Vic Hanson

Vacation is over and I am back in Peru so I guess it is time to post an update here. I returned to the U.S. the end of January for two months to visit my family and friends, and of course to do some hiking. Many people ask why I go back to Minnesota to see my family at this time, which is a very good question! It is because January through March is the rainy season here in Peru, and there are few tourists here for hiking and mountain climbing. So, even though those aren't the months I would chose to be in Minnesota, that is the time I need to do it. I did have a good visit with my sisters and their families, in spite of some cold weather. They even saved lefse for me, a traditional Norwegian holiday food, which they always make before Christmas! I spent about 2½ weeks there in February, until I had to escape the cold and head towards California.

As usual, when driving across the U.S., I pretty much live out of my car, a Honda CRV. There is just enough room in the back to sleep there, alongside of all my stuff. Having a GPS unit hooked up to my laptop, really was very helpful, it was the first time I have used a navigation GPS for traveling, but I'm hooked. Since discovering that most Walmart stores allow RV'ers to spend the night in their parking lots, that has become my campgrounds of choice. Which works out well because Walmart is also my favorite store. I manage to spend enough there that I think it works out OK for them too. The only problem I had was at a Walmart in the L.A. area, where the security guard watched me as I got everything arranged for bed, and then when I laid down came over and told me that I couldn't sleep there. I said that I had been doing it at Walmarts all over, and even at this same store previously. He said that they only allow those with camping trailers or RV's to sleep there - sleeping in a regular car wasn't allowed,even if I was living in it. I asked if there was someone I could talk to about getting permission and he said the store manager would have to approve it. I went into the store, found the manager and she said I could, so that took care of the problem.

On both of my last two trips to the U.S., I have had time on the drive from Minnesota to California and back, to take time to visit and sightsee along the way. I got to see my son in Denver, after waiting a couple of days for him to get back from a business trip that had been extended at the last minute. During the wait, I visited other friends, as well as made another attempt at climbing Pike's Peak. The third time was not a charm however, and I had to turn around again due to snow, just above Barr Camp. I went south from Colorado Springs, hoping to get warmer weather, but really didn't find any until I got to Phoenix. There, thanks to recent reconnections through Facebook, I got to see friends that I hadn't seen since college days at International College in Hawaii, over 35 years ago!

Once I got to California I spent as much time as possible in the mountains, in spite of continued cooler than normal weather, including snow above 5,000 feet on a number of the local peaks, which like Mt. Wilson and Iron Mountain, as well as Ice House Saddle near Mt. Baldy. I hiked many of my favorite trails there, including two trips to the top of Mt. Wilson and back, using four different trails. I also got to meet Augie, (an on line friend of about two years on Summitpost), and we enjoyed getting to know each other on the beautiful hike up to the 8,007 foot summit of Iron Mountain.

While sleeping in my car at Chantry Flats between the two Mt. Wilson hikes, I was woken up during the night by something bumping my car. I tried to ignore it, hoping it would stop but it continued. When I sat up I thought it was a couple of big dogs, but soon realized that there were two bears up on their hind legs, looking into my car, no doubt attracted by all the food I had in there! Banging on the window didn't scare them away, so I finally had to open a door and yell at them. After looking at me for a moment, they slowly got down and walked away. Too late I thought of taking a picture, by then they were out of flash range and I felt it was best not to chase after them for a photo.

Even with two months, I still ran out of time and didn't get to see many friends that I would have liked too, but am thankful for the opportunity to see the ones I did, including many at a reunion picnic of our old singles class from what used to be Community Baptist Church. It was there that I was introduced to hiking, mtn. biking, climbing and the other outdoor activities that have been such a blessing in my life for the last 15 years, as well as making lifelong friendships. One of those good friends is Dave Mehaffey, who always “leaves the light on” for me, to rest and clean up while I am in the L.A. Area.

On the return trip to Minnesota, I spent time looking for an affordable retirement “home”, but without much success. I did find some places to park an RV at no cost, as long as you don't mind not having water, sewer or electricity! I also did some more hiking in the Las Vegas area, northwestern Arizona, and at Zion and Canyonlands National Parks. Near Canyonlands, after a morning snowfall, and hearing the storm forecast for the Colorado mountains, I decided it was time to make a beeline for Minnesota, not wanting to miss my return flight to Peru. Thankfully, with God's help and 4-wheel drive, I didn't join the many cars in the ditch due to the snowy and icy roads, and arrived back in Minnesota safely.

I thought for awhile that I had made one too many stops at Walmart, but was able to squeeze everything into my suitcases, and still not go over the weight limit. With another snowstorm forecast for later in the day, I was almost glad my flight left at 6:00 am. I guess as a thank you to my sister Cindy for picking me up at the airport after midnight and getting me back there at 4:30 am, I forgot two pounds of premium cheddar cheese in her refrigerator!

After an extended stay in Lima, again visiting with many friends, I am back in Arequipa, waiting for some clients, before returning to Cotahuasi with them near the end of the month. Ahh, finally having nice warm, sunny weather!

God bless,

Vic

On Sunday at church, I had talked with Clemens, a short-term missionary here, about going hiking on Monday. He said he would be going up to the radio transmitter with Brad to help work up there. The station has been off the air for about a week because of generator problems. Monday morning was nice and sunny so I happily set off from my house at about 9:30 looking forward to a nice hike. I was passing by the mission compound so decided to stop in and see if they had left yet. I thought maybe I would ride up with them to the antenna site on the canyon rim and then have more time to explore up there than if I hiked up. There are some old tombs up there that I had heard about but had never seen, so wanted to look for them.

They were just about ready to leave, and had enough room, so I rode along with them. Of course as often happens, there were a number of last minute things, including tracking down the gas station owner at the bank so that we could buy fuel. It was about an hour later that we finally were on the road going up there. I had worked on the antenna site previously but hadn't been up there since it was finished so I wanted to see it as well. When we got there I found out that they needed to install some lightning dissipaters on the top of the tower. These look like long wire brushes that would be used to clean out stove pipes. Brad was planning on climbing up and when I mentioned that I used to work on poles and towers, he asked if I wanted to help him. Always ready for a climbing adventure, I agreed to do it. The only problem was that I was dressed for hiking in shorts and a T-shirt, not working on the top of a 100 foot tower at close to 14,000 feet elevation.

I put on my long sleeved T-shirt and a light windbreaker and figured I would be OK as it was a nice sunny day. After making a rope harness and attaching a rebar hook to it, we started climbing. It had been about 40 years since I had done this, and as I reached the half way point, I began to wonder if maybe I was too old for it now. The wind was getting stronger (and colder) as we went up and the tower had just enough movement to it to induce a bit of anxiety, especially looking down at the cement wall covered with razor wire down below us. However upon reaching the top and seeing the great views of Nevado Solimana and other mountains covered with fresh snow it was all worth it. We pulled up the lightning dissipaters and looked at what we needed to do to install them. About this time my rebar hook noisily slid a bit on the angled rung of the tower, which gave us both a start, but all was OK. Well, our feet were starting to ache from standing on those same angled rungs and my legs were covered with goosebumps from the cold wind, but other than that all was OK!

It was a little tricky installing the dissipaters, which were like trying to hold on to pin cushions, with the points all sticking out, but we managed to do it and even get a few photos of the process. By the time we were done, our feet were more than ready to be off the tower, as well as I needed to stop half way down to give my hands a rest. When we reached the bottom and were out of the wind, it seemed like a different world, all nice and warm. By this time it was 2:00 pm, we were all hungry and enjoyed our lunch in the warm sunshine. After lunch I went looking for the tombs but never found them, but I still had a nice hike back down to Cotahuasi, arriving just before dark.

Unfortunately they were not able to get the generator running, hopefully the new fuel filter that was ordered will arrive today and that will solve the problem. Please pray that the transmitter will soon be back on the air and for no more problems. If you would like, you can also join me in praying for a miracle. The Claro cellphone company has a tower for their antenna a few hundred yards from our radio antenna. They installed poles and an electrical line to get power from Cotahausi. They weren't interested in selling us electricity but I am praying that they will give us electricity as a public service, in exchange for a large sign thanking them for their contribution.

Sorry this is late - Hope you all HAD a Merry Christmas!

Peru Update, December, 2008

Well, we've already gone from the Thanks to the Giving season, or too often the Getting season. From the economic news of the last months, there will probably be less of all of those this year. I would like to give thanks for all the blessings I've received from God and others this year. Adventure Cotahuasi Tours is slowly getting more business. It has not grown as fast I had hoped for, but there has been more business this year than last and I am thankful for that. It has been a blessing to share the natural wonders of Peru with people from around the world, and they have enriched my life as well. Most recently was a couple of busy weeks, spent mountain climbing and on a five day hike to Choquequirao and Machu Picchu in the Cusco area. If you are interested in reading about it, and seeing lots of photos, you can do so at the following link:

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/469499/choquequirao-machu-picchu-in-five-days.html

In addition to the trip report, you can read more about the trek route by going to “parents” on the left hand side and clicking on “Choquequirao – Machu Picchu Trek”.

When not busy climbing and hiking with clients, I spend a lot of time hiking to keep in shape, which seems to get harder every year. I suppose that has something to do with turning 60 this year. I'm thankful to be healthy and still be able to hike and climb regularly, as well as to have a job doing what I enjoy so much. However I decided this year that I want to be able to enjoy an active retirement as well, so Lord willing I am planning on retiring at age 62, and drawing partial Social Security, rather than waiting until 66. That way I can hopefully continue to enjoy hiking, climbing and traveling full time, instead of just reading about others doing it, or watching them on TV.

A missions project that I have spent a lot of time on has been designing and building solar cookers. Many people here still cook with wood over an open fire. Much time is spent gathering wood, and the houses are filled with smoke from the cooking. We get a lot of sun in Cotahuasi and we want to be able to provide a low cost and easy to make solar cooker that can be used to help make life easier and healthier for the people here. We have a promising design, just need a local source for the materials.

I have mentioned my friend Maribel in numerous past updates, she has also been a partner in adventures, missions trips and my business. We have been wanting to climb El Misti, the volcano towering over Arequipa, for many years. We finally got the opportunity to do so for her birthday a couple of months ago, along with Claudia, another like minded friend. That will be our last adventure together for some time, as she has embarked on a grander adventure, a return to full-time missionary service. She had received an invitation to work at a Christian Institute in Spain over a year ago, and felt it was God's leading for her life. She applied for a visa to Spain the beginning of this year, but the answer was always “wait until you hear from us” or “you need to submit some more paperwork”. I didn't think it would ever happen but she continued to believe that God would do the impossible. She finally received her visa in November. I missed her commissioning service while on the Machu Picchu hike, and she left for Spain before I returned to Arequipa. She is happy and excited to be there; and not having to learn a foreign language, is already fully immersed in the work. Please pray for God's blessing in her life and ministry, and His continued provision for her financial needs.

I have plans to return to the U.S. for two months, leaving here on January 28^th and returning the beginning of April. Besides spending time with family in Minnesota, I will be driving to California and back, hoping to see as many friends as possible, and enjoying as much hiking and adventure along the way as time and weather permits. I'm also thankful the price of gas has gone down!

God bless and have a Christ filled Christmas, Vic

July 6th

We started the summer out with more than 60 summer missionaries who set on to serve in 14+ different Andean villages. In addition to our village teams, we have a team doing research.  This team’s goal is to go into areas that we have not been, determining if there is a Christian presence and if it is feasible for a church from the US to adopt the areas based on accessibility, lodging, and food.

Until last week the research team consisted of Kristen Seay, Lydia Shivar, and Greg Gomez, at which point Claudia Puente became the team leader, allowing Kristen to fulfill other responsibilities with our REAPSouth team.  

Yesterday, while investigating villages in around Abancay, Apurimac, Peru, the group was involved in a public transportation accident.  The micro bus they were riding in crashed into the side of a mountain.  Greg Gomez passed away from a head injury he received.  Lydia Shivar has a mild concussion that she is being treated for.  Claudia Puente has a whelping contusion on her leg, for which they are monitoring for clots.

 Please pray for the following:

The family of Greg Gomez.  He was a recent graduate of Ole Miss in Mechanical Engineering, with plans to start his career at a company in St. Louis upon returning to the US. His family is from the St. Louis area.

Claudia Puente and Lydia Shivar, both for their recovery and their emotional state.  They witnessed a graphic death of their friend and teammate.

Kristen Seay, the previous head of this team.  Besides being close to Greg, she recently witnessed the aftermath of a bus accident on another mountainside and was already having trouble with the memory from the previous accident.

Our missionary team, especially Mike Weaver as he is traveling to Abancay today to bring Claudia and Lydia back to Lima and to determine the logistics of getting the body back to the US.

Our almost 60 other summer missionaries as they are slowly becoming aware of the situation and are grieving the loss of such a dear servant.

Thank you so much for your constant, unfailing support.

Pray for all involved in this situation as the Spirit brings them to mind this week.

Thanks and God bless,

Vic

I don't remember for sure exactly how this project got started but I was over at Brad and Gina Shaw's house here in Cotahuasi, Peru, where we work as missionaries. Brad was talking about trying to make solar cookers to help the people here. One of our church members was looking for a new burro to replace his mother's burro that had died. She needed the burro to haul firewood for cooking. Because Cotahuasi is a large village and a majority of people still use wood cooking fires, the nearby sources of firewood have been depleted. It takes her a full day every week to go and get a week's worth of firewood. Without a burro, she would have to go oftener and bring back less wood each time; only what she could carry on her back. Our area usually gets eight to nine months of sunshine a year so solar seems like a good option for a supplemental cooking source. Brad also mentioned the need for more fuel-efficient wood stoves, rather than just a fire on the ground with three stones to support the pot.

Brad had seen a large parabolic solar cooker in Tomepampa, a village about 20 minutes away. He suggested we go look at it so we hopped in the car and went right away. The cooker wasn't at the home where he had previously seen it, but they told us where it currently was and we were able to go and look at it. It was about five feet in diameter, made of shiny sheet metal attached to a framework of angle iron and a parabolic dish made of one-inch wide metal bars. We were told that it cooked quite rapidly and worked well, so we took measurements and lots of pictures to guide us in making one. However we knew it wouldn't be an immediate solution to the mother's problem because the shiny metal wasn't available here in Cotahuasi.

That evening I did some research on the Web to learn as much as possible about solar cookers and hopefully find some plans for building one. I did see a photo of one that looked very similar to the one we saw, but there were no plans for making it. One of the best sites I found was that of Solar Cookers International, based in Sacramento, CA. Their site is www.solarcookers.org and they have many different types of cookers and the plans to make them available as downloadable PDF files. I was anxious to make one right away, rather than waiting until after my next trip to Arequipa where I could hopefully find the materials for the large one we had looked at.

They had smaller parabolic ones, some of them using an umbrella for the parabolic form, others required building your own out of cardboard or wood. The plans that caught my eye were for a box cooker, lined on the inside with aluminum foil and using a piece of glass on top to trap the heat inside of the box. That appeared to be the easiest to build with the limited materials I had available, especially as I could see a large box on a pile of stuff on the other side of the room from where I was sitting at the computer. I excitedly went through the list of materials to see what else was needed. I soon found a big problem; I didn't have any aluminum foil. They didn't recommend using glass mirrors, which I knew I could get in Cotahuasi, and aluminum foil wasn't available. The mission of Solar Cookers International is to promote solar cooking in third world and developing nations, where many people are still dependent on wood fires. The plans had a section on substitute materials that could be used in areas that don't have access to all of the normally used items. Instead of aluminum foil, it said that aluminized polyester film (Mylar®) could be used, although I didn't notice the warning until after I had built the cooker. It said not to use it on the inside of a box cooker because it could melt and give off fumes, but neither of those has been a problem.

I knew I had seen some material like that somewhere in my house so I started searching around. I soon found it! Every morning I have a half of a small bag of Angel Zuck Cereal for breakfast. It is available in larger bags but they are more expensive per gram than the smaller ones, as is often the case here in Peru. They are "plastic" bags but the inside is a shiny reflective surface, just like the Mylar balloons that are so popular. I dug through my garbage for as many as I could find there, and then emptied a few more bags into a plastic container to come up with what looked like enough to line the inside of the box. I buy the cereal by the case and now I had an empty cardboard box as well as the empty bags. About this time I came up with the exciting idea of packaging everything needed to make the solar cooker, along with instructions, inside the large cereal box. Then you could give the whole box to a needy family, they could eat the cereal and then make the solar cooker!

I soon realized that this wouldn't work as you need two boxes, and one has to be larger than the other, along with a piece of glass too big to fit into the cereal box. So I went and got the first box I had seen, it had contained panetone, which is a Peruvian fruitcake, popular at Christmas time. The boxes weren't quite as big as recommended, but the cereal box would fit perfectly inside the panetone box, leaving room to put the necessary insulation between the boxes. It was now late and I needed to get to bed, but I could hardly wait until morning to start building the cooker.

I had everything I needed now except the glass and the adhesive to attach the shiny plastic to the box. Still trying to make it as simple as possible, so that those with limited resources could duplicate it, I checked the substitution list and was reminded that you could make a paste from flour and water. I started on the construction and all was going well. I used crumbled up newspaper and cardboard scraps to insulate the airspace between the boxes, although it says you can use dry plant fibers, feathers or wool, items most people here would have, but I didn't. When it came time to attach the plastic foil, I mixed up some flour and water paste and attempted to glue the foil onto the inside of the box. But as the directions also stated, it can be hard to get it to stick. The flour paste didn't hold it at all so I had to go buy some glue at the stationery store. That worked better but still didn't hold the edges well, plus there were lots of bumps and wrinkles in the foil. The directions also said not to use tape on the inside of the box, but I had some high temperature shiny foil tape that I had bought in the U.S. so I used that. I use the tape to make ultra light backpacking stoves out of aluminum soda cans (search the web for "Pepsi can stoves" if you are interested). I did feel bad about using something that I didn't think was available here, but I just saw a similar tape at the new Maestro (Ace Hardware) Home Center in Arequipa.

The only thing left now was to make the lid for the cooker, which takes another piece of cardboard, that came from one of my storage boxes (originally my kitchen stove box). I have a friend who used to have a hardware store here; he came by while I was working on the cooker. He said he would be gone all day but he still had some glass and would cut me a piece when he got home in the evening. However he never showed up and didn't answer my phone messages. After a few days I gave up and went to the glass shop to get a piece there. The owner was out of town and the shop was closed. It was about two weeks later before he got back and I finally found the store open to get the glass. Finally I finished the cooker, but it was too late in the day to try it out. I was very eager to test it the next day but then we had a couple of unusual cloudy days during our normally sunny dry season.

At last the time arrived, a beautiful sunny day. I decided to keep it simple for the first try and just made plain white rice. I put too much water in it so it was quite sticky, but it worked! It was time for the real test – pot roast. The beef here is not hung and cured, so it is normally very tough. A crock-pot slow cooker works the best for making a pot roast, taking about eight hours on low. It was a perfect test for a solar slow cooker. On my first try, the weather turned cloudy after about 4 hours so I had to finish it in the oven. Then I was busy (and there were a few more cloudy days) so I couldn't try it again for a couple of weeks. It also isn't possible to buy roast beef here every day. It is usually only available a few times a week, early in the morning (6 or 7 am) on the day they butcher. I stopped at the meat market and the owner said they would have some early in the morning so I asked them to hold two kilos of boneless beef for me until I got there.

In the morning, after getting the beef and peeling carrots and potatoes, it was 10:30 before I set the cooker out in the sun. I turned the box every two hours or so to keep it aimed at the sun, and brought it in at 4:30 when the sun went behind the mountain (a disadvantage to living in a canyon – late sunrises and early sunsets). It smelled so good and it looked done, just like in the crock-pot. The taste test confirmed success, all was cooked and the beef was fairly tender. On my second try a few weeks later I set the box out in the sun to preheat while I was cutting up the veggies, and then browned the meat in a fry pan like the crock-pot recipe book says, to give it a head start. Again it was good, but not falling apart tender like eight hours in the crock-pot. Looks like I will have to get up earlier next time and have it ready by 9:00 when the sun hits my cooking area.

Besides making a larger, parabolic cooker, I plan on experimenting with more efficient wood burning stoves as well.

If you are interested in making your own box solar cooker, or the "Cookit" a simpler panel cooker, you can download the file SOLAR COOKERS How to make, use and enjoy   10^th  Edition, 2004 at www.solarcookers.org .

Happy cooking!

The big news here in Cotahuasi this month is that Radio Senda Cristiana, the new Christian station is finally on the air! It has been a dream and project of the Shaws, as well as the local believers here, for a number of years. Getting the license was a long drawn out process, with lots of paperwork and bureaucratic delays. After trying to lease an unused antenna from the regional government with no success, the mission decided to put up their own. Work on that was finished just in time for the team that came to install and set up the transmitter. There is no electricity up on the canyon rim where the transmitter is so for now power is supplied by a diesel generator. At first Brad thought they would only be able to broadcast four hours a day, due to fuel expense, but the consumption is less than expected and they are now broadcasting eight hours a day. The future plan is for a small hydroelectric generator near the tower. Praise God that His Word is now reaching out to some of the remote villages, enabling them to receive Christian teaching while they are working in their fields and at their homes.

About six years ago a ministry team from the Cotahuasi church went to Huillac to share the gospel. Huillac is a small village about a half hour past and above Alca, the main village above Cotahuasi. There is now a road to Huillac and they have limited combi service, however it is still a very traditional village and most of the women still wear the traditional Quechua dress. Alberto Cusi, from the Cotahuasi church has been ministering in Huillac regularly, and a few of the leaders from there have been attending Bible and leadership training. The church has been growing and for a number of years they have been working on constructing a church building. In spite of a number of teams coming to help with construction, progress has been slow for various reasons. One of the reasons was that after much of the construction was done, some who were opposed to the Christian message destroyed the building. However the believers have been committed and faithful to the task and this past year the church meeting place was finally finished.

The members there were excited to have their church completed and invited the Christians from all the other villages to come and share in their joy through a 1^st anniversary service on May 17^th and 18^th. I took a van full of people from Cotahuasi and we enjoyed a good time of fellowship, Bible messages and of course lots of food.

I was hoping to return to Cushpa with Alberto and Isidoro but we weren't able to find a time when we all could do it so will try it again at a later date.

I did get a chance to go down canyon to where the Cotahuasi and Maran Rivers join, and form the Ocoña River. From there we hiked up to Marpa passing large numbers of ancient Wari ruins as well as parts of an Inca trail. We ended up crossing the river two times on cables, the first time on an old one that appeared very scary at first but it turned out to be not so bad. There were also a few sketchy sections of trail where it dropped into and climbed out of steep side canyons, but again we were able to pass safely. The last day was a seemingly never-ending 8-½ hour hike up to Huachuy (we were told it was only five hours), where we met our ride back to Cotahuasi. Looks like I have a new route for my adventure business! Oh, I have a tourist coming tomorrow; we are taking an easier four-day trek down canyon.

Thanking God,

 Vic

While in the Pausa area with the Westside team in September, I had a burden to return to San Sebastian and do some leadership training. Tania and Wilman live there, they are both teachers and they hold the church meetings in their home. I offered to return with a small team to do leadership training and they agreed to host the meetings.

When I got back to Arequipa, I started planning for the training, but nothing was working out as I had envisioned. I was about ready to cancel the whole trip until I found out that Pastor Antonio was inviting everyone from the other villages, and it looked like there was a lot of interest. God pulled it all together at the last minute and I emailed Cindy in Pausa to confirm that we would be there as scheduled. On Thursday morning, October 11^th, Santiago and Jeremias, two of the brothers from the Cotahuasi church, Maribel, from the Alianza church in Arequipa, and I left Cotahuasi at 7:40 am.

This was my first trip across the high plain in over two years, and the first time that I was able to drive from Cotahuasi to Pausa, now that I have a serious 4x4 vehicle. We took the road that goes from Cotahuasi to Oyolo for three hours, and then followed a faint road that heads off towards Pausa. It was even non-existent in one section, but it was an easy cross-country drive to where we could see it going up the next hill. From there the road was better than I remember it being before, and as it is dry season now, we didn't have any problems crossing the swampy high plain and the rivers.

However the downhill section to Tactanga seemed much worse than last time. It was very rough and rocky, and we really had to go slow. It was so bad that I had some concern that we might encounter problems trying to go up on the return. The downhill part looked short at first, but it was just to the bottom of the really steep switchbacks. Then it was still slow, and even rougher on the rest of the downhill, until we arrived in Tactanga. After that we had good road for the last two hours to San Sebastian. The whole trip took us almost nine hours, including a leisurely lunch after crossing the last river, at about 15,000 feet.

The next morning we went to Pausa to talk with Cindy and Pastor Antonio. When we arrived there, we found out that they had been on the bus we met on the way, so we turned around and went back to San Sebastian. When we got back there, Cindy asked me what provisions I had made for meals and lodging for those from other villages. She said that Pastor Antonio told her that because we were putting on a "conference", we were expected to feed and house the participants as well. I didn't know that was expected, so I had just brought enough food for the four of us. Thankfully Cindy provided money for the rest, and they had brought a bunch of food from Pausa. Tania and others prepared the food for everyone. She also provided housing for some of us, and the others stayed at the hostel a few blocks away. To make it even more interesting, we found out that they don't have regular running water in San Sebastian. They only receive water for an hour or so, early in the morning, and have to store it in barrels, large trashcans and buckets.

As is often the case here, the turnout for the training was less than expected, as a number of people who said they would be there didn't show up. And even though it was advertised as a Leadership Training time, only a few of the 15 or so people were leaders. I was expecting many non-leaders to be here, but was hoping for a better showing of leaders.

We started the sessions on Friday afternoon. Maribel and Jeremias played guitars for our worship time, and Pastor Antonio was the MC. I gave a lesson on the need for leaders to be servants and then Santiago taught the first three lessons of "New Life in Christ". As we were heading back to Tania's for dinner, I was told that one of the women needed a ride back to Pausa that evening because she needed to be there to take care of the irrigation for her fields during the night. The water is allocated for different fields 24 hours a day, and if you are not there to take care of your fields during your turn, you won't get any water until the next time your turn comes around, which might be up to two weeks away. I had thought there would be an evening session while we were gone, but I think everyone was too tired so they didn't have one.

Saturday morning I gave a lesson on prayer, again with Anibal translating, and Santiago continued with the basic doctrine series. By evening people were getting tired of sitting so there wasn't an after dinner session that night either. That left four lessons for Sunday morning, and we were trying to finish by noon so that people could catch a noon combi back to Pausa.

However that didn't happen – we finished about 12:30, then everyone had to have lunch, even though we had agreed not to provide lunch. By that time it was too late to catch a ride to Pausa. To complicate matters further, a young man showed up Sunday morning and said that he wanted to be baptized, so we had a baptismal service in the afternoon. I took as many as I could in my van, and the rest started walking, hoping to catch a ride somehow. I dropped off the first group at the river and went back and picked up those who were still walking.

We had a nice baptismal service, Wilman baptized and I assisted him. After that we relaxed in the hot springs for a while and then all went into Pausa for the evening church service at the radio station. There, Santiago preached and then Maribel gave her testimony. Thankfully they didn't have games afterwards like they sometimes do, so we visited a bit and then went back to Tania and Wilman's to sleep. It was quite a challenge at their house – 8 or 9 there at night and up to 20 during the day for meals, and no running water. Actually very little water at all, for some reason it didn't come on at all Saturday or Sunday mornings. There was a little Saturday night, but we had to haul some water in a very large cooking pot during the day. Cindy washed a lot of dishes; otherwise they were getting poorly washed in dirty water. It was a cultural learning experience, but we all survived, and I didn't hear of anyone getting sick.

We left San Sebastian Monday morning at 7:15 and headed back up to Tactanga, and then the steep climb back up to the high plain. It gave the van a good workout as the road is very bad – rough, rocky and steep, but we got to the top without any problems. There were a couple of scary moments when I put it in drive and we didn't move, it took a while to build up enough torque to climb up. One of the times we were in rocks and the other time was on a switchback. I had backed up to get around the very tight hairpin curve, and couldn't go back any farther. When I put it in Drive, we didn't move! I was afraid for a moment that we were stuck there, but then the van started moving and we continued to climb up.

Santiago and Jeremias wanted to fish for trout on the high plain so we were looking forward to fresh fried fish for lunch, but in spite of trying two different locations, they came up empty handed. We arrived in Cotahuasi at 6:00 pm, after thankfully one of the least adventuresome drives in recent trips.

Thursday afternoon, back in Arequipa, I decided that I better go to Chile that evening (I've gotten good at making last minute decisions like the Peruvians) to renew my visa. I had been planning on waiting until I could get my work visa but that is taking longer than expected. It was already 85 days overdue because of waiting to receive my new passport after mine was stolen. It is no problem if it is overdue; you just need to pay a dollar a day penalty. It all went smoothly and I got another 90 days when I re-entered Peru an hour later. Hopefully the 90 days will be enough time to get everything done for my work visa.

Thanks for your prayers for everything, God bless.

Vic

On September 1^st, the team from Westside Baptist Church in Florida arrived in Arequipa and Lucho and I met them at the airport. They spent the night in Arequipa and in the morning we started on the two-day trip to Pausa. We spent the first night in Caraveli, and in the morning continued on to Cahuacho. The team wanted to have a Bible study with the mayor, whom they had met previously, but he was busy so they scheduled it for the return trip. We used to take a shortcut to Pausa that goes through Casiri, but that road had been impassable due to landslides for about two years.

We asked the mayor and he said it was now open, and we could get through without any problem. We had heard conflicting reports so we asked if he was sure and he said yes, and it would only take us two hours instead of four on the other road. He said they were working on the sewer system just on the edge of the village, but we could pass by that, and from there we would be fine. Well we skirted the ditch for awhile and then we reached a four-foot diameter hole in the road with a ditch leading up to that and no way to get by. It would have also been very difficult to back up the way we came so, we pleaded with the workers to fill in the ditch a bit so we could pass. We told them the mayor had assured us that we could pass and they finally agreed. We had to swerve around between the hole and the ditch with one front tire hanging over the ditch and the other back tire hanging over the hole! It was tight but we finally made it.

Rejoicing, we headed on, expecting clear sailing from there. However the road was very rough and rocky, with the gravel washed out from the rains, so it was slow going. It also kept getting worse and worse, especially where it crossed the many gullies, where the road was very narrow and the cross ditches were deep. After over three hours, we finally came around a corner and there in the middle of the road was a large truck stuck in soft sand, with its batteries out on the ground. The said he had been stuck there for about four days. There was no way around it on the left and only a narrow ridge of soft sand on the right. I had a shovel so we lowered and widened the ridge to make a path around on the right, as well as placed a few boards there to make a better track.

I put my van in four-wheel drive and slowly started by the truck. When I was right along side of it I could feel the sand giving way and I started to tilt into the truck. I stopped and we tried to fix the path better and I started ahead again. My roof rack was scraping along the back corner of the truck box, but I made it by. More "road work" and then Joe came around with the pickup, thankfully with less drama, and we were on our way again. After about four hours we arrived in Pausa. So much for saving two hours!

I hadn't been in Pausa for almost two years so it was good to get back and re-connect with the believers there. The first few days we met with as many of them as possible, and we made follow-up appointments to encourage them to continue to meet together, and to get the new churches organized and established. We especially spent time with the leaders, answering questions they had and trying to instill basic church doctrine in them. We divided up into three or four teams to cover as much ground as possible, and also worked with Cindy, brother Tomas, and Pastor Antonio, who live there and have been involved with the missionary and preaching ministry there for the past few years.

I was happy to spend some good times with Tania and Wilman, who live in San Sebastian. They were some of the first new believers and are now very active in leading the work in their village. Wilman is the director of the school and Tania teaches in a women's program there, so they have roles of respect in the community and have great opportunity to minister. On a previous trip, they had asked to have a Christian wedding ceremony, as they had only had a civil ceremony before, which is the required legal marriage ceremony here in Peru. A young couple they have been teaching, asked for a Christian wedding as well while we were there. They also asked to be baptized, along with three others, that Sunday afternoon. With help and coaching from Pastor Antonio, Wilman performed both his first wedding and first baptism.

I was able to preach a couple of times, as well as be involved in various teaching times, which was a blessing, after not being very involved in mission work this year. I hope to return again in October, with a few others from Cotahuasi and Arequipa, but so far we are having trouble getting a schedule that works for everyone. A couple of the groups are struggling with various problems; a few others are doing well and a couple kind of drifting. They all need encouragement and prayer that God will continue to build His church there and draw the lost and hurting people to Himself.

When it was time to return to Arequipa, we decided it was wiser to take the longer way back, rather than risk the shortcut again, but none of us had been on it for a couple of years. We came to a fork in the road, and after consulting with the map and each other; we took the fork on the right. Over an hour later, we finally came to a lone house, where we saw our first people and were able to ask directions. We had taken the wrong road; we should have gone left. Thankfully they told us about a shortcut to the correct road, and we only had to backtrack about 25 minutes. The shortcut turned out to be another adventure, but it came out right at the village of Cahuacho. After a Bible study with the mayor, we headed on to Atico, which is on the ocean, to spend the night. The following day we had an easy, but slow return to Arequipa, as we got stuck behind very slow-moving trucks climbing back uphill, and couldn't pass because of the fog.

 Cindy has been in Pausa for about 2 ½ years, and she will be returning to the U.S. in November, with the next Westside (her home church) team, that will be here then. She is greatly loved in Pausa and will be missed there, and I'm sure she will miss Pausa and her friends there as well. Please pray that God will bless her readjustment to life in Florida, and that He will clearly show her what she should be doing next. Also pray that the churches in the Pausa area will continue to grow and be strengthened because of her faithful time of ministry there.

We sometimes complain about government bureaucracy in the United States but I have only good things to say about the process for replacing a passport overseas. We never heard from the thief again, and he didn't answer the phone after the first contact, so I had to go to Lima last week to replace my passport. I had planned on going on Sunday afternoon but Saturday found out that I couldn't file the needed police report that afternoon as I had planned on doing. There is a fee (about $1.20) that has to be paid at the Banco de la Nacion, the National Bank here, which of course wouldn't be open until Monday. So I got that done on Monday morning, and then took a 5:30 pm bus to Lima, arriving there 15 hours later.

I first went to the R.E.A.P. (Southern Baptist) Mission office, where Mike Weaver had graciously offered me a place to stay while in Lima, and got directions to the embassy as well as left my bag. I had also planned on getting two passport photos but in my rush, forgot to do that. I was trying to get to the U.S. embassy as soon as possible because their website said it was best to arrive by 10:00 am to avoid long lines. I arrived about 10:30 and didn't have to wait at all, which was great, but when I got the forms to fill out, remembered that I had forgotten to get the needed photos. There was a place to get them right across the street from the embassy, so I went there and got the photos. Trying to get back into the embassy, I had to wait in a long line, and when I got to the passport office, it was full of people.

Thankfully, because I had already been there earlier, I was able to go right back to the window and drop off the application, without having to take a number and wait in line. A few minutes later they called my name and told me to go to the cashier to pay. They also take credit cards, which was very nice. I was afraid that they would want to see a copy of my passport, which I didn't have, but no problem. I showed my driver's license and a few moments later the woman came back with a faxed copy of my old passport from the U.S. After I answered a few questions, she said my new passport would be ready in two weeks. She assured me that the delays in getting passports in the U.S. would not affect it here; I guess replacing lost or stolen passports gets priority. I had also been concerned that I would have to wait in Lima, or return in two weeks, to pick it up, but she said anyone could pick it up for me with the receipt. Claudia, a friend who works in the mission office, said that she would pick it up and send it to me, so all worked out great. The only detail remaining is to get a new visa, which she said someone in the mission would take care of for me as well.

Lima is not my favorite place, and with the cold, damp and cloudy winter weather, I was happy not to have to spend much time there. That evening I spent about 45 minutes trying to find a place to eat pollo ala brasa (roast chicken), my favorite food here, as the only reasonably priced place I know of in Mira Flores was not open. The next evening I met a friend and we walked around the center of Lima a bit, among the throngs of people celebrating Peru's independence day. We stopped at a chicken place and paid 25 soles for roast chicken and lemonade for two, twice the cost of what we pay in Arequipa or Cotahuasi. I was very happy to be on the bus the next afternoon, heading back to Arequipa! Even running out of fuel just as we were on the outskirts of Arequipa, and having to wait for it for about 45 minutes, didn't bother me – I was happy to be back in sunny Arequipa.

I need to get some work done on my van, the sliding door has decided not to open for some reason, as well as try to get the air conditioner fixed, so will do that before heading back to Cotahuasi. There is also the chance to guide a couple of missionary friends on a mountain climb or two, for their vacation.

Vic 

Hola

I have been busy with the tourist business lately (mostly promotion work), including getting my car registration taken care of among other things, and haven't been able to go with the brothers here on any missions trips. Alberto and I have wanted to go back to Cushpa, a small village up canyon above Cotahuasi, which is at 14,500 feet. Because most of the people live up to a couple of hours from the village, the only time they are all together is for the monthly village meeting. We had agreed to go to Cushpa on the 15th of this month, the day of their meeting, to minister there. However I got some last minute business last week, a very welcome four-day trip with a family of tourists from France, driving them to Arequipa by way of Colca Canyon. On the way we found out that there was going to be a transportation strike in Arequipa, so we had to cut out an extra fifth day that we had planned to go climb a 18,619-foot active volcano, in order to get them back to Arequipa before the strike began. Then the planned two-day strike turned into an indefinite one and I wasn't sure I would be able to leave Arequipa to get back to Cotahuasi in time for the mission trip.

God worked it all out, and we able to leave for Cotahuasi on Friday as planned. Maribel, a Christian friend from Arequipa, went back with me, to teach the children in Cushpa. We had quite a bit of trouble getting out of Arequipa, as many of the roads were blocked due to the strike, but finally made it. We thought all was clear, until we got to La Joya, about an hour out of the city. There the Pan American Highway was blocked and we had strikers threatening to bust out the car windows. We tried to talk them into letting us through but it was getting too tense, so we beat a hasty retreat. There was a gravel street just a block off the highway, and we were able to use that to get around them and continue on our way.
 
We arrived in Cotahuasi without any further problems, expecting to leave on Saturday for Cushpa. However, because the church was having a leadership-training seminar on Friday and Saturday, we couldn't leave for Cushpa until Sunday morning. My old car only held five people, where my new one has room for seven, so we left for Cushpa on Sunday morning with a full load of gear and seven people; Isidoro and Alberto, my regular ministry partners, along with Alberto's wife, and Fredy and his wife. We got to Suni, where Isidoro lives, and he asked if we could stop for a few minutes so he could get his things and say hi to his wife. As usual there are no quick stops here, his wife invited us for breakfast as well. Then Isidoro asked if his wife could join us, so they squeezed four people into the back seat.

We stopped in Machuancca, the next village, because the teachers there had asked us to hold a meeting there as well. We wanted to make plans for being there Monday evening, but the teachers were not there because of the strike. We continued on the rough road, arriving at the Cushpa River at about 12:15, where we found out that the bridge wasn't finished yet, and the river was too deep to drive through. We had all kinds of food, gear, and equipment, including a gas generator (no electricity in Cushpa) to show a Bible film. As we were trying to figure out how to get it all across the river, the bulldozer operator offered to take us across on his Cat. Then we had to make multiple trips from there up the hill to get all the stuff to Cushpa, which was about a mile away. We finally sent Isedoro on ahead and he got two men and two kids to come help us.
 
We had a good time of ministry there, with the local people as well as with the two teachers, who were not participating in the strike. After showing the film, we went down to the small community room, where they let us spend the night. I had made chicken noodle vegetable soup for dinner, but Fredy and his wife Bertha weren't there. Someone said they were visiting with one of the teachers, who was an old acquaintance of Fredy's, and thought they had been invited for dinner as well. We had just finished eating, when they returned. They had been visiting but had not eaten dinner. There was about a half of a bowl of soup left, so I was just ready to make some more, when someone appeared with a large pot of alpaca stew!

On Monday morning, we had oatmeal and bread, along with left over alpaca stew, for breakfast. We had not stopped to think about getting water the night before, and when I went out to get water, the faucet was frozen. We had a little water left, so I heated that and poured it on the faucet, but the pipes were still frozen. Thankfully the teachers had enough water to share with us, so we didn't have to wait for two hours until the sun came over the mountain and thawed out the pipes. After breakfast, while I went with Isidoro, Alberto, and their wives to visit a family of fairly new believers, about two hours walk away; Maribel taught a Bible story to about 30 kids at the school. We arrived at the families home, and of course were invited in for mate de manzana (apple flavored tea) One of them had wanted to be baptized but wasn't feeling well, so we weren't able to do that - in the ice-cold Cushpa river.

According to our plan, Fredy was to find help to carry the stuff back to the car, and after Maribel finished teaching the kids, they would transport all the stuff and we would meet them there at the car. I was hiking faster than the rest and got back to the river about 30 minutes ahead of them. As I came down the hill to the river, I was hoping to see them with some burros or mules, unloading all the cargo. Instead, I got there just in time to see Maribel and Fredy bringing the last of the stuff to the river. Two young boys had taken turns carrying the generator on their backs, but Fredy and Maribel had to make many trips to get all of the rest of the stuff. After seeing Bertha, who was pregnant, carrying a large load the day before, I had nicely but firmly told her not to carry anything more.
 
The Cat was nowhere in sight, so I ended up making a half dozen or more trips across the ice cold river to bring all of the gear across, except for the generator, which had already been taken across, so I was the only one who had to get my shoes wet. I almost fell in a couple of times carrying a large box of electronic gear on my back, with no trekking poles to balance me. The river was only knee deep but rocky and had a fairly strong current. Finally the other two couples showed up, Alberto was wearing rubber sandals, so I borrowed them and took them over to Fredy for him to use. I then carried Maribel on my back while Fredy walked along to steady me. Then we went back to get his wife, who I thought was about seven months or so pregnant, and he carried her while I helped him.
 
We got everything loaded into the car and took off, on the four and a half hour drive back to Cotahuasi, when a few minutes later Fredy's wife started having labor pains! It turned out that she was in the last week of her pregnancy! We got to Churca, about an hour away, and stopped to see the obstetrician there. She checked Bertha and said there was nothing to worry about; it was just the rough car ride. She said Bertha wouldn't deliver the baby for at least 8-10 hours, and we could easily make the trip back to Cotahuasi. We asked her to go with us but she said there was no reason to, so we took off. Fifteen minutes later Bertha started to cry out, and soon the pains were coming every four to five minutes. We decided to try to get to Puica, about an hour and a half away, as that was the nearest village with a medical clinic (except for going back to Churca).

I was trying to drive carefully to avoid bouncing too much on the very rough mountain road, as well as because of all the switchbacks. We got to Suni, about 20 minutes from Puica, and the pains were about two minutes apart, and Bertha was screaming. We were all 'praying without ceasing', and Fredy said to forget about the bumps and get to Puica as fast as possible. Fortunately that stretch of the road was fairly level, just lots of curves and animals on the road, cows, sheep, burros and llamas. By this time the labor pains were almost continuous, and then Bertha said that her water had broken. I was driving as fast as I dared, horn blaring to clear the way, and we came flying into Puica and pulled up in front of the clinic. People had come out to see what the noise was all about so I yelled that we needed a doctor right away.
 
They helped Fredy carry Bertha into the clinic (no wheelchairs there) and less than 15 minutes later, baby Abigail was born! Praise God that we made it safely and in time, and mother and baby are both healthy and doing fine. We left them, along with Fredy, at the clinic that night and went back to Suni to spend the night with Isidoro and his family, who live there - we hadn't even taken time to drop them off on the way through. Tuesday morning we went back to Puica and waited about an hour until they released Bertha and Abigail. We had a much quieter finish to our drive and got safely back to Cotahuasi just before noon. It was one of the most adventure filled mission trips I have been on!

The adventure didn't end when we returned to Arequipa on Thursday evening. I needed to take my car to the parking lot where I keep it while here, and Maribel needed to go to her class at a university near there, so I offered to give her a ride and stop for roast chicken for dinner on the way. We had just been in the restaurant a few minutes when a woman came in and said someone was robbing stuff out of my car. I went running out but they were already gone, and had taken my backpack and Maribel's wallet out of her book bag, which we had foolishly left in the car. My backpack had my passport and cell phone in it, because I was planning on going to Chile right after that to renew my visa.

Maribel's father called my cell phone and the thief answered. He agreed to meet Lucho and return the passport and other documents for a "reward". He was supposed to call tonight to arrange a meeting time and place but he hasn't done it yet, and hasn't answered the cell phone today. Please pray that if it is God's will, he will do so, so that I don't have to replace my passport, and Maribel her DNI (National identity card that every Peruvian has to carry). If I don't get it back by Sunday, I will have to go to Lima to get a replacement passport.

It has been great to see God at work through all that has happened, and in spite of the various problems I know that He is in control and will work all things out according to His perfect will. I also want to give thanks for a Christian brother that I met last year while hiking on the PCT, who sent money to help with fuel expenses. We couldn't have made the trip without his help. I appreciate your prayers and ask that you pray for the church and ministry in Cotahuasi, especially as Brad and Gina and family are in the States on home assignment now. It is a great time for the church to learn to put into practice what they have been learning, and do the work of the ministry without direct missionary involvement.

Vaya con Dios,

Vic

I am very excited to announce that Adventure Cotahuasi Tours is open for business. We offer hiking/trekking tours in the Cotahuasi Canyon and surrounding high plains and mountains in southern Peru. Please check out our new website at: www.adventurecotahuasi.com

If you are interested in an unforgetable adventure, please look and see what we have to offer. Also please pass on our information to anyone you know that might be interested.

Gracias,

Vic Hanson

A week ago I made my first trip to Quechualla, which is a days hike down canyon from Cotahuasi. I have heard a lot about it, in addition to it being the deepest part of the canyon, there are old ruins, Inca trails and lots of fresh fruit due to it’s warm climate. I was hoping that Max or Reinaldo could go with me but neither of them were able to. I was planning on leaving Cotahuasi about 1:00 pm and going as far as Niñ o hot springs the first day, which is just below Velinga. I had been there before and had in my mind that it was only about a 3 hour hike so was in no hurry to leave. After last minute shopping and getting ready, it was 1:15 by the time I left. I had been debating what to do but finally decided to leave my car here and hike the whole way, rather than driving to the end of the road at Sipia Bridge. It took 2 hours to get to the bridge, which was longer than I remembered. I wasn’t concerned, figuring that even with 3 hours more, I would get there by 6:15, about 30 minutes before dark.

I took a break and got water at Chaupo, about an hour and a half later and then continued hiking. I was hoping to meet someone and get some confirmation of how much longer and about 30 minutes later finally met a man on his way to Cotahuasi. I asked him how long to Velinga and he started to say 2 hours and something but then said “About 3 hours.” That would have gotten me there about 8:15, which would be about an hour and 30 minutes after dark. I had a headlight and enjoy hiking at night so that wouldn’t have been a problem except that I had to take a turn off just before Velinga and go down to a small river side trail and I couldn’t remember exactly where it was or what it looked like. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to see the trail in the dark as some of them aren’t very clear. However I seemed to be making good time and getting close to Velinga so was puzzled. Then I dawned on me, most people in the remote villages don’t have watches so I’m not sure they really know how long it takes to get some place. Sure enough, I was at the junction in about an hour and 30 minutes. Even then I wasn’t sure it was the right one at first, until I saw an old bridge across the river which I recognized. It just has sticks lashed onto the cables instead of planks and I remember not trusting it when I first saw it.

Anyway, I got to the hot springs just before dark, exactly 5 ½ hours from Cotahuasi, and enjoyed the evening soaking in the hot springs, after finding a small campsite in the trees near there, just above the river. Later when I went to get a snack, I discovered that a mouse had had the same idea and had chewed a hole in the lid of my backpack to get at the trail mix inside.

The next morning I continued on to Quechualla, taking my time and lots of pictures of the scenery and ruins on the way. After lunch there in the village, I went farther down until I came to a sign saying it was the deepest point in the canyon. I then came back up and explored some ruins across the river from Quechualla, as well as camping in them for the night. The next day I went to back to Quechualla to meet some friends who had left a day after me. The mouse must have sent word to his friends, as one of them snacked on 1 of my bananas during the night. After lunch, we hiked back up to Niñ o hot springs for another long soak. They were leaving at 4:00 am to catch the morning combi from the bridge, but I slept in and caught the afternoon one, rather than do the 2 hour plus hike from the bridge back up to Cotahuasi. My previous camping spot in the trees had been used by burros, who left their droppings, so I found a sandy spot right along the river and slept there, finally without anymore mice problems. You can see some photos to the left of this report.

Dios te bendiga,

Vic