The quarantine has lifted for much of Peru on July 1^st, although the state of emergency (similar to martial law) and curfews are still in place. Arequipa and 7 other provinces of Peru are still in complete lockdown. The Covid-19 cases are still rising dramatically here so the quarantine has been extended locally through July. Hospital beds and oxygen are hard to find.

Food distribution has also been disrupted this month several times. Two weeks ago after the distribution was finished the team discovered that a person with Covid-19 had picked up a bag. Because of this the deliver team self-quarantined for 10 days. So the week of June 30^th we did not pack any food. We restarted this past Monday, July 6^th.

Last Saturday a member of the Venezuelan team that helps distribute food to their people, died. He leaves a wife and 3 children from 14 years old and less. He had had a headache for the past 2 weeks and had not helped the last week. Friday his headache was worse so he went to the hospital. He passed away Saturday morning from a heart attack. This past Monday morning while packing food we received the news that his test came back positive for Covid-19.

Later Monday morning another member of the Venezuelan team, Antonio, who was helping pack food developed a headache. At 11 o’clock at break time I found out about it. We sent him home immediately. That night he came down with fever and other symptoms of Covid-19. Because he was helping pack food, the project stopped until July 10^th. Everyone who was helping pack has been advised to quarantine themselves for 2 weeks. This includes our family because Denver and I were there. Tuesday we spent the day purchasing food and making preparations for not leaving our apartment for 2 weeks.

The packing will start again next week God willing with a different team. It has been very helpful to have an American doctor on our team who helps make these decisions.

It has not helped the situation that 370,000 people (37%) of Arequipa were without water from Saturday, July 4^th through Friday July, 10th. Social distancing and other health protocols were discarded in people’s desperation for water. Fortunately, our water was not cut. We also have a storage tank on the roof that will hold 3 days’ supply if we are careful.

How can you pray?

• Praise God water has been restored in Arequipa.
• Pray for Antonio, his son Samuel, and his daughter who now also have Covid-19.
• Pray for the health of the team that packs and distributes the food packs.
• Pray that God would draw the hearts of those receiving the food packs to Him.

Here is a link to a color copy of our newsletter https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sVgAbK4gH1VL9hsL5axi5KyOaNG3eiXS/view?usp=sharing

Check out a video of the food packing project called Alianza de Amor (Alliance of Love) https://youtu.be/kMKf0MB8TtM