On June 12, Sandy had the opportunity to accompany a visiting team
from St. Philip's church in Frisco, Texas on a trip to Cabanaconde
which is located in the spectacular area of the Colca Canyon.
The Anglican Mission of San Felipe in Cabanaconde is staffed by
Padre Alejandro Mesco and Deacon Justo Maque.
This shows the long steep descent from the high point of 15,750 feet
to the town of Chivay -- just under 12,000 feet.
THE CHURCH of SAN FELIPE
San Felipe Church is a work in progress.
A new chapel will be started this fall.
A future dining area serves as the current sanctuary.
There are 4 bedrooms at this beautiful facility.
Padre Alejandro proudly shows Fr. Joel Prather
the plans for the new facility.
Fr. Joel and Deacon Justo
with a good view of the church property
and the majestic mountain scenery.
A good view of the church property
from the second story bedrooms.
This view from the church shows the caretaker's cottage,
the town of Cabanaconde and the high mountains south of town.
This area is best known for its corn exports.
These terraced fields were harvested in April
and will be replanted in August.
WOW, what a view!
THE TOWN ITSELF
Looking down on the village of Cabanaconde
---- population 2000.
A small chapel is built on a hill above the town.
Fr. Joel and Sandy prayed over the city from here.
The Kuntur Wassi Hotel
where the ladies on the team stayed.
Very rustic looking but nice inside.
The main plaza and Roman Catholic church.
Three team members at the plaza.
Note the statue of the condor.
Errol and Fr. Joel on a typical unpaved street
An elderly woman walks down a narrow lane between houses.
Local corn fields looking towards the church and the Colca Canyon.
LADIES' MINISTRIES
The women of the team gave a special pampering to the
ladies of Cabanaconde with hand lotion and painting their nails.
Jenny, in the center, is a leader among local women.
Many local ladies came.
Note the hats typical of this area.
Group shot of the local ladies and the team
in the church of San Felipe.
Padre Alejandro led singing
for the services.
VISITING TWO SCHOOLS
Brenda and Kelly help fill lots of kids' bags.
After all the ladies on the team bought hats
typical of the Colca Canyon ladies,
some borrowed skirts and tops from the
pre-school to help celebrate.
The little kids LOVE to dance.
Padre Alejandro has a great way of relating to young children.
Quite the happy group!
Padre Alejandro arranged for the team to speak at the end of an
evening parent's meeting at a local elementary school.
Some of the team members, who were teachers, had an
opportunity to share on how parents can help their child succeed in school.
THE CANYON
The Colca Canyon is supposedly deeper than the Grand Canyon.
From Cabanaconde, the canyon drops about 3200 feet to the river.
The views are spectacular.
The team met for morning prayer at a canyon overlook.
Fr. Joel Prather playing guitar.
Note the trails on the other side of the canyon.
A condor is seen rising on the canyon thermals.
A zoomed shot
These birds can reach a wingspan of up to 3 meters.
Sandy sitting on a rock high above the canyon.
Errol looking down on the pueblos of
Oasis and Tapay, only accessible by foot.
Kathy descending with village of Tapay in background.
Fr. Joel
The hiking group
Burros are used by local villagers to haul in supplies.
FARMING
Most of the local farming for export is corn.
Many fields are still plowed by yoked bulls.
But Kelly and Laura got to ride on Jenny's new tractor ---
not many of those around the Colca Canyon.
The corn was harvested in April.
The plants are pulled up and allowed to dry.
The ladies then remove the husks, then remove the kernels.
The dried kernels are used for soup or made into corn meal.
The ladies on the team decided to pitch in
and help with husking and removing kernels.
LEAVING THE VALLEY
On the return trip we stopped for lunch in Chivay.
Fr. Joel poses with a Colca woman and her baby llama.
As we ascend the pass, we see more llamas of various colors.
From the top of the pass, we see the Valley of the Volcanoes
with Ampato being the dominant feature at 20,630 feet.
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