The Smith Connection

Two days ago we picked 40 lbs of tomatoes....up off the side of the road!

Yes, the Lord provides in many ways. Lori and I were praying that morning that God would give us wisdom in adjusting to the new living costs in the US. We were also recently talking about making chili in the winter and how we used to grow tomatoes in our garden before we went to Mexico. Lori commented something to the effect of, "Buying all those tomatoes is going to kill us."

That afternoon as we were driving to Kendra and Tara's open house at their new school we saw a bunch of tomatoes along the side of the road not too far from our house! A truck must have lost some of its cargo going around the curve. We wondered if they would still be thre when we got back from the open house, and to our delight they were! Bryan and Kendra went and picked up three big bags full of tomatoes! What an opportunity to teach the kids about God's provision for us! Bryan had Kendra pray and thank God for this provision, and this was her prayer, "Dear Lord, thank you for all the tomatoes that you gave us, and thank you that some of them are ripe!" (Actually the majority of them were ripe) When we got home we washed them up, cut them, and froze them. Thank you Lord!

Posted by Bryan at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our new address is:
Bryan & Lori Smith
2062 Bossler Road
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

New phone number:
(717) 361-8804

This information will be good through July 2007

Our E-mail address remains the same:
bsmith@cam-mexico.org

Posted by Bryan at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click on the links below for either the Word or PDF version of our prayer letter:

WORD: Download file PDF: Download file

Posted by Bryan at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click below for some prayer items for August 2006

The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121:8

Dear Prayer Partner,
We have arrived at our home in PA, and are settled in now. The Lord has indeed guarded our going out and coming in. Please visit our website for new pictures from our trip. Also, please note our NEW ADDRESS & TELEPHONE below.

We praise the Lord for His goodness and grace in our lives. We saw it in many ways over the last month:
- 6,000 safe miles traveled - the kids did great in hanging in there over the miles and the many visits
- Encouraging visits with family, friends, and supporters from Phoenix, AZ; Dallas, TX; Tahlequah, Ok; Cedar Lake, IN; Rochester, IN; Chicago, IL; Marlette, MI; Ionia, MI area; and finally arriving safe and sound in Elizabethtown, PA
- Good family vacation time as we did some special things together, including seeing the Meramec Caverns in Missouri, Chuckie Cheeses, feeding Canadian geese, picking 10 lbs. of blueberries, and swimming in Lake Michigan, among other things
- We were able to get over $1,100 of all kinds of supplies at International Aid in MI for just over $100. What a blessing this organization is to missionaries!
- A great and encouraging visit and speaking engagement at South Boston Bible Church in Lowell, MI.
- Our vehicle did great! It didn't give us even a hint of problems (besides replacing two tires) until we were in our driveway in PA, and were all unpacked. Then it wouldn't start again. It was only our battery that needed to be changed, and our new friends and landlords, Jeff & Rose Aungst, were very gracious in helping us get the van going again.
- Our rented farm house here was totally furnished and the cupboards stocked for us by our church, Calvary Bible Church of Mount Joy, PA
- Kendra and Tara are all registered and ready for school

Please pray for our continued transition to life here, and that we would meet all our goals for this time of home assignment.
Please pray for the New Birth Bible Church that we left back in Querétaro, that God would give them great unity and growth in this year while we are away.

Thank you for your prayers for us. We are looking forward to seeing and catching up with many of our friends and supporters during the next year or so.

In the Lord's Hands,
Bryan, Lori, Kendra, Tara, & Ben

Bryan & Lori Smith:
*NEW ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER
2062 Bossler Rd.
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
(717) 361-8804

Mission:
CAM International
8625 La Prada Dr.
Dallas, TX 75228
(214) 327-8206
http://caminternational.org

E-mail: bsmith@cam-mexico.org
Web: http://smithconnection.com

Posted by Bryan at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kendra, Tara, & Benjamin - July 2006

Click below for more pictures of our life and ministry
Click on the thumbnails for a larger pop-up image

OUR JULY 6,000 MILE TRIP:

PHOENIX, AZ






Some of the highlights: meeting and holding our nephew Matthew for the first time, seeing the jet that Lori's Uncle Dave pilots, playing lots of board games with Lisa and Eric, the 100+ Arizona heat, the kids playing with their cousin Hannah

TAHLEQUAH, OK



Some of the highlights: seeing Bob and Sylvia Lloyd, seeing Gordon and Carolyn Johnson, meeting with several of the CAM family at the Go Ye Village, finding a cute little suit for Ben at a garage sale, seeing Marvin, Kathy, and Amber Snead

FAMILY FUN IN MISSOURI





Some of the highlights: Chuckie Cheeses, visiting the Meramec Caverns, feeding Canadian geese and skipping rocks on Horeshoe Lake

CEDAR LAKE, IN






Some of the highlights: seeing Bryan's Uncle Bill and Aunt Jeanine, an awsome cook-out, motorcycle rides, catching lightning bugs, feeding carrots to some neighbor horses and petting them (Tara loved it, Kendra and Ben weren't so sure about it. They are big horses!)

ROCHESTER, IN





Some of the highlights: playing with cousins Sammie, Jesse, and Hunter, being on the farm and seeing the animals, four-wheeler rides, seeing Uncle Don's police car, going to the park, playing games with Bryan's sister, Bethany

CHICAGO, IL




Some of the highlights: seeing and holding nephew Titus for the first time, going to the Lincoln Park Zoo, playing with cousin Abby, a double date on our anniversary with Brenton and Amber while the kids were baby sat, pizza at Caesarland, pizza fondu and then chocolate fondue for dessert, Mmmm good!

MORE FAMILY FUN, WESTERN MICHIGAN



Some of the highlights: picking 10 lbs of blueberries (not including the ones we ate!), taking a very refreshing dip in frigid Lake Michigan

MARLETTE, MI





Some of the highlights: seeing Grandma James, going out for ice cream with Aunt Betty, listening to Grandma play her organ, doing some things around the house for Grandma, picking wild flowers for Grandma, taking wagon rides, teaching Grandma how to surf the web

IONIA, MI AREA








Some of the highlights: staying with cousins Martha and Wayne, and their children, Adam & Saddie, going to the Ionia Free Fair and seeing lots of animals, including these kissing cows, seeing Bryan's Uncle Charles and Aunt Janis, seeing the Jones's Meat Market, speaking at South Boston Bible Church, seeing the Mikesells, going out for pizza with family

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA "HOME SWEET HOME"



Some of the highlights: arriving to a fully furnished and stocked house (Thanks Calvary Bible Church!), seeing Lori's sister, Cheryl, having our van die only after unloading everything and being in our driveway (thank you Lord! Just needed a battery), living in the middle of God's beauty in Lancaster County, PA

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR US! PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHURCH BACK IN MEXICO.

Posted by Bryan at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)