Philippians 1:3-5
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;”
One morning on my way to the front entrance where we live I was walking down the road and noticed a light at the end of the road and immediately was reminded of deputation. Deputation was a long road but we always had the hope of reaching our destination which is represented by the light at the end of the road in the picture. But that wasn’t all I noticed on my way out that morning; I also noticed that along the side of the road there were other lights that lit the path to help get to the light at the end of the road. Immediately my mind went back to all the churches that we were in on deputation.
Each church was like one of these lights; encouraging us and assisting us all along the way until we made it to our destination; Chile. My family thank you for all that you have done for us and continue to do; so that we can do what we are doing. We are grateful for “…your fellowship in the gospel.” We also thank the Lord for you often. May the Lord richly bless you.
UPDATE
As of today, we have been in Chile for four weeks. We have been blessed to serve in some great churches, under three great pastors, and along side some of the finest people in all the world. However, we could not be more excited to finally be in Chile.
The transition the first four weeks, for the most part, has been smooth. We have only had one setback, and that was with our car. We purchased a used car and the first day it ran well and everything seemed to be fine. The next morning when we started out it had some major problems. We were sorely disappointed because there was nothing we could do. When you buy a used car, you buy as is, problems and all. After taking the car to, two mechanics we hope to have resolved all issues and can continue to drive the car without any other incidents.
We have been blessed with an opportunity to work with a veteran missionary family while we are attending language school, and be part of a new church plant in an area with no churches. In our first service one lady was saved, and the following Sunday night four other people were saved.
Two of the people who made professions of faith had came from an invitation they received on Saturday from Erica while out making visits. Please pray for these new believers as some of them have started discipleship and they all need to follow the Lord in believers baptism. Also, the couple Erica invited is receiving pressure from their family to stop attending.
PRAYER REQUEST:
1. We are praying for the last 3-5% of our support to come in. We left at 95% with some promises to support that would have put us at 98%. We are praying that this month we will be at 100 %
2. The new converts to follow the Lord in believers baptism, spiritual growth, discipleship, faithfulness, and that their lost family members may be reached with the gospel thorough them
3. Funds for remodeling the building currently being rented for Iglesia Bautista Libertad
4. For our family to learn the language quickly and efficiently. Erica and I started language school on July o7 and our children start school on July 28.
5. Rain. Chile is entering the eighth year of drought. June-August is typically the rainy season and in June there was no rain. This can have a major impact on the agriculture and food prices next year.
NEW CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mailing Address:
Avenue Av. Americo Vespucio 1501
Casilla 10
Mall Plaza Oeste
Cerrillos
Santiago de Chile
Phone: +56 9 5007 4614
FaceTime: thesmitheys@me.com
Google Talk: 336-505-8344
In Christ,
The Smitheys
Jamie, Erica, Morgan, Luke, and Meredith