Today, we learned about overcoming obstacles in our lives. Yesterday, we’d say we overcame a pretty big obstacle by hiking 13 kilometers down the Samarian Gorge. We had no idea what to expect as the bus pulled up to the top of the Gorge. As we started out, it was quite evident that this was going to be a difficult task as people were slipping on the rocks pretty quickly. But, it was well worth it because it was some of the most amazing scenery we have ever seen. With mountains all around us and streams flowing, it was an incredible experience. About halfway through our hike, we stopped for a snack and listened to Jason give us a great talk about striving for greatness in our lives. We each took a few moments to create our own “bucket lists,” where we wrote down all the things we wanted to do and accomplish before we died. Some of these things included owning your own restaurant, going to the World Cup, skydiving, visiting all 7 continents, and running a marathon. It was a humbling experience realizing we have the ability to accomplish so much in our lives if we just put in the effort. As we continued the hike and our feet and legs started hurting from the blisters and sore muscles, we reached the end feeling like we had accomplished something great. We spent a couple of hours at restaurants on the beach talking about the different highs and lows of the hike (nice pun). We overcame many obstacles, such as getting up at 4:30 in order to get on the bus, but it was all worth it. It was an experience we will all never forget.

-Emily Emshoff & Martin Shepard