At the top of the mountain

Later the next morning, Julian asked me what I book I read to David the night before. I showed him a specific series of books and told him the basic theme of the books. Over the last year, I bid goodnight early to Julian via the computer so I could read to David before he fell asleep. Now he witnessed our story time with his own eyes.

Monday morning we met our second point of contact, our friend Rachel who we met online through the mission organization that sent us the “divine” brochure. She offered to accompany us to our meeting at the orphanage with the psychologist and social worker the following day to help with translation for Mike and David, but we still anticipated meeting her in person.

 We all got up early to eat breakfast at the mall, and she met us there mid-morning. She told us all about herself and her ministry for street kids that she’d worked with in Colombia for the last seventeen years. What an amazing lady with a huge heart. I felt honored to meet her. She also met Julian, and our love and commitment to him touched her. She asked him a lot of questions about his story and his life, and she offered to connect him with her church and ministry after we left.

We decided to visit her ministry the next day and have lunch there with her before she headed to the orphanage with us later in the afternoon. She even drew us a little map with instructions to help us get there safely. Before leaving the mall that morning, she suggested several nice places to visit during our time in Colombia.

That same afternoon, we took her suggestion and spontaneously ventured out on our first tourist adventure with Julian. We headed to a famous place called Monserrate. Once we got there and purchased tickets, we squeezed into a little cable car that lifted us up to the top of a mountain where you could take pictures of the entire city from an aerial view. With our camera fully charged, we snapped picture after picture all the way up. What an inspiring view met us as we stepped out of the car at the top.

We glanced over the edge of the mountain to see all of Bogotá, a city of seven million people, spread out below us. On the other side, you could look down to see a beautiful landscape of mountains and valleys, an absolutely breathtaking view!

There we stood, now with Julian by our side, at the top of the mountain. It hit me. We’d made it. We survived the valley and made it back to the top of the mountain.

Julian may have seen his city spread out on one side and a beautiful landscape on the other. I saw so much more. As I looked out over the city, I saw a mission field filled with millions of lost souls needing a Savior. As I looked out over the valleys, I saw the valley we ourselves walked through. It no longer resembled the ugliness I saw when I walked through it, the distorted picture I grew accustomed to looking at.

The view of the valley took my breath away. I could finally see how intricately God worked together every tiny detail. The pieces of our puzzle all fit together without a single piece missing. I saw His fingerprints all over every hardship, wiping every tear away. I saw His footprints in every place He carried us. I saw His hands, guiding our every step. I saw His heart in the intimate love written all over an orphan’s face. I saw His grace in Julian’s beautiful smile.