Twenty 50 Pound Bags

I'm telling you what!  We have moved many times in our 11 years of marriage.  Each time I dread the packing... more the cleaning... but they always seem to go hand in hand.  Usually I procrastinate and at the last minute I throw everything into whatever boxes I can manage to scrounge up by dumpster diving at the nearest Dollar General store.  I'm sorry.  I'm just too cheap to pay money for cardboard boxes I'm going to throw out when I'm done.  Then, when I run out of boxes I put everything in garbage bags.  I'm sure that horrifies all of you list and organizational types.  It horrifies my poor husband too.  Especially when it comes time to unpack.  But in the end everything is packed, the house is clean, and we are moved.  Not so this time around.  Jamie gets to do it his way, and it is essential to our surviving the TSA!

TWENTY 50 POUND BAGS!!!  Moving is a little different when you're trying to cram as much of the necessities of life as you can in to twenty 50 pound bags that are going to be checked by the TSA and foreign custom agents.  And when your very organized husband (You have no idea how thankful I am for him right now!) is determined to pack each and every bag deliberately.  AND have an itemized list of the contents of each bag to hopefully speed up any searches.  There is no throwing the dirty linens into a bag to be washed when we get there.  No Dollar General boxes and Hefty bags.  This time we're doing real luggage and space saver bags.  Everything neat and tidy.  We made the best investment ever in a digital luggage scale so Jamie knows to the ounce how much is in each bag.  I'm just sorry we're so busy I don't have time to "cutesy" up our luggage tags.  Besides, all my craft stuff is being packed up anyway...  The sacrifices we make.

Thanks to our ever Faithful God and your prayers and support we have less than one month until we board our flight to Zambia with our one way tickets!  IN ONE WEEK God took us from 95% to 99%!!!  When it rains it pours - the blessings!  I know there are a lot of exclamation marks in this paragraph, but they really need to be there!  Not only that, but there have been individuals and churches contributing to our much needed start up costs for when we arrive in Zambia!  The Lord has been beyond faithful in going before us and providing just when we need it.  What an adventure this has been, and we're only getting started!

Please continue to pray with us that our final 1% - it sounds so measly doesn't it - would come in, and, Lord willing, a little extra.  Due to the deflation of the dollar and a 67% wage increase in Zambia our support is not going to go as far as initially anticipated.  But we have a God Who supplies all our need according to His riches in Glory.  He has provided and will continue to provide.

So, as we pack up our real luggage and space saver bags, say our goodbyes, and savor these last few weeks we can't help but stand in awe of all God has done these last couple of years and we look with anticipation to what He is going to do in the years to come.  Thank you for partnering with us in this journey.  We wouldn't be here without you.

His Hands Are Much Bigger Than Mine

My Grandfather was a missionary/pastor for many years.  He told me this story that perfectly expressed how I felt when I was sharing the Lord's provision for our family with him.

There was a little boy who lived in a small village.  His family was very poor.  They barely had enough to meet their basic needs.  This boy's favorite food in the whole world was strawberries.  One day as the boy was working in their garden a man was driving through the village with a cart full of strawberries.  The man stopped in front of the boy's house.  He asked the boy if he liked strawberries, and the boy answered that he did.  The man told the boy to hold out his hands, but the boy just stood there looking at the man.  The man told the boy again to hold out his hands.  The boy just kept looking.  Finally the man pulled out the boys hands and filled them with strawberries.  A neighbor was watching the exchange and asked the boy why he didn't just hold out his hands.  The boy answered, "His hands were so much bigger than mine."

Isaiah 52:12

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

We have been in prayer about our housing needs when we get to Zambia.  There are over 800,000 Chinese immigrants in Zambia who are there to do infrastructure and road work.  These Chinese greatly broaden our opportunity of ministry, but they are also snatching up any housing as soon as it becomes available.  Our dear friends, the Haytons, moved from Livingstone to Choma (the "city" we'll be living in our first year).  We were excited to have them in our city, but God has opened up the opportunity for them to move back to Livingstone.  Before the house they were renting ever became public they emailed us and offered it to us.  We know the owner of the house and he said he would be more than happy for us to rent it from him.  

Praise the Lord, we now have a house waiting for us in Zambia that more than meets our needs!

After the email about the house they also sent us an email full of furnishings that they have been snatching up with us in mind for us to buy from them.  So, not only do we have a house, we have a mostly furnished house!  What a blessing!

Not only were we praying about a house, but we were praying about a good, reliable, bush ready truck for a miraculous price.  At the bottom of the email about furnishings for sale was a Land Rover Defender for half the price we were planning to pay.  It is the exact truck we rode in two years ago when we were there.  The Haytons just had it rebuilt and it is in excellent condition and ready to go!!  

Praise the Lord we now have a bush ready truck waiting for us in Zambia that more than meets our needs!

His hands are so much bigger than mine!!!

In further updates...

Jamie has finished his masters degree with a 4.0GPA!  He has managed to work diligently in the midst of multiple distractions (Jorja's broken arm, moving twice, pastoral ministry at Bethel, raising support for Zambia, getting shot... I think you get the picture).  We are so proud of him.  

We have purchased our plane tickets for October 10!!  We are sooooo close to being at 100% support.  We still have a small amount to go and we also need to finish up our outfit and passage costs.  Please pray for us that God would continue to meet our needs in His perfect timing.  

As soon as Jamie finished his degree we left on a two week vacation!  It's been much needed and much anticipated.  It has been a wonderful time to relax and have family time without distractions or obligations.  We have been soaking in this time because as soon as we return life will be a whirlwind once again.  

When we get home from vacation we will start packing, finish up shots, soak up as much time with family and friends as possible, finish up our support raising, and prepare for our departure to Zambia.  Please pray with us that our truck and camper would sell. We know God has it all under control, but it would be a load off our minds if we didn't have them to deal with anymore.  

Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, encouragement, and love!  We are so blessed and so excited to see God working in our midst, going before us, and as our rear guard!  

Tears, Transitions, & Trailers

Life has been a whirlwind these last few weeks!  Whew!  Let me tell you how much we've been blessed.  


It all started one lovely spring day...

On Sunday May 20th, Bethel Baptist (our home church) planned a big farewell service for us.  Jamie's mom came out, and Mandy's parents surprised us by showing up at church!  Jamie preached his "testamessage" about the journey God has had us on.  About His bringing us to Bethel, our memories of the last seven years there, and how God has used the people of Bethel to grow us and change us and better equip us for the road ahead.  

After church we had a dinner with a time for testimonies and gifts.  We were so overwhelmed!!  Our family at Bethel put together a scrapbook of letters to us and pictures of our memories with them over the years.  What a treasure!!  We will keep them close.  And, per tradition, we received a had made quilt from the ladies... all five of us each got our own one.  They are beautiful, and so precious to us.  There were many tears, hugs, and laughs.  Blessings poured out.

I don't think Mandy cooked at all that week.  We had dinner with so many friends.  We made last minute memories and just enjoyed being together.  

On Sunday, May 27th, we officially had our last Sunday as Associate Pastor and family.  What a difficult Sunday.  The good-byes took so long there wasn't time for Sunday School.  We had dear friends, Robert and Sonya White (who were Jamie's AWANA leaders as a kid and live about an hour away in W.V.) come visit that Sunday.  We had a wonderful, but difficult time.  There's a Steve Green song called "I Will Go" and in the song it asks the Lord to cut to roots that grow too deep.  Let me tell you, it hurts!  But it was so wonderful to think about all God has done in our lives and in the lives of our family at Bethel over these years.  His mighty hand was working the whole time.  

That next Wednesday was our last time with our youth group.  We have had wonderful relationships with everyone in our church, but I don't know that any of them compare with our relationships with our teens.  We LOVE them so much!  They surprised us by inviting past youth workers, parents of teens, and past graduates to come.  Oh how we cried and cried and cried.  We've been so privileged to be a part of so many milestones in their lives.  First boy/girl friends, driving, prom dresses, new and broken relationships...  And the privilege to challenge them to honor God in every new adventure.  It has been an honor to serve the Lord with these amazing Teens.  They are so dear to our hearts.  We're excited to see all God has in store for them in the future.  

Of course, another week of no cooking, great times, memories made...

On Monday we loaded up our camper and a little trailer and moved EVERYTHING out to Jamie's Uncle's house.  A good friend towed our camper, and praise God there were no problems this time!  Tomorrow we will start sorting all our stuff into the "keep forever", "Zambia", and "Get Rid Of" piles.  Whew, so much junk!!  We will be here for two weeks, spend a few days with our team mates from Zambia, and then move into our "summer home" in Cincy.  

And one more super huge praise...

We're at 87% with more pledged to come in!!!

Thank You

We want to thank all of you for your prayers on Jamie's behalf.  He saw the orthopedic surgeon this morning who took a look at Jame's x-rays.

Front view.  You can see the bullet just below his knee.

He said that Jamie does NOT need surgery (Praise God), and that Jamie just needs to take it easy until the swelling goes down.  Jamie does not have any restrictions other than what his pain will allow.

Side view.  You can see the bullet and fragment near it.

We are still able to keep all our travel arrangements, so that is a huge blessing.





God greatly protected Jamie and we thank and praise Him for how He is working all this out.  I suppose that if you're going to get shot Jamie got hit in the perfect place and has the least amount of recovery possible.

Plus, Jamie's pretty excited he can still say he has a bullet lodged in his bone.  Oh, and to answer the most asked question: He will have a card from the doctor saying he has a bullet in his leg for when he sets off the metal detectors at the airport.  I think that's a pretty strong "man card".

As Jamie recovers things are hectic, but we decided we would take a hectic life with a healing daddy then the alternative.  Even our frustrations are blessings considering the possible outcomes.  Please keep praying for Jamie's healing and our sanity.  And please, please keep praying for our friend who shot him.  God is using our friend in wonderful ways for His glory.

Blessed, relieved, thankful, and excited for the future,
Jamie, Mandy and the kids

Spiritual Warfare and Live Ammo

Spiritual warfare is one of those issues that many people choose to ignore rather than engage in.  Unfortunately, even if we don't want to admit it we are always in a spiritual battle.  In Ephesians 6 Paul admonishes us to take up the armor of the Lord and fight the good fight.  He reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against evil spiritual forces in heavenly places.

As we continue to follow the Lord on this journey of obedience He has called us to we see the battle raging around us, and it seems to continue to strengthen.  We are thankful that our Commander and Chief is the Lord of Lords.  If God is for us, who can come against us?

We have seen over and over God's hand of protection on our family.  Our Sovereign God has allowed only what we can handle as we rest in Him.  He has strengthened our faith and proven His faithfulness over and over.

We experienced one such incident this past weekend.  Let me give you the middle length version...
This weekend we took a load of our stuff to Jamie's uncle and aunt's house where we will be storing our "keep" pile while we are in Zambia.  We were planning on organizing our stuff there and then Sunday morning Jamie was going to meet with the mission committee from their church about possible support.

Saturday morning was nice and slow, so Jamie decided he would go down to the creek in the field behind their house to go fishing.  One year he caught ten bass in twenty minutes in this creek.  Where Jamie was fishing the creek bed dropped down, so when you looked down at the creek all you could see was Jamie's black hat.  He was fly fishing and wearing a black sweater.

The neighbor looked out his back deck and thought he saw a large crow down at the creek.  He grabbed his .22 long rifle and figured he would take a shot at the bird to scare it away.  The neighbor aimed at the "bird" (Jamie's head) but, by the grace of God, due to the distance of the shot the bullet hit the back of his left leg.  The bullet entered his left calf and fractured his tibia and is still lodged there.  When the neighbor realized he didn't shoot a bird, but shot Jamie he was really shaken up.  He is a wonderful friend and brother in Christ.  After a trip to the ER Jamie is on crutches for his fracture and has an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to see if the bullet needs to be surgically removed.

Please pray for Jamie as his body heals.  So far the pain has not been bad for what we would have expected for a gun shot wound.  Please pray for the doctors that they would have the discernment they need to accurately diagnose Jamie's medical needs.  Most of all we ask that you would pray for our friend who shot Jamie.  He has a lot to deal with emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.  He is personally fully engaged in the spiritual battle and Satan is doing whatever he can to stop him.  We figured Satan thought he could kill two birds with one stone.  Thankfully our God is faster than a speeding bullet.  Our mighty Protector.  We praise and thank Him for his protection and love for us.

Thank you so much for your prayers and concern.  We'll keep you updated as we find out more.

As Jamie said, "I know we're engaged in spiritual warfare, but I never expected live ammunition."

If any of you want to see Jamie's "man pictures" of the wound just email him and he would be happy to share.

Religious or Godly

As it turns out an upset stomach, runny nose, a snoring husband, and a daughter who has decided not to sleep creates opportunity for a much needed blog update.  Armed with my Pepto (gotta admit I've always loved the taste) and my Puffs plus (best ever) I want to share with you what God has been teaching me.

My devotions have been in the book of Acts for a while.  I love reading about how Christ started His church and the opposition and obstacles it overcame.  How he turned an enemy into one of His greatest warriors.  And how He extended His grace and mercy to the Gentile world.

One thing that has been standing out over and over as I read about Paul's journeys is as he would go into a city and preach the good news the religious leaders were the one who opposed his message the most.  I understand it was a revolutionary way of thinking, but it was also prophecy fulfilled which Paul pointed out through scripture over and over again.

It really got me thinking about "religious" people versus "godly" people and how that plays out in our lives today.  As we've been on this pre-field journey we've encountered many of the "religious", but I'm blessed to realize we've encountered much more of the "godly".

 (Allow me to attempt to clearly define my use of the terms religious and godly in order to avoid offence.  Religious: someone so steeped in the traditions of the church that they are unable to separate those traditions from scriptural mandates .  Godly: someone who respects and honors the traditions of the church but discerns between tradition and scriptural mandates.  Hopefully as you read on I'll make sense to you.) 

Looking in Acts the "religious" people tended to hold to tradition as if it were scripture believing their tradition was godliness.  They had forgotten who God was and tried to fit Him into their little box, and when God decided to break out they were appalled.  When Paul preached Christ crucified and a life of faith by grace they were angered to the point of wanting to destroy him in order to destroy his message.  And when he took the message to people outside their box they tried to force the new people to fit into it.   When I look at the "religious" today I see people truly trying to please God, but who have lost sight of how big He really is.  They are living in their little boxes, and when other Christians don't fit into their box there is strife and distention. Sometimes they become so isolated in their box that they do little good for the cause of Christ.

But then you see the "godly" people.  Their eyes have been so opened to their sinfulness and God's holiness that they live freely by faith.  They uphold God's word out of passionate love for their Savior, not for tradition's sake.  (Disclaimer:  I'm not slamming tradition.  There is a place and a purpose for it, but it has to be in the right place for the right purpose.)  And when God reveals Himself to them they can't help but share Him with everyone they come in contact with.  They look beyond the surface issues to a deeper need.   And when the opposition comes from within the box they stand strong, endure, and remain faithful to their sometimes unpopular calling that God has placed upon their lives.  Continually Paul was arrested, stoned, threatened, or kicked out by the "religious" leaders of his day.  But he got up, picked up his cross, and it's thrilling to see how God used him.

When we, as Believers, decide to follow Christ we aren't always going to be approved of.  Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged by the rejection.  But we have to look to God's word.  Are we faithful to all God has written in it?  Are we living with a pure heart at the feet of our Savior?  Are we diligently following God every step of this journey He has called us to?  Can we, with a clear conscience, say we have done all possible to live peaceably with all men?  Can we stand before God unashamed?  If we can answer yes to all these questions, when the opposition comes we can stand firm knowing we are right with God, and He will sustain and empower us.

God calls us into a passionate love relationship with Him.  He offers us an abundant life.  His yolk is easy and His burden is light.  He calls us to live godly lives that lift Him up before all men.  Our lives are to be a mirror of His love and saving grace to a dying world.  If we are isolated inside our boxes the world dies around us.  He has called us to be in the world, but not of it.  My prayer is that we will all experience the joy that comes only from living freely in Christ with a heart unashamed before Him.  And as we do His love and grace will pour out of our lives and into the lives of everyone we come in contact with.

I want God to build His kingdom through our family as we strive to live for Him and follow Him step by step on this amazing journey.  I can't wait to experience all He is going to do in and through us as we are instruments for Him to accomplish His purposes.  May we live "godly" lives and may God receive all the glory.

Will You Help???

We are so excited that we are officially missionaries with IBM Global!!!  Our support need has been set by our new mission board, and we are at 76% of our needed support.  God has been so good and we are praising Him for His faithfulness!!  

Through FAITH in what only God can do we would love to be on the field by 

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012.  

In order for that to happen we need to be at 100% support by July and for that to happen we need your help.  I know sometimes it's easy to look at our budget and think we don't have a lot to give, and so we don't give at all.  There are many missionaries and causes I would love to support, but "it's just not in the budget."  And sometimes I think we tend to feel that giving a small amount would be insulting.  Please know that every little bit helps.  

We have no doubt that God has called us to this ministry, and we have no doubt in His perfect timing.  We are tremendously thankful for everyone who has partnered with us in this ministry in prayer and finances.  We do not take you for granted and wouldn't be where we are if it weren't for you.  If you're already financially partnering with our ministry would you considering increasing your 

PRAYER SUPPORT 

for us?  We need all the prayers we can get in order to faithfully carry out the work God has for us.  Please pray with us that God would do some incredible things and help us get to Zambia by September. 

We have prayerfully made the decision to call out for support.  If you've been introduced to the ministry God has called us to or if you get our updates and have considered supporting us we would LOVE to have you partner with us.  Whether you can only afford $3 -$5 a month or $20 or $100.  We are asking you to pray and by faith ask God how much he would desire you to contribute to our ministry.  There is no greater investment than in eternity.  It's what God has called us to invest our lives in and our finances.  

It has always made me uncomfortable asking for money.  I always hated the fund raisers we had to do for choir or soccer as a kid in school.  I had no desire to be the "big seller" and win the prizes.  

What God has called our family to is infinitely more important than a school choir or soccer team jerseys.  He has called us to invest in eternity, and by partnering with us you have a huge treasure stored up in Heaven and the prize is so much bigger than any school fund raiser.  

If you would like to know more about our ministry please check out our website www.zambiasmith.com.  

If  you have an questions please contact us.  We would love to answer whatever we can.

If you would like to have us discuss our ministry with you as an individual or at your church or bible study we would love to meet with you.  Just contact us and we'll set a date!

And, if you know how God would have you contribute you can either contact our mission board and set that up, or IBM Global now has the ability to process pre-authorized ‘automated giving’ - either through EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) or through recurring credit card transactions. To get started, simply click on this link and follow the instructions to register. Registering online will give you the ability to manage your online donations and access your gift history.

 If you would like additional information regarding this service, please contact Jennifer Mitchell (the office manager at IBM Global) at jennifer.mitchell@ibmglobal.org or 603-821-5232.

And please tell your friends and family about this ministry.  We would love to share with them all God is doing.

Thank you so much for all your love, encouragement and support.  We are the body of Christ and God uses us to share His love with the world.  Thank you for being His body and helping us do His work.  

We're so grateful for you.