A Story from My Recent Trip to Peru

The "Big Jesus" looking out over the city of Ayacucho, Peru

         I just returned from spending the better part of the last two weeks in the Central Highlands of the Peruvian Andes with the Living Waters For The World mission team from our Presbytery (San Gabriel).  Our mission is to help provide clean drinking water by teaching people  how to build and operate a very simple water purification system.  We are trying to establish a partnership with the Synod of Ayacucho, and we are working directly with two Presbyterian churches in Huanta and Maynay.  This was my third trip to Peru in the past 12 months!

Deciding the location of the water system to be installed at Cristo Rey Church, Huanta

An evening of song and a meal of fresh trout and potatoes with Pastor Juan's church in Cuchipampa

Little did we know, how critical this third trip was going to be to the success of our mission.  During our second visit in November we truly felt like we were making excellent progress – we had almost completed business plans and covenants with both churches, but communications were becoming less frequent, and it just felt like we needed to make one more trip to ensure the future success of these projects.
The most difficult thing about doing mission in this part of Peru is establishing trusting relationships.  We are working in an area  that has been  heavily impacted by the Shining Path terrorists and a corrupted Peruvian military during the 1980's and 90's.  It is estimated that upwards of 70,000 people were killed during these times of terror.  To this day, mass graves are still being uncovered and bodies are still being identified.  During this third trip we were privileged to hear personal stories from several people who’s lives have been deeply impacted.  But it was not until our last day in Peru that we found out how close we came to having both of these water projects scuttled.
As it turns out there was a reason why our communications had slowed down.  It seems that after our last trip when it became clear both Cristo Rey and Maynay had pretty much decided to tell us that they were no longer interested in having water systems – it was going to involve way too much work, and after all, their water looked good, it tasted fine – would these systems really make a difference in the health of their communities?? Why should we trust these gringos coming down here offering to help us?   They had no basis to trust that installing these water systems would make any difference..  Until something very tragic happened in the community.
One day the assistant to the mayor of Huanta was driving a van full of people to a meeting when all of a sudden something happened that caused the vehicle to swerve and go crashing over the side of the twisting mountain road.  All of the passengers except the woman driving were killed in the accident.  Somehow, the rescue team managed to extract the woman from the terribly smashed up vehicle.  She was taken to the intensive care unit of the hospital in Huanta.  She was gravely wounded and she needed blood.  Because she was so very highly regarded in the community, people lined up down the city block by the hospital, around the corner and down many more blocks.  There were probably a thousand people lined up ready to give her their blood.  And then one by one the people were tested.  And as it turns out, every single person in that mile long line up of concerned and willing blood donors tested positive for hepatitis.  They either had it, or they had been exposed to it.  The obvious cause?  The water.   The woman died because they were unable to give her a blood transfusion.
Jesus’ prayer is for the church – that we all may be one.  In our relationships, in our families, in our church, in our world.