Hi Everyone,
Here is our May 2016 update;
Yes, another very late update, I have no excuses except to say that I am convinced that the months are going by faster and faster each year, I heard it said this this happens when you get older but of course that couldn't be it.
So, I will keep it brief by not mentioning everything that happened since the last update. I will just mention one thing from the past, one thing from the present and one thing from the future, so as not to bore you guys with too large an update. Although much has happened and the Lord continues to bless us and use us.
The Purity Ceremony is something Veronica, Luana and I worked on for several months, although she did most of the work. She leads a group of young girls at the church in El Terminal and 9 of them decided to make the commitment to remain pure until marriage. This is very exciting for us, especially since Iquitos is rampant with teenage mothers.
They also had a Purity Ceremony at Puerto Seguro at their church on a different night.
 Each family at their table |
 Pst. Raul & family |
 Veronica presenting the rings |
 Raul putting the rings on his 2 daughters |
 Estrella recieving her ring |
 Albert filling in for the other Estrella's dad |
 Vivian showing her ring |
 The girls showing their rings |
 Veronica |
Please keep the girls in your prayers - that they can stick to their committment.
Believe it or not, we celebrated our 10th year as a church in El Terminal this past April. It has been a busy, sometimes difficult, sometimes frustrating but a joyful 10 years that we have put in getting this church started. Definitely a growing experience for me. We have been blessed by many churches and others visiting and helping us in the last 10 years. Most importantly God has been working and touching many lives during this time. I am especially happy that we have so many teens in our Youth Group now, Pastor Raul & Luzmila are doing a great job with the teens. It helps that their 2 daughters are also very involved in the Youth Group.
 Jesus directing the program |
 The ladies decorated the church |
 The girls prepared several choreographies |
 Lidia as head cook |
 Moms serving the lunch |
 The kids always eat first |
 The children's tug o'war |
 The girls tug o' war |
 The girls took over the rope |
Please keep praying for our church and our Youth Group
"Calvary Chapel Iquitos" (There are more pictures there than I can send in an update)
The river Pastor's live in villages outside of Iquitos, along the many rivers that surround this area. Most of them have their farms there and work to sustain themselves and their families like everyone else in those villages. On top of this, the Lord has put it on their hearts to Pastor a church in those communities. Many of them have not even finished High School but are doing a good job where they are. Very humble men with a call on their lives. It is a hard ministry, with no outside support and little encouragement from anyone. Most do not have children's or teen ministries, and some have no leaders to help the Pastor. With little materials, just their bibles and a heart to serve the Lord they are being faithful to the call. This is why they have been on my heart since I started visiting river communities many years ago. I hardly visit anymore now that I am so busy here, but they are still on my heart.
If you wish to help us in this endeavor, you can support 1 Pastor for $32.00, which will include his food, bed, and materials for the conference for 3 days. Each Pastor provides his own travel expenses, some live a few hours away some live a few days away. We do not make any profit on the conferences, but if any funds are left over they will be used for the next conference. We have another one planned in October.
We thank all those who contribute to the ministries here in Iquitos and to those who contribute to our personal support, it allows us to be here and do what we do. Albert & Jose's support has not changed, it still goes through Calvary Murrieta.
Support for the Ministries (like the children, Special Projects, Bibles, etc..) and support for Pastor Javier & Pastor Raul are now going through Harvest Alliance, (see below for more details).
Pastor Jose & Lidia are building their house in El Terminal, because of finances, they prefer to build a small house in Terminal and no longer pay rent in the city. he can build a small house for about $15,000. They have already started and have about 8 columns in and waiting on the Lord for the rest. Any donation from $20 or more will be appreciated.
Prayer Requests:
If you would like to contribute to any of the following ministries\expenses:
Harvest Alliance International P.O. Box 4550 Oceanside, CA 92052 Memo: "62414 - XXX"
(62414 is our ministry number) (Where XXX = General Fund, Children's Ministry, etc...)
*Note: The dollar has risen dramatically it is currently 3.25 or 325 soles for every $100 (U.S.).
Thank you all for your prayers and financial support.
and God Bless you
Albert Smith
Calvary Chapel Murrieta
24225 Monroe Avenue
Murrieta, CA 92562
Memo = Peru, Albert Smith
Or for Jose
Memo - Peru, Jose Garate
Pastor Javier & Raul's offerings go through Harvest Alliance International (above).