Four years ago, I was alone in a hotel in Cuzco, a city in the Peruvian Andes in South America. Over the next few days, some friends and I were going to meet and visit some Incan ruins.
Cuzco is located over 11,000 feet above sea level, so, having previously heard about altitude sickness in such conditions, I prepared metaphysically for the trip, praying with helpful ideas from the Bible such as: “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).
However, that evening, a few hours after my arrival, I started experiencing symptoms of altitude sickness. I initially tried to pray on my own, but as I was lying in bed that night, my heart was racing and I became frightened. Around midnight I felt I should call a Christian Science practitioner for help through prayer, thinking that it would be 9 p.m. where she lived. But as soon as she answered the phone, I found out that it was midnight there, too.
