What a Season!

The Smith family arrived safely in Ethiopia just before Thanksgiving!!! It really is quite beneficial to have them there ahead of me - I get to hear all about what it will be like before I go!

Life In Ethiopia:

• I will have electricity for 2 hours a day - 7:00-9:00pm
• It is illegal to use Skype in Ethiopia (no seeing family or friends on the computer as I talk with them) :-(
• Holidays are celebrated with special meals - like warthog for Thanksgiving! WOW!!

So, while they are getting all settled in, I am working on my RDM (Resource Development Ministry) here until I go. Things are going well, especially for this being a busy time of year and crazy time in our economy! But GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!! Because he made it clear he has called me to this ministry, I know for sure I can trust him to provide all of the resources I'll need to do the job! I'll be filling my month as much as I can with speaking engagements at churches and with small groups, and watching expectantly for what God is going to do!!

In the meantime, it is a huge BLESSING to spend the holidays with my family!!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together with an amazing, mouth-watering, delicious feast prepared by my culinary-student sister! While she chopped, basted, mixed, and did incredibly fancy work in the kitchen, I acted as her sous-chef. What tasty fun!

SIMco in Charlotte, NC

I spent a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks at my mission headquarters going through orientation and training. SIM (Serving In Mission) has a simple yet powerful motto: By Prayer. Each weekday our group gathered for a morning prayer and worship time to lift up different countries and missionaries to our heavenly Father. I came away from this training with a very valuable reminder - to constantly pray!

When facing the unknown - pray!
When in need - pray!
When in trouble - pray!
When celebrating - pray!
When thankful - pray!

No matter what life throws at us or what situation we find ourselves in, our first move should always be to run to our loving Savior!!!

Another highlight for me was getting to know the amazing group of people going through SIMco training with me who are from all over the states headed to all over the world! Hearing their stories about how God drew them to himself and brought them to this place of preparing to head into missions was amazing! God is so creative and diverse!! I love how everyone's story is so unique yet share the same themes of God's faithfulness, guidance, and loving care!

Here are some of my adorable new friends!

Casey, Rahem, Sarah, Me

Our daily sessions were packed with Bible, missions, and evangelism training. We learned in detail about the differing worldviews of the West versus the East, received excellent training on ministering to Muslims, and gleaned practical tips on living with limited resources. I can't wait to put it all into practice in Ethiopia!!!

So now all the training is completed and I'm one step closer to going overseas. I'm back home in Oregon now working on my RDM (Resource Development Ministry) and looking forward with great anticipation to the day I will arrive in Ethiopia!! Currently, I'm aiming for the end of December... we'll see what timing God has in mind!