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12月25日 Merry ChristmasThis was my first Christmas spent in Cotahuasi so was a bit of a change. Previously for Christmases in Arequipa, I have spent it with friends, eating turkey dinner, going to Christmas programs or musicals at church, similar to Christmas time in the U.S. Thankfully without so much commercialization though. It is still mostly a religious holiday here, with Nativity scenes everywhere. Normally there is little to indicate that it was Christmas here in Cotahuasi, a little bit of green and red garland, a couple of small trees in a few stores and a Christmas song or two heard from the Catholic Church or the radio. This year I did see three nativity scenes here, one visible through a doorway was quite large, as was the one in the Catholic Church. The main way to tell that it was Christmas was the boxes and boxes of paneton (fruitcake) which were in every store. To me it is dry and not very tasty but it is very popular here.
We had a special service at church last night but it wasn't very Christmasy. First there was a video on the the Bible and finances and then we sang some favorite choruses, none of them Christmas songs, and then a message. I did show a children's Christmas video. After that came the main event - hot chocolate and paneton. Thankfully Christina, the pastor's wife, had made the paneton and it was delicious, moist and mildly sweet. Hot chocolate is another very common Christmas tradition in Peru.
Today I followed one of my Christmas Day traditions from my last few years in Los Angeles. I went for a hike in the mountains. It was much warmer than some I've done there, as it is the beginning of summer here, and it was a beautiful sunny day. The rainy season has hit the high plains and will be down here soon. Most afternoons are getting cloudy and cooler but only a couple of light showers so far.
I hope your Christmas was blessed and that you have a wonderful new year.
Dios te bendiga,
Vic 12月4日 Back in CotahuasiTime sure flies, I have been back in Peru for just over a month now and should have written this weeks ago. After a few days in Lima, I went to visit Maribel, a missionary friend in Huaraz. She works with Latin Link mission and with Hogar Arco Iris (Rainbow House), a Christian orphanage in Huaraz. As part of their ministry, she also teaches in Canchacuta, a small mountain village about 2 hours above Huaraz. It was so beautiful to see her love for the kids there and their love for her. I was able to take her a bunch of headlights, one for her and a bunch to distribute to other workers and people who attend the evening church service there. They were a gift from Ray Smith's small group at Parkridge Baptist in Coral Ridge Florida. Thanks!!
We took a sightseeing trip up to Huascaran National Park, which is at the base of Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru. It is in the Cordillera Blanca (white mountain range), a very popular and beautiful scenic area with a number of peaks over 20.000 feet. My climbing buddies have invited me to join them on a climbing trip there next year. After taking the bus back to Lima, then Arequipa and finally to Cotahuasi, I was very happy to end 31 hours of bus riding, including 2 nights of poor sleep on the buses.
A few days later I met Carlos and Hugo and we attempted to climb Nevada Solimana, a near 20,000 foot peak a couple of hours from Cotahuasi. We got up to 18,000' before having to turn around due to being behind schedule because we weren't used to the altitude, too tired and forgotten food and water at base camp. Then my car died just after we started back and I had to walk about 4 1/2 hours to get to a main road to catch a bus to Cotahuasi. I got home about 25 hours after getting up the morning before so was quite tired. About 12 hours later I was back at the car with a mechanic, but he couldn't fix it and had to tow it back to Cotahuasi. While I was waiting for my car to get fixed (turned out to be dirty fuel injectors), my buddies went back to Arequipa and then were successful in climbing Ampato, a peak just over 20,000'.
I'm getting settled back into life here, after going to Arequipa for a week to get more work done on the car, including a smog check and insurance, as well as lots of shopping for supplies that aren't available or are too expensive here in Cotahuasi. Had Thanksgiving with the Shaws and 2 other missionary families, and then a leadership training seminar last weekend. This week we plan on going up to a small village a couple of hours away, to continue working on their new church building.
I will be using this blog again instead of the yahoo one, it seems to be easier to use and read. Will try to keep it updated more often so check back every week or so.
It's good to be back home!
Vic |
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