As soon as the windows started rattling we realized we were in a tremor that turned into a light earthquake. For two minutes we stood in the middle of the street in front of our house holding on to each other waiting for it to pass. What we would find out a few minutes later was that the town of Pisco, four hours south of Lima, had been rocked by a 7.9 strength earthquake.
Two weeks later, Brent accompanied a group of missionaries and pastors taking supplies to Christians in the most affected areas. Unfortunately, we were not able to take any to Pisco for we were not able to find a single Baptist church in the whole town. Needless to say, this was very troubling.
We decided, along with our partners, that funds we had received to build small prefabricated housing would be distributed in a central location of the city of Pisco to serve as an inroad for the future establishment of a church.
On a preliminary trip, Brian Garrison and Brent felt God leading them to a most unusual location. It was a dead end neighborhood in the most northeast corner of the city. It was not exactly a strategic location, yet the decision was made and the homes were delivered.
Over the course of the next few months, we made four more trips to the neighborhood, taking children’s programs and an evangelistic outreach. We have seen a few accept Christ as their Savior and have planted the seeds in many others, but they still do not have a church…yet.
On Saturday, February 9, our family will begin making weekend trips to the city of Pisco to start a new church in that unlikely neighborhood that has turned out to be not so unlikely. On our last trip down we were surprised to find that 2,400 new homes are being built to relocate those who were displaced by the quake just a block away. It is being called “New Hope”. So Sunday, February 10, six months after the earthquake, we will start what we trust grows into a church in a neighborhood called “Tree Lined Road” that leads to “New Hope Village”. Kind of Providential, don’t you think?
Brent Williams, Peru