KEITH & MILA SMITH
Founders of Frontera Missions
JICAMARCA
Jicamarca is a desert region on the outskirts of Lima. Frontera works across the high, barren hills in 16 zones. If you stand on top of any one of the hills in the area, you will see makeshift home after home - ready and waiting for the hope of Jesus. This destitute community started as a squatter settlement, developed by families displaced by the Marxist revolutionary violence that terrorized the countryside years ago. Many of these poor farmers came in search of safety and opportunity but most only found slightly more bearable poverty. The families in Jicamarca live in extreme poverty and struggle to earn enough income to support their families. Most men earn between $12-15 a day. Minimum wage in Peru is about $220 a month. God opened the doors for Frontera to share with hundreds of these families with the Gospel, as well as food relief during the world’s longest, strictest lockdown. Frontera has been working in this region for just over 8 years. Primary ministry activities include: discipleship in family and/or neighbor groups, evangelism, women’s studies and the Aventureros children’s discipleship programs
THE AMAZON RIVER BASIN
With about 500,000 inhabitants, Iquitos is the largest city in the world unreachable by road. This city is on the banks of the mighty Amazon River and is Frontera’s launching point for reaching many villages along the river and its tributaries. Through visits to these villages, the Frontera Pastors Network was launched. This network is a group of local pastors who are reaching their villages and have a heart to reach even further. Frontera is working hand in hand with these pastors to extend the borders of the kingdom in this jungle region. Frontera missionary, Donna, lives in a village called Cahuide. We have a strong partnership with the local church here and lead weekly outreaches for kids, youth and women. Frontera also works weekly with the Bora and Yahua tribes, offering discipleship materials and classes, as well as church support to the local congregations in both communities. Ministry projects include: Discipleship studies (both written and oral, depending on level of literacy), Pastoral network meetings, school ministry, women’s ministry, kid’s discipleship, and village outreach trips.
THE ANDES
The Andes Mountains are home to hundreds of isolated villages. Many of the villages that Frontera works with are at elevations of more than 13,000 feet above sea level. In this region, there are so many difficulties that the locals have to face including extreme cold/freezing with no heat sources, very limited economic resources, lack of access to education, etc. This is the newest region for Frontera Missions. We have formed a partnership with a local pastor who works tirelessly with his family to bring the Gospel to this region and form disciples who make disciples. Our goal is to continue to reach more and more villages in partnership with these local missionaries. Frontera has been able to provide shoes, blankets, food, and other relief items to villages in the area as well as the message of the salvation we have in Jesus. We are currently working on a children’s book to be translated into local Quechua language, which will be the first Bible storybook available to these kids in their native language.
