On a recent Saturday we took a hike with youth groups from the church that we attend (La Mora CRC) and the CRC in nearby Cofradía. It was Jorge’s idea from the get-go (he is the president of the CRC youth of Olancho). Jorge (or Jorgito, if you prefer) suggested that we get some youth together and hike up the beautiful canyon of El Boquerón to the village of La Avispa to hold a church service up there. We were all for it!
The morning of the hike we woke up to rain, but it looked like it might clear off. We prayed a lot for good weather, and God really blessed us with a beautiful day. We arrived at the trailhead with a group of 14, most of whom had never been to the canyon before. At the beginning of the hike we talked for a little bit about what a beautiful gift God gave us in the creation and how as Christians it is our responsibility to take care of it. The hike was a great example of the contrast of how beautiful creation can be, and also what can happen if we don’t care for it. For the first few hours it is beautiful tropical forest with huge trees, beautiful birds, and impressive rock formations. The group loved it! Some of the guys were scurrying around like squirrels all over the rocks. Katie got a little wet crossing the river. A few of us had more experience hiking than others. Some of the girls were hiking in bare feet, but they weren’t even the slow ones! The women of Olancho are TOUGH!
After following the river for a couple hours we took the path up the side of the mountain to La Avispa. As we emerged from the canyon we passed by some banana plants. This was a sure sign that we were near the “cave of the tiger” where an older couple live in a cave. The group was both excited and nervous to meet them because there is a rumor that they really don’t like it when people pass by. We spoke to the wife for just a little bit and then moved on. From the cave the hiking was pretty flat and we came out into large areas where the forest had long since been clear cut to make room for crops. It was very hot and dry in this stretch of trail. It was a good example of the consequences of not caring for the creation very responsibly.
We arrived in La Avispa after almost 4 hours of hiking and ate a quick lunch at the pastor’s house. From there we headed to the church and the people began to show up. The church was packed! At least 70 people showed up.
We had a energetic worship service and I gave a little pep-talk about how God gives us the strength we need to meet the challenges he puts in front of us. This was mostly directed at our group of 14, some of whom were pretty tired and not looking forward to the hike back.
God gave us the energy to make it back and we arrived before dark back at the truck. All of us had a great time and the youth were asking when we were going on the next hike. It was a great day, but we arrived home very tired.
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