As we make our way out of the city of Arequipa the landscape changes dramatically. The clean cut, white buildings quickly give way to desert towns stacked on hillsides. We are in the director's van taking a more scenic route to Camp La Joya than the bus filled with all the campers. We careen along the ever winding road making its way through the Andes mountains. Having come from Paraguay we are struck by how brown everything is; there is almost no green in this desert that is made up of innumerable rocks.
As we approach the camp in the Victor valley located in La Joya, Peru we start to see more green. This lush valley is watered by a rushing river flowing down from the snow capped mountains. As you can imagine, with this much vegetation in the middle of a vast desert, the camp is in a coveted location.
The valley is a strip of green about 2 miles wide and maybe 10 miles long. It's hemmed in on all sides by sandy ridges that tower over the valley floor in stark contrast to the farm fields, plants, and trees covering it. For my three Paraguayan friends and I we can't help but also think of the contrast of all we're seeing from our camp in Paraguay, where it's always hot and green. At our camp we only had to dig 300 feet straight down to get water from the world's largest aquifer. La Joya Camp has to bring water from over 30 kilometers away and then filter it thoroughly in order to provide drinking water for everyone.
Once at camp the first person we meet is Jaime, who is smiling broadly. Like all the staff at camp, Jaime is Peruvian. He is the 'personnel coordinator' and is in charge of maintaining the camp grounds and accommodating it's guests- no small task! He happily gives us a tour of the entire camp, with the exception of the cabins which are being rented by another church group. Since the missionaries put the camp entirely into Peruvian hands they have supplemented funding by renting it out as well as growing crops to sell- a precious resource in dry, dry Peru! Jaime proudly shows us the vast fields of corn, cotton, squash and more. Higinio, particularly impressed with the fig tree we eat from along the way, begins to consider how he can get seeds through customs. At the end of the tour we each find ourselves carrying a melon back to our room.
Once the camp program starts my guys quickly integrate with the Peruvian staff and campers. The kids love hearing from 'Los Paraguayos' about our different language (Guarani), money (Guarani again) and customs. We laugh when we see Higinio unwittingly exchanging money with kids who are thrilled to get 5,000 Guaranis for just ten Soles (not a good deal at all!).
The campers also love our terere (Paraguayan green tea/ social drink). One evening, before we left Paraguay, Higinio had asked me if we would have a way to drink terere and mate (the hot version) in Peru. I was surprised when I looked at his face and realized that he was very serious- like this could be a deal breaker for him! And so we carried my terere thermos with us through all the airports, on airplanes and all the way to camp where each day the four of us go out of our way to prepare ice and carefully ration the yerba mate. But we soon learn that we have to hide to drink terere because whenever a camper sees us we'd find ourselves surrounded by a crowd of boys who inevitably drink our entire thermos dry!
On the second morning we all get up before the sun rises to hike to the top of the ridge, above camp. After about an hour of climbing in the thin mountain air we reach the rim from where we can look down on the full expanse of the green Victor valley.
My Paraguayan friends might as well have been walking to the moon- the terrain is unlike anything they have ever seen; Paraguay is neither mountainous nor dry! As the sun rises over the valley the counselors sit down on the rocky ground with their campers for morning devotions.
From where we are we can see the entire camp property. Over the course of 25 years four different missionary families have developed the land; purchasing it in two stages. Standing on the ridge gives us all greater perspective on how much time and effort it has taken for this camp to fully develop! We consider the road that lies ahead in developing our camp in Paraguay.
On the following day we get to experience an activity that we had not considered for our camp: archery! Higinio just about gives me a heart attack when shouts after hitting his first bullseye. As we dream about having an archery range at our camp in Paraguay the potential is great! We could even invite a First Nation's hunter to instruct using a longbow. I'd be scared to see Higinio with one of those!
But the activity Higinio is really looking forward to is horseback riding. After giving one of the poor ponies the workout of it's lifetime, Higinio proudly tells me he used to be a horse racing jockey. I think Higinio may have forgotten that was when he was a kid and was much, much lighter. A fact I'm sure the horse will not soon forget! It is great to see Higinio leading campers on horseback (at a much slower pace).
As camp draws to a close Higino asks me to take a picture of him with the campers that have adopted him. Later, he asks me if we need a horse instructor at our camp in Paraguay. With tears in his eyes, Higinio offers his services and I realize that he's learned what camp is all about. As I type this, Higinio and another camp committee member are heading up the construction of four cabins and a shower house at the far end of our camp in Paraguay. From there, over the years, thousands of campers will wake up each morning to see the sun rising beyond Paraguay's highest peak- welcoming a new day!
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