The Lost Llama

We all know about the parable of the lost sheep as recorded in Matthew and Luke.  Toward the end of our visit to Machu Picchu we had an experience that helped us see the story in a new light.  Our tour group was split into smaller groups for our tour through the ruins.  One group went on a lower, slower walk for those that didn't care to climb as much.  Peggy elected to go with that group because of her knees and so we were separated for awhile. 

Her group finished before we did and took the buses back down to Aguascalientes to look around a bit before the rest of us arrived.  As she was wandering through the narrow streets and crowded markets she suddenly realized she was alone and had no idea where everyone else had gone!  She began going up and down the streets trying to find someone she knew, increasingly getting nervous and anxious.  Being alone in a strange town, unable to speak Spanish, she couldn't find anyone that could or would help her.  Not even the police were very helpful, although they finally took her to the train station and bought her a ticket so she could enter.

In the meantime, my group had returned down the mountain and we made our way to the restaurant where we were all to meet.  Looking around for Peggy, I soon found out that nobody had seen her, not even the people that she had returned with.  I sat and waited a bit, then found our trip leader and our local guide.  They hadn't seen her either.  Because we were to meet at the train station at 4 pm and the hour was growing late, I became increasing worried.  I left to see if I could find her and several others of our group did the same.

As I wandered through this confusing town, my heart reached out to Heavenly Father, pleading that she would be ok and found soon.  It's hard to express how I felt, knowing that if I couldn't find her that I would have to stay no matter what time the train left.  As I went up and down the streets I looked in every nook and cranny I could see, finally ending up at the train station.  Our tour leader was there, but they wouldn't let him in to check and see if she was there.  Our local guide, however, was able to go in and came out with the welcome news that she was there!  What a sense of relief and gratitude washed over me.

It turns out that she had finally found the train station, no thanks to most people she encountered and entered to find two our our group already there.  They gave her a big hug and welcomed her but were themselves unable to go out and let us know she had been found.

Reflecting on this experience while on the train back to Ollantaytambo, I realized a couple of things that I had never associated with the parable of the lost sheep, or llama, in this case.  One is that sometime we become lost, without ever intend to be lost.  We just look up one day and discover we aren't where we thought we were or where we should be.  We skip our prayers, study, church, etc., thinking that when we are ready we can get right back into it, but all of a sudden there we are, clueless as to how we got so far away.  We had no intent of being lost, thought we were doing ok, but then we look up and can't see where we are or how we got there.  Fortunately, there are those that seek out the lost ones, just as many in our group did when we realized Peggy was missing, and through the blessings and guidance of our Father in Heaven, He will use them to find and rescue the lost.

The second realization I had was the depths of emotion I felt when I started looking and didn't know where our how to start.  I had a glimpse of how the Savior must feel when He sees us straying, even when we do it unknowingly, and He tries to come to our rescue.  Given that one of our gifts is that of agency, it must make it doubly hard for Him when we go off the path and cannot see His hand stretched out to us.  But if we hearken back to our teachings and feelings, we will know what to do and how to get help and it will be there.  Peggy, in all her anxiety and worry, knew that we were supposed to be back at the train station at 4 and so bent her efforts at getting there on time, and little by little, and with the help of others, was able to be where she needed to be and at the time she needed to be there.

Another thing just occurred to me:  While she was trying to find her way back to the train station, she was approached many times but people trying to get her to come into their restaurants for a bite to eat or to buy something they had for sale.  They were a distraction, and could've prevented her from returning on time.  What are the distractions in our lives that prevent us from coming back, or lead us away so that in time, we look up and find ourselves lost?  

Well, this was longer than I intended it to be, but it was one of the most important things that happened to us on this trip.  I'm grateful it turned out well, and I'm grateful for the lessons I learned and to realize the depth of love I have for Peggy.