Mission Projects

LOOKING FOR CHRISTIAN GROUPS TO WORK, PEOPLE TO PRAY!

All the projects below are current on-going projects, no matter the appeal date.

1. April 2007 Update, A New Kitchen for Martha, Mexico
2. Updated 2007-03-10, Prayer Projects, Mexico
3. Pobacion, N. Philippines
4. Rural Mexico Churches

April 2007 Update - Martha's Kitchen, Matamoros, Mexico

Perez (Martha) Arteaga, her husband Juan, and their 5 kids were the focus of your little mission in Matamoros at the beginning some 6-1/2 years ago; and because of her love for God, care for people, charity, and growth in things spiritual; she remains our focus today. Finally we are taking dead aim on a project to make HER house more livable by tearing down her old kitchen and rebuilding it with block. Every time before, when we would want to do this, she would say, "Gary, Juana needs a house more than me," or "Not right now, Gary. We need to help Laura"; but we have decided that we aren't to be put off any more.

We are insisting that it be made of block (termites are a rampant horde down here), that it be extended 3 feet to better fit her big family, and that it have a kitchen sink inside for the future when she can have water running there. Total cost should run about $1500US, maybe a bit more if we also buy a "new" (read "different") stove for her as Jeanne wants to do, since Martha's current one is tiny. A good roof that can stand a storm and the extra concrete are the big costs.

	Liseth, Martha's youngest, in front of Martha's old kitchen.			Liseth carrying some pans and things (to give to people who need them) through the will-be door of the new kitchen.
	Liseth watches Juan Marcos, Martha's oldest, work.			Pastor V. and Pedro are the main engineers of the project.
	Here you see basically the whole lot that the house sets on. All of the kitchen had to be crammed into the other 2 rooms in the background, so it's even more crowded and jumbled inside than outside. I've not heard any complaints, though Martha's husband Juan was pretty upset the day he had to take Martha to the hospital, was stuck in a Mexican (read HUGE mudhole) and couldn't find his towrope for me to pull him out.

Prayers: we need 'em.
Support: if you want to be a part of this or another project like it, go for it.
God bless you all richly!  

Updated 2007-03-10, Prayer Projects, Mexico

God bless you all for these prayers.

	Antonia, mom in the middle, has tumors. She and Jorge have a son, too, besides daughter Jasmine.			Esperanza. Very poor and has a chronic throat malady that makes it difficult for her to talk.
	Angelina and Joel and their 3 kids. Joel, though very likable, sometimes goes on drinking binges; but they are desperately poor. We bought roofing for their house here. In October 2006, heavy rains created standing water waist deep in places near here. (2007-02-04 update) Her husband just left her with no way to feed her 3 kids. Also, the Doctors say that she has dangerously low blood pressure.			Pray for Angelica. Angelica is now alone. Joel left her and their 3 kids with no food, no money, and no prospect of getting any.
	Blanquita is the most poignant of all. Her husband hanged himself in Oct 2006. Erica and Chuy, her daughter and son, are struggling to survive mentally and physically. Blanquita is scared and perplexed. (2007-02-04 update) Blanquita is doing better. She has now a small store in her house to help with costs, and a couple from a church up north have sponsored her for $50 a month for the next six months. This isn't enough to live well on; but with a bit of income from her store, she and her kids can exist.			Blanaquita again, more recently, please pray for her.
	Maria Dolores. She has 5 kids, and her husband died 3 years ago. Keeping them in food is a perpetual project.

29-Aug-2006 - Poblacion, N. Philippines

Not all tremendous things are so spectacular, though. I tend to go to out-of-the-way places and meet with out-of-the-way people. On my recent trip to the backwoods in the mountains of N. Philippines I met some missionaries who greatly impressed me with their devotion to God and their committment to serve the Lord Jesus, though it means much sacrifice in their lives.

In Philippine mountains, every step is either up or down.

Me being me in the Philippines. Can't leave Philippinos without gifts. They wanted me to wear the loincloth too.

They are four teachers, three women and the husband of one of them, who have started a Christian school in Poblacion, a tiny little outpost in the mountains of Mt. Province, N. Luzon. They have done this knowing that their pay would be a fraction of what they could get in a government school; but they have seen a huge need in this little corner of the world for a long-term committment to teaching the Gospel of Jesus to the next generation. They could be in the cities. Sometimes they want to be, one of them told me. Life would be easier for them and more exciting (they are young people), but they have a call as clear as any evangelist.

I was inspired by their enthusiasm, and I was somewhat stunned at the amount of time they spend every day preparing for the teaching of the next day. They are always looking for new materials, and they were eager to talk to me about teaching in a Christian school. One day Marilyn and Cristy said to me, "Teach us Christian songs with actions for the kids," so we spent one long afternoon, me racking my brain for songs I had used in the past, trying to remember the correct chords, and they repeating and repeating and repeating to remember them when I was gone.

They captured me, these simple missionaries of Jesus. I was so honored that they would ask anything of me, and I still am humbled thinking of their simple, direct devotion.

Oh, brothers and sisters, do you want to be a part of missions? Help these missionaries. They didn't ask me; but Delfin, my friend told me how financially poor they are, and he is very concerned that they may eventually have to find more gainful employment. I am looking for people who will support these four and this school.

I' hoping to get a total of $400 a month for them; but any amount will help. You don't have to send a $100 a month; but don't think that because you can't send that much that your help isn't needed. Whatever amount will help. Please see our contact info page to request more information on where to send your assistance for this project.

I will help, of course, but my goal is to have you send your support directly to the Philippines.

Please pray about this. These missionaries are not here today and gone tomorrow, and they are teaching a generation in a place, Natonin, where big-time missionaries have not been in 70 years.

Would you be willing to pledge for this school and for these missionaries $20 or $10 a month? If a few of us will do this, it can mean the difference as to whether the Christian school can stay in Poblacion or not. I can help anyone get started with the sending of the funds; but if you want to send directly to them and bypass me, that's fine. I just know that their work is worthy of support.

Let's see the Gospel taught all over the world!  

21-Aug-2006 - Rural Mexico Churches

In Mexico, between Matamoros on the east and Nuevo Laredo on the west are hundreds, maybe even thousands of churches and villages, many of whom are very, very poor. Many of these are in out of the way places, and they miss the thrust of nearly all of the missions that aim at the Mexican border. For this reason many of these are more desperate than those in the more traveled spots.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING TO HELP PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED HELP, and IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ABANDON YOUR COMFORT ZONE FOR THE LORD'S WORK, contact:

Betty Hovey at bhovey@cox.net

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Contact Information: Gary and Jeanne Smith 9501 W. Bus. 83, #830 Harlingen, TX 78552 USA 956-622-1725 telephone gk5smith@yahoo.com