While ministering in Tarapoto, Peru for the past 5-6 years, we had the opportunity to meet Pastor Pepe Selem. For much of his younger life Pastor Pepe was a celebrity in Peru and even all of South America. He was a regular contestant on the long running History Channel program, “Worlds Strongest Man”. In 2012 Pepe was included in The List of Superhumans in a special made by the History Channel.
During Pastors Pepe’s time in active competition, he became a Christ follower through the efforts of Pastor Jaime Gomez, the father of Pastor David Gomez, our partner in Tarapoto. Because of his fame, we invited Pastor Pepe to minister with us in Tarapoto using demonstration of strength to attract large audiences. Selem would then transition from his human strength to the strength he has because of Christ in his life.
Since Pepe and his family live in Lima, and he had felt God calling him to become a pastor, He planted a new church in Lima.
Beginning April 8-16, 2022 His Healing Hands will begin a new 5 year partnership with Pastor Pepe and Iglesia Esmirna Sur, (Symrna Church South.)
While in Lima visiting and planning with Pastor Pepe in January, he shared his passion to plant a new church in a huge slum area of Lima known as Pamplona Alta. There are more than 340,000 people living in this place of almost no paved roads and where the only reliable infrastructure is electricity. The is no running water and no natural gas services. The people have improvised water tanks which are filled from water delivery trucks. This water costs them nearly 10 times as much as water delivered in pipes in other parts of the city. The is also no sanitary sewage system so the residents must dig pit latrines over which are built out houses.
Pepe shared with me that there are also no churches inside the boundaries of Pamplona Alto. His church has been ministering there for several years by providing water filtration systems as well as childcare for parents and special events for the kids there. He has had a dream to start a church in Pamplona Alta and will use the His Healing Hands medical clinics to give the new church a jump start!
The local civic leader of one of the districts in Pamplona Alta, has offered the use of the Community Center for the medical clinics and for holding church services. We are looking forward to sharing Christ and giving medical care to as many people as possible during our two-day ministry there.
Since Pastor Pepe is so well known in the sports world in Peru, he wants to also host events which will draw professional and amateur athletes so Christ can be shared with them as well. These events will also be a big draw for sports fans.
There will be a 2-day youth soccer tournament for elementary aged kids with the awards ceremony including an evangelistic message for the kids and their parents.
Carl Dawson, our CEO, has invited his friend Pastor Wendell Mathis, to be a part of the His Healing Hands ministry team. Wendell played for the Minnesota Vikings for a short time until injuries ended his career. NFL football is hugely popular in Lima so many will be drawn to events where Wendell will preach to the athletes about physical as well s spiritual preparation. In a second workshop he will preach about breaking your limits in sports and in one’s spiritual walk.
Our own Randy Bossom will be preaching at Pastor Pepe’s church and at a conference for pastors. At that conference we want to give each pastor and leader a Thomson Chain Reference Study Bible. These pastors cannot afford such an expensive Bible and it will be a great blessing to them in their personal study as well as their preparation of messages to their churches.
We are all very much excited to be traveling to do the ministry God has called us to. I know you are equally excited to participate in this ministry by sending us equipped with the medicine, medical supplies, and the Gospel of Jesus.
Please join with us by giving to provide a Bible, medicine, medical supplies and the saving grace of Jesus to the people of Lima, Peru!