Sorry its been so long- but we've been on the go go go here. About 3 weeks ago or so, we left on a vet clinic trip with Crossroads church from KY. David, I and 2 translators: Mijail and Reuben headed out from Lima to Huanuco on Saturday morning. This was David's first driving adventure over the mountains. He did a great job and I think he might be part Peruvian. I made new rule that if I have to shut my eyes for more than 20 seconds he shouldn't be doing that. We saw a lot of snow on Ticlio and when we passed through Pasco (a very high section) we all fell deep asleep (except David of course) curtesy of the altitude. We arrived in Huanuco after about 8 1/2 hours on the road. We stayed in our familiar hostel and did some apartment hunting. The next morning we attended the Baptist church and then picked up the team from the airport. We headed straight out to Panoa, about 2 hours on dirt roads, yet another driving challenge for David. We made it into Panoa- but the town was so busy that it took us a while to make it to the hotel. The streets are only big enough for one vehicle and they are two - way streets. They are also full of people. But we finally made it and checked into the Hotel. That evening we met up with Edmin and Maura for dinner and got ready for the next day. Some of the team was having some trouble with altitude and we turned in early.
The next day we headed out to a smaller village and set up shop. The team did a lot of house calls and stayed pretty busy de-worming sheep, cows, pigs, horses, donkeys, and probably a few others that I am forgetting. We did this for 3 more days in different villages. It was a neat way to minister to the people there and most of their animals were in surprisingly good condition. David jumped right in like he'd been doing it his whole life. I liked doing the sheep especially.
The last day we saw more chickens, dogs and guinea pigs than we had earlier and I spent most of the day explaining in my rotten spanish how to administer the medicine to their animals that they couldn't bring to where we were working. That proved challenging. I also held a few pigs, so I could say that I did. But I don't really like pigs.
After we finished that day, we headed back into Huanuco for the night. We had Italian food, but it still tasted Peruvian...
The next morning David and I and the translators headed back down the road to Lima. Traffic was a little slow coming down some of the mountains and we hit Lima right at Friday night rushour. It took us about 9 1/2 hours to get home. We dropped Reuben off and we and Mijail made it to the hotel to give the team their luggage and supplies for their trip home the next day.
We checked into the Martinika and got as much sleep as we could. The next morning we woke up and greeted the team from our home church who arrived late the night before. David's brother Daniel was part of the team and it was a huge blessing to see some family. That morning we packed up the trucks and vans and got back on the road, heading this time to Huancayo- about a 6 hour drive if you don't stop. We stopped. So it took about 9 hours to get there. The first part of the trip is the same for going to Huanuco, but the road forks at one point and if you go north you get to our city, if you go south you get to Huancayo. We spent the evening in Huancayo and attended church the next morning. We then headed out to San Jose de Quero and got settled into Maruja's hostel. That night we prepared for the "True Love Waits" presentation the following day. The next day we went to the high school and presented to the older kids. I'm still not sure how I feel that this went and how well it was received. I think overall we all agreed that the gospel presentation needed to be more clear and central.
That night we had Bible study in SJQ and a small group held one in Usibamba as well. The group was using storying and I felt that the study went well in SJQ. It was good to see familiar faces and have some people remember us. It was also really great to be able to talk to Maruja this time. The next day we presented again in Usibamba and held Bible study again. The last day we spent prayer walking in Usibamba, exploring a new area, visiting people in SJQ and having the last Bible study.
We had unusual weather, including rain and 2 hail storms. We woke up one morning to white peaks- beautiful. That morning David and I got up very early to drive into Huancayo (we left our computer charger in the hotel) and it was a pretty drive. I had my first driving lesson on the way back so I can now say that I've driven in Peru. We picked up a man and gave him a ride- so that was a little intimidating, but I made it through!
We headed back to Lima the next day- and we went the "back way". Last year we took this same shortcut that more than doubled the driving time. However this year we were assured that the road was more than half paved and was a lot faster. So we decided to try it out. It is one of the most beautiful drives with awe-inspiring views and a lot of llama herds. But we got to the exact same spot that we had our first flat tire last year, and they were in the process of paving the road and we had to wait for over 2 hours for it be drivable. There goes the "faster" description. We enjoyed the layover though and David went swimming in the river there- freezing cold, but you know David, he said it felt wonderful:) Some of the other guys got involuntarily wet, but thats another story for another day.
We made it into Lima and enjoyed a shower and dinner out with the team. The next day was spent typically in the Inca Market, eating Papa John's Pizza, and all that jazz. The following day we got some errands done and then took an overnight bus (our truck was in the shop) to Huanuco with Daniel and a translator friend of ours, JP. We were planning on apt hunting. We arrived early the next morning and after a few mishaps (like falling in a hole in the sidewalk) we made it to the hostel and started the search. Long story short, we've found an apartment and have a deposit on it. We are waiting for the office to work out the contract and hope to move in Sept. 1 or near to it. We spent the rest of the time walking around, price checking appliances and furniture and scoping out new places to eat. We found one restaurant we will not be returning to. If I told you about it- you would swear I was making it all up. Daniel and David ate cuy- which is guinea pig, and JP bought us emoliants- some sort of tea with alfalfa in it. Not too bad...
We took another overnight bus back and arrived in Lima yesterday. Since then we have been doing some errands and remarkeably... resting! AHHH!!!!! wonderful. We are supposed to be heading out on a research trip Saturday for a week or so in the Pasco area. After that- hopefully we will be moving to Huanuco.
Please pray for us :
for continued language learning
for relationships with nationals
for the paperwork on the apt to go through
praise God that we were able to get plane tickets home for Christmas
We love and miss you all, please keep sending us updates on whats going on with you and how we can be praying for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment