These were busy months with my adventure business but I did do some missions work as well. I provided transportation between Arequipa and Cotahuasi for two short-term missions teams, one in June and the other in July. It was good visiting with them on the long drives, as well as some during their time of ministry here in Cotahuasi. The second team had too many people (and luggage) to fit in my van so we needed to hire another vehicle. The repair shop where I get my car worked on often has a lot of small Mercedes tourist buses in there, and I know the mechanic that works on those. He has been very helpful with all the odd problems that go wrong with mine so I asked him if he could recommend a good driver to hire. He introduced me to Jorge, who has a 15-passenger minibus. Jorge seemed like a conscientious and trustworthy person so we decided to give him a try. It took both of our vehicles to get everyone and everything transported, which gave me a chance to observe his driving as well. Everyone was pleased with his service, so we used him again to transport a third team that came. His bus alone was big enough for them so I wasn't needed with that group. We were all more comfortable having someone we had confidence in to take care of that team alone, from start to finish.

My website is finally attracting more business, I had three tours booked during June and July, all had chosen to use my company solely based on finding my website. They also all were very happy with my service and the trekking tours, so hopefully they will provide some referral business in the future. I even got an invite to join the two couples from Austria on a long hike in the Alps! Hopefully that will be possible in a few years. Most of those who come to Cotahuasi continue to be from countries other than the U.S., so I am enjoying meeting people from around the world. I did have another mountain climber from the U.S. who was here in July and we had a great time climbing three Arequipa area mountains. We climbed a new route on 19,872' Chachani, were able to reach the summit of 20,630' Ampato, which I failed to do last December, and climbed 19,606' Sabancaya, an active volcano right next to Ampato. Don't worry, Sabancaya is resting right now, we only saw occasional small puffs of smoke coming out of the crater. None of them are technical climbs, but all required crampons and an ice axe due to the snow and glacier routes we were on. They were good climbs to build my confidence and skill in alpine conditions. I'm looking forward to more mountain climbing in the coming months with a number of trips planned, both for fun and with clients.

I had an interesting job the middle of August for 12 days, providing transportation for a BBC film crew, they were shooting a kayaking and trekking adventure special here in Cotahuasi Canyon. It was for a reality type TV show that is supposed to air sometime in the beginning of 2009. It was interesting, although boring at times as I was on emergency standby for a number of days, some at home and some hanging around the small village of Huachuy in case they had any problems. I did get called on twice while I was at home, one day they needed more food and supplies, another day I had to go pick up an exhausted crewmember and one of the participants who slipped and twisted her ankle. It was quite sore so we went to the hospital for an x-ray and it turned out she had fractured her fibula! The doctor put a cast on her leg and after many calls back and forth with London, they had a car from Arequipa come and get her. There she went to the hospital again and ended up having surgery to put a pin in the bone as the ligament was pulling on the fracture too much. A couple of days later she was on a flight to London, in good spirits in spite of the more than expected adventure.

On the over four-hour drive to Huachuy, Alcides rode with me and I had a chance to talk with him about his recent accident as well. I had met him at the church when I first came to Cotahuasi, and then after awhile he stopped attending and later moved to Huachuy. About two months ago he fell quite a ways off the edge of a steep mountain trail, I think while hiking at night. Somehow he was found and rescued, and by the grace of God and about 40 stitches in his head, he lived and is recovering. He realizes that God has given him a second chance to follow Him and has turned back to the Lord.

While in Huachuy, I had to make some phone calls from the public phone there, one of the many fixed satellite phones in the rural villages here. I had to buy a phone card from Rosa, the lady who watches over the phone, and while talking to her must have mentioned that I am a missionary here as well. She wanted me to teach her something from the Bible, so we spent over an hour going over the first chapter of John and a few subsequent passages. She was eager to learn and quickly understood the message about the eternal Word, who was with God in the beginning, who made everything that has been created, and who as God the Son, came to earth to live as a perfect man and gave His life as payment for our sins. She and her husband are also neighbors of Alcides and his wife, so I encouraged the two couples to get together to study the gospel of John with a Bible study booklet I gave to Alcides. Please pray that they will follow through and do this, and be able to encourage each other to learn more about God and to walk with Him.

Also pray that Brad and I will be able to find the time to get together and finally make the parabolic solar cooker that we have been wanting to do for months. I got the shiny sheet metal when I was in Arequipa, but we still need to get a few other things, as well as take measurements and draw up the plans.

Giving thanks to God in all things,