It was the perfect day for exploration. (Only because it was the ONLY day available) The sky was a leaden grey, occasional bursts of rain poured down on our drenched bodies. The jungle leaves each held a fresh supply of water for our hiking enjoyment, dumping their gift unceremoniously on us as we walked by.

Roy had spent the morning trying to make steps up the very steep mountainside so that I could get up the hill to see a potential spot for our new children’s home. Unfortunately, he got tired of making steps about halfway up the mountain, so he resorted to a very long rope attached to a tree with which I could pull myself up. The ground was saturated with water, and the mud was deep and slippery. The hillside was incredibly steep, reminding me of my rock climbing days, minus the rocks. After what seemed an eternity, we reached the top of the hill to find ourselves on a narrow, mostly flat ridge top. If there had not been so much bamboo, there would have been an incredible view of the river and the mountains, but as it was, we could only catch an occasional glimpse of them through the bamboo clumps. On one side of the ridge, I could hear a large creek crashing down through the rocks. It sounded intriguing, but I did not get to see it.

I hiked all over that ridge, trying to picture a house up there. But, one look down the mountain discouraged me from thinking too seriously about it. What if the kids fell off? Finally, we rappelled back down the mountain, to another spot that looked rather interesting to me. Unfortunately, it was covered in dense jungle growth, and so I thought that maybe Roy would go up to that area and see what he thought. Imagine my chagrin when he insisted that I join him. We climbed through dense vegetation, around thorn trees, through springs where our shoes stayed put at almost every step although we kept going. Briars scratched our feet, and damp vines hit us in the face, but after fighting our way through the jungle, we emerged in a little clearing. On one side was a huge rock with a spring bubbling out from beneath it. It was in a sort of valley with a little creek running along one side of it. Huge trees stood guard over the area, and hillsides rose steeply on three sides. This looked to me like a private little paradise playground. My only concern was all the water and springs we had walked through to get there. Was it possible to develop the springs so that we could make a path through there? Although it was not far from our original house, it was a hard hike to get there because of the mess the springs make. Reluctantly, we headed back to the house to discuss our findings with the rest of the family.

Jason was really interested in the places that we described. He then asked me one fateful question. Had I seen the place down by the creek at the top of the mountain that he thought would make the perfect spot? No, I had not…but to pull myself back up that hill was NOT on my list of things to do for the rest of the day. One thing is for sure, if we move to the top of the mountain, a GOOD trail with PLENTY of switchbacks will be established first!

After lunch, Jason grabbed my iPad and disappeared. Soon he reappeared with a fresh array of videos. They show a very beautiful flat area beside the larger creek at the top of the mountain. There are large boulders scattered around, huge trees, and a pretty creek. I could easily see my girls thoroughly enjoying the area, and there is no doubt that if we choose that spot I will get tons of exercise. (I suggested putting in a gondola to get there, but the rest of my family is quite skeptical of the plan)

So as you can tell, we have some pretty big choices to make in the near future. We are praying daily that God would show us where he wants us to have our children…here in the middle of the school, or in a private area further away from the school. There are pro’s and con’s on both sides of the question, and it is for certain that without God’s direct leading, we would not choose right. So please pray for us while we work on all the details.