We started the month of November by visiting the two largest cemeteries in Lima. One of them, Nueva Esperanza, is the largest in South America and the second-largest in the world. A group of 46 soul winners from 3 churches distributed thousands of tracts and witnessed to as many people as possible. We were able to see 160 people trust in Christ as their Saviour! This was the first time some of the church members had ever seen the cemeteries. November 1, which is known as “The Day of the Dead,” is the busiest day of the year in the cemeteries, since almost everyone goes to visit them and remember their loved ones.
In November, we started choir practices for our Christmas play. The people were very excited to be a part of this great evangelistic event. The play was held in December and was called “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” One of the church members wrote and directed the play, and the choir and special groups sang, while others acted in the play. We had many visitors to whom we served hot chocolate and panettone. Everyone had a great time! On November 18, we finished the third semester of our Bible institute. About 30 students completed this semester and are looking forward to the next.
The church also worked very hard to present a program in a public park on December 7. There was a soccer tournament, a raffle with various prizes for adults and kids, inflatables for the kids, hot chocolate, panettone, and, of course, preaching. The plan of salvation was clearly presented, and we had many saved. There were about 400 in attendance at this open-air meeting in the park. The soul-winning programs of the Surco church are distributing about 1,000 tracts every week.
We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with a dinner at the church. It was open to everyone in the church. We have a few families that are from other countries and are away from their families, so they were happy to have others to spend Christmas with. Each family brought their favorite dish for a potluck dinner. Then we sang Christmas songs until midnight. At midnight, the fireworks start all over the city, and we watched them from the church roof until they died down. It was a great time of fellowship and celebrating our Saviour’s birth.
We are planning our first furlough right now. Please let us know if you want us to visit you to give an update in person while we are back. Our tentative furlough dates in the U.S. are June 22 through August 20, 2020. The best way to contact us is by email at williams.teamperu@gmail.com. This reaches us both on the computer and each of our cell phones. We look forward to hearing from you and will make every effort to visit with you if you so desire.
As I was about to send this letter out, we found out that my father, Richard Williams, is currently in the hospital in intensive care. He is being treated for an infection in his brain that came from a skin cancer surgery on his head, which he had 18 months ago. The cancer had spread to the bone, and they removed some of his skull. The wound site never healed, but the hospital told him that it was normal. We just found out about this and would appreciate your prayers for him. They will need to operate again in order to remove infected bone and cure the infection in his brain. Please pray for healing and that they find better doctors. Thank you for your faithful prayers. God bless you!
In His service,
Chris and Irene Williams