of the earth... that Chimborazo. We drove to another missionary family's house, picked up some college and high school students, and then drove to the mountain! 'Twas a lovely drive, otra vez (again), and as we began to ascend the base of the mountain to the "first refuge", I could feel the air getting thinner, even in the car! We got out of the car and then began to ascend the mountain to the second refuge...

My first reaction (and I, unfortunately, said it out loud) was, "is that it?" It looked pretty close from where we began, but it actually was about a km and a half away. Your depth perception is shot when you're that high... actually, it might not be just the altitude, but probably a mix of that, the sun's heat and reflection off the snow, and just the majesty of the mountain. For instance, one of the guys on the team, Steve, and I both wanted to climb higher than the second refuge (after we made it to the first one gasping for air) and spotted a sweet looking rock pretty high up that looked doable. But then we noticed some people that were about 100 meters away from the rock... and they were smaller than ants. From where we were standing. At the second refuge. We both just dropped our jaws at the tiny size of the people from where we were standing. It was basically a reality check, so we chose another big rock formation to climb to. About 7 of us went up there, and it was a VERY beautiful view... it was super sweet, too, because we took turns reading Psalm 96 verse-by-verse on top of the world (literally). The craziest thing, too, was that when we were on top of that cliff, we realized how far we still had to go. Although from the bottom it looked pretty high up, once you reach it, you find yourself still lacking a ton... hmmm... I feel an analogy coming on.

My walk with Jesus is the same way. Every time I think I've done something really sweet for him (made it to that rock formation), He reminds me that I still have a ton to go. I'm SO thankful for His mercy and grace in this... Steve and I agreed that if we were to be generous to ourselves and put our faith in mountain terms, getting to perfection and Jesus is two Chimborazos and a Mount Everest stacked on top of each other, and we're still at the base.

I was invited by Mr. Billy (thanks!) and had a great time making videos with him... stay tuned.

We returned home (on the way, we evaded people that wanted to make us pay for hiking Chimborazo, but they're not real, government people, so we drove right through their pathetic 'blockade' at the bottom of the mountain) and I had a fantastic time in Joshua and just with Jesus in general. More on that later...

I headed over to the Coupes to hang out, skyped with my fam for a bit, contacted World Vision (please be praying... I'm trying to get to see the child I support, Juan Edison, the day before I leave), and then left to get together with Luis. We had a bit of miscommunication, but finally met in "Mercado Santa Rosa" and I presented him with his very own Spanish-English New Testament (plus Psalms and Proverbs). He was very thankful and we had a good time reading through some of it. We stopped at 5 so I could go to TKD. The class was basically going over what we need to do to do to ascend to the next level of belt. Since I'm only going to be here for another few weeks and you need to purchase an entire uniform to level up, I'm not going to do it, but I'm enjoying learning the different defenses, attacks, etc.

After class, I took Henry aside and presented him with his New Testament. He was literally speechless... after a bit, he called it the "best gift in life". He then opened up to me a little about his life: He started out by saying his heart had been hardened because, three years ago, he was in a car accident and spent 11 1/2 months in the hospital. That's right... Eleven and a Half months. And while he was in there, NO ONE came to help him. Not his friends, not his girlfriend, not even his family. God really changed him and he resolved to be a better person than his friends and family had been to him, but he still set himself apart from everyone around him. He still lives by himself and doesn't reach out to people. He told me he doesn't feel like he can trust them because of what happened with all of his "friends". But he also said that he has forgiven them, and that is the "secret to life": forgiveness. I encouraged him that Jesus tells us to love our brothers, so he should reach out more, but also sympathized with him. He told me that I am the first person he has told these feelings to, because I have a "good heart". I replied that the only good I have in my heart is because Jesus lives there... thanks, Jesus. He promised to read the Bible everyday and I helped give him some instruction... it's people like him I'm going to miss here in Ecuador. Oh Lord, may you send other people to help disciple him and grow him into the man of God you want him to be...

The night finished having a wonderful dinner (thanks, Mrs. Coupe!) of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans, and skyping with family and friends.

Joshua thoughts for the day:
-I'm convicted about my time management... I need to be a better steward of that and of my body in general (what I eat, how long I stay up, etc). Please pray this for me...

-The Israelites spent three days camped at the Jordan River (which was at it's "flood stage") before the Lord performed the miracle. I feel like this is God prepping their hearts, for they were just sitting there staring at this very full river, probably thinking "how are we ever going to get across?" and then God just lays the miracle on them. THAT is the God we serve... who does things that are inconceivable to us...

-The way the Israelites are commanded not to come within "1000 yards" of the ark of the covenant. What reverence and fear of God! Why has this been lost after so many years? Why don't we consider it a PHENOMENAL blessing to have the Word of the Lord at our hands to read, memorize, and live out each and every day! How many thousands of people in the past would have given everything they owned for a Bible! May we live with the same reverence and fear of God that the Israelites had... remember, He is our King as well as our Father.

-I'm also just struck at the humility Joshua must have had. The Bible says: "And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of Israel, so that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.'" Joshua has just been told that God will exalt him in the eyes of the Israelites, God's chosen people, and yet He still seeks to give God all the glory in everything. This is where I believe Satan fell... he took the glory for himself instead of giving it to God. But Joshua (and Moses before him) chose the holy road, giving God all the glory... oh Lord, may I discover, without ever realizing it, this humility so that I may glorify You in this area of my life.

The Lord also blessed my heart and reminded me of how great He is. If such a majestic mountain, Chimborazo, does not even come close to scratching the surface of the majesty of our God, I can't WAIT for Heaven...

Thanks for all your prayers. Please pray for Andrea as she goes for her visa tomorrow...

In His strength alone...

Luke

The Hike.

He's cool, he's hip, he's Mr. Bill Coupe.

The view from our highest point of the day (16,000 feet above sea level). We were really not that far up the mountain. That's how big it is.

Enjoying God's creation...

...and thanking and worshiping Him for it.