Sorry it's been soooooo long! We had very limited Internet access (only on our phones) which made it very difficult to update the blog.
Not to mention, we were quite busy, travelling the world and all :)
If you haven't already heard, our family has some big changes coming up:
We are moving to the Philippines!
Outreach was such an amazing, life changing experience. We fell in love with Butuan---- the places and the people and the amazing ways we saw and continue to see the Lord move there. Spending all day, every day meeting new people, fostering new friendships, and serving alongside the incredible staff in both Butuan and Cagayan De Oro was a time we will never forget. We loved it so much we couldn't wait to do it again, which is why we are going back!
Our "launch" date is January 2018--- at which time all 7 of us will be on a plane across the Pacific Ocean to our new home on the island of Mindanao. We will be serving in the children's and youth ministries that YWAM Butuan has already established, along with helping in the orphanage and street kids programs. Since we left Butuan, the two children's ministries we served at have more than doubled in size--- from 50 to now over 100 children (EACH!). These are kids that come from all over the city and are shown the love of Jesus and given a warm meal every week.
The vision and mission that the Lord put on our hearts during DTS and Outreach was for us to be a family to those who have none--- the children spending their lives in orphanages or on the streets--- and to encourage, equip and empower local families to serve together and walk out God's unique calling on their lives. During our VERY first ministry day, Beka was able to share a testimony to a group of women at a parent's ministry while the rest of the family played games and did face painting for their children. What a way to start! We are so excited to see how our vision grows and develops in the Philippines and how the Lord continues to use us in this beautiful country.
Right now we are at home in Idaho doing the hard, sometimes tedious, very emotional work of selling (almost) everything we own and preparing to say goodbye for now to our local family and friends. We are spending these next few months enjoying the time we have, making new memories, and also travelling around to reconnect with people we haven't seen in a while (and some people we have never met face-to-face!).
As YWAM Missionaries, we are 100% volunteer--- meaning we are responsible for raising our own support to cover ministry costs, travel, living expenses--- everything :) We are learning the joy and blessing that can come through building and having a team of friends supporting us through their prayers and financial gifts every month. There is a lot of work to be done in the coming weeks but we are already seeing the steadfast goodness of the Lord in this time as He uses us to share His love for the Philippines and uses others to bless us with their support and encouragement.
Stay tuned--- we will do our very best to update more regularly and will be sharing some stories close to our hearts from our time on Outreach over the next few posts :)
Be a Blessing!!
The Smith Family
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