Countdown to Cusco...

It's been an amazing year. This year I have enjoyed spending Christmas at home. It has been a nice time of celebration and fellowship with family and friends. I've enjoyed being jobless for a short amount of time. As of Jan 1, 2010 I will be employed at Mission to the World(yikes!! I'll be a full time missionary.)

It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago I started the application process to become a short term missionary with Mission to the World. Who would have thought I'd be so close to getting to Cusco? Time flies by. In mid January I head off to the land of chocolate and beer(for pre-field training) and will come back home in mid February. My time in Belgium should be a fun and challenging month away filled all kinds of learning and good stuff to prepare me for the mission field. Thankfully we'll be spending only part of the time in the classroom setting. The majority of the time will be spent serving in various ministries in the community and at local churches. It will be a good time of learning about living cross culturally, understand how to minister in other cultures, and I would imagine many other things as well.

One of my BIG events for December was the purchase of my one way ticket to Peru. It was exciting to buy a one way ticket, but a bit strange as well. I'll be on my way to Arequipa for language school in March. I'll be leaving the good old U.S.A. on March 4th. Five airports, four connections, and 24 hours later.....I'll be in Arequipa where one of my new adventures will start. I'll be attending the ABC Spanish school for six months. It appears that the Spanish classes in high school and college have had no long term benefits for me. The placement test didn't go very well. Since I couldn't so much understand the questions on the test, it looks like I'll be starting out in the beginner classes. While I'm in school, I'll be staying with a host family. From what I understand, there will be minimal use of English. I feel like there will be plenty of laughing and pantomiming going on for a couple of months. I'm looking forward to it.

This past month has been filled with many fun tasks and "new things" in preparation for leaving the country for a couple of years. Who would have thought I'd have to make out a will, make sure my dental records are available to MTW(in case I'm mauled by a llama and my body is unidentifiable), pack up and auction off all the stuff I've accumulated over the past 29 years, or consider getting vaccinated for rabies. There seem to be way too many dogs lying around on the streets of Cusco for my comfort, so I'm still thinking about that one....

This has been wild year with many blessings, challenges, and surprises. God has been good to me. I've been stretched and in so many ways and in the end am thankful for it. I'm so excited for what is ahead and am looking forward to seeing the great things God is going to do. God is at work in Cusco and I'm so thankful to be called to this ministry.

Grace and Peace to all,
A. Smith

66 Days...

Addendum

Just about a year after starting the application process with Mission to the World to become a short term medical missionary, I am extremely excited to report that I am now 100% funded to go to Cusco, Peru for my 30 month term. I will be employed at MTW as of January 1, 2010. What a great way to start the New Year!!!

I'll be heading off to Belgium in January for training and then to Peru for language scool in Febuary. I look forward to sharing about the exciting things God is doing through my team in Cusco. Thank you all for your continued support.

On my way.....

I am very excited to announce that I am ALMOST completely funded. Yay!!! Praise God!! This means that I'll be going to Brussels for pre-field training in January and then Peru in late February. Since today is pretty much my target date/deadline for having my funds in, I am reminded that God does provide in His perfect timing. Thank you all for your generous prayer and financial support. It has been an interesting week of attempting to rest in the fact that God loves me and knows what's best for me. I'm just thankful that what I want this time around has lined up with God's perfect will for my life.

Yesterday was a great day filled with much joy and excitement. After getting the go ahead from MTW, I was finally able to quit my current job ( a big step for me!!). It was such a relief for me as my boss was not aware of my plans to move to Peru. That was an interesting conversation...... It was a great opportunity to share about what I will be doing and why I'm doing it.

I'm looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birthday at home with my family(I won't have to work since I'll be unemployed as of December 22nd. No worries...I have a job offer that looks promising and it looks like there is an opening starting in January). In January I'll be in Belgium for a month for training and then tentatively I'll be heading to Peru in late February.

Thank you all for praying for me as I move closer to my departure to Cusco, Peru. Please pray for the rest of my support to come while I'm in Belgium. All I need to meet my goal is $100/month. I'm so close and give thanks to God for that. As I prepare for departure please pray for me as I tie up all the loose ends here. It seems like there is plenty to do in a limited amount of time, but again.... I need to remember that God is in control.

God is good and has blessed me with an awesome supportive family and so many really sweet friendships. I am so thankful for all of the people He has placed in my life and for their encouragement, care, and support as I move closer to the work I have been called to.

Many thanks to all who continue to read about and support me in this adventure.

Exciting Cusco news!!

I'm going to keep it short this time. I just wanted to praise God for His gracious provisions in my life. As of yesterday I am 100% funded for my one time need to get to the field. YAY!! Now all I have left to raise by the end of this month is $600/month in pledges. I'm getting so close to being 100% funded with about 12ish more days til my deadline(the first week in December) for support raising.

I'm getting really excited and am looking forward to the distinct possibility of heading off to Belgium in January for pre field training and then to language school in February. In theory I'll get to my final destination(Cusco, Peru) in July of 2010 to start my work in Hinterland Health ministry. I am thankful for all of the generous supporters and prayer partners God has provided for me and am looking forward to sharing this experience and ministry with dear friends and family. I'm just pumped to be involved hands on and have a front row seat in this work God has called me to. God has been good to me.

If anyone might be interested in supporting me on an ongoing basis, please feel free to contact me with your pledge info or any questions you might have. You can email me your pledge or send your pledge to MTW by mail.

Please continue to pray for my support to come in by the end of this month so I can move forward in the process of getting to Cusco. Thank you all for praying about support and other preparations I have for this ministry.

Hopefully the next update I'll send out (very soon) will be the announcement that I'm 100% funded for everything. I'll keep you all posted!!

Cusco Update

As requested, here's a short update on my trip to Cusco last week( glad to hear that some people are looking this. Thanks Jared!! You rock!)

After much excitement and anticipation I finally had an opportunity to get a glimpse of what life will look like for me in the near future. It was a great week in many ways. God was gracious and placed me on a team with so many really cool and gifted brothers and sisters in Christ. It was a time of sweet fellowship. With a team of so many disciplines within the medical field, God equipped us to meet many different needs. There were 18 of us. We had a wide range of physicians-Family practice, radiologist, plastic surgeon, Ob/gyn, general surgeon, 4 nurses, 2 dentists, Physical therapist, and some lay people. I think one of my favorite team members was a 16 year old who did children's ministry during clinic hours(it really can be quite a challenge). How brave of him come spend a week with "a bunch of old people" as he put it, give of himself, and minister to the children. It was neat to see how God brought us all together to share the love of Christ with people in need.

Thankfully, we all arrived in Cusco on time, with all of our luggage and had no issues with customs on the way in or the way out. We all got along and actually had a blast(imagine that....what a surprise). The food was pretty good and no one got really really sick. The llama was pretty good. I'll have to wait til I move there to try the cuy(guinea pig). I hear it's quite good.

As is my usual experience, we encountered much heartache in the lives of the poor in Cusco. We were able to address some of these people's physical needs. We also had time to pray with patients and care for them(hopefully showing them the love of Christ). It can be a challenge to share the Gospel with the Quechua people. In general, they are very guarded and closed. It can take a long time to gain their trust, but I do believe we planted many seeds during our time there. God did give our team a gift of seeing a young woman come to know Christ while we were in Cusco. What an encouragement!! It always touches me to see the visible difference in someone when they come to know Christ.

The team also got to visit an orphanage run by part of the MTW Hinterland team. It was fun to play with and love these children, but also painful to hear the stories of abandonment and abuse in some cases. Apparently, the acceptable way to get rid of children in Cusco is to slowly starve them to death. I thank God for those who are willing to step up and care for God's precious children through this ministry.

It was good for me to spend some time with and get to know the missionaries I'll be spending the next couple of years with. As our team was leaving to come back home I was excited to not have to say goodbye permanently because I'm coming back soon!!! It was great and made me even more eager to get to Cusco. I still hope to have all my support raised by the first week in December, so I can go to prefield training and then language school in January. It's hard to believe I'm on the home stretch for support raising. God has provided so much support(prayer and financial), but I still need $3000 for my one time need and $600/month in pledges. I'm praying for a miracle so I can get to the field this winter. I trust that God will provide in His perfect timing and am trying to rest in that.

I think I've gone on long enough, so I'm going to end here. If you want to hear more......I'm having a party/support raising dinner next Sunday, November 8th from 6-8ish at my church(let me know if you want more info). I'm looking forward to sharing about what God is doing in my life and in Cusco, Peru as well. I really can't do this alone. Thank you all for your continued support.

Ready for adventure

Tomorrow I head out for Cusco. Yay!! I'm so thankful to have this opportunity to serve with a team from Mississippi, spend time with the in country team, and see God work through us. I'm looking forward to the great things God is going to do.

These times God has given me in past trips have been so sweet and precious to me. These have been some of the times I have felt closest to God. It is always such a joy to see God at work through His people in providing medical care and see the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of so many that are lost. Needless to say, I am excited for this coming week.

Please pray for our team in our travels. It's always an adventure going through customs with lots of medications, medical supplies, medical equipment, and dental equipment(and then there's the issue of all the checked equipment making it to the end destination with us). Please pray for team unity, safety(from the llamas and snakes, and elephants), and that we will be willing to be used by God and that God would prepare the hearts of those we share the love of Christ with.

I'm already pumped to come back and share about what God is doing in this ministry at my support raising event/party (it's at Dayspring Presbyterian Church Nov 8th from 6-8 pm). It should be a great time.

I'm going to end here since I should be asleep by now. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to send out another update next week while I'm in Cusco.

Blessings!!

Update

Lots of friends and family have asked me for an update on my support raising process. So…..here it is. As many of you know, the time for possible departure to Cusco, Peru is coming very quickly. I am excited for the possibility of leaving for the field in February. Tentatively I will be going to pre-field training in mid-January. The training is a month long and will be held in Brussels, Belgium. After completing the training I will be heading off to language school in Arequipa, Peru. I will be in school for 4-6 months, depending on how long it takes me to learn Spanish. So…..I should actually get to Cusco in the summer of 2010.


I’m looking forward to what is ahead and eager to leave for the field. At this point, I’m in the process of finishing up support raising. God has already done amazing things, giving me so many prayer partners. He has provided 63% of my monthly needs and 67% of my one time need. God is moving things right along. Praise Him!! I still have $1100/month and $6000 for one time needs to go. In order for me to go to the month long training required to get to the field, I need to have 100% of my support in by the first week in December. Otherwise, I will have to wait till July of 2010 to go to the next training session. Please pray that all the support comes in by December.


God has opened a door for me to go to Cusco for a week at the end of this month with a medical team from Mississippi (yay for the Deep South!!) to work alongside the MTW team in Cusco. I’m looking forward to scoping things out and meeting the people who will become my friends and family for the next two years.
After I return home I will be having a support-raising event (November 8th from 6-8 at DaySpring Presbyterian Church). There will be dinner and I will be sharing about the ministry in Cusco and how I’ll be involved. All are welcome!!