Pastor Genier Escobedo Alva (Piura, Peru)
Never the Same Again
“Oil of Joy instead of Spirit of Despair”
The effects of this year’s El Niño floods were
catastrophic. Whole villages were swamped and some
roads were redrawn on the map. Families lost their
homes, local community centers flooded out, but relief
was slow to arrive. Many pastors were worried for
their communities. Piura was changed for the worse. A
wave of depression and fear plagued the atmosphere
of Piura. It would never be the same.
But our God is faithful. God put the city of Piura in
contact with someone who was associated with the
HHK WMC. They were concerned for the children
and churches of Piura. Soon afterwards, I meet
members of the HHK WMC staff from both the
United States and Lima off to discuss the next course
of action for the emergency relief. We also prayed
about how we could share the Gospel through the
relief work.
Unfortunately, around this time, I contracted Dengue
and could not be of much help. Thankfully, other
pastors from the city helped in completing our
mission. It was encouraging to see the pastors of
Piura gathered in harmony to accomplish God’s
work. After my recovery, I rejoined the team towards
the end of the project to distribute food baskets and
lunches at the church. All the churches worked with
the community and brought peace back to Piura. But
something greater occurred; Piura was transformed.
Through this time, many people came back or
chose to dedicate their lives to God. Amen! Pastor
Adolfo Rojas Román, who pastors at the Cristo es
la Respuesta (Christ is the Answer) church started
off with less than twenty believes, but now has a
congregation of forty adults, sixty youth, and fifty
children!
They now have a problem- they need a bigger church!
They were never prepared for such growth! Another
story involves Sister Lucy, who was always against of
Christ. She would attack the Gospel and criticize the
pastor’s wife. But her life was transformed! She is now
a faithful servant of God and regularly praises God
for her salvation!
I thank God for all His goodness and heart for Peru.
I thank God for His hands at work to connect us to
HHK WMC. The COJ Denver and Lima staff have
compassionate hearts for the lost and needy children
of the world. Through prayer and obedience, God
brought about a wave of renewal and revival. Because
of this, Piura will never be the same again.
www.coj.org
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