Training Assignments -- Chincha, Ica and Cañete

Our most recent assignment took us south to the communities of Chincha, Ica, and Cañete where we were assigned to train Church leaders on a new method of providing support to members of their congregations who need help acquiring food for their families. Unfortunately, our schedules and theirs did not allow for us to make just one trip south to get all three locations so we had to travel three times. 

Photos:
*As we travel around Perú, this is frequently my view of the trip. I spend a lot of time in the back seat, trying to see the road while peeking around the head rest of the front seat. Here we are heading south out of Lima.
*Along the freeway in Southern Lima.
*Looking back at the toll booths on the freeway.
*South of the city along the coast. Reminds us of what we think the moon would look like.
*Passing through the Cañete Valley. There are areas along the coast of Perú where vegetation exists and where they grow fruits and vegetables mainly for export. These areas are where there are rivers from the mountains to the oceans.

*Chicken farms. Chicken is a main staple in Perú.

*It's a bit difficult to see, but the little buildings in the photo are homes of the "squatters." This area will be a city someday.

*A street in Ica.

*The church building in Ica, where we held the training. (2 photos).

*Elder Merrill (Rob) setting up for the meeting.

The trip to Cañete for training

Our third training was in the city of Cañete, which is about 2 hours south of Lima. In order to get to Cañete, we ventured on our first trip in Perú in a Greyhound-like bus.

  

On the way home, we sat behind a very cute and outgoing young man by the name of Carlos, and across from a happy little baby.

The Cañete valley is one of the fertile valleys where a river flows from the mountains, thus making it possible to grow large quantities of fruits and vegetables. Much of it is grown for export, but in the market you can find large quantities of inexpensive produce.  Below are some photos of the countryside as we entered Cañete.

We were picked up at the bus station by our friends, Elder and Hermana Myers, who live there in the Cañete valley. They generously opened up their home to us for the weekend so we could give our training on Sunday afternoon.

Castle of Cañete

Photos:

*Elder and Hermana Merrill at the Castle of Cañete

*This castle was owned by a slave trader in the 1800's. This is a photo of the Auction block where the slaves were auctioned off to the highest bidder

*The Castle

The Castle

 The Market in Canete