When we were in Cushpa last July, the children asked Maribel when she would come back and teach them again. She said that she would try to return at Christmas time. However as the year went on she got involved leading and teaching the children's program in a new church plant in Pachacutec, a suburb in Arequipa. There, as well as at the parent Christian Missionary Alliance church, she directed a Christmas program involving the young kids presenting the story of the birth of Jesus. Because of this the Cushpa trip got moved back to New Years.

If you remember the report about the July trip, we had to cross a very cold river because the bridge wasn't yet finished. Fredy and Bertha's baby was also born on the way home (she is doing fine). In the morning on New Year's eve, Maribel, Rosa, Nikki (two high school girls interested in missions), Alberto and I squeezed into my packed van and started the more than five hour drive from Cotahuasi. This time we had been assured that the bridge was finished and that we could drive all the way to the village of Cushpa. We again had a van full of stuff, including presents for the children, so we were very thankful when we arrived at the river to see the completed bridge. The road wasn't the greatest beyond there, but we were able to pass the various obstacles and drive to the "plaza" in Cushpa. It is just an open area surrounded by a hill, a rock wall and a few small class rooms, situated at about 14,500 feet elevation.

When we arrived at about 3:30 in the afternoon, the adults were having a town meeting, which went on for hours and seemed to mostly consist of drinking chicha, their homemade corn liqueur. They told us the children would be there at 9:30 in the morning, many of them having to walk an hour or two from their homes on the high plain. After waiting for close to two hours with no sign of the meeting coming to an end, we finally interrupted and asked about a room to stay in for the night. They gave us the key to a small community room for us to eat and sleep in, and then continued their "meeting".

In the morning we got everything set up in one of the classrooms, while the children started to arrive from their homes. After showing a Christmas video, Maribel and Rosa shared a skit and told how only Jesus Christ can give us a clean heart and forgive our sins, the best present we could ever receive. Then we handed out their gifts – trucks, dolls, fruit cake and sweets, as well as some used clothing, all donated by the church in Arequipa. Alberto also gave a message in Quechua, the indigenes language which is better understood than Spanish by many people here. In the afternoon on the drive back, we handed out the remaining gift bags to children in various small houses scattered along the road. We are thankful to God for being able to share about Jesus and His love for all, with the children and their parents in Cushpa, and along the way.