By Joshua J. Perkey

Church Magazines


There is much more to the Galápagos Islands than lava rock, finches, tortoises, and tourism. It is an epicenter of faith, where service and sacrifice have resulted in extraordinary unity and strength of conviction.

Out beyond the broken field of blackened lava rock rises a great pillar of a boulder, a bastion against the ocean's cold saltwater spray. Looking closely, one realizes that the jagged edges are actually the heads of a dozen marine iguanas, huddling together like dragons to await the energy-imbuing heat of the morning sun. Some straggling iguanas await alone here and there near the rock's base, their great talons, sharp as knives and nearly as long as a woman's fingers, holding the rock with vise-grip efficiency.

But most gather in groups for warmth and safety, their leathery bodies instinctively supporting each other against the cold and the dark, helping one another in their common need. Here, on the Galápagos, islands born of fire, life takes on precious meaning. It is a land where science and faith intermingle, where we come to understand that we are all part of a common humanity. And here, members of the Church, like these marine iguanas, understand that strength comes from holding tight to their covenants as they forge a united course toward the Lord through faith, service, and sacrifice.