Day 8...yeah it was really great. :)

Hey guys! It's me, Allie. I'm here to tell you about our day yesterday, which was Sunday. I'm sorry we weren't able to write yesterday, we came in really late and couldn't keep our eyes open. :P

So we began our day at 6:00 in the Finch's home getting ready to go and doing our devotions. We had breakfast at 7:00. When we were done we packed the van, said our goodbyes to our new friends and were gone by 8:00. We drove for 2 hours through the mountains, back and forth back and forth. I will tell you right now, I've never seen switch backs like this..and we have enough people who got carsick to prove it. :P

Our first stop was the waterfall. It had started to rain just before we got there, so Monte parked the van and we all hiked about a mile to the fall, and it wasn't easy. This high elevation thing makes everyone feel like we are extremely out of shape and we had a few people who were hurting (Ann, Alyssa and me. Ann's back. Alyssa was a little wobbley and her knees were giving out, but she's fine now. And I screwed up my shoulder.) When we finally made it to the waterfall, we were no longer tired, just amazed. I had never seen anything like it. It was HUGE. I had gone in jeans and sneakers not planning on getting wet, but I couldn't and wouldn't pass up this chance. Most everyone climbed the rocks to get closer. We got soaked just standing 30 feet away and some got even closer. We spent a while there just enjoying God's incredible creation. I didn't want to leave, I didn't think it could get any better. Well, I am a newbie as they say..and I was wrong.

We left and went to Veronica's (a place they come to eat at every year in Creel) it was quite yummy, but we didn't want to take long there. So we hopped back into the van and drove through more switch backs (my favorite :P) and got to the canyon. It's called Copper Canyon and it's begger than the Grand Canyon. Holy cow. It was incredible. It seemed so..fake to me. I have never seen anything like it and was astounded. God is truly awesome. I don't think that words or pictures could describe to you how beautiful it was. I've seen pictures before..but there is no comparison. We hiked all around looking and admiring the beauty. I could've spent hours there..but we had to leave with enough time to get out of the mountains before dark. So we began our hike back to the van and climbed in exhausted. We drove 5 or so hours back to the ranch and fell out of the van half asleep. Our day was incredible and totally worth it. I am so thankful we were able to make it to the mountains, it was an experience I will never forget.

God has been teaching me lots on this trip but probably one of the main things is learning to take a break or step back and trust that God has everything under control. He doesn't need me to get something done. So if I need a break I've learned to take one. God will get what He wants done with or without me. I do love helping and serving in anyway I can, but there are times when I need to stop. I don't always pay attention to that but God has made it clear to me now. Today I'm not working with everyone else because my shoulder is still caught and that's okay. I know that God is in control and my teammates are fully competent. ;) I guess that's all for now. Someone else will write tonight. I love you all!

Miss you Mom, Dad, Bek, Heath, Mikie, Kris, Aaron, Timmy, Sari, Shae, Jeff, Caiden and Fussin. :)I'm praying for you today Daddy!

For the team,
-Allie

Prayer Requests:
Ann's back. She is still hurting today, so pray for relief and rest.

My shoulder. I'm not sure what I did to it..but it's pretty killer. Pray that it won't keep me from working the rest of the trip or I will find jobs that I can do with one hand.

For our team to stick together. It's the second week and we are all tired. Pray that we will not get on each other's nerves too much and we will continue to grow closer together and to God.

For team health and energy.