Josh and Heather Hedderman Prayer Letter: Children’s Club to Church Services

Happy spring from Lima! I mean, it is fall here, but you get the drift.

I feel like time flies too fast to keep track of things. The other day, I was looking at pictures of our son from November, and he looks like an entirely different child. So, in honor of him, we are sending our new family picture attached to the email as well!

The ministry here is growing, and we have been blessed to be a part of it. In October of last year, after 2½ amazing years, we shut down our food drive. We were a little worried about the foreseen drop in attendance from people who would come to church to sign up to receive food. Just as we expected, two weeks after shutting things down, the attendance started to drop . . . and then it started to rise again. By February of this year, we were at the same level as before, with new people there, not because of any promotion, but rather to hear the Word of God preached and learn more about Him.

In mid-January, we took over a Bible study on the hill behind our church. The study had been started in March of last year, but it had just become a children’s club, with one or two adults getting there off and on. We took it over and waited a few weeks before making any changes, but then we decided to change the service time and make it feel like a real church service. While our official Grand Opening is three weeks away, this past Saturday night, we had 15-plus adults in the service, with multiple visitors. The kids still come, but the adults are taking away all of their seating space! It is a fun problem to have. We are watching people being reached, coming to the services, and growing in the Lord from an area that we have struggled to reach in years past.

Update on a Ministry We Started Last Year

What was our television ministry has now gone to social media, and we are seeing hundreds of people come to Christ through it. Hundreds have written in to say that they accepted Christ and are wondering what to do from there. We have been able to direct them to churches all across Peru where they can continue to grow and continue in their Christian walk. Please pray, as we have had trouble with some sites blocking payment options for U.S. citizens running ads from foreign countries. We are trying to build what would be best for the long term, but God is blessing every step of the way.
Last week, we started our Bible institute once again, and we have 60-plus students officially taking classes, plus another 50-plus who just come and audit courses to learn. It’s amazing to watch people hungry to grow in His work. Please pray that the teachers, as well as the students, will all grow together in Him.

Big Prayer Request

During the week of Easter, Peru has a long weekend of holidays, and we are taking advantage of that time to have a big evangelistic campaign. We are expecting 1,000-plus people on the day before Easter, and each will receive a clear presentation of the Gospel. Pray for the logistics, as well as the results, on that day. We want God to work and for many to come to Him as a result.

Thank you for all you do for the Lord there in your corner of the world. We love partnering with you here in ours.

-Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman