Leonard
& Susie SmithLeonard
& Susie SmithJuly & August Prayer Letter 1999
New Meeting Place Rented
In our last letter I mentioned the need we had of renting a place for our church in the Barrancos neighborhood. The congregation has grown and we no longer fit in the house that we were meeting in, which is also the home of the national pastor’s family. We are thankful for the Lord’s provision in allowing us to find and rent a place nearby. The good news is that we are quickly filling it up. The bad news is that we have not been able to find any larger places available in the area. We are hoping to be able to get some property on which to build.VBS
At Emanuel Bible Baptist here in Culiacán, we had a successful Vacation Bible School with an average attendance of 65, and there were 16 children who trusted Christ as Savior. This has been a good outreach into the community around the church, with the winning of several families. Also, it is a good place to start in the training of our Sunday School teachers and workers.Camp
The last week of July, seventy-five young people from three of our churches in Sinaloa (Culiacán, Tierra Y Libertad, and Mazatlán) rented two tour buses, and went to camp over in the eastern state of Coahuila. Altogether there were about 280 at the youth camp. Many were saved and many more rededicated their lives to Christ. We are thankful for the safety in traveling that the Lord gave the young people, and for the wonderful decisions for Christ. We pray the decisions will be lasting, and that many souls will come to Christ as a result.Prayer
We have asked you to pray for a new Christian, Yolanda, a 23 year old mother who has cancer. She isn’t doing too well. Please continue to pray for her. Also be praying for our Family Camp in Imuris, Sonora (up near the Arizona border) the first week of August, and for a construction crew that will be working with us here in Culiacán and Tierra Y Libertad the third week of August. Thank you for praying. I will be telling you all about how the Lord will be answering your prayers in our next prayer letter. May the Lord bless you.Thank you so very much for your generous support and prayers for our family and ministry. May the Lord bless you.
Leonard and Susie
Leonard
& Susie Smith
June Prayer Letter 1999
Since our letter to you last month, the Lord has continued to bless and answer prayers. He has blessed us by giving us the joy of seeing quite a number of people come to Him for salvation.
University Students Open Doors! We had a group of 21 university students come visit the ministry here in Sinaloa. We were able to get them into areas that ordinarily we have not had an open door; the juvenile prison, the largest public high school in Culiacán, and two universities. The group presented the Gospel of Christ through song, testimonies, and pantomime dramas.
At the juvenile prison, where the crimes range from drugs to murder, the boys came in and sat in a large auditorium and attentively listened as the students shared their faith. Then a clear presentation of the plan of salvation was preached to them. We rejoiced in that close to 50 young boys ranging from about the ages of 12 to 18, stood up in front of their peers, stating their desire to trust the Lord as Savior, and then praying out loud professing their faith in Christ, and asking the Lord to forgive them and save them.
We did not have as much freedom to preach at the high school, nor at the universities. Yet, the Lord allowed our group to present their drama and share their faith through an interview process. It was amazing to see tears in the eyes of the high school and university students as they heard of the hope that Christ gives. They were able to personally witness to several Mexican students and win three of them to the Lord. One of the other positive results is that the local university students that are Christians were encouraged to take a stand for Christ, following the example shown to them.
More Praises! Emanuel Baptist in Culiacán baptized 4 adults on the last Sunday of May. We had 125 in attendance. The mission in Barrancos continues to see people saved almost every week through visitation in the homes and in the church services. Twelve trusted Christ since last month’s letter. We really need to find a larger house in which to meet. We praise the Lord for the three men and one lady who trusted Christ last Sunday in a new work where I preached last Sunday.
Thank you so very much for your generous support and prayers for our family and ministry. May the Lord bless you.
Leonard and Susie
Leonard
& Susie SmithMay Prayer Letter 1999
We are grateful for your faithfulness and thankful for the blessings of the Lord in our
lives and ministry. The churches are for the most part doing real well. At the Emanuel
Bible Baptist Church here in Culiacán several have been saved in the last few weeks, and
8 baptized. Last Sunday we had an attendance of 110. After I preached I had the joy of
leading 7 adults to Christ.
Some of the projects recently completed in our work here in Culiacán include the building
of 52 pews divided among 3 churches. We are thankful to a group of men from Mississippi
who came and helped us. I enjoyed the taste of a "Moon Pie", and I learned how
to pronounce "Missíppi". The group finished the week with a fishing trip on the
ocean. I caught a tuna.
Thanks to the Victory Baptist Church in Casa Grande, Arizona, all the Sunday school rooms
at Emanuel now have new tables and benches. Also, we were able to finish the installation
of new windows at the parsonage. Pastor Morales is so very grateful.
I taught at an Easter week Family Bible Camp here in the state of Sinaloa. It was attended
by over 250 people. I taught a series on the family to the adults, mostly on the husband
and wife relationship. The following week I taught a series on "Christ, our Example
in Ministry" at our annual Easter Pastor's Bible Conference of our churches in the
state of Sonora, held in San Carlos, which is about 360 miles north of Culiacán. Both
conferences were a blessing to me and I trust for the ones I taught.
The Barrancos work here in Culiacán reached a record attendance of 70 a couple of weeks
ago, with 5 saved that day. Several have been saved (about 15) on door to door visitation
in that part of the city. We are so grateful to the Lord for the harvest.
I want to share with you one example. Yolanda is a young lady of about 19 or 20 years old.
She has cancer and has been searching for peace in her heart for some time now. The Gospel
was shared with her in her home and she was gloriously saved. She wanted to make sure
someone could stop by the following Sunday and walk with her to church. She came, and has
been faithful ever since.
Prayer requests. Especially pray for Yolanda, the new Christian who has cancer. The cancer
has just this last week gotten worse.
There are a couple of sad and painful situations with some church members. Please pray for
Guillermina and family. She is one of our older faithful members. One of her grown sons
became a paid hit man and is in prison for murder. Another member, Paz, has a husband who
is in jail for robbery. We pray for wisdom and
compassion as we minister to these families.
Also, we would like you to remember in prayer some of the summer projects; Vacation Bible
Schools, camps, summer missionary volunteers, including a construction crew that is coming
from
Chandler Baptist Church, Chandler, AZ.
We are grateful for your generous support and prayers. May the Lord bless you for your
faithfulness.
In Christ,
Leonard W. Smith
Leonard
& Susie SmithJanuary Prayer Letter 1999
"...but I desire fruit that may abound to your account." Philippians 4:17
We are so grateful that the Lord has deposited a lot of dividends to your account in the last several weeks. Since my last letter that you received around the middle of December, the Lord has allowed us, the national pastors that we work with, and many members of our churches here in Culiacán, win about 40 people to the Him in the services and in home visitation. Let me tell you about one of the experiences which help to illustrate the truth of Psalms 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:.."
Aide, a 25 year old new Christian, was filled with excitement and a deep desire to share her faith in the Lord with someone, anyone. Her fervor exceeded her fear of talking with strangers, so she headed off for visitation for the first time since she had been saved.
She was to meet up with a group of Christians from church to walk the dusty streets in a neighborhood where a cell group had recently been started. Her excitement did not wane as she waited at the house where they were all to meet, first one hour, then two. Finally realizing that the group was probably not coming, she reluctantly left to go back to her home. She just couldn't bear not being able to talk with someone about her Lord.
The idea came to her to go to Lupita's house, her Christian friend that lived nearby, and maybe she would accompany her to visit others. Unfortunately, Lupita was not home. Not having quite enough courage to visit all alone, she went home. However, the desire to talk to someone grew even greater.
No sooner did she get home, she noticed her next door neighbor was outside. She grabbed a tract, gave it to her neighbor, and asked her if she would read it sometime. The young lady then proceeded to ask Aide if she wouldn't mind coming inside and explaining it to her. With joy in her heart Aide gladly shared the Gospel and her personal testimony with this young lady. The young lady, Olga, (in her 20's) asked the Lord into her heart. Just as they finished praying Olga's mother walked in and Olga joyfully told her mother that she was now a child of God.
Needless to say, along with the angels in heaven, Aide was rejoicing. She knew that the Lord had lead her that day to just where He wanted her to be to reach those precious souls. Since that day two other family members have also been saved, along with another neighbor girl. Aide faithfully disciples them in their home each week. Two of the converts, Olga and Saúl have already started to attend services at the church.
We sincerely appreciate your support and prayers for us, our family, and our ministry. I would like to ask you to please be praying for these new Christians.
In Christ,
Leonard and Susie Smith
