Dame Fuerza (Give Me Strength!)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Today I had the opportunity to run a 14k race (8.7 miles) in the mountains of Bogotá that had a 1,200 meter (3,937 ft.) climb & 45 degree max inclination.

Here is the 14K route in the mountains! 

After the Nike We Run Bogotá 10K in November, I told myself no more races until the spring. However, this one popped up and said it was free! A free race of 14k in the Andes Mountains in Colombia?! I could not pass up on this opportunity! God taught me a lot through this race today and I'm excited to share it with you!

I'm going to start back on my birthday in Apulo (a town we went to in hot country). You know how my last blog post was how God gave me a song? Well, on my birthay God gave me another song...I take it as his birthday gift to me! It's still in the works but I have some of the lyrics and melody down.

Here are the lyrics:
 Eres mi Paz, Eres mi Dios. Me sostienes con Tu mano derecha.
You are my Peace, You are my God, You hold me with your right hand.

Cuando hay una montaña en frente de mi, me darás fuerza a escalarla.
When there is a mountain in front of me, you will give me strength to climb it.

Cuando hay obstáculos durante la carrera, voy a persevear en Tu ayuda.
When there are obstacles during the race, I'm going to persevere with Your help. 

Dame fuerza, dame confianza, dame amor, dame a Cristo
Give me strength, give me confidence, give me love, Give me Jesus.

I'm pretty sure these are the mountains we ran up.
I totally stood on that peak today!

After that, I was told about this free race! Which is totally another gift that God gave me. I didn't put the two together until the race today.  I started singing this song the first part of the race and realized how well it fit together!!! Oooh why is He so good to me?!??! I realized just how much He loves me AND the same goes for you too! You just need to recognize that they really are gifts from God because He loves you SO much! SO much that he sent His Son to die for us to bring us back into relationship with Him.

This is the church in the park where the race started.
You can see the mountains in the background that
we ran up!

Another thing he taught me was that I can't do anything on my own.  The Colombians were SO great to me! Also, it's just part of the race atmosphere. Everyone is going through the exact same thing at the same time so why not encourage others?? There were a couple men who took my hand and literally pulled me up some of the hardest parts. Also there was a woman who offered me some of her juice.  It was SO great!! While this was happening I was thinking, "Maaaaaan this is dumb. I can't even climb it myself." But then it hit me...no this isn't dumb..what a BEAUTIFUL picture this is of what God does for us each and every day! I remembered the phrase in the song: "Me sostienes con tu mano derecha (You uphold me with your right hand)" The guy was holding me and pulling me up with his right hand. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!

Isaiah 41:10 

Then we FINALLY made it to the top and it was gorgeous! I wish I had my camera because the whole race had such a beautiful view. We climbed rocks, ran through forests, ran down this creek type jungle path, climbed more mountains, and saw Bogotá and other towns on the other side of the mountains. (granted I was looking down at my feet most of the time trying not to trip over rocks) As we came down I was excited for how easy it would be. But, of course I was wrong. It was JUST AS STEEP as going up (imagine that). It was very rocky and we had to be so careful because one slip and you could fall off the side. (Don't worry mom...God was holding me. :)  As we made our way down I had a calf cramp and then had camps in my feet. Such an odd and uncomfortable feeling while trying to run.  However I "pesevear(ed) en su ayuda...I persevered with His Help)  I finally made it to the finish in 2 hours and 57 minutes! My goal was under 3 hours. Also, for running on flat surfices my whole life and even down here...I was happy. Thank you, Jesus!

Applying "crema caliente" or Icy Hot for my
cramping muscles after the race! 

Wow, what an amazing experience God blessed me with full of running, mountains, and teaching me more about His Love and Who He Is.  Hallelujah!

My friend Machi & I after the race!
We're alive!!!! 

Now, we have 4 full days and 3 half days of school left for the semester. It's going to be busy and hard trying to bring it to a close and getting grades done and such so please pray for me for that!

I come home December 21 for Christmas break and will return to Bogotá January 1.  I couldn't be more excited to see my dearly loved friends and family!!! Hopefully there will be an opportunity to see a majority of you!

I hope and pray that God continues to bless you and that your eyes would be open to His blessings and gifts He gives you so that you can thank Him and realize the CRAZY AWESOME LOVE He has for YOU!  Also, that you would remember during difficult times when you feel like you can't go anymore, you can't climb up the mountain, something gives you a cramp, or you feel like it'll be easy but all the rocks and steepness gets in the way and slows you down, He is upholding you with His Righteous Right Hand!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10