The nation of Peru is going through a period of political and social crisis, worsened in turn by the natural disasters caused by the Yaku cyclone and the possibility of the El Niño current forming with abundant rainfall. After the failed coup d’état of former President Pedro Castillo, current President Dina Boluarte has been dealing with the crisis. In Southern Peru (Puno - Juliaca) marches and indefinite strikes continue, aggravating the economic situation in that region. While in Northern Peru, 40 years since the last cyclone, the Yaku cyclone hit mainly the regions of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque with heavy rains, high temperatures, lightning and overflowing rivers that swept away everything in its path causing material damage and even human losses. Unfortunately, we received bad news that our COJ churches in Piura were also affected by the cyclone, so please lift them up in your prayers.

On March 13, 2023, the Spirit of God tugged our hearts to go visit a church located in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico named “Dios con Nosotros” (God with Us). Driving through the very humble neighborhood where the church was located, we saw a community in need. One of our members also noticed very dark clouds hovering above the community. We understood that there was more meaning to this than meets the eye. We had a very blessed welcome from Pastora Lola and her husband, Pastor José Martinez. They mentioned to us that most of the one-hundred and thirty children coming to their church did not have any fathers and would walk three miles after school to arrive at their church to eat one meal. For a lot of these kids, that was their only meal for the day. When the children and the mothers arrived, they were eager to engage in the program prepped for them. However, when trying to have a conversation with these children about Jesus, they were distracted and a lot of them were not really listening. We asked them who Jesus was and what He did for us, but not many of them knew. Some of the mothers also seemed like they were not paying attention either. It appeared they were burdened and tired with their current circumstances and hardships. We were discouraged by this and understood that the Pastor couple were overwhelmed with the amount of work required to provide for these children’s physical needs. However, their spiritual needs were not being met. We presented the children with goody bags for them to take back home. There were drinks and food in each of them but most importantly, a Bible for the children to learn about. To our amazement, when handing these goody bags to the children, the first thing they pulled out from them was the Bible. They were in complete awe and wonder of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit was not only telling us that this community was in physical desperation, but more importantly, these children were desperate for Jesus Christ. The next generation was hungry for Christ! However, there were no teachers to help facilitate these children about our God (Matthew 9: 35-38). We knew the dark clouds signified the dark principalities at work in Mexico destroying and distracting the lives of the young children and their families. However, their desperation and spiritual need for Christ signifies the light that has now dawned on them (Isaiah 9:2) We can say with confidence that these children are left with hope and faith, not from the physical provisions, but because of the seed of the gospel planted in their hearts. Please pray, if it’s God’s Will, for the Lord to use us to water that seed by sending out workers to help facilitate these children about Jesus Christ and support these single mothers so that they can provide for their kids and teach them about Jesus.