Back to Lima

The trip back started with a hearty breakfast of bread and hot tea (albeit, it was delicious and I loved it!). We headed out at 8 a.m., leaving our luggage and 2 team members to come later on donkeys and a horse. I now can say that I know what it is like to walk through a rain cloud: beautiful, but cold. In spite of the cold, we were enjoying the company of one another and chatting as we went along, joking that the people from the mountain have a different definition of shortcut than we hold. We followed them up and around mountains (I'll admit I was wondering why we did not just take the path). We made it to where we were to take the van at about 3 in the afternoon and unloaded the donkeys (which had made it there much earlier even though they left later). We talked of hot food and wondered why we had failed to bring snacks this time. When some of our guides pulled out a bag of popped corn I jumped for joy and accepted their offer. The rain came back again and we decided that our best option would be to form a circle and huddle together for warmth. I wondered if the rain meant that the van would not be able to make it on the roads (a premonition that later proved quite accurate). Soon the whole group had joined our huddle. After some time it became evident that the van was not coming and we should look for some better shelter from the wind and rain. We talked of making a cave out of a boulder and our luggage (which sounded exciting to me). As we headed off in search of a bolder, Josué came down the road saying that the van was coming, but we had to walk a little further to meet it. After another hour of walking we spotted a bus coming down the road on the mountain ahead of us. Praise the Lord we were saved! We piled and and gave our guides our flashlights and some sweatshirts. Sarai gave Junior her boots (his sandled feet were sure to be frozen). The ride to Huacrachuco was spent singing praise to our Savior.

Upon arrival we were met by a man from the Christian Alliance Church. Apparently, we were in charge of the service at their church and they were waiting for us. They allowed us to change (we searched our suitcases for dry clothing...it did not end up being what we would normally wear to church, but desperate times...) and gave us some hot tea, promising hot soup after the service. The service was another interesting experience, but I can't say that I understood a whole lot of what was happening. Later we quickly ate our soup and headed back to the hostal (for our $2 a bed stay). We set our alarm for 2:30 a.m. so that we could catch the 3 a.m. bus and crammed ourselves into the 4 bed we had reserved for 9 girls (I'm not sure why the guys had 4 beds for 5 guys, but I guess they just need more space...I'll just say poor Caleb). I was out as soon as the heavy, warm blankets were on me, and I don't think I moved until the alarm went off far too soon.

The bus filled up quickly and people even sat or stood in the aisles. Liz and I offered to hold the children of a young mother who was standing near us. She gratefully allowed us, and we cherished the time we were able to hold these precious little ones. They got off the bus in less than two hours, and Liz and I went to sleep. The next morning came bright and clear. Another breakfast of bread and juice and then back on the bus. We made it back to Chimbote by 6 p.m., but decided to wait for the 11:30 bus because downtown Lima is dangerous in the middle of the night. We had a delicious meal at the bus station and wandered around until 11. The bus was wonderful (okay, so the movie wasn't all that great, so I didn't watch it, but other than that...). The next morning I woke up just as we were reaching the outskirts of Lima. Becky met us at the bus station and graciously did not say anything about how badly we smelled (you try doing all of that without a shower!). It was good to be home.