Climbing the Andes

One early explorer described the Andes like this: The Andes mountains in Peru have the majestic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the startling beauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu. In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead and gigantic precipices of many-colored granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids, it has also, in striking contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and they mysterious witchery of the jungle. One is drawn irresistibly onward by ever-recurring surprises through a deep, winding gorge, turning and twisting past overhanging cliffs of incredible height.

We tasted only a minute piece of the Andes when Joe, Chase and I decided to climb a little mountain outside of Cusco. I say little because we are in the Andes. The tallest peak in Montana is Granite peak and it boasts an elevation of around 12,800 feet. This little foot hill of the Andes that we climbed was 14, 380 feet. The climb was difficult and we lost our breath fast but when we reached the top we could see what seemed like endless mountains. We saw towering snow covered peaks that were over 20,000 feet and many valleys and mountains between us and them. Scattered throughout these mountains are a multitude of little Quechua pueblos, some so remote that you must hike a great distance. Some of these people still live like the way they have lived for centuries. I can relate to Livingstone who said he could see the smoke of a thousand villages that do not have the gospel. There is so much work to do here but I have never been more ready and more dependent on God to do the work.

I think David Brainerd put into words what I am feeling: "Here am I, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service, and to promote Thy kingdom."

The Martinez expedition

We were back on the road again by 8:00 a.m. and heading into the Chaco. The Chaco is mostly small towns and farm land. Towns can be hours apart and there is nothing in between each town. We passed many old houses made of faded, old, antique, wood. They reminded me of the old houses you see in photos from the 1800’s when people were riding in covered wagons across America to claim and settle the land. Only the ones we saw had satellite dishes on their roof. We saw many farms with cattle. I saw the beauty, but Joe saw lunch! He kept mentioning how plump, round, and beautiful those cows looked. As we were driving along down Route 12, it had been hours since we had last seen a town, and then I heard Joe said, “Pray! Pray!” I instantly began to pray for God's protection. Our brakes had completely gone out and we could not stop!!........................

 

Our partner Joe Martinez and his family obviously arrived safetly to Cusco but they had quite the adventure in getting here.  Read the rest of the story at their blog here.

Getting settled in Cusco

We still do not have the internet that was supposed to be installed in our apartment on August 29^th. Once again we were told that it would be next week. So we are patiently waiting. We are pretty much settled in our apartment now and are comfortable here. We love Cusco and are ready for visitors anytime. Hint.  

 

Kim started homeschooling the kids this week and they are on a very structured routine each day, which it is nice to be back into a routine after the last few busy months. Chase has been playing soccer with some little kids at a park by our house and Emmy is always active, busy and full of joy. Raegan has been helping Kim turn our apartment into a home. The Peruvian school year starts in March so Kim is going to homeschool the kids until March and then we will probably put both Raegan and Emmy into a private Spanish school so that they can learn Spanish. Emmy is already used to an all Spanish school from her time in Costa Rica but it is sink or swim time for Raegan.

We are happy to have our friends and partners, the Martinez family in Cusco with us. They arrived on Monday, the 10^th. They drove a 1984 Suburban with 600,000 miles on it from Paraguay. It took 8, 12 hour days of driving and covered 4 countries, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. They drove over the Andes mountains and a pass that was 16,000 feet in elevation, through deserts and along the coast to get here. They drove on many dirt roads and through many small towns in the middle of nowhere. Their brakes went completely out before they climbed the Andes and they coasted to a stop on a dirt road, right in front of a mechanic shop. If they would have lost the brakes on the Andes, they would have died. Of course, God was in control of their trip the entire time and it was what He ordained in His perfect providence. The mechanic rigged up something with the brakes to get him to the next town but Joe had to stop every 20 kilometers to tighten the screws. They crossed 3 boarders and it seemed that the people at the boarders were more impressed with the size of Joe's suburban than anything. The combination of the kids and the giant suburban got them through all the boarders without paying anything. They wanted bribes but Joe never paid and they still let him go. It was a great adventure. After Joe arrived in Cusco, he said a very well used missionary saying, “I'll never do that again.”

We have been helping Joe get his apartment furnished the last few days. I must say it is pretty fun driving the '84 suburban around Cusco. We literally set off all the car alarms as we buzz by parked cars. It is awesome. 

 

I have taken a few hikes behind our house to explore the mountains.  It is outstanding.  There are tons of old Inca ruins that the Quechua people are still using and farming.  It is like going back into time.  I walked up a big draw through Inca ruins and Quechua farms.  There are no roads so it took about 1 hour to get into this spot.  As I walked up the draw, the Quechua people are working their fields or working on their sod and mud houses or washing their clothes in the creek.  They still live like they have for a long time.  It is a great place to explore and introduce the gospel.  If I could only speak Quechua or they could read it.  

We bought all our furniture at a placed called feria de muebles, which is just a dirt floor, tin roofed market. I bought almost all of this from one lady. Today I was helping the Martinez's get furniture and I was talking to the lady. She was Catholic. I shared my testimony with her and how I was Catholic for 28 years. She was very interested. I told her we are starting a church in March and she got excited and asked if she could attend. Praise God that He is already preparing the hearts of His people. I can't wait to see what God will do here.

I have been very anxious to explore the seemingly unending Andes mountains around Cusco. The mountains make the Rockies look like foothills and the start ascending from their base at 11,000 feet. But there are countless villages of people scattered all over the mountains in difficult to reach places. As I study detailed topo maps of this vast wilderness, I find it hard to sit still and I am counting the days until we make our first trek into the heart of this wild country.

 

 

Update for those who "Hold the Rope"

For everyone who has wanted to know about our address and shipping things, our new address is below.

Peru mailing address:

Scott Doherty
Casilla postal 1197
Cusco, Peru

Sending things by mail to Peru:

You should be able to ship us anything that is equal or smaller than the USPS medium size international shipping box.  See below. 

Many people have asked us if they could give on-line by credit card, debit card or bank transfer.  Now it is available through CMC.  Below is the information if you are interested but we ask that you first pray to God and ask how you should sacrificially give and please first give to your local church. If God has ordained that you hold the rope for us, you can do it HERE or by credit, debit or bank below.  Thank you so much for your support of the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ in Cusco, Peru.

**New**  You can now give on line with one time or recurring giving with your credit, debit card or bank transfer through CMC.  This makes things easy.  Go to CMC and select "Click and Give".  Sign up your new account which will keep track of everything for tax purposes.  Click on "Give" or "Recurring giving" choose our name from the list and the amount and your done.