Tag Archives: COVID-19

Peruvian National Missionary Partner Reynaldo Rubio Family Infected with COVID-19

Articles, , , , , , ,

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg

In mid-June, I received a passionate request for prayer from Pastor Reynaldo Rubio, one of Timothy Two Project International’s indigenous National Missionary Partners in Peru. 

In late August, I received an update informing me that he and other members of his family have all suffered from COVID-19. Though the worst is now past, they are still recovering from the effects of the virus. For that reason, and because the virus is continuing to spread in Peru, he has postponed teaching workshops he began last year.  However, his spirit is undaunted because of his faith in Christ. Read the account of this experience in his own words below.  

                                                                                            Reynaldo Rubio and his wife Nery

Hello brother Dan, thank you for your email and for your constant concern for us. Here is a summary of what has happened in these days.

More than a month ago I had the symptoms of COVID-19 and also my wife. The government came to my house to test us for COVID. My wife and my two children and my mother-in-law came out negative, but they were unreliable tests. So since I am a diabetic they gave me another test. The molecular test then came out positive, and in fact we are all infected. I have experienced symptoms such as fever, body aches, cough, diarrhea, and others. And for more than a week I have been in bed. Thanks to the Lord and his mercy I have been able to endure all of this and now I am recovering. It has not been necessary to go to the hospital, and the truth is that it is more dangerous to go to the hospital since the majority who have gone have not returned. So while at home I have taken the medicines prescribed by the doctor and I am much better, though of course with some pain. My wife and children have also followed the treatment, although my wife is a little more delicate. The Lord has been good to us, and we are still standing. But many of our acquaintances have departed for eternity.

Now I am recovering, but still with some care since COVID-19 continues to cause many casualties in our country. The country’s economy is just starting back up, but is still under the risk of weakening again because of the contagion. There are a lot of unemployed people. There is a quarantine, but only on Sundays, and there are still no services in the churches.

I want to thank you for the offering. Once again the grace of the Lord is manifested through you. We are very grateful to the Lord for our sustenance and this encourages us a lot to continue serving.

Regarding continuing to teach Timothy Two in Peru, there is still an impediment to travel within the country, especially to certain places where the contagion of COVID-19 has increased. Unfortunately the two places where I have taken the project – the cities of Chiclayo and Ica – are places with a high rate of infections and deaths. We are praying that the Lord will open the doors to restart our work in  those places.

Thank you for being in contact with us. We will continue to pray for Timothy Two Ministry. God will finally do his work in Peru and everywhere. And our desire and our attitude will always be to serve him with all our hearts.

God bless you and your family.

Reynaldo

Children of Reynaldo and Nery 

COVID-19 Still Wreaking Havoc in Peru, Quarantine Extended until October, Urgent Prayer Needed

Articles, ,

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. We ask our friends in Christ to support us by praying:

Continue reading COVID-19 Still Wreaking Havoc in Peru, Quarantine Extended until October, Urgent Prayer Needed →

The Life and Work of Helmuth Aguilar, Timothy Two National Missionary in Chile and El Salvador

Articles, , , , , ,

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg

Update on Helmuth June 15, 2020:

Please pray for our national missionary partner, Helmuth Aguilar, who remains stranded in Chile since March so that he can return to his wife, Hilda, and their home in El Salvador when airports open up.

Article originally published May 25 continues below:

I want to tell you a story about a Latin American pastor-teacher-musician and a recent Timothy Two workshop for pastors and ministry leaders that he taught just a few days before the nation of Chile shut down because of COVID-19. And don’t miss his music video at the end of this post.

Helmuth (center) with his mother Detelvina (right)

Helmuth Zalathiel Aguilar Navarro grew up in the Los Lagos (“Lakes”) region of southern Chile (South America) and completed his theological training at the Baptist Seminary in Santiago, Chile during the 1980’s. His mother, Detelvina Navarro Cárdenas, age 88, still lives in this region of Chile where she and her husband, the late Blas Aguilar, served as pastors for over 60 years. His mother, also known as “Pastora Nina,” hosted a radio program “Opening Scriptures” for children on radio Colonia for many years. Now retired, she is still serving the Lord by facilitating a weekly home Bible study.

You may have noticed, like I did, that Helmuth’s first name looks and sounds more German than Chilean. That’s because this region was settled also by German immigrants as part of a state-sponsored colonization plan between 1850 and 1875 after the German revolutions of 1848-49. “[T]he Germans of southern Chile retained much of their German culture or Deutschtum.” So over the course of time, many communities in this region developed a “dual Chilean and German sense of belonging.” So it’s not surprising that Helmuth’s parents gave him a German-sounding first name when he was born.

Continue reading The Life and Work of Helmuth Aguilar, Timothy Two National Missionary in Chile and El Salvador →

Timothy Two Workshop Participant in Peru Succumbs to COVID-19

Articles, , ,

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg

I am very sad to announce that Antonio Garcia Medina, a youth leader in his church and one of the participants in my workshops in Lima, Peru, recently succumbed to COVID-19 after fighting for his life during the past several weeks in the hospital. Several other family members are still recovering from the virus.

Antonio in 2012
Continue reading Timothy Two Workshop Participant in Peru Succumbs to COVID-19 →

Timothy Two Sent Humanitarian Aid to Guayaquil, Ecuador and Elsewhere during COVID-19

Articles, , , , ,

by Daniel L. Sonnenberg

We at Timothy Two recently contributed to food relief efforts through our workshop coordinator Juan Jimenez​ in Guayaquil, Ecuador during COVID-19 (see video above).

We also sent aid to our indigenous partners in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Belize, El Salvador, Colombia, Peru and Chile as well partners in Africa and Asia.

Food purchased with Family Fund money sent to Haiti
Food purchased with Family Fund money sent to Belize

You can help us help our other partners in need through Timothy Two’s Family Fund here. Thanks!