Dispatches: Peru 2026

Mission: Peru 2026

Friday, May 8

Climbing For Christ banner left behind by Jaime Servat, our late missionary to Peru. Edwin (right to left), Steffi, and Andy posed with Teresa and Thania, the grandmother and mother of Alison, a young girl in Chalhua who thought of Jaime as a father.

Edwin took the team to visit the home of Alison, the 8-year-old girl we first meet on Mission: Peru 2011 – our inaugural expedition to South America. She and her family befriended our co-worker Jaime Servat, who served as Climbing For Christ’s missionary in Peru from 2011 until his passing in 2019. That’s when Edwin, who was our guide in Peru and co-leader of the C4C Peru Chapter with Jaime, accepted the call to be our Kingdom worker.

Alison is 22 now. When Edwin took Andy and Steffi to her house she wasn’t home; she’s in Lima finishing her studies. But her mother, Thania, and grandmother, Teresa, were there. They handed Edwin the Climbing For Christ banner that Jaime’s sister had left with them many years ago.

“Alison’s mother and grandmother were talking so much about him, how he was another father for Alison and how hard it was for her when he died,” Andy said. “Really encouraging to see what an impact he made.”

Walking into Yerbabuena, a village near Chalhua. (Photo by Andy Moritz)

Earlier in the day, the team visited the village of Yerbabuena, where they prayed for an 84-year-old woman whose daughter is a Christian. The mother is not – yet.

“Then we met Delfina Cruz, who owns a restaurant and was cooking for the people that are working in the mine,” Andy said, referring to the local gold mine. The mine is not popular with the people there as they say “all the money goes to the government,” which claims the townspeople own the land above ground but underground belongs to it.

Unfortunately, Delfina was too busy cooking to ask for prayer.

“We're getting used to the way people behave in this area,” Edwin said. “I'm sure things will go much better for us over the next few days.”

The team was escorted around the village by Clotilde and her husband, Dsniel. “She is one of the few Christians there,” Andy said. “She told us her difficult story with her siblings, who are not Christian anymore, and her mother, who is ill and was taken by one of her sisters to a different place and now they won’t let (Clotilde) see her.

“She seemed encouraged that we listened and took the time to pray.”

Plans for an afternoon visit to another village changed after Edwin, long-time C4C member Franklin, and Pastor Ezeqiel were delayed by some things in the town of Yanama. “After that we went to see Alison’s mother and grandmother,” Andy said. They prayed for Alison’s mom who continues to suffer from epileptic seizures. She asked for prayer for herself and for Alison, who has always been near to the C4C heart.

Thursday, May 7

The road to Chalhua. (Photo by Andy Moritz)

The team made the long drive on the winding road leading to Chalhua. It was about a 7 ½-hour journey. Tomorrow, they will start visiting surrounding villages to evangelize – one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Pray for open doors.

Wednesday, May 6

Andy, above left, and Steffi praying for Edwin’s dad, Faustino. Below, Faustino’s badly bruised leg.

Edwin’s father, 84-year-old Faustino, was plowing with his donkey when a rope tangled around his leg, pulling him down. His leg was badly bruised. “The leg looks terrible, but he was in a good mood,” Andy said after visiting him to pray over the injury.

“We were able to pray for him, and he seemed encouraged and said he believes he will be better tomorrow.”

Edwin’s daughter, Angela, was better today. Her fever was gone and she returned to school. Praise God! We give thanks for the prayers of the righteous.

Edwin, Andy, and Steffi will head for the village of Chalhua tomorrow. After visiting Edwin’s father, the team returned to Huaraz and shopped for food for the trip. A little rest, a little repacking, and they are ready to hit the road at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Tuesday, May 5

Andy and Steffi returned to the Lima airport this morning to catch a flight to Huaraz. “We both had a good night of sleep,” Andy said. So much so that Steffi slept through her alarm. A weary traveler.

“I have a lump in my throat again and started to cough a bit,” Andy added, asking for prayer.

The pair “arrived well” in Huaraz, where Kingdom worker Edwin Milla was waiting.

“Edwin told us that for him things have been a bit challenging,” Andy reported. “His father had an accident and (Edwin’s daughter) Angela has a fever – it was 40 degrees (Celsius/104 Fahrenheit) two days ago.”

Edwin’s wife, Elizabeth, also continues to battle years-long illness.

“We have been talking about staying one day more in Huaraz so he (Edwin) can take care of Angela,” Andy said. “That way it will also help us with acclimatization before going higher and we can go to Edwin’s father tomorrow to pray for him.”

We are praying for Edwin and his family as well as for Andy’s health. Asking the Lord of the harvest to make a way for our team to overcome every obstacle so they can carry out the mission He has prepared for them.

Monday, May 4

Andy and Steffi flew from Germany to Brazil to Peru. “Looking forward to bed,” Andy said Monday evening in Lima after 20-plus hours of international flights. A domestic flight to Huaraz is scheduled Tuesday morning.

Sunday, May 3

Global Kingdom worker Andy Moritz and his fiancé Stephanie Mezei made their way by train from Freiburg to Frankfurt, Germany, for their first flight to São Paulo, Brazil. They will arrive in South America (the first time for Steffi) on Monday, and then continue flying to Lima, Peru.

Andy said they experienced “quite a few” spiritual attacks in recent days. Steffi had sharp back pain Saturday night. Andy awoke this morning with a sore throat. Then on his way home from church, he had a flat tire on his bike and had to push the bicycle home. “But all is well,” Andy declared.

They are on mission.

Introduction

Kingdom worker Edwin Milla visited the village of Chalhua in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes in July 2025. It had been 10 years since Climbing For Christ built a house of worship there for a group of Christians who’d outgrown the home they were meeting in. There were 60 or more believers in those days.

Ten years later, Milla reported: “Upon reaching the church, it was observed that the premises were closed.” He added there were “no brethren or congregants” present.

Edwin set up a meeting with Pastor Ezequiel, who lives in another village and had been recruited by Climbing For Christ to shepherd the church at Chalhua. “I hadn’t seen him in almost nine years,” Edwin said about Pastor Ezequiel. “We shared a time of prayer and conversation about the current situation of the church in Chalhua.”

We were moved by the Spirit to plan Mission: Peru 2026 around Chalhua. A return to the village and surrounding villages to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

“Christians have been influenced by the Catholic group there,” Edwin said on the eve of Mission: Peru 2026.

Catholicism is the dominant denomination in Peru, which is reportedly 94 percent Christian but only 14.5 percent Evangelical. Anywhere from 60-to-80 percent of the country is Catholic. But Catholicism in Peru suffers from syncretism with Andean folk religions blended with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The worship of “Mother Earth” is incorporated into church services.

“You must not have any other god but me,” the Lord declared in Exodus 20.

“The Catholic church has won over all the people (in Chalhua),” Edwin said.

Our team will share the truth of who Jesus Christ is and what He did for the world: suffered for our sins and defeated death. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said in John 14:6. “No one can come to the Father except through me.”

By the power of the Spirit our team will seek to win back believers. The church awaits them.