After a very long time I go back to Mariscal Gamarra

When I visited Peru in 2013, one of the areas we went to was Mariscal Gamarra (about halfway down this post, if you want to see a map it's about 5 miles north of Palpacachi, which google can find).  They were very keen on having possible water projects and seemed very proactive.



However, when I came back in late 2014, it transpired that the AIDIA team were no longer focusing on that area - the villages having graduated from their training programme they were now focusing elsewhere.  That was fine as "elsewhere" there are also a lot of opportunities!  But recently various new churches have expressed interest so I went back with Cicilio who has been visiting the area since the year I was born.



This, like so many, was a "building-relationships" visit, rather than specifically water-focused. But it also gave me a good opportunity to talk to Cicilio about my plans for water-related teaching.  He was very positive and suggested I be involved with a training visit he'll be doing later this year, to include water-related teaching.  He also pointed out that people are more likely to be motivated if they know what they are drinking is of poor quality, so I might also coordinate with the Ministry of Health (it's their job really) and get some samples from various points in the water systems to be tested.  Usually the source is clean, but contamination occurs within the system so it's good to pinpoint where this is in order to target a project.



From Abancay it's a 6 hour bus ride to Mariscal Gamarra. We got off at a bridge over the river and walked up the side of the mountain to a few villages.



It's not ideal visiting season, partly because the heavy rain at night often means the roads are blocked in the morning, but also because it's the maize-growing season, and many people take off up into the mountains with their animals so that they don't eat the growing corn.  But many people were around, and it was great to visit them.
 


Anastasia has been a Christian for about a year.  We visited her and her husband to talk, to pray, to encourage, and to teach.  This was almost entirely done by Cicilio, because it was all in Quechua! Every time I visit with him I am motivated to carry on improving my Quechua... but I found I could pick up the gist of what they were saying.  Anastasia´s husband, Sebastien, had a bad fall recently up on the mountains looking after his animals, and has damaged his leg and can't really walk.  This has led him to evaluate his life a bit more, and while we were there Cicilio led him through a prayer giving his life to Christ.  Then it was lovely to be invited to pray for Anastasia - in Spanish, so she may not have understood the words, but God did.  And as we were kneeling together on the dusty ground I am sure she understood the love that prompted my prayer.




Walking up the hill afterwards I was "meditating on God's wonderful works" (from Psalm 146) - the amazingly beautiful and huge creation that we were standing in - and his continuing miracles in transforming lives and hearts.  Both glorious to be able to see.



Then we visited the pastor's family.  Again, most of the talk was in Quechua but I could mostly follow it.  We prayed for the pastor's wife, who has been having trouble sleeping, and encouraged the pastor that although he is untrained and very daunted by his role, God has chosen him and is entirely capable!  We stayed for a service in the evening - amazingly about half of the community are now Christians and it was certainly a crowd inside the pastor (right) 's house.

 

Next day, and the walking continued.  Cicilio is very impressed by my walking ability ever since I proved myself willing and able to get up at 4am and still keep up with him!  But I really enjoy this part of the journeys - the Apurímac region is like the most beautiful parts of the UK, but bigger.  And I have always had to save up my holidays for time there - but here, walking on the stunning mountains, I am working!

Betty, on my last visit.  This time we were
too busy chatting to take photos!

More visits today, and a higher Spanish content!  We were mostly in Paccaypata, the village I had visited before, so it was wonderful to meet up with old friends.  Juana and Mateo are brother and sister, each with their own families.  Last visit we stayed with Juana and I found here very bubbly and talkative - quite rare in the introverted culture.  Her brother is the same, and I stayed with his family and his daughter Betty who I had met previously - it was great to be reunited with her.














Juana's son is now in Abancay preparing to go to university to study... Civil Engineering!  He has to sit an entrance exam for the state university, so there's a lot of work to do.  I talked to her about the Christian student group here (CBU) so she passed on his details to me.  Since then I have discovered one of my CBU friends also runs preparatory classes in the evenings - so have also managed to link him up with that!