Heading
We left just before 6:00 a.m. and spent more than 11 hours traversing the Andes on a single-lane gravel road carved into the side of impossibly steep mountains, winding through one hairpin corner after another. I still can't believe these roads made it onto Google Maps... and I was equally surprised that politicians decided it was worth painting their campaign logos on multiple buildings in nearly every village along the route. (Apparently voting is mandatory in Peru, so perhaps they know their audience!)
We stopped roadside for breakfast and lunch, continuing our quest to try as many Peruvian foods as possible. Today's favourite was a delicious passionfruit-like fruit. Along the way, Mila, our field partner, had her cold aggravate her asthma and needed to stop at a medical clinic for medication and an IV, contributing stretching our expected eight-hour drive into eleven.
After only a couple of hours, Brantley wisely claimed the front seat after motion sickness threatened to spoil the drive. That also marked his first experience with coca tea! If you ever need to know absolutely anything about our 15-passenger rental Renault van, he's now your expert. Between the sketchiest roads we've ever driven, manual shifting, turbo sounds, dashboard gauges, gear changes, engine discussions, and whether every passing vehicle was diesel or propane, he was in his element.
There were plenty of memorable moments along the drive. One bridge was about an inch too narrow for our van despite several attempts, forcing us to turn around. On countless occasions we met oncoming vehicles on the single-lane road, requiring one driver to reverse using only a dusty backup camera until a passing spot appeared. Every blind corner was announced with a double honk—sometimes two to four times every minute through the winding stretches. We also discovered that pumpkins grown high in the mountains are sent down to the valleys on ziplines!
At the ten-and-a-half-hour mark we encountered an active rockslide where an entire mountainside continues to crumble. Our driver took one look and gave a very emphatic, "YAAAH... NO!" The local pastor from Televan drove out with his Santa Fe and roof rack, we unloaded the entire van, carried everything across the slide on foot, and then completed the journey in two loads. The villages are petitioning the government for a CAT excavator because one machine currently serves around 40 villages, making timely road repairs nearly impossible.
Our highest elevation reached 12,800 feet before descending to Televan at about 9,500 feet—actually lower than Cusco. The region produces abundant avocados, yucca, squash, coffee, honey, peppers, and pumpkins, thanks to its rich soil and ideal climate. Thankfully, apart from getting winded on uphill climbs and while carrying luggage, none of us experienced altitude sickness.
This region is one of the ministry areas supported by ATEK. During this current transition period they are assisting about 40 churches, though they normally support 25–30 over a three-year period through pastor training, biblical resources, medical care, hygiene kits, food hampers, dental clinics, and ongoing discipleship. The pastor here was actually one of ATEK's leadership students two decades ago. Many pastors in these remote mountain communities have never received formal biblical training. While prosperity gospel teaching has reached many villages, faithful biblical teaching and discipleship have not, leaving many people without a true understanding of the gospel or a saving knowledge of Christ.
Because of our travel delays, we arrived about three hours later than planned and missed the opportunity to help with the church renovation. Instead, we toured the church renovation project, prepared dinner together, and joined the church for the singing and prayer portion of their evening service, which began at 8:00 p.m. It struck me how encouraging it is to realize that at any hour of the day, somewhere around the world, believers are gathering together to worship and praise our great God.
When we arrived, we discovered many of the town's residents were down at the river washing their coffee harvest. They spend about two weeks there processing the beans before they are ready for market.
I asked Mila why none of the ladies seemed to have any gray hair in their long black hair and jokingly wondered if there was a secret black hair dye. She smiled and informed me that the women I assumed were in their sixties were actually in their early forties. They begin having children very young, work physically outdoors every day, and endure an incredibly demanding life that takes its toll.
As for sleeping arrangements... my personal scientific research concluded that once you turn 50, sleeping on three wooden church pews requires rolling over roughly every 30 minutes. I didn't need to set an alarm—the lack of cushioning and one enthusiastic snorer in the room handled that for me. Even the alpaca blankets (which kindly donated a bat when we unfolded one!) that we stuffed into the open window spaces couldn't do much against the 4°C nighttime temperature.
It was also Nathan's and Brantley's first introduction to squatty potties... and, for many of the children in Televan, it was their first time seeing a white boy. Needless to say, everyone was experiencing something new that day!
