Huayco: A Peruvian word rooted from Quechua meaning "flash flood"

After nearly twelve hours in a car, por fin, we’re back in Callao. Whew. Let’s recap.

A small cemetery we passed on our way to Huanuco. 

Last week started with our usual leadership meeting. For some reason, our leadership meetings have been a bit stale of late. The simplest things, like printing off a schedule to post in the church, becomes a hassle (“Well, we need to rediscuss the print budget before we can do that.”) Discord CAN be a good thing in meetings—it means you’re bringing multiple opinions to the table, a variety of people are invested in what you’re doing etc. But for right now, we haven’t quite found the right way to utilize our discord.

It’s an odd perspective to have, because before I became a World Service Corps volunteer, I never thought much about what the planning aspect of church looks like. I’d never considered how carefully selected each hymn is, how much debate goes into picking a theme for Beach Day or how difficult it can be to select what color you want to paint the church walls; but perhaps that’s a good perspective to have going into these leadership struggles—because nobody goes to church because it got painted “lemon chiffon” instead of “dandelion.” Sometimes it’s helpful just to step back and say Yes, what we’re doing is important—but you’re looking at paint swatches, not dismantling an atomic bomb.  

The one and only Mojada asking for some pets! 

50 shades of yellow aside, most of our week centered around our trip to Huanuco. Friday afternoon, Wilfredo, Katrina, Marlene and I all piled into Wilfredo’s car (“El Commandante”) and settled into the delightful nine hour drive through the mountains. We arrived just after 10 p.m. in Huanuco and as soon as I opened my car door there was little furry blob nipping at my hands and getting mud paws all over my pants: my dear sweet Mojada. In case you need a refresher, Mojada is my favorite dog in Huanuco. She caught distemper about a month before we left last time, and I took her to the vet three times to try to give her her best chance. I had honestly thought she would pass away before I got to see her again—but there she was, still kickin’ and with a renewed sense of energy.

After finally getting into the yard (dragging my left leg behind me, since Mojada was chewing on my pant leg) we had our wonderful reunion with Carolina, Orlando, Jimmy, Tonio and Eynor. The last time we’d seen all of them, we weren’t sure if we’d ever be back again, so it was amazing to just be in each other’s company. Katrina and I settled into our old room and were highly pleased to find out that mosquito season in Huanuco is over (although the bites covered my ankles beg to differ.) We went to bed early and despite the dogs barking, pigs squealing and roosters crowing, and I slept more soundly than I had in a week.

Wilfredo, trying to sweet talk the tickled pig. 

Saturday we woke up early ready for a full day of workshops—kid’s classes, leadership meetings, preaching and presiding classes, etc.; however, we quickly realized that just because we’re in town, doesn’t mean life stops. The family spent the morning working as usually: selling papa rellena, driving the moto taxi, going to classes and building a new chicken coop. We had to scrap our entire morning schedule, which was unfortunate, but gave as a chance to wonder around and take in some fresh air. AND, I finally got to witness the pig phenomenon: if you tickle a pig’s belly, it loses its balance and topples over! It seemed a little mean, so I didn’t try it myself—but it was certainly worth seeing one time.

Saturday afternoon, we managed to squeeze in some of our planned activities. Marlene taught the congregation five or six new songs, Wilfredo held a class about church expansion, and Katrina and I talked about what it’s like to preach and preside. We rounded the day out with a planning meeting, and Katrina and I are officially going back to Huanuco mid-April through mid-May (yayyyyyy!)

Jimmy's painting from our trip to Tingo Maria. 

Sunday, again, we had to scrap the morning plans, but rallied to have a bible study and solid church service. And, to round out the day—Carolina cooked a simply fantastic lunch/dinner of Aji de Gallina, a Peruvian favorite that nobody does better than Carolina.

Overall, despite having to change things, the weekend felt successful. We got to spend quality time with the family and were still able to fit in the most important church activities.  It was especially good to see Jimmy and Tonio. They both work in the medical field and will be travelling for a one year residency as early as April—so we might not get to see them again before the leave. They were as chipper as ever, and Jimmy proudly showed us the huge painting he did of our trip to Tingo Maria together.

Before we knew it, this morning was upon us and it was time to say our goodbyes to the family (and of course, to Mojada) and began our painfully slow trek back to Lima. Here’s the thing about the drive from Lima to Huanuco—it’s through the mountains. There’s only a small stretch of the trip where we’re high up enough to call it being in “the Andes” but I think that sounds really cool, so I like to call the whole thing a drive through the Andes. Anyway, it’s rainy season in Huanuco, which means lots of torrential rain, lots of mud and lots of rock slides.

During our two hour wait for the Huayco to calm down.

Our day was littered with “Huayco” (flash flood) problems. At one point, we were stopped for two hours while huge boulders that crumbled down from surrounding cliffs were removed the road. At another point, truck drivers coached us through a part that still seemed to be crumbling, yelling at us “Fast! Fast!” Wilfredo was constantly on edge, having to swerve around some form of boulders or debris at least once every five minutes. The nine hour drive quickly evolved into nearly twelve hours, and by the time we got home we just wanted to collapse into our beds.

Looking ahead, this should be a pretty basic church week for Katrina and I. We’re hoping to use a little of our free time to plan our final two trips around Peru: 1. Paracas (home of “the poor man’s Galapagos Islands.”) and 2. Lake Titicaca. I’ll let you know how it goes!