Well, my first trip out of Lima was interesting to say the least. Last Tuesday night, I took an overnight bus out of Lima to a city called Huanuco. There is a missionary couple that lives there, so I was heading to meet them for the trip out. Also, a Peruvian couple and their baby went along with us. They were familiar with the parts of the area we were heading to, and they speak Spanish and Quechua. The primary purpose of this trip was to do research about the lostness in several towns north of Huanuco. We probably drove through 20 towns, and we found some great things. Most of the villages we went through had at least one evangelical church. Many of them had two or three. Great results!
Now the trip itself was quite an adventure. We left bright and early at 5am on Thursday morning. We wound up and up and up those mountain roads for hours. Now these mountain roads are not probably what you may be picturing in your head. These roads are not paved, many times unmaintained, no guard rail, and one lane. Most of the way only one car can pass through safely, and of course, the drop off on either side of the vehicle is terrifying! Around every corner and curve, David (other missionary) honked the horn to warn any cars ahead coming toward us that we were there. If we met another car, we had to find a wider spot in the road, stop, and wait for them to pass us. It was very cloudy that first morning, and it was my first time out on the roads. I was nervous and praying hard! I had been warned about the roads, so I knew that was to be expected. And everyone told me, you get used to it after a time or two, and it’s true. After a few hours, I began to relax. Well it was just when I started to feel ok when we encountered the really bad roads. Even the other missionaries and the Peruvian couple were scared…nervous isn’t even the word. One of the women in a town we passed had warned us to go another way, because the roads were unmaintained and rainy season had started, so it was very difficult to get there. We had a 4x4, so it seemed an unneeded warning. Well, she definitely turned out to be right. For hours, we drove down a mountain, then back up again on a mud road. Thick, deep mud on even smaller, unkempt, curvy roads. It was a struggle for the truck to make it, and definitely a struggle for us. I thought it was never going to end, and there were times, I honestly thought that I was gonna see Jesus. But after much prayer, we made it! Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a little whole in the wall, that had some lamb soup to serve us. We ejoyed our break and lunch with cats and guinea pigs running around us! We drove for 14 hours that day till we found a place to stay for the night. We found a little hostel with one room with three beds in it – it had to do. And for $2 a bed, can you really complain? I think we were thankful just to have a place to rest! That was a long, exhausting day, physically and mentally.
The next day was much easier. We did some driving, but spent most of the day in a town called Huacaybamba, searching for believers and churches. In that town, we actually chased a bus in pursuit of the pastor of the main church in town. We didn’t catch him! But were able to talk to a member of the church. In that little town, we had found a restaurant with chicken noodle soup. Now, unless you usually make your soup with chicken hearts and feet, then this isn’t your typical chicken noodle soup! But it wasn’t bad (I couldn’t bring myself to eat the chicken part though). And that night, we were able to find a hostel with rooms for each of us, and this was only $3! Oh, in one of the little villages we stopped in, two little girls kept peaking around the truck, like they wanted to talk to me. But when I tried to talk, they would run off giggling. At first they wouldn’t get near me, and I heard one of the girls say, “She’s going to eat us!” Well, the truth is, there is a belief in many of these villages that white people come to eat them. But I told the girl, that I only eat chicken and rice, and I just wanted to talk to them. I finally got to talk to them after much coaxing and photos.!
Our third day was expected to be our last day of travel, but not so. We ended up driving for 12 hours. The town we wanted to get to was blocked off due to trucks stuck in the deep mud. Impossible to get through. So back down that road we went. I think we had to turn around 2 or 3 times that day before we finally got going in the right direction. Sunday, day 4 ended up only being a 4 hour drive, but tiring. I think we were all ready to get home. I took the overnight bus back home last night!
It was an overall great experience Those crazy roads did result in some awesome scenery. The Appalachian Mountains don’t have anything on the Andes! Amazing! Some areas we drover through were as high as 16,000 feet above sea level, boasting amazing views. And I saw everything from sierra roads, to green hillsides, to desert canyons. There just aren’t words to describe how spectacular – God is truly an amazing Creator! I think after this trip, the rest will be a piece of cake! I think I can handle anything now!
Pictures to come!
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