We were up at 3:00 Tuesday morning. Most of us were fairly groggy, but we were loaded up and pulling out by 4:00. I was dearly wishing for coffee, but it was not to be.
I didn’t struggle with sleepiness too much, but we did stop twice for me to take a twenty-five minute nap. That was enough to keep me going.
We each took a turn praying before we pulled out in the morning. We asked God to keep us safe, to keep us hidden from police officers, to keep us from being sick, and that we could arrive home before curfew at 9:00 that night.
We took a slightly different route home than when we came. This allowed us to travel the coast for much longer before crossing the mountains. The mountains we did cross weren’t quite as high as the first trip, and they were far less curvy.
Dane was still struggling with his stomach, vomiting seven times total in the two days. Shawn was the only other one who was sick and only two times. That was a tremendous improvement over the first run!
I think Dane’s problem was more stomach bug related. A number of the children complained of stomach pain, and China was very uncomfortable most of the day Tuesday with stomach cramps, but no one else puked. We heard that we left just as a stomach bug was sweeping through Huaral, and it seems the Lord was gracious to us in keeping us from the worst of it.
We made good progress on smooth roads, which was another improvement to our trip. We decided that if we ever drive to the coast to visit the ocean, we’ll likely take that route.
God answered our prayers about the police. I wish you could have experienced it with us, but it really was as if we were invisible to them. Steph noticed a couple times as we came through police checks how that as we approached, the officers would all turn away, and we would drive by with their backs to us.
Once, we came through a small town where two patrol cars were parked in waiting. We were the middle vehicle of three in a row. As we passed, I noticed the police trucks move into action. We began praying.
They put their lights on and pulled over the car behind us. Then the next patrol car pulled up behind us and turned his lights on. My heart sank for a moment, but he suddenly went around us and pulled over the car in front of us. We kept merrily trucking along, praising the Lord.
Not a single time did we get stopped in any police check. We counted over two dozen that we went through. Incredible.
Coming over the mountains after dark, we hit heavy fog. We were creeping along at the lowest gear. Sometimes, I had to stop and wait for another vehicle to approach before I could see where the edge of the road was. I then discovered that I was going slowly enough that I could feel when my right front tire touched dirt, and that would signal me to come back onto the road.
Finally, we were down out of the fog and dropping into Curahuasi. But traffic stopped. There was road work. People shut off their engines and cut their lights, leaving on their hazards. We were there awhile.
I watched the time ticking by and realized we weren’t going to make it home before curfew. Wouldn’t it just be the ticket if we got stopped right before home? I asked God, “Please let the traffic move so that we can get home. Just get us home by 9:00.” The reason we had left so early that morning was so we could get home by 6:00 or 7:00–that definitely wasn’t going to happen.
Suddenly, the traffic began moving down below us! Engines were fired up, lights on, and we were on our way again. We had smooth sailing the rest of the way!
Rafael and Elisabet kept messaging us the last few hours. They were worried about us making it home. When we came into Curahuasi, I let them know. “David, you’re going to break curfew!” Rafael exclaimed.
But the road were clear of traffic, pretty much, and we could go without stopping. I didn’t even stop for a speed bump once! We about all hit the roof, but it saved us a few seconds.
I sent Rafael a message at 8:57 to let him know we were pulling down our lane. We got home at 9:00. God gave us everything we needed just as we needed it.
Thanks for praying for us. We are so grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip and for how God kept us and blessed us. But we’re glad to be home.
The baby should be here in less than three weeks. We go back to Curahuasi next week to meet with the midwife again, Lord willing. Our adventures aren’t over yet!
Juan David 