The ride up the Ecuadorian mountain whips my hair all around. The comfort of the truck bed is as a cozy as a pile of rocks. We arrive to the top and instantly I hear Spanish instructions being shouted in my direction. (Good thing I'm bilingual!) My students and other adults look in my direction with a plea of help in their eyes. I began to translate the directions of where to line up to receive your harness, helmet and gloves. Fifteen minutes pass and every person in our group is ready to take on this adventure, all 31 people. Excitement is all around as the guide gives us safety instructions for going through the zip-line tour. Well, excitement for everyone except one person: Jenna.

Jenna Bell is an extraordinary person. She's another chaperone for this mission trip, another teacher, and in the past year has become one of my dearest friends. She is strong in her faith and often fearless in what the Lord gives her; however on this afternoon (and through her journaling all morning long) an unusual look of panic has overtaken her. She is terrified of what is supposed to be an entertaining experience and is taking everything inside of her to trust that the Lord will give her courage to finish the course.

We begin, one by one, zipping through the Amazon Rainforest and then it comes time for Jenna to hook her harness and jump off the first platform. Across the 200 foot long line, I stand waiting, praying it's a fun experience for her. I hear screams at first, a few cries to the Lord ("Oh God! Oh God!") and then she appears out of the trees and onto the finishing platform. I waited for her reaction and after catching her breath, she looks up and says, "That wasn't as bad as I thought!" She went on to complete all 10 lines of the entire course and actually enjoyed the adventure!

Fast forward two weeks (so now!) and you'll find me visiting my mom in the great state of Texas. Per the request of my mother, and you learn to always abide by her requests, we pulled out a particular movie to watch one evening: "The Shack." Now if you are a believer of Christ and have never watched this movie I would highly suggest it. I read the book by William P. Young nine years ago as a junior in high school and watching this film now at age 26, the story still changed my perspective of my walk with God. Now I'm not going to ruin the movie because you should really go see it for yourself (follower of Christ or not); but I am going to share with you a lesson that you have all heard before but if you're like me, could always use the reminder.

Hebrews 11:1 states, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." I also like The Message version which reads "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see." As a believer in the God of the Bible, this speaks loudly to me. Every time I fear something, whether big or small, God proves to me that if I put my faith in Him nothing can stand in fear's way. Even if you choose to believe something different, I still think that this can affect the way you live your life. You often hear the quote "The best things in life are the ones you are afraid of." This goes hand in hand with my walk with Christ. So many times in life, just like this specific time in Jenna's, we are terrified to try something. It can be a fun activity like zip-lining or it can be a serious leap of faith concerning your family, job or other life altering event. I am just thankful for simple things like my friendship with Jenna or a drama filled film to remind me that faith is a huge part of my life; and no matter what platform I am on, from time to time we could all use a helpful push.