Josh and Heather Hedderman Prayer Letter: Summer Break in the Southern HemisphereHey! Happy springtime! Hope you’re almost out of the cold and free to enjoy the flowers blooming! We are blessed here in Lima! God is continuing to do big things! As we talked about in our last letter, we had a big evangelistic campaign to close out last year. We were able to see over 1,700 people come between 2 days and 8 showings, and hundreds raised their hands to be saved. My favorite part was watching over 100 of our church people give of their time and energy to love the community and show God’s love. So many people jumped in, and so many people helped out; it made for a wonderful day.

With the summer break here in the Southern Hemisphere, we have been able to take advantage of the free time the teenagers have. We were able to take 75-plus of them to our Teen Retreat, where we had a day packed with preaching and games. Multiple kids were saved, with many dedicating themselves to walk with God and to know Him more.

We continue to give food out, and God continues to bless there. Every week for 19 months now, we open our doors to new people, sharing both food and the Gospel. If you would like to be a part of this ministry, the need is still great, and the results are still amazing. Just last week, we had 50-plus saved on Saturday alone due to the food drive.

We have been able to open 5 new Sunday school classes this year—3 new classes for teens, as well as 2 new classes for adults—and we are amazed at how God is growing each one and how He continues to bless. Additionally, we started a Bible study on the mountain behind our church, the first of many that, Lord willing, we will be able to open, and we are seeing 50-plus people each week, with many people coming now to church.

My favorite part of being a missionary is seeing people grow and want to learn more about Christ. This month we started a Bible institute in our church, and we have 70-plus students enrolled in weekly classes, learning about various themes from the Bible. So many people are so hungry for the Word, and God continues opening doors to keep growing.

My favorite story from this time has to be that of Benjamín. About six months before COVID, I went to the house of the brother of Edith, one of our members. She had been coming faithfully for years but had never been able to reach her brother Jaime. I went to the house, and we sat there talking for a couple of hours. At the end of that time, he bowed his head and asked Christ to save him. He started coming to church until COVID hit, but he would often comment on the transmissions, showing that he was involved. Unfortunately, in late 2020, he went Home to be with the Lord due to complications from COVID. His children moved in with their aunt, and the family, scared of being next, started attending the services only virtually.

About two months ago, Edith started coming back. After a few weeks, she would bring her grandchildren, but it wasn’t until three weeks ago that she brought Benjamín, her nephew (Jaime’s son), to church with her. When he came, I didn’t realize the connection, just assuming him to be a nephew of hers. He came, got saved, and was baptized last week. I congratulated him afterwards, not realizing the connection, and he asked if I remembered him from when I went to visit his house and told his dad about Jesus. It was a blessing to see how God worked all things for His good.

Keep praying for us. We are searching for God’s will in respect to our current church building location. The owner still isn’t ready to talk long-term plans, so we need to figure out how to advance. Also, pray that God continues to provide money for the food drives. We are living month-to-month, not knowing if we’ll be able to continue, relying fully on Him. Please pray with us that He will continue to provide.

Thank you to so many who have given and to so many who have prayed. Our God is an awesome God, and it is our joy to serve Him.

Your missionaries to Peru,

-Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman