Rappelling and Walking on Water, Pt. 2 [saturday]

It only seems appropriate that it is my turn to write the blog for our Saturday rappelling adventure.  After all, it's with fondness that I remember the last time I wrote about rappelling in Chiapas... that exciting story told here.  Anyhow, this time it was just as exciting... but slightly different too. :-)  Experience is a great teacher.We woke early to our last full day as a team.  Nathan had all his rappelling gear ready, and we headed out to Arcotete, a beautiful place in the mountains outside San Cristobal.  Even though I've seen lots of mountains before, I still never tire of seeing their grandeur and awesomeness, and having just a little bit better glimpse of how great our God is.  Wow, sure makes little me feel even littler! :-) God's presence really is felt in all parts of the world.The cliff where we rappel is about 100-feet, and provokes varying responses from everyone.  For everyone though, it requires faith to trust your life to some rope, carabiners, and a harness.  Nathan spent a few moments giving us some analogies between rappelling and our life in Christ, and encouraged us to ponder those thoughts as we went down.  Somehow dangling high above the ground, I still found time (and guts!) to look around and absorb the scenery around me while meditating on those analogies.  What a special thing!At the bottom, I walked over to cross the river again, but took it a little differently this time.  Instead of testing my faith and walking on water abilities again (I'm a fast learner! :-) ), I tried something else new... river crossing on a zip line.  Yep!  Still have never walked across that rock path. :-)  Because its rainy season here, the river was flooded over the path so Jacob and Eden rigged up a rope crossing, and as each of us landed, we hooked on with our harness and carabiner, jumped up, and pulled ourselves across with our hands and feet.  Talk about a cool experience!Afterward, we all enjoyed a picnic lunch thanks to Julie, and then split in groups to do more rappelling, rock climbing, shopping at the market, and start packing.  The day was finished off with a bonfire at Terrells, and we were blessed with the opportunity to hear some thoughts from Nathan and Julie about calling, purpose, vision, and missions.  They have some great insights, and it was a benefit for each of us to glean from their wisdom and experience as missionaries.Then, the packing began... *sigh*-Amy C., for the team