Gary Fallesen / Thursday, May 12, 2011 / Categories: Mission: Peru 2011, Dispatches Thursday, May 12 Nevado Churup (18,134 feet/5,495 meters) looms above our trail to Laguna Churup (14,685 feet/4,450 meters). Our acclimatization hike turned into an acclimatization scramble up the rocks beside a waterfall at an elevation higher than any summit in the contiguous U.S. After sleeping one night at the Blessed Relief Lodging, a Christian-owned guest house in Huaraz (10,200 feet/3,091 meters), we headed for Pitec and a hike up to Laguna Churup at 14,685 feet (4,450 meters). The last 500 feet (150 meters) was a scramble using hands and feet on slick rock and in thin air in the rain. The reward was time to soak in God’s awesome creation – both the high-altitude lagoon and Nevado Churup (18,134 feet/5,495 meters). Our team of six (four Americans and two Peruvians) was joined by our newest C4C member Juan Mautino, 26,who is studying to be a mountain guide and will serve as our team’s cook. Together, we read Psalms 121 and 127, and prayed thanks to our heavenly Father. This six-hour hike was to prepare us for climbs into mountain villages in the Cordillera Blanca over the next week. For Jordan and Justin, it marked personal highs. No one on the team had any serious problems with altitude, so we are ready. On our way back to Huaraz, we stopped in the village of Llupa (around 12,000 feet/3,636 meters) to visit Pastor Andres Milla and the three leaders of the Iglesia Evangelica Peruana church. The pastor invited us to eat and requested assistance for his church. We prayed for him and told him we will be praying for how God desires us to work with churches in the mountains of Peru. Thursday, May 12 Friday, May 13 Print 2386 Gary FallesenGary Fallesen Other posts by Gary Fallesen Contact author