We are returning to the scene of the climb, a trek in the northern reaches of the Cordillera Blanca we visited in 2015. “A few years ago, a team of missionaries from Climbing For Christ made this walk,” Kingdom worker and Peruvian Andes guide Edwin Milla recalled.
“We started in the town of Hualcayan. The second and third days of the walk were very hard, but it was worth it because we arrived at a small and forgotten population of about four families in the Alpamayo ravine. In this town we found an indigenous woman of approximately 60 years, who believed in God but did not know Jesus. During her life she never heard anyone talk about Jesus, not even any missionary before we passed through because access is quite difficult to get there. Then we spoke to the woman about Jesus, and she received in her heart Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God glorified Himself in the life of that woman!
“The next day in this same town we found another woman of about 40 years of age with two (daughters). We told her the Good News of Jesus and she and her two girls received Jesus as Lord and Savior. We thanked the Holy Spirit for touching their hearts.
“Another day in another ravine we found a family of shepherds – four very poor and sick people. At night we invited them to have a dinner in our tents. We preached about the power of Jesus, and we sang praises and God manifested himself in the lives of these people. Glory to the Almighty!
“I am sure that the Holy Spirit guided us and led us through those very distant and forgotten ravines to reach the lost souls thirsty for the Word of God,” Edwin added. “In the same way, for Mission: Peru 2023, we pray to God to manifest Himself in a great way through the C4C team. We are only an instrument to bring the Good News to the souls most in need and thirsty to know Jesus Christ our Savior!”
Amen!
This trek, which is scheduled to last 10 days (after two days of acclimatization hikes), is a high-altitude circuit. We will cross passes between 14,500 and 16,000 feet (4,400 to 4,850 meters). The trail consists of “winding paths, ravines, and Andean villages,” Edwin said, noting that there will be spectacular views of the region’s most important peaks – Alpamayo and Huascaran – “in all their splendor.” The total length of the trip is 2 ½ weeks.
MISSION: PERU 2023 is scheduled in August. Mission: Peru 2022 was cancelled because of serious illness in Edwin’s family. Lord willing, our plan is to return to Peru for our eighth expedition (but first since 2018) in 13 years. It has been a grim time in Peru, physically and politically, as the COVID-19 pandemic claimed more lives per capita than any other South American country. Spiritually things might be worse, especially in the mountains. The Quechua farmers we encounter often practice syncretism, a blend of folk religion and Catholicism. Many, like the woman in our story above, know about and believe in God but have never heard about His Son, Jesus Christ. We have Good News for them! 
Email info@ClimbingForChrist.org for a mission application. Missions are for C4C members only. You can join Climbing For Christ at Membership Application (climbingforchrist.org)