Josh and Heather Hedderman Prayer Letter: Things Are Ramping Up Here!

Hey! Merry (almost) Christmas to everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends and that Santa doesn’t get shut down due to a new Covid strain or something . . .

Here, things are ramping up! During the last letter, we were rejoicing that we had 300-plus in our Anniversary Service. That has since become the norm, and people continue coming and finding Christ. The food drive continues strong, and we are seeing 30-plus people saved every week. God is doing big things, and we are humbled that He would use us in our little corner of the world.

A couple of months ago, we were able to have a Youth Conference with 350-plus teens from all parts of Peru. We were amazed at how God worked through every message and every lesson. We had three days of activity, with soccer and volleyball tournaments on the second day; however, the real blessing was the preaching and how God worked in amazing ways. We invited multiple pastors from here in Lima, and God knit all the truths together. Multiple decisions were made to serve Christ, but the last message was geared towards being a real Christian in a fake world. To see how the altars filled with teenagers wanting to serve Christ, regardless of their eventual profession, was incredible!

In the last few months, we also had a Kids’ Conference, a missions trip, and a Teen Retreat; and we were also able to start a new Sunday school class. We have people being baptized almost every week and have been able to see three of our church couples get married. We’re staying busy, and God continues to give the increase!

I wanted to write about two prayer requests:

First, on the 18th of December, we are planning a big evangelistic event; we are expecting over 1,500 people throughout the day. We have been working on the logistics for weeks now, and our people are making things happen. We are hoping to be able to reach completely new people with the Gospel on that day. We ask that you all would be praying for souls to come, hungry for the Word of God, and that God would speak through the program, both to kids and parents alike.

Second, we are in the last year of our rental contract on our church property. The place where we are has been perfect for us for the last four-plus years, and God has blessed greatly there. We are considering all possibilities, but our selfish desire would be to sign a new contract for five more years and continue growing where God has us. Please pray that God would give us wisdom. Property here is insanely expensive; the cost of just land, without construction, is almost $100 per square foot. We would need a million dollars or more to buy what we have, and while we know God is capable of miracles, we also know that it will happen in His time. Until then, we will continue renting to be able to have a place to meet. Please pray that God continues to open the doors for us to be able to stay where we are, or that He would move us to somewhere better.

Thank you all so much for your love and prayers. We are blessed to be able to represent you all here in Lima.

Your missionaries to Peru,

-Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman