Huancayo, Peru (Sept 30, 2012)
We had an amazing four-day Family History trip across THE ANDES into Peru’s Central Highlands. The magnificent Church members of Huancayo, with a population of 500,000, only reinforced the grandeur of the magnificent Andes.
The drive from Lima to Huancayo is only 170 miles, but it took us eight hours of hazardous driving, over a two-lane narrow mountain road and over a 15,000-foot mountain pass. Stone markers with crosses littered the roadside marking the location of a fatal accident.
A short stretch of Lima “freeway” soon gave way to an urban traffic jam and two lane roads. In contrast the Pan American Highway in Peru is a divided highway with double lanes. The road across the Andes was full of heavy truck traffic loaded with mining equipment, and lots of cars and buses. Caravans of twenty or more slow moving vehicles would be stuck behind a slower moving Eighteen Wheeler. Little hamlets straddling the roadway were pushed up against steep rocky cliffs. Speed bumps signaled the entry and exit to every mountain town. The “speed bumps” caused the heaver vehicle to slow to a near stop allowing children or adults to run to the stalled caravan attempting to sell their own cargo.
In contrast to our eight hours of slow driving, a Peruvian Road Rally was held on Saturday from Lima to Huancayo. The winner made the trip in 1-hour 45 minutes.
However, the Andes remain an amazing mountain range. Mining has been a focused industry since the Spanish colonial period and the environment has obviously paid the price. Never the less, the trip over a 15,000 foot pass to the 10,500 foot broad MANTARO VALLEY and Huancayo was full of beautiful scenes, small farming communities, and smiling hard working people.
The highlight of our trip was the three meetings we attended in the Huancayo Stake. Saturday afternoon we conducted a FAMILY HISTORY TRAINING Fair from 3:00pm until 9:00pm. All I can say is, it was very rewarding to see FACES light up when family names came into view on New Family Search. Some members were logged onto New Family Search for their first experience and family names were added to their pedigrees. I see an excitement for Family History in Peru that I have have not seen in the US. I feel like I belong here.
To think signals were bouncing off satellites to the United States and back again at the speed of light is another separate topic. It also is interesting that the Lima records we photographed just two weeks ago are now available on Family Search.
Sunday morning we attended church and then had two afternoon training meetings. These meetings were with ward and stake leaders. I have never seen so many smiling faces and so many members anxious to learn about Family History. About 200 members attended our first two-hour meeting. They remained for additional instruction, when we departed for a second conference some miles away.
Many members had obviously worked very hard at extending their family records and were very proud of their hard work. I sort of had a connection with a member and gave her a big hug and “Peruvian Kiss.” Not a Kiss, but the cheek-to-cheek thing I have mentioned. Before I knew it there were lots more hugs coming my way. It was just after I have given my “The Temple are a Place where Dreams Come True” talk.
Monday we did a little sight seeing on our long drive back to Lima. During our trip Kris took about 150 pictures and I took the same number. We will only post a few, but we have some wonderful memories, established some spiritual connections, and have lasting memories of Huancayo, Peru.
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