When the “virus crisis” exploded back in March, it didn’t seem possible that it would stretch on into the latter half of the year. Official church gatherings (in Peru, at least) are still postponed indefinitely, and the dates for numerous ministry trips that we had planned for the Summer (Peruvian Winter) have already come and gone.
Also, there is no clarity (yet) on how long travel will be restricted to some of our target areas for ministry, including the prison and villages in the high Andes. Even if official restrictions are lifted soon, many remote areas that have mostly remained free from the virus might not want to receive outsiders for quite some time, and the prison will probably stay quarantined until 2021.
With the “bad news” out of the way, I am excited to say that God HAS opened doors during this season and provided for a number of unique outreaches here in the capital of Lima and beyond.
Here are some praises and prayer requests related to our recent ministry activities in “lockdown”…
Passing the Word
For the first 2+ months of “lockdown” here in Peru, it was forbidden to drive anywhere, so we had to walk everywhere. With the nearest supermarket about a mile away, I got into a habit of taking different routes through the dense neighborhoods, leaving Gospel tracts on as many doors as possible; usually hundreds per outing. It’s a good problem to have, but after dozens of similar outings, my stash of thousands of tracts has now dwindled to just a few hundred.
Chatting with a homeless man at his rocky beach camp about a mile from our home along the chilly Pacific Coast.
Homeless Outreach
Just days after most businesses in Peru were forced to close, we started noticing homeless people wandering the streets and digging through the trash at night. Some had been evicted when landlords realized they would have no way to earn money. We have been able to help the homeless in a variety of ways, including handing out food and water, money for food (sometimes), along with New Testaments or little Gospels of John.
We even had a guest (Michel, a Cuban refugee) stay with us for about ten days until we could help him find a room to rent and get back on his feet. He is now working again, watching parked cars for tips (a common job here in Peru) outside a large grocery store, as well as at a Little Caesar’s. He has also become a good friend. Pray for his salvation!
(Please also pray for a young man in his late 20s, a drug addict named Arturo who we have been trying to help since back in early June. He is still on the streets, but we are going to try and convince him to go to Proyecto Vida, a rehabilitation center where I often volunteer, counseling and teaching the Bible. If you feel led to help cover Arturo’s fees at rehab, please let us know…)
When Michel was evicted, he sold almost everything to buy this bike, which has been a huge blessing to him during the lockdown.
Saturday Street Evangelism
In late May, the laws on driving were loosened. As I began driving around our district (San Miguel: 4 sq miles, 150k ppl) once again, I noticed the informal workers returning to the busy intersections, where they would wash windows for tips, sell candy, or simply beg. So while most Peruvians (those who could afford it) were still hiding at home, these desperate folks were out trying to scrape together some money to survive.
Up until the end of June, Sunday was still on TOTAL lockdown (from Saturday evening until Monday morning) and everything was closed, making getting food on Saturday all that much more important! Imagine being forbidden to even walk out your front door on Sunday, even if you didn’t have any food at home, or any way to procure some.
So I began going out to the highways and byways each Saturday to give out “Blessing Packs”, which included a Gospel of John, a tract, local church info, and enough money to prepare a decent meal on Sunday. I can’t count how many truly grateful people I met each Saturday in June. By God’s grace, we were able to provide physical and spiritual food for hundreds of these needy folks.
As I made my rounds week after week, seeing many of the same smiling faces over and over again, I was also able to encourage them to read the Word of God, to “seek Jesus, the Bread of Life, which is infinitely more important than the loaf of bread you can buy down the street.”
This young man, who was begging from people in line at a grocery store, is reading the Gospel of John I gave him.
Food (and Bibles) for the Hungry
With God’s help (and your donations), we have also been able to distribute literally TONS of food (rice, noodles, oats, tuna, sugar, milk, oil, etc) to help feed hundreds of needy families here in Peru, as well as among the suffering (hungry) believers in socialist Venezuela (with special help from our friends and teammates Deivy and Karen, Venezuelan missionaries to Peru).
Just one of dozens of Christian families we’ve helped in Venezuela. Google “hungry Venezuelans” to learn more about the situation there!
There have also been many opportunities to give away Bibles, and even preach, during these times of distribution! As we continue receiving requests for help, pray that God would continue to provide for all those who are still suffering due to the economic effects from the lockdowns.
John (not Juan) in Jauja
It has been such a blessing to come alongside my buddy John Galarza in the central Andes of Peru during these past few months, as he reaches out to the neediest in his community while also trying to lead the flock of young people that he oversees at a small mission in the outskirts of Jauja.
John and I first met on the crowded streets of Puente Piedra, in northern Lima, way back in early 2004. John took a tract from me, but told me he was already a Christian, and invited me to his home. We’ve been friends ever since and have kept in touch through the years, even though most of that time we were serving in China and John was back home in the Andean city where his family originated. Ironically, my last (road) trip just the week before Peru’s lockdown began in mid-March was to visit John and give a mini-missions conference at his local church.
I should also mention that John is handicapped (he is the one on the right in the above pic), having suffered from polio as a young child. Yet he still serves selflessly in his local church, in his ministry to the young people in the community, and as the owner of the only Christian bookshop in town.
Just a few of the kids in John’s youth group in Jauja, which is a town situated at about 11,500 ft above sea level.
Under normal circumstances, John’s small Christian bookshop, run out of the front of his home, provides for his needs. But he was forced to shut down for months and his city is still under a stricter lockdown than most of the country. In the meantime, we are helping him provide free Bible study materials to the young people, as well as extra food and necessary items, since most people are still not able to work as before. Pray that God would continue to provide!
Peniel Elderly Home in Rural Romania
Last September (when the world was young!) we spent a weekend in Bucharest, on our way home from a conference in Bulgaria. We had a wonderful host family and translator (thank you, Teo!), and I preached a couple of times.
When virtually the entire world went into lockdown back in March, we received word that the elderly home our friends help to oversee was in great need. We were able to raise some emergency funds among friends and family, and even donated much of our own “stimulus” check, and the most dire needs have already been provided for.
However, there are still ongoing needs for basic supplies like clean bedding for new arrivals, fuel for the winter, etc. Please contact me if you’d like to help care for these (nearly 100) elderly folks, most who have already survived decades of Communist rule in Romania last century.
Although I first wrote about suffering among the most vulnerable among us during the lockdowns a few months ago, please continue to pray for these folks at Peniel Elderly Home. More support is also welcome.
