San Juan County

We entered Durango today with excitement. This day we would follow our dear friend Kristi Ross’ safety instructions. For drivers more unfamiliar with travel to the top of a steep mountain side with hairpin turns, few guardrails, sheer cliff drop offs, and “not for the faint of heart” travel warnings, her instructions were simple: “Train up, bus back”. We are obediently headed- by train- up the beautiful mountainside to Silverton.

The ride on the nostalgic and historical train was a four-hour ride through wonderland. I must have taken hundreds of pictures as we crossed rushing rivers, watched waterfalls cascade down steep mountainsides, marveled at huge boulders that, no doubt, had tumbled down from higher up the mountain, wondered at the history of an old mine we passed, and finally arrived at our destination.

As we had limited time in Silverton before we were to catch our bus ride back, we went right to work. At an elevation of over 9300 feet, we were told to take it easy and drink lots of water. You could definitely feel the difference in altitude. Asking the Lord where we should have our worship time here, He directed us to a small church.

There was a very quiet, private place nearby and that’s where we began our worship time. Daisies lined up along an area that would be perfect, as if pointing the way. We are reminded of Jesus’ words about the beauty of flowers.

“Consider the lilies how they grow. They toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you;

that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Matthew 6:28b-29.

Tony prepared the ground and we prayed as we placed the offerings into the land. Lord God, please accept these offerings from our hands. We place the stone and sticks remembering Elijah calling down fire from heaven over the altar he had made. We call down Your fire now, asking that You pour Yourself out on us, Your church. Let Your Holy Spirit fire fall on us, Oh God. One by one, we place our elements of worship into the ground. We take these symbols of Your love and give them back to You, and we claim this land for the Kingdom of God once again!

Before we are finished here, we have brought a small container holding a slip of paper. On it is written the words to Jeremiah 10:6-7.

We place it over our altar, declaring these words into the atmosphere over Silverton and San Juan County!

"There is None Like You Oh Lord! You are great and great is Your Name in might!

Who would not fear You, Oh King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due!

For among all rulers of all the nations, and in all their kingdoms, THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU!"

Lord, America needs You desperately! Bring us back into alignment with YOU!

As we contemplated again on the meaning of these symbols, my heart has another thought concerning these mountains.

We are at a very high altitude on this mountain. Without great detail, think on these simple facts for a moment.

Because the air is thin, we don't maintain blood oxygen levels that we would at lower elevations. Our body reacts.

We can become dehydrated, our breathing becomes more rapid, normal activity becomes more labored, and our body must work harder just to maintain normal function. We can feel dizzy, weak and off balance. I admit I have felt some of these things on this mountain. All this today is just because of altitude. But, we all can imagine, and some of us have experienced, how frightening it is, to not be able to get enough air.

We all know we need air. But today, I am reminded of a simple worship song by a Christian artist named Marie Barnett.

This is the air I breathe; This is the air I breathe;

Your holy presence living in me.

This is my daily bread; This is my daily bread;

Your very word spoken to me.

And I, I'm desperate for You; And I, I'm I'm lost without You.

My prayer is this. Oh Lord God. May we hunger for You as we do our daily bread. May we thirst for You as that deer pants for water at the brook, as in Psalm 42:1-2. May we be that desperate for You. May we be that lost without You. And may Your presence, Your Very Presence, be the air I breathe.

May I hunger for You, Like THAT.

And finally, Yeshua, we remember Your payment for all of us on that cross. Thank You that we can take this communion and remember the blood You shed and the pain You went through because You love us so much. We anoint this ground with all these symbols of our love for You; You are priceless beyond words. We feel the dirt beneath our hands as we cover our offerings and seal them with worship. Lord, You always make a way. We didn’t know how You would make a way for us to come here but You did. You always make a way where there is no way. Always.

You ALONE are worthy of our praise!

Our time here is over too quickly. As we say goodbye to this amazing town hidden away at the top of this mountain, we drink in the majesty and beauty of this mountain once more. Let Silverton shine Your glory and let this mountain remind everyone who visits here and sees this place see Your power and mighty works. We remember the words from Isaiah as copied below.

“For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands!” Isaiah 55:12.