Backpacking Exploring

Last week I went backpacking in the Carpathian mountains! Soon we will be bringing 11 boys on a backpacking trip through the mountains, so we needed to scout out the route and find out everything we needed to know. My friend Matt who I've known since fourth grade flew in the night before along with Richard. JT, who is working on coming as full time staff, came a few days earlier so we could make sure we had all of the right materials. It was an amazing experience and we were really lead by God in all of the planning.

We started at Sinaia, where the Peles Castle is located. We took the cable car up the mountain and headed out from there.

There were many sheep and cows grazing the mountains.

Which way does the trail go?

If you look closely you can see the cross, a 70 foot tall monument to the heroes of WW1. We were constantly in awe of God's creation, everything was so beautiful. This was near the spot where we set up camp the first day - where our plans completely changed. We put up our tents and started cooking when the skies opened up and poured. After that a man drove up to us on a quad and told us we couldn't tent camp anywhere in the park because of bears. We were really surprised since we did lots of research and talked to several people, but he was very forceful so we packed up. It was almost dark so we went to the nearest hostel for the night and tried to figure out what to do. We had planed on tent camping all over so this blew up our entire route.

We talked to the innkeeper who was very helpful and we planned out our next stopping point. This rock formation is called the Sphinx.

We hiked down the other side of the mountain to a place where we heard we could camp in tents, and were blown away by the beauty there.

Our destination was the mountain rescue station. Once we got there we talked to the leader there who was really nice. He allowed us to set up camp within their fenced in area so we'd be safe from bears. He also agreed to let us stay there for three nights with all 16 of us, and we'll be able to use their water, bathroom, and fire pit. He will also find firewood for us and buy us bread for the days we're there. It was so amazing how accommodating these guys were, it had to be God working because everything came together so well. The mountain rescue guys also agreed to tell the boys about what they do and some stories which we are going to tie into our need to be saved by Jesus' sacrifice.

This monastery is very close to our base camp, we will go there and explore the cave behind it with the boys. I talked with the priest there about what we're doing and he said he would give us a discount for the boys to get into the cave. Another God moment.

The new plan is to do day hikes from our base camp at the mountain rescue. We think the boys will be blown away at the beauty of the place and we pray that our discussions will penetrate their hearts.

The morning dew covered the entire valley, as if encasing everything in tiny crystals.

This stunningly beautiful butterfly played hard to get but he finally landed long enough for me to get a great shot.

The last day we took the cable car to Busteni, our final destination for this trip. We went into the house of culture and met a great man who was so excited to tell us stories. He was hosting a recital and he introduced us to the players who were practicing, showed us a big book of signatures of famous people, and played his Transylvanian flute for us. After that we boarded a train back to Bucharest. It was a beautiful ride and a fun experience.

This trip was amazing in so many ways. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, met many nice people, and finalized the plans for when the boys come with us. We asked God to lead us and He definitely did, and now we pray that he continues to lead us when we bring the boys. They will arrive today and we'll leave for the mountains tomorrow morning. Please pray that everything goes well and that this is a life changing experience for the boys.