On the Way to Chinchil

The ARRIBA team and I were able to take a trip to a beautiful mountain village along with eight other Peruvians from local churches in Lima. After traveling about twenty-four hours by bus, we stopped in Huacrachuco, a large city in the mountains. From Huacrachuco, the plan was to take a combi (a mini bus) for about two hours to meet up with some men from Chinchil with horses and mules. While in our combi ride, it began to rain and hail. The hail did not last very long, but a light rain continued as we were dropped off. The dirt roads quickly turned to mud and the realization that he horses and mules were not there made us quickly decide to begin walking with our luggage. The sun came out which made things a bit better, but the heavy burdens on our backs made us question the necessity of some of the items we had packed for our week-long trip. After about two hours of walking with our luggage, the welcome sight of horses was in the distance. After strapping our duffle bags to their backs, we were able to cover more ground more quickly. I followed after three Peruvians from the Carlton’s church that had come with us from Manchay. We were the lead group and arrived at our destination around seven that night about a half of an hour after nightfall, having walked about eight hours through the mountains. With the help of passersby, we made it safely to the missionary’s house. Slowly, the others straggled in with the horses and mules, but tow never came that night. Groups of men from Chinchil and other villages went out searching only to resume their search in the morning. The two were found and made it safely to Chinchil. We thank God for his protection during our time on and off the trail and the wondrous sights we saw on our way.