Two years ago this July, we set foot on Peruvian soil. There were many unknowns: Where would we live? Where would we start a church? What would the people be like? What would life be like in a foreign place? Looking back now, we see the incredible faithfulness of God as He led us to the perfect district and the perfect little bread store that would become our first church.
Our first service began with 38 people. We had no idea that two years later, God would give us 6 other churches and a faithful crowd of about 200 people who weekly set foot in our church in Chorrillos. Last weekend we celebrated our second-year anniversary. We had an incredible day! All three of our choirs sang together “Lord, I Believe in You.” God really packed out our building, and 272 people came to church Sunday morning. Two people from our church in San Genaro 2 (the name of the area) got baptized, and 25 people received Christ that day! We praise God for His incredible goodness to continue blessing our ministries.
Speaking of anniversaries, our church plant in Surco just celebrated their first anniversary! They were able to have 110 in attendance for their big day!
Several weeks ago our children’s choir quoted Psalm 23 by memory to our church and sang, “Here Am I, Lord; Send Me.” One of our mothers was so impressed that she asked when we taught the children these things. Hearing it was on Wednesday nights, she told my wife that they would begin attending on Wednesday nights. This family lives an hour and a half away from our church, so this is a huge sacrifice for them. Since then, they have been faithful every single Wednesday night!
A few weeks ago, we began a Bible study in our home for the district of Cedros de Villa in which we live. God has given us several great families who have been faithfully attending and bringing their friends. Recently we were blessed to have 16 people at our home who were eager to study the Bible. I love this time of training and studying God’s Word!
The night after our anniversary services, we jumped into a taxi to head to the airport. We are looking forward to spending some time in the States visiting our families. We are also looking forward to seeing many of you, as we will be visiting several churches in the North Carolina and Oklahoma areas.
Once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your investment in our ministry. Thank you for the prayers and love you constantly bestow on us. It is the honor of our lives to partner with you in reaching the world for the Gospel.
In His service,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun