June 14, 2007
The pictures don't even begin to express the awesomeness and splendor of the views I was blessed with. (The Andes Mountain range is the second highest in the world.) It was an all-day trip. We traveled from Huancayo (left at 6 a.m.) to Canta (we arrived at 1:30 p.m.) where we stopped for lunch. The roads for the most part were smooth. (Note: smooth compared to other Peruvian roads, not roads in the U.S.) The entire trip was fantastic. One wouldn't think that traveling in the backseat of a packed truck for 7 hours would be fun, but I was so distracted by God's artwork that I didn't pay attention to the limited space. I also couldn't sleep for fear of missing the next spectacular scene. After lunch, we picked up another passenger (a local pastor) and headed up to Huamantanga (another two hours). I personally think the last two hours were even more wonderful than the first eight. It was definitely a rougher ride than before. We were very, very high and traveling on an extremely narrow road. To give you a mental picture...imagine the worst dirt road you've been on and multiple it by ten. Then, image that road 9,000 feet in the air. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not much! It was a lot of fun in my personal opinion. (Arthur says that people will ask him how he even finds places like Huamantanga because they are so far off the beaten path.) We arrived in Huamantanga around 4:30 p.m. and unloaded the truck. We ate dinner with the local missionaries and rested until Saturday. June 15, 2007
The local Peruvian missionaries are such an amazing example of love and sacrifice for the Lord. Their house is small and they don't have indoor plumbing. They have hung tarps in the one- room house to form three separate rooms. When you walk into the backyard, you can see clothes hanging on the clothesline, a small garden area, and their kitchen. They used a tarp to create the kitchen. It is composed of a travel-sized stove top and a preparation area. The water pump is a few feet away and their only source of water (besides a thirty-minute walk to the stream). There are five missionaries who live there. They usually survive on about 100 soles (Approx. 3 soles= $1) a month. Often, they don't have money to eat or can only afford to have one meal a day. Even in these circumstances, they love the Lord with all their hearts and are committed to the work in Huamantanga. They demonstrate such joyful attitudes and lives filled with faith and love.
June 16, 2007
We traveled back down to Canta to meet the team. There had been no water in Huamantanga since we had arrived so we packed a day bag, rented a hotel room, and planned to take showers. The hotel manager told us the water would have to heat for an hour or an hour and a half. While waiting, we went to eat a late breakfast and find some snack foods for the week. We headed back to the hotel afterwards looking forward to a nice hot shower. Arthur checked the water and it was still freezing cold. We didn't have much time before going to meet the team, so Benjamin and Arthur decided to be gentlemen and go first (hoping the water would heat up). Well, guess what? It didn't. I have put that shower down in the record books as the COLDEST shower of my life. Also, it was probably the shortest. I made it out in about 1 minute. I will not complain though because it felt so great to get a shower after four days without one. After frigid showers, we went to meet the team at a restaurant for lunch. We left Canta at 4 p.m. with all the "gringos" to go back to Huamantanga. When we returned, we were so grateful and relieved to find that the water was working again.
June 18, 2007
On Monday, we opened the medical clinic. My assignment was translation for one of the doctors. At first, it was a little difficult because I didn't know the questions to ask (and neither did the doctor!), but as the day went on, it became almost systematic. Most of the patients had the same type of problems---flu-like symptoms, stomach pains, and joint pains. The older patients seemed in better shape than the younger ones! Their main complaint was when they carried 50 pounds up and down the mountain, their backs, legs, and shoulders hurt. (Go figure!) We saw 170 patients on the first day.
June 19, 2007
The second day was much more of the same. I got moved from medical translating to psychology for a little while. THAT stretched me. The first lady we talked to had a very heartbreaking story. She told us that her husband died in a tragic way two years ago (later we found out it was suicide). She has two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was her main concern. He is twelve now and very rebellious. It turns out that he was with his father at the time of the suicide. One can only imagine the things he must be going through. We talked a while and got her connected to the local missionaries. Arthur also came in and talked to her and she made the decision to ask Christ to come into her heart. I'm telling you, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing someone give their life over to Jesus.
We had the serious situations like the previous one and we also had some that just make me laugh. A local teacher brought her whole class (twelve kids) in to be psychologically evaluated because they don't do their homework. Also, parents would bring their two and three year-olds in because they didn't obey.
June 20, 2007
I was soooo tired by the third day (Wednesday). We didn't have as many patients. One lady that I specifically remember was 97 years old. She got around better than most 60 year-olds and of course, her only complaint was the pain from her treks up and down the mountain. We finished a little early and Benjamin, Kathryn, and I went on a hike before dinner. It is just so gorgeous everywhere!
June 21, 2007
It was our last day of the clinic. Half-way through the day we lost power. As a result, we had to shut down the dental and eye areas. Fortunately, we were pretty slow and didn't have a lot of patients by then. It was very enjoyable to eat a candlelight dinner for the last night. (We couldn't have planned it any better!)
June 22, 2007
The team traveled back to Lima, and we went back to Canta to spend the afternoon and night. We ate dinner with the missionaries and were very blessed by their happiness and stories. One of them was leaving this morning to run to a neighboring village (a 6-7 hour run). They amaze me with their commitment to the Lord. I hope that there are many others like them to serve the Lord with their entire lives.
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