Josh and Heather Hedderman Prayer Letter: What Happened to 2021?

Hey! Can the person who controls how fast or slow time goes calm down a bit?! The year 2021 just started, and suddenly I’m about to turn my calendar to August!

We hope all is well there in your part of the world and that your summer months are going well! This month Perú celebrates its bicentennial—200 years of independence. There are going to be big festivities here in Lima and all around the country.

July through August is always a busy time in our ministry here. Because of being in the Southern Hemisphere, the school years here start in April and run through December, with the Summer Break aligning with our summer, from January-March. That also means Winter Break starts here at the end of July, and there is a two-week period where we have a flurry of events, taking advantage of everyone’s time off school (à la Christmas Break). We’re planning a getaway for the teens the first week of August, as well as a Kids’ Conference during the second week. It’s fun to watch our people show up and get involved in everything that they possibly can, working together to make the work grow. Please pray that God works through us in each one of these events.

Speaking of growth, our church had our big annual Anniversary Conference, and it was a wonderful four days. For COVID reasons, we didn’t open it up to outside churches, but even with just our people, we filled the church each night and had a big day with 300-plus on Sunday. We invited multiple pastors from different parts of Lima to come preach, and each one of the messages was exactly what we needed. Over the weekend, we had 70-plus saved and multiple baptisms. Pray for our people as we continue growing. God is doing big things, and we’re just trying to keep up!

My favorite part of the anniversary was a moment on Sunday where we listened to testimonies from the last year. We had just watched an excellent video, done by Bro. Chris Williams, about what the church meant to people or how God had used the church to reach people, and then we had a time of testimonies. The first one was of a young man who was reached while we were still virtual. We were frustrated after seven to eight months of transmissions, unable to have services, when he wrote the page and told us that he had accepted Christ as his Saviour. The second testimony was from the lady Heather talked about in the last prayer letter, who was saved through a Sunday school class over Zoom. After those testimonies, I asked all those who were there and had been reached in the last year to stand up, and well over 100 people stood up. So many times in the last year, we’ve been at the point of throwing up our hands in desperation, but God kept working, kept building His work, and the fruits are incredible to see.

The food drive continues on, and we are now a year into being able to give food out every single week to hundreds of families. A year ago, the plan was to give to 100 families for 10 weeks, but as God has continued to open the doors, He has made it possible to go far beyond that. We are currently giving out 300 baskets of food every single week. Please pray that He continues to provide. We have money to continue through the first week of August, but no further. Pray that He continues to make this giving possible.

Heather and Joseph are doing well. Joseph is almost walking, and as such, we are excited about the possibility of not having to live life hunched over so he can use our hands to walk, but also terrified of the fact that this very curious toddler will be even harder to contain. It’s a good thing . . . we think.
We love you all and are thankful for your continued prayers and support. We are thrilled to be able to represent so many people here in Lima.

Your missionaries,

-Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman