Back before the turn of the century, in 1999, I (Daniel Hough) went on my first missions trip. I was interning with the youth ministry I had grown up in and we planned a short-term trip to southern Peru. I was 21 years old and a senior in Bible college. Back then I didn't know what my ministry would be, if I'd have a family one day or even get married for that matter. The short-term missions trip lasted one month and having grown up in a missions-minded home I had high hopes of being impacted by the experience.
That trip was spectacularly underwhelming. After we'd been in Lima and bussed south to other towns including Ica, Chincha and Nasca, I began to realize that missionary life was kind of normal. In another part of the world people still slept, ate and socialized a lot like we did in the US. On one hand, the super hero status of missionaries I had grown up with was somewhat diminished in my mind. On the other hand missions became something that I thought maybe I could do.
Fast forward another 20 years and I find myself getting on an airplane to Peru again. Instead of a group of excited American youth speaking loud English I'm now communicating in Guarani and Spanish to three excited Paraguayans about what to expect on an airplane. The three men are among my most dependable camp leaders. Pedro and Carlitos are camp program directors and youth leaders while Higinio is a farmer and my right-hand man for developing the camp property. All of them are my friends.
At the airport Higinio hesitates in front of the escalator; he's never been on one before! Pedro nudges him onto the moving steps and we all laugh as he hangs on for what will be the first of many new experiences! As the plane lifts off and Paraguay disappears beneath the clouds I sit back and recount all that the Lord has accomplished in my life since that first trip to Peru. In just a few days I will turn 41. I'm married to a beautiful woman with six amazing children and I have a pioneering ministry that I love; equipping churches to reach the next generation in the heart of South America. Back then, I never could have dreamed I'd be where I am now.
The ministry that I love is the purpose for this trip. It's a vision trip to see what a fully developed, nationally run Christian camp looks like. That sort of thing doesn't exist yet in Paraguay where the faith is only about 20 years old. Like most Paraguayan Christians my three friends, including Higinio, are all first-generation believers: a reality that is hard for Americans and Peruvians to fully appreciate where the Faith has been around for a hundred years and more.
When we land in Lima the first thing we do is take a taxi to the coast. They have never seen the Pacific ocean before and there I introduce them to another first: Ceviche! I still remember eating this raw fish cured in citric juices from my last trip to Peru. Before serving our heaping platters the owner of the restaurant says we have to try something called 'Leche del Tigre' (Tiger's Milk). Higinio, Pedro and Carlos take the shot glasses filled with the juices and spices used to prepare Ceviche and look at me with fear in their eyes. I remind them that the first rule of being a missionary is trying new foods. Months after the trip my friends still talk about their first meal in Peru- it obviously left an impression!
After lunch we walk to the ocean which is just meters away. We look across the expanse of water to outlying islands. In between we watch groups of surfers and flocks of Pelicans glide over the waves.
We are out on a peninsula called 'La Punta' for the day. You can actually see where we were in the aerial photo earlier in this post. 20 years ago I remembered taking a boat ride out to the islands in the photo where we saw penguins and sea lions. Unable to find a boat that would take us that far this time, we settled for a smaller boat that would take us to the end of the peninsula where we would see some other interesting sea life.
Though we didn't see penguins, giant Pelicans flew right past our boat!
We also saw the beautiful and humorous 'Inca tern' which only lives on the Pacific coast of South America!
After the boat tour we make our way back to the airport where Higinio avoids every escalator we encounter. Our time in Lima is just an extended layover which I had arranged to be during the day so we could see the coast. Though our time by the ocean was short I managed to get burned by the Peruvian sun which is surprisingly strong. Our final destination will be a place farther south than I have ever been before in Peru: Arequipa. But before boarding our connecting flight I introduce my Paraguayan friends to one more new food. I sent Sarah a picture while asking her forgiveness. It was my first Boston Creme in four years!
We arrive in Arequipa after dark and take a taxi to the mission's guesthouse. The next morning we look out the window to see where we are. To our amazement we find snow capped peaks looming in the distance beyond the city!
Arequipa is known as the white city, not to be confused with Minastirath, though it is almost as impressive. Many of the colonial style buildings are made of hardened white ash from the three massive volcanoes surrounding the city. As we explore Arequipa on foot we are struck by how clean and quiet the city is. We are much higher in elevation than Paraguay. Multiple times Higinio says to me, "Dan! There are no mosquitoes here!"
One of our favorite places in the city is the Plaza de Armas where you can enjoy delicious Peruvian food from above, in the expansive balconies that surround the plaza.
While eating 'Rocoto Relleno', one of the spiciest meals of my life, we were accompanied by live music. Here's a video of Peruvian musicians playing 'El Condor Pasa'!
The following day we attend a meeting where we meet the team of Peruvian camp leaders we will be spending the next week with. We are impressed with how organised they are and appreciate how much they explain to us about their city, culture, and the camp ministry.
The last missionaries had completely handed the camp's ministry and property over to Peruvian believers in recent years. The director, John, shares openly about the joys and challenges he faces in his position. Some Peruvians prefer having a missionary in charge and don't like the change. But even in our first meeting one thing is clear; this team has their act together. Supposedly their camp is similar to ours in Paraguay with the exception that theirs is fully developed and entirely run by the Peruvians without any missionary involvement. We'll be participating in their week-long program for kids 11-13 years old and it's hard for my disciples to understand how Peruvians freely volunteer their entire summer to serve as camp leaders.
While at the meeting one camp leader asked us, 'So why did you fly all the way from Paraguay just to see our camp?' I had questioned whether this trip would be worth the cost to fly four of us to Peru too. But when I asked our director what he thought he told me, 'The payoff from this vision trip will be so great it won't even be able to be measured.' The next day his words are driven home to me as Higinio and I wait with Carlitos and Pedro as campers say goodbye to their parents before getting on the bus that will take them to camp over an hour outside of the city. Carlitos and Pedro turn to me with amazement in their eyes, 'Do you see what we're seeing!?' As I survey the scene I see nothing out of the ordinary. 'See what?' I ask them. 'Do you see all the dads here to see their kids off to camp!?'
In that moment I realize that this vision trip had already been worth it... and we hadn't even gotten to camp yet! In no other way could my disciples have gained this perspective coming from a culture where fathers are not involved in their kids' lives. I explained to them that this is the difference that Christ makes in a culture where multiple generations have believed: families, communities, and entire countries are changed. I tell Carlitos and Pedro that if, Lord willing, they get married and have kids then one day they too will be there to see their kids off to camp. Who knows? Maybe, in another 20 years from now they too will be able to come full circle and remember all that God has done to bring them to where they are now. It's both humbling and amazing!
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