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| In the shadow of Huascaran, Peru's tallest mountain |
Two trips to Peru in two years; experiencing this
wonderful country twice in a short amount of time leaves me humbled. And now as
I stand in the early weeks of 2014, I find myself planning another trip to this
South American wonderland. I don’t
speak Spanish, I’m not fond of eating guinea pig (the Peruvian national dish),
hiking in the Andes is strenuous, the rain forest is wretchedly humid...so why
would I jump at the chance to go back to such a place? The bigger question is,
why wouldn’t I?
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| Observing parrots at the clay lick near the Tambopata Research Center. |
My first journey to Peru was a trip for teachers to the Amazon
rain forest. I spent a week sleeping under mosquito nets, dodging bats (not my favorite
animal), and sweating profusely without end. However, the ability to witness this marvel of
nature was worth
all the difficult times. Never could I have believed that such
a place existed. The monkeys howled in the trees, the beautiful birds soared
through the sky, the frogs and insects chirped at all hours of the night; the
Amazon presented itself as an alien planet, not an earthbound locale.
My second journey took me in an entirely different direction. I hiked
in the Andes Mountains with 13 members of my church. Our goal was to deliver
translated Bibles to the native Quechua people. These folks had never owned a
Bible in their own language until our band of “Gringos” appeared in their
villages to give them one. The trekking was rough, but the thrill of handing
God’s word to people for the first time in their lives made every step worth
it.
My third trip south of the Equator will again require a trek into
the Andes to deliver Bibles to native Quechua people. As a co-leader alongside
my husband, we’ve assembled a 16-person team who will walk into little-seen
corners of the mountains, Bibles in hand. As heads of the team, it’s our job to
get everyone safely there and back and to accomplish our mission in the
process. It’s amazing experience to lead a group of friends and to have the
responsibility of bringing God’s word to those who’ve ever had it. I expect
that we will bless people through our actions, and the experiences of our last
trip make me hopeful for our success.
For example, on the 2012 trip we visited four different villages.
After the third village, we embarked upon the trail towards our last and final
village. When I say, “trail,” imagine a small winding path that may be trod
upon by people, donkeys, horses, or sheep at varying points throughout the day.
At times we didn’t even walk on trails but just cut across country, as needed.
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| How privileged we were to see this man come to Christ! |
Our group was walking along one of these paths when a farmer came
running to us. He’d heard about our nightly presentation where we passed out
the Bibles. He’d been unable to attend the previous night, but he still wanted
to talk to us. Through a translator we learned that he’d been struggling with
alcoholism, and he knew he needed help. He wanted to accept Christ into his
life. So, we all prayed with him right on that mountainside and watched as the
joy of Christ became evident in his life.
He was thrilled that he hadn’t missed his chance, and we were
thrilled to see the hand of God at work in the mountains of Peru. As we trekked
on, it was unclear who was more excited, the Peruvian man we’d just prayed with
or our band of travelers who’d just witnessed a miracle.
When I think ahead to the upcoming trip, I can’t help but pray for
more experiences like that one. It makes all the work, the planning, the
trekking, and the journey into the unknown worth it...to go back to a place I
love. To go back to Peru.
