On June 14, I received a passionate request for prayer concerning the current conditions in Lima, Peru from Pastor Reynaldo Rubio. Reynaldo is one of our Timothy Two workshop coordinators and national missionaries. He wrote these words (translated from Spanish):
Pastor Reynaldo Rubio and his wife Nery in 2017
- Our country is becoming one of the most contagious and deadly in the world. Every day, hundreds die from covid, and hundreds more from other diseases that are not treated. My younger brother passed away last week not from covid but from a heart problem. No hospital wanted to receive him because of giving priority to covid patients. So he died on the way, trying to find care in a hospital. Thus, many deaths occur because hospitals have collapsed.
- Thank God the food supply exists, but food has become more expensive, which makes it more difficult to acquire because people no longer have economic resources. The medicines necessary to alleviate the pandemic no longer exist, they are only on the black market at an exorbitant price. There is corruption starting from the government that promotes all this and that does not help the country at all.
- Only 10% have resumed their jobs. Most of the Peruvians are informal merchants, these have not been able to resume work and have gone bankrupt, The few that remain are taking to the streets to work against the government’s orders, and that promotes more spread of the covid.
- 70% lost their permanent and temporary jobs. My wife had a small business selling items for school students. From this we could support ourselves and continue in the ministry. But it had to close and it went bankrupt. And because almost 100 days have passed, there is no longer the possibility of resuming the business. We are quarantined until the end of September.
- A month and a half ago my daughter had covid, but with quick treatment at home, she was able to overcome it. My wife and I suffer from various ills. My wife has still not recovered fully from her recent surgery and has other illnesses. Apart from my diabetes that I am trying to control, I am suffering from vesicular pain. I hope I do not need an emergency operation, because at the moment no hospital is attending to emergencies. The brothers in our church are going through almost the same thing as us.
- We ask our friends in Christ to support us by praying:
- For our country. God have mercy on Peru. For our corrupt pro-communist rulers who only think about imposing their own politically and culturally liberal agenda, and who seem mostly disinterested in the well-being of the population. How could people be quarantined without financial help? And the worst thing is that there is no openness to the churches to start having meetings under threat of jail if the quarantine is violated.
- For our church. Soon we will be deciding whether to start our meetings clandestinely. We cannot wait 100 more days to listen to what the government says. The church is not subject to the state but to Christ.
- Provision. Only the grace of God is sustaining us in these times, not only for us but also for our brothers and families in the church who have very humble means. We are praying to start a limited soup kitchen, to serve them.
- Protection. Hundreds of Christians have died from Covid 19, including pastor friends of mine. Many are fighting for their lives right now. Many of these pastors, until recently, have been serving people and preaching the gospel, but ended up infected. It is the price to pay for being faithful to the call to ministry.
We are serving the Lord in Pamplona Alta, San Juan de Miraflores Lima-Perú. Your prayers will be very important to us, it will strengthen us to continue in the Lord’s work.
Pastor Reynaldo Rubio, Pamplona New Life Baptist Church
Reynaldo’s wife Nery (left) at her store in 2018
Reynaldo (top row, 3rd from right) serving as Timothy Two’s workshop coordinator in Pamplona Alta, Peru in 2018
Reynaldo Rubio (top row, center) serving as Timothy Two’s national missionary partner in Ica, Peru in January 2020
Timothy Two continues to send financial aid for food and medicine to our partners in Peru and other places of need around the world through our Family Fund during COVID-19. Donate here if you would like to help.
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