On Friday morning I left to spend the last couple of days with the boys at camp. The church camp is about three hours outside of La Paz. Taking public transportation takes about an extra hour, but fortunately Michelle let me take our truck, which made the trip much quicker and allowed me to spend more time in the camp with the boys. The road to the camp used to be considered the most dangerous road in the world. Most of the deaths on the road are from people like myself, who are on vacation and don't know the road well, which is why I have always used public transportation. Besides being the most dangerous road, it also has to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world, being basically a part of the mountain itself including water falls that fall onto the vehicles. The old road is a one lane road, with huge drop offs... and I think you can get the idea of why it is so dangerous. Below is a link to a BBC article on the road.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6136268.stm
I say all of that not to bore you, but to give you the same appreciation I have for the new road. It is much less intimidating to leave La Paz knowing you will have a two-lane paved road to get yourself down into the Yungas (a drop from about 15,000 feet to 3,000 feet over about 30 miles of road.) The new road still has incredible views, and is worth driving even if you are not going anywhere. The new road is not without its own problems though as there was a section that had a very rustic detour since there was a landslide that covered a stretch of the road.
Once you get towards the end of the new road there is just a short jaunt on a dirt road into the camp, and then a quick hike into camp across the river. One thing you immediately notice about being in the Yungas (in comparison to La Paz) is that it is HOT, and HUMID, and very green.
That is how I got to the camp. The boys, however, took a slightly different route. While I got to enjoy the new road headed into the Yungas, the boys left from the Cumbre (about 20 minutes outside of La Paz) and headed into camp by foot. It took them three full days to get to camp - they all had a great time. By the time I got there there were pretty much exhuasted, having hiked for three days and having spent six days in the camp. At camp, the schedule involves a lot of physical activities - swimming, playing soccer, playing team building games, and repeating that as often as possible in any given day. The boys also have devotionals in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and this week the devotionals were focused on friendship and specifically on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. At the end of the time at camp each of the boys shared something special about the trip, and named someone they had become better friends with over their stay.
The boys were also divided into teams for the entire trip, so every game was a competition and then all of the points were summed up at the end of the trip. The winning group got to ride home with me in our truck, and also gets to pick a dinner at any restaurant in La Paz as their prize. Besides the team competitions, these teams were also the basis for dividing up responsibilities at camp, and were also small groups for devotional times during the day. We also set aside time each day for the team leaders to spend one-on-one time with their team members.
One of the favorite parts of the "Puente" is always the swimming pool. The boys love swimming, and do it a couple of times a day while we are at camp. We always find different games to play in the pool, and everyone loves throwing someone else into the pool... even if it is one of the counselors!
The last night we had a camp fire, and the boys had sort of a talent show, and then it was off to bed. Saturday afternoon came around quicker than anyone had expected, and it was time to head home. We all had a great time at the camp, and the boys had a great time on vacation. The boys where exhausted, but had also become accustomed to the routine of being on vacation. On Monday, they start the new school year here, and it is promising to be an exciting time for the boys. Some of the Bethany home boys will be going to school for the first time in years.
If you want to see more pictures of the vacation, just click on any of the pictures above and it will take you into the photo album. Once the film pictures from the hike have been developed we will be sure to put a link up.
Thanks to everyone for all of your support for the ministry, that makes things like this possible.
-John
1 Comments:
At 6:26 PM,
Unknown said…
Sounds like a wonderful vacation! Glad you and the boys made it home safe! It was a well deserved vacation for all of you.
The boys will all be in my prayers as they begin their new school year!
Love & Prayers,
Mom Eggen
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