Mission Recap

River of Life Team - Phil Blair, Quinton Thornton, Chase Harris, Jason Brittan, Jacob Givens

Peru Team - Pastor Michael Pina and Elix Shupingahua (Iquitos), Eddy Alvarez (Cusco) and Pastor Vincente (Urubamba)

October 9 - Depart Atlanta 15:00; Arrive in Lima, Peru 20:30; 11 hour layover

October 10 - Depart Lima, Peru  08:15

Arrive Cusco, Peru 09:30

ROL Team met with Peru Team for breakfast and coffee, introductions and initial plans were made then the teams departed together by van to Urubamba located in the Sacred Valley in Peru. We were able to make it to Pastor Vincente’s church before service was over and got to participate in the closing worship.  Following the service, the team was introduced to a very excited church with many blessings and fanfare. Video of service . After stocking up on supplies, the team left for the Andes.  A four hour drive on unpaved one lane roads put us high in the Andes in the Quechua village Queypay, near Lares just after dark.  We set up camp and were able to witness our first salvation after a curious man wandered through our camp.

October 11 - Quechuan Village Queypay (11,900 ft) 

With an early start, we spent the day hiking from home to home visiting with the families of Queypay.  The distance between homes and the altitude were obstacles but we were received well with every family, prayed for their needs, shared hope and encouragement and witnessed several salvations.

We met this woman who prayed and accepted Jesus as her savior and offered to start a bible study and worship in her home for the village.

October 12  - Quechuan Village near Huallhuaray (13,200 ft)

This day started with a 2 hour drive deeper into the Andes mountains to a Quechuan village near Huallhuaray.  Here the homes were very remote and the terrain was much steeper.  This day was the biggest challenge physically for all of us.  Several salvations were witnessed, prayers and encouragement shared with families, and we were also able to share packages of salt as with this family.

This salt is used to preserve and flavor foods and contains minerals like fluoride that they would not normally get in the water like in the US.  With this salt we shared Matthew 5:13-16.  Later that day we drove up another valley to a remote village near Pumapunco which is ‘Gate of the Puma’ in Quechua.

October 13 - Camp near Pumapunco (12,500 ft)

This day started with a beautiful foggy morning watching some of the men of the village herd the llamas and alpacas up in the mountains to graze and also to work to prepare potato fields.  This village was very remote and spread out.  We were able to pray with and encourage the families that we were able to contact.  This particular couple had medical needs that were not being met due to the remoteness of the village, their inability to travel and few resources available in the village.  We were only able to provide very basic first aid and encouraged them through prayer. 

The women in this family were artisans with wool from sheep and alpacas.  Their expert weaving and dying techniques have been passed down for many generations with handmade tools and resources in the village.  We were encouraged by them and they actually prayed for us and our journey. We packed up camp and traveled to Lares to camp for the night near the thermal baths.  This night was the first rain that we encountered, thankfully, but it came in the form of a severe thunderstorm. 

October 14 -  Lares, Peru (10,600 ft) Today was the beginning of our journey back home as we spent the day traveling to Cusco.  Because of Covid testing requirements to travel back to the US, we had to get back to Cusco in time to find a clinic to test us.

October 15 - Cusco, Peru  (11,300 ft)

Covid testing and a day of resting and sightseeing in Cusco.

October 16 - Depart Cusco, Peru 5:30 PM, 3 hour layover in Lima then arrive back in Atlanta around 6:00AM on October 17.

Overall we had a safe and enjoyable trip.  Most importantly, the Gospel was shared, we witnessed dozens of salvations, encouraged families and doors were opened for future missions and discipleship.