An Update from the Smelsers:

Greetings and Thanks!  Thanks for being part of the team that is bringing the Gospel to the people of Northern Luzon of the Philippines!  Sometimes in the process of giving we forget that we are not alone... 

In a recent Missions Sunday at Onalaska, Wisconsin God’s view of “The Big Picture” was brought home.  In a special communion service we ate the bread of a different culture, while via video, scenes were depicted from communion services around the world.  The result was, in a real way, an opportunity to “recognize the body of Christ”.  From God’s point of view, what is happening in the Philippines is more than the weekly radio broadcasts in 4 languages and the Souls they are reaching, it is more than an Airplane taking shape in a hangar in Tuguegarao... it is the coming together of Christians for the cause of Christ.  It is all of us participating in a piece of a giant puzzle so that God can accomplish in us His purpose, even as together we accomplish His task; the Great Commission....

Whether we are a group of farmers in, Nebraska

dismantling CARM’s first aircraft for shipment; 

a couple, headed to another mission field, taking an 18 month detour to the Philippines; 

a group of men from Indiana, building a hangar;

an Indiana family turning a short term project into a family commitment to live in a foreign land; 

a missionary family, no longer able to serve in Africa, re-training and following God’s lead to the Philippines;

Whether we are servants from Michigan putting wings on an aircraft;

a retired couple from Missouri lending their hearts and hands to construction;

a Filipino provincial official taking vacation time to patch fiberglass;

 a trio of men traveling 10,000 miles to add their expertise to a labor of love...

Whether we are a family from Michigan, in faith, setting their sights on living a year half a world away from family and friends...                        

Whether we are a single person daily down on our knees,                         

A body of believers committed to giving to the cause of Christ,                         

A group of kids at a VBS, a camp, or a Sunday School who have given from a small allowance...                        

“I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

being confident of this,

that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”