Breakfast this morning consisted of what they called a tamale. I would have called it a large, large 6”x6”x3” piece of polenta with a very small piece of boiled chicken hidden on the inside…kind of like the prize in a box of cereal or the hidden baby in a King’s cake. It was a little bland but still tasted good. It tasted much better with Paul’s hot tomato paste concoction on it! Our fresh juice today was cantaloupe juice. Today’s devotion was by Malia, who is Dave’s daughter. She is also from Santa Cruz, California and is about 32 years old. This is her first mission trip also. She is not a medical person but works in an office of an urgent care center. She also teaches the children in her church.
Today we are to travel about 30-45 minutes east of the city up a valley to see some Incan ruins. We left the hotel about 9:30 and quickly entered into the Colorado river valley. Although it is still on the west side of the Andes and therefore does not get any rain it is quite green and fertile. We are told the valley is irrigated with water from the river and from deep wells. We saw corn, grapes and hay being grown, along with many other plants we can’t identify as we sped along the road. As the valley narrowed and we approached the foothills of the Andes it was interesting to see the green area narrow to just along the river and the sand and brown hills take over. There is absolutely no growth where there is no irrigation source.
Before long we came upon the site of a large Incan ruin. It is managed as a Peruvian Historical site. There is a little building with some history and drawings of the area along with some artifacts that were typical of items found when the site was being discovered. Unfortunately, all the artifacts are replicas as apparently the real items were stolen after they were found. We were also told that at one time the significance of the site was not known as the major highway through the valley went straight through the middle of the ruins. The highway has now been moved off to the side but still goes through an area where they believe part of the ruins once were.
We were told that the site once was home to three difference cultures. First were the Guary people, then the Chincha, then the Inca. There were still ruins present from all three cultures. Jose David said that up in the Andes many of the people still build in the same manner as the Chincha. The tour guide took us throughout the ruins. It was quite a large area with many rooms and even fairly modern baths and sleeping areas throughout. The tour guide mentioned that it is believed that there are tunnels and perhaps more rooms under what has been found so far and perhaps much gold!! Apparently gold has been found in other ruin sites.
We left the site and returned back to the hotel, arriving between 12:30 and 1p.m. Lunch today was shredded chicken and egg salad sandwiches with an avocado spread and sliced tomatoes. I thought it was delicious but I also had Sam’s tomatoes and avocado on mine! After a time for siesta (I could get used to this) we met at 3 p.m. to go to the site of the third church that Pastor Luiz pastors. This one is on a hill overseeing the city of Pisco. It is in a very poor area of town, which is a little hard to see that it is any poorer than other areas. But, this church is one that was damaged enough by earthquakes that it is felt, by Pastor Luiz, to be too unsafe to worship in. Therefore, the 10 or so adults in the church travel to the main church in Pisco to worship. But, apparently there are 20 or so children who were coming that are not being ministered to now. It also is a wooden building in need of new supports and roof. I understand there are termites affecting this building also. There is a nice park right across the street from the church. I believe this is where we will be showing the video on Friday night.
When we returned to the hotel Sam & I rode in the rented taxi. The driver is a very friendly man. The taxi is old. The driver side door doesn’t stay latched so there is a rope tied to the door that Pastor Luiz held on to in order to help keep the door closed! Supper tonight was a delicious grilled chicken breast and fried yucca. We also had thick round pieces of boiled potato covered with a spicy yellow cheese sauce served on a lettuce leaf. It was served cold.
Tonight is church service at the main Pisco church. There were the seven of us, Jose David and probably 15-20 other people. Pastor Luiz likes his sound system to be LOUD. I really do think he was trying to make sure everyone outside the building could hear also. There were several songs song, from acapella to clapping and tamborine to singing along with sound tracks. The team was asked to sing a song so we sang “It is Well with My Soul”. Our pastor team leader, John Wilcox, preached with Jose David interpreting. Then Pastor Luiz spoke again…without interpreter….he might have been preaching another sermon! The service started at 7:30 and ended at 10 p.m. I’m tired. Time for bed!
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