Merry Christmas from Lima
(Carta en Español aquí)
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
It has been a while since we sent an update, and so I wanted to take this time during the Christmas lull to share a little of what God is doing here in Perú and to thank you for the huge part you have in reaching Peruvians and so many others throughout Central and South America with the Gospel.
As you may remember from our previous updates, this year we took the step of renting a larger property for the church. We had to raise new walls and an entire roof over the space before building out the classrooms and ministry areas inside. God allowed the whole project to move forward incredibly fast, and we finished without any major issues. Seeing the building take shape so quickly was a great encouragement to our church family. God miraculously provided the money for the work even before we had the chance to ask for help.
At the end of October, we celebrated our church’s second anniversary by inaugurating the new location with a three-day meeting with Pastor Andy Gómez from Hammond, Indiana. The Lord gave us more than 250 people on the main Sunday, with many visitors and several baptisms. It was a joyful reminder of God’s faithfulness and a strong beginning to this new chapter.
December brought a whirlwind of Christmas ministry. We held four different events: one in a new work we are opening a couple of hours south of Lima, one in a mountain city supporting a missionary that our church supports, and two in our own location. Altogether, more than 1,700 people attended, and we were able to give gifts to over 1,000 children. One of the most encouraging parts was seeing more than 120 people from our own church serve across the events. Watching our people serve with such joy and unity was one of the greatest blessings of our year.
Just a side note, in Peru, everyone drinks hot chocolate and eats fruit bread because “that’s what they see in American movies,” which means drinking boiling-hot chocolate under the blazing summer sun. Thanks, Hollywood.
In the last few months we also launched new evangelistic content in Argentina, and the results have been incredible. People are already writing to say they have accepted Christ, and others are reaching out to find churches across Argentina, the third-largest country in South America. Across all countries, 2025 has already brought tremendous fruit online. Our digital ministry reached more than 18 million views this year, and over 16,000 people wrote to say they accepted Christ across Central and South America. Several individuals have even visited our church because they first heard the Gospel through our social outreach. It has been humbling to watch God use simple videos to reach homes we could never physically step into.
There are many other blessings that we don’t have the time to share in detail: Heather was invited to speak at several ladies’ conferences, I had the opportunity to preach missions and family conferences, Joseph got to see snow for the first time on a quick trip to the U.S., we celebrated our first wedding at Esperanza, and the year has been wonderfully full of ministry, growth, and God’s abounding kindness.
As we celebrate Christmas, we want to thank you again for your faithful partnership and your love for our family and ministry. Your prayers and support make our ministry here possible. From Lima, we wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas season and a Christ-centered start to the new year.
With gratitude,
Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman
