To all our friends, ministry partners and prayer warriors, as the board members of Rooted in Grace & Love we wanted to provide an update concerning the Heath family in Peru. Recently, with COVID-19 shutting down many countries, the US government has helped over 7,000 Americans to leave Peru in the past weeks. The Heaths are in their village of Curahuasi and have been following curfews and strict government regulations since they returned earlier in March. On their recent flight back to Peru, three of their family’s eight passports were lost. It has been difficult to receive new passports as the embassy is in Lima and they need proper documentation to leave their home during the quarantine, pass police check points, and travel to Cusco to Lima.
Currently, the Lord has provided an opportunity where the U.S. Embassy in Lima is working to get them safely through to Lima to pick up new passports and also to return to the U.S. by this weekend (4/18). The U.S. Embassy has informed us that their final repatriation flight to bring U.S. citizens home will be April 21, 2020. With this emergency flight, each family member is allowed a 50 lb. suitcase, so they are packing essentials to bring back and also working to close up things in Peru until further notice. No one is really sure how long this pandemic will last, but we know that God is sovereign and has a plan. Right now, we believe He is leading the Heaths to pursue the opportunity to leave Peru while they can. If they passed on this chance, they would have to wait out the pandemic in their home and have no clear time frame when they would be able to receive new passports or to leave the country if an emergency arises. It is with heavy hearts and great emotion that the Heath family and the board is making this decision. The Heaths hearts are to minister to the people through Project Hope and various other ministries, but with the governmental restrictions, this has been impossible and could continue for months to come. As board members, we are not sure what the next few months will hold for Rooted in Grace & Love, but our prayer is that doors will continue to open to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are thankful and proud of the Heath family for serving faithfully for almost a decade in Peru. They have been obedient to God’s calling and will continue to seek His will in how they minister moving forward. Their hope is that one day soon He will lead them back to Peru.
If you are a mission team leader or church leader with questions about summer missions, please contact Hannah Roberts (hannah.roberts@rootedingraceandlove.org), as the Heaths will be traveling and unavailable in the coming days.
Please pray with us for the Heaths specifically in these ways:
– For peace and discernment with all the immediate travel-related decisions facing their family
– For God’s protection to bring them safely all the way back to NC
– For hope and courage in long term decisions and provision from the Lord in this new season
– For the people of Curahuasi and surrounding villages, that the gospel will be shared by local pastors and believers and God will be glorified in this trying time