My Side of the Mountain

The sound of squeeling brakes sent me into an immediate panic as I woke from fragmented dreams. The bus seemed to be sliding downward; I fought the urge to scream. Where was I, and what was happening? As the driver skillfully righted the large tour bus, I sat up and looked around. It was still dark. 2 AM. Twelve hours down and who knows how many more to go before we reach the small mountain village of Huacrachuco, Peru. The winding road's many turns scared me as I looked over the abyss. Looking around me, I noticed that everyone else was being reasonable and sleeping. I joined the for a few more hours.

Watching the sun rise on the mountain is truly spectacular. The shadows slowly disappear as the rays of light seem to warm my very soul. The bus paid no heed to this wonder, however, and continued its trecherous climb until it stopped suddenly. The driver said something about the truck ahead not being able to make the turn. I followed everyone off the bus to find out what was going on ahead. We cheered as the buses finally made it around the corner, racing up the mountain and almost missing our bus afterward. By 7:30 we had reached the bus stop.

I'll have to be honest here, Caldo de Cabeza (head soup) was about the most awful thing I have ever attempted to eat and definitely not a good idea for breakfast. Fruit from the market never tasted so good!

Yikes!! I need to go pack!! This epic will have to be continued...

Coming ahead...
The endless hike
Missing (and the subsequent search)
Sleeping with the pigs (well, almost)
The wedding
Penguin huddle...Should we build a cave out of our luggage?
Saved!
Back to Lima

Will Cuzco be this exciting?

Chinchil here we come!

This is an exciting day (which might explain the fact why I have already been up for an hour on a Saturday). We are headed up north to Chimbote to meet our new church and family before heading to Chinchil Sunday to arrive Monday. Please pray for God's strength and a godly attitude for this trip. Also pray that he will use us through classes and personal interactions. Although we will be gone from Lima for nine days, we will only be in this little mountain town for three full days.

With lightning speed...

classes are just about over. One more morning of tutoring (followed by Ceviche with our language helpers)and two days of final exam remain. I can't believe we have already made it to this point.

On Saturday we are catching a bus and heading north to Chimbote (where Rochelle and I will get to meet some of the people at the church in which we will be serving soon!). After church on Sunday, we will get on another bus to head inland for over 10 hours (I think on a dirt road). Then, after a 20 mile hike, we should arrive at a little mountain village called Chinchil (can you say remote?). The plan is to help with a kind of VBS kid's club and with a Peruvian missionary's wedding. There could be as many as 200 kids at the kid's club! Thankfully, some of the young ladies from my church in Manchay are coming to help as well. It should be quite the event. In the mornings Pastor Jim will be teaching a series on Salvation and we get to go to his class. It will be a good refresher on the personal evangelism class we just finished.

I am looking forward to seeing a new region and getting to know the people there, learning a few phrases in Quechua, and trying new food.

I am not so sure about sleeping in cold tents and not showering for a week, but I am sure it will be worth it.

Welcome Spring!

October is here along with shining sign and warm weather. We only have six more hours (three morning sessions) of Spanish tutoring and the final exam. I am thankful to be finished and ready to start the internship part of the year. Personal evangelism class was a stretching class. We are now better equipped to share our faith in Spanish. Pastor Gary kept reminding us that now that to whom much is given, much with be required. That is a sobering thought as I consider the privilege of the Arriba program. Please pray that I won't waste this opportunity in any way.