Support for myself (Albert Smith) and Pastor Jose Garate (The River Preacher) come from private indivduals who share the vision and see the need for what we are doing here. All checks for support for Jose and Myself go through my church; Calvary Chapel Murrieta (see below for address).
Support for all the other ministries go through Calvary Chapel Chula Vista. For example; If someone sends a check to be used for Bibles or any of the other needs, they must put "Iquitos - Bibles" on the memo portion of thier check and if possible e-mail me also so I can follow up on the gift. Checks are sent to "Harvest Alliance" they tranfer funds to us here in Iquitos, I then apply it to the appropriate account. The mailing addresses are at the bottom of this page.
General Ministry Account: The general ministry account is used for all types of needs for the minisry. As of today most of these funds have come from teams visiting the ministry here in Iquitos.
Some of the things we have bought with these funds are benches, paper, sound equipment, plastic containers, cell phones, office supplies, balloons, copies, etc.
This is the best fund to contribute to if you are not sure which fund you would like to donate to, because from this fund we can transfer to the other accounts if the need arises but we cannot transfer from the other accounts back to the general account, they are for specific needs and must be used only for those specific purposes.
Children's Ministry Account: This account is used for many of the needs we have while working with the children here on a day to day bases.
The two biggest expenditure as of today have been pharmacy bills and copies for children's church, so the children can color on Sunday mornings. We average anywhere from 20 soles to 300 soles a month in pharmacy bills for the children. And about $15 a month for copies. Some of the other things we have used this fund for are doctor visits, clothes, school supplies, prizes, etc..
Bible Purchases Account: This account is used just for purchasing Bibles. There is a big need for Bibles here in Iquitos, especially in the river communities. We purchase our Bibles in Lima and when teams come they carry the Boxes of Bibles here for us, free of shipping costs.
El Terminal Account: This account is for the repairs and upkeep of the property in El Terminal. We have been doing ministry there since 2005 and have had a church there since, 2006.
Escuelita Account: Escueltia, means "little School". The purpose of this ministry is to get the education level of the children up to speed. Hopefully this will keep the children in school and help as many of them as possible finish High School.
This account will be used for the after school program in El Terminal and the Ministry House when it is up and running. With this money we will make copies, purchase school materials and craft supplies, and maybe snacks when possible.
Missionaries House Account: The house account is for the house in Iquitos where the missionaries live and where some visitors stay on occasion. This account is used to help pay the bills and to help purchase necessary furniture and housing items. It is a blessing to the missionaries who are usually on a tight budget.
Jesus Movie Account: This account if for the showing of the Jesus Movie. We have been blessed with the equipment to show the movie and this equipment is portable so we can use it for river trips and also in the local shanty-towns. But like every other ministry it costs money. We would love to be able to visit at least 10 river communities a year but that depends on the support we receive. There is much fruit with this ministry and if you would like more information you can go to the missions page that explains more: Jesus Movie Ministry
If you would like to contribute to help keep Albert in Iquitos, please send checks to:
Calvary Chapel Murrieta
Memo: "Peru - Albert Smith"
or for Jose Garate
Memo: "Peru - Jose (River Preacher)"
For all other contributions, please send checks to:
Harvest Alliance International
Memo: "62414 - XXXXXX"
(Where XXXXX is the ministry you wish to contribute to, just put general if you are not sure)
For more information please e-mail Albert Smith at: perushope@yahoo.com