First, I would like to thank you for your prayers on behalf of my father. The doctors said that they almost lost him twice during this ordeal, but, due in large part to the many prayers lifted on his behalf, he made it through the three surgeries and the month and a half spent in the hospital. He is now at home working on regaining control of the right side of his body. After the surgeries, he could not even move his right foot or hand. He is now able to get around with just a cane. This is a great blessing. Please continue praying that he will recover fully.
We started out the new year by hosting our team’s Christmas gathering. It was a held a little bit late since not everyone was here in December. We shared a lot of good food and gifts. We also welcomed the Joe Hembrough family, who are here to work with us for a couple of years.
For the second year in a row, our team traveled north to the district of Paita to conduct a Pastors’ Training Conference. We had four full days of teaching, singing, soul winning, and preaching. The mayor of Paimas, the town we were in, invited us to have an open-air meeting in the town square on Wednesday night. He provided the sound system and location, and we provided the preaching. In the morning, we all went out and gave flyers to everybody in the town. A salvation message was preached, and about 80 people trusted Christ as their Saviour! Irene had the opportunity to teach the ladies about different subjects during the conference. They especially enjoyed the soul-winning training class. They were all given the challenge to go home and start winning souls. In total, over 90 people trusted Christ during this conference!
One Saturday, we took a large group of people from the Surco church to the San Gabriel church to help them pass out flyers for their 7th anniversary. The people really enjoyed it, and we were happy to be an encouragement to our church family in San Gabriel.
We ended the month of February with VBS. We promoted it for two weeks in Surco and in San Juan de Miraflores, a neighboring city. We handed out many tracts and invitations and had a great response from the people. I invited a teenager named Gabriel to VBS. He came and brought his three younger sisters with him. They loved it! On the following Saturday while we were out soul winning, we saw him again. He asked us if we were going to have VBS again the next week. We told him “no” but that he could come to Sunday school and church on Sunday. He brought his sisters on Sunday morning, and they attended faithfully until the quarantine prevented them from coming. Instead, he is now faithfully attending online with his sisters.
The government here in Peru has enacted one of the most stringent responses in the world to the Coronavirus. We are on mandatory quarantine in our homes until further notice. We can only go out to visit pharmacies, banks, and grocery stores unless we are considered an essential worker or have special permission. Masks are mandatory outside our homes. Curfews are in effect, and nobody is allowed out on Sundays. The military and the police are out checking people and have arrested more than 50,000 people for breaking curfew. Our churches have had to switch to online services and meetings, but God has provided for all our needs. Thank you for your prayers and faithful support during this time.
In His service,
Chris and Irene Williams