Macchu Picchu (Peru Final part)

        On what would have been on our third day of the hike we went into the sacred valley to see Maras and Moray.  Maras is a giant salt mine/field.

          Moray, on the other hand, was a spectacular experimental greenhouse at which the Incas used multi-leveled, concentric terraces to create microclimates.  They used this system to hybridize and acclimatize different agriculture so the plants could grow in diverse conditions. 

        On the way to these sites, we stopped in a small village where some micro-enterprises had been initiated to teach some of the local women traditional weaving techniques.  At this place, we saw beautiful clothing, blankets, and table runners. The colors they're able to produce from local ingredients blew my mind!  Then, topping off that whole experience I met my friend Packy the Alpaca.  Don't you just want to hang out with him!?

        

        The next morning we awoke at 4:45am to try to make it to Macchu Picchu for the sunrise (which we did!)  Hiking up, my Dad was still breathing a little hard, but overall he was doing great!  Then we turned the corner and BAM! There it was: Macchu Picchu.  As we sat and watched the sunrise fall on the ancient city, guess who walked up!?  Our original hiking group.  They happily invited us to join them on a guided tour of Macchu Picchu, which was so good.  Macchu Picchu truly is fantastic, and honestly I could go on and on describing it, but instead I'll just throw some pictures up here and summarize random thoughts. 

Sunrise!

          In the middle of Macchu Picchu stands a lone tree. 

          A view looking up at the sun temple.  Notice how fantastic the stonework is. 

        A part of the mountain that the Incans carved into the same image as a neighboring peak.  Fun!

Hello Friend!

         After the tour, we hiked back up to the overview.   I realized we might never be back there and so we just sat down and tried to absorb the moment as much as we could.  I tried to suck in every detail about the place and our trip and sear it into my mind.  The mountains.  The breeze.  The sweet smell from the flower, and the way the sunlight fell on the walls and courtyards.   Beautiful.  Sensational.  And then I started to wonder, why?  Why has God given me so much?  So many stories, countries, and adventures?  Such incredible friends and family?  It seems unfair that I have been given so superfluously.  Other people lack food or suffer without companionship, but not me.  Not only do I want for nothing, but the Lord continuously and extravagantly showers me with new mercies and more gifts.   I've been given more than I deserve, and every time the Lord just says, Yes you have been.  It's because I love you.  It is because He loves me.  I don't understand why.  Why would God ever favor me so much?  It doesn't make sense, grace doesn't make sense. 

         I know that to him who has been given much, much will be expected, and that's me.  I owe everything to the kingdom and its King, and I just hope that He will take this boy that I am and change me into a man.  A man that will praise His name when suffering comes.  Who will wake up and see God's goodness, no matter if there is Macchu Picchu up the hill or an empty pantry.  A man who can never stop boasting of what the Lord has done in his life: the results of an extravagant grace that flows from His wasteful love.   For even if God took away all the opportunities, memories, friends, and families.  His love would still be infinitely beyond what I deserve.  

          He has given me so much.