We've Been Busy

Sorry for our lack of blogging but we have been busy bees!
We are doing well - tired but good.  Please pray as we finish out our last two days we will finish well.  Here are some pictures for you!

Craft Time with the Elementary Kiddos! Palma (our friend from Budapest that came to help us) and Jackie Simpson are doing a great job.  The kids love the crafts and want to do more each day.

One of our little friends - he loves playing the guitar!

Mr. Wayne has made himself a little friend.  She only wants Mr. Wayne to hold her, walk with her, etc.  He took her on a walk to look at birds. 

Another little friend who is loving the toys that we brought- especially the tunnel from the Ashley Lauren Consignment sale.  Thanks Mrs. Linda and Mrs. Amy for finding us awesome toys to play with!

Mrs. Jane has lots of friends when she gets the bubbles out!

Mr. Rick and Mrs. Susan and their group of threes and fours!

Mrs. Dixie (pictured) and Mrs. Carolyn have had lots of fun with the babies!

The whole entire group for the conference (including our peeps)!

Mrs. Valerie working her magic!

 Can you believe we were able to get that many one's and two's lined up- well it wasn't "we" it was their helpers and our photographer - Les Power!

Mr. Jeff leading recreation "indoors"!

Mrs. Jill playing games with the kiddos!

Malta's flag! Yesterday was St. Joseph's day here.  It was gorgeous!

More pictures later.....it is hard to find time to post but so appreciate your prayers

Set up In Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our set up!

 Our assembly line getting gifts ready for the kids and their families! 

 Mr. Wayne and Mr. Jim getting the globe ready! 

Thank you Mr. Rusty and the Recreation staff for the Upward bags.  The kids loved them! 

More pictures later! 

Our First Night

I just wanted to give you guys an update- no pictures tonight but hopefully we will have all the permissions we need tomorrow to post some pictures with kids. 

We spent all day preparing our rooms, putting together kid's bags, decorating and lots of other things!  We also enjoyed having the biggest part of the kids tonight for the first session.  The others will arrive by tomorrow - our first day of Vacation Bible School. 

Thanks for all you gave for us to bring on this trip.  The missionaries we brought  things to were very excited.  All the kids were ecstatic to get their Upward bags (Thanks Mr. Rusty and the Recreation Ministry)!  They were also thrilled to find the items in them and loved getting their very own shirt. 

Would you specifically pray for all the preschool as they make the transition to having us care for them. 

We will post more tomorrow!
We appreciate your prayers!

Much Love!
Mrs.  Tara

Our bags are packed!

All 28 bags are packed! This is a picture of one bag of toys and games for our time in Malta! 

We would appreciate your prayers as we travel!  Please pray we can sleep on our long flight tomorrow night  (8 hours), pray all our luggage makes it with us, pray for our connections and most of all pray as we travel we will have opportunities to point people to Jesus! 

Smith's on Mission

Our excitement and anticipation is growing as we begin our final week of preparation for our Malta Mission Trip.  Our previous mission experiences were construction and medical so caring for one and two year old children will be very different and a little daunting- will our stamina last??  A definite matter of prayer.

Jim and I have a great respect and love of our missionaries who have given their lives to sharing Jesus with the world, so we are grateful to have this opportunity to be a part of enabling them to have a time to come aside for renewal and fellowship with other missionary families who are also serving in Europe.  This week is even more special for us since we will be sharing it with the Teeuwen family.  We have enjoyed getting to know them through Sunday School and supporting their ministry over the years.  They are an incredible family who face their daily lives with great faith and humility.  Their friendship is a joy in our lives.

Please pray that we will be sensitive to the specific needs of these families as we get to interact with them daily and for for spiritual and physical strength for our team as we work and travel that others would see Jesus in us.

Thank you First Baptist Church for this opportunity to represent you and our Lord.  We will be counting on your daily prayers!

Valerie Smith

The Malta Team

Front Row (left to right) Carolyn Farabee Smith, Valerie Smith, Jackie Simpson, Tara Waldrop, Dixie Sandlin, Jane Richardson, Susan McCormick 

Back Row (left to right) Jim Smith, Jill Constance, Jeff Constance, Mike Waldrop, Les Power, Wayne Richardson, Rick McCormick 

Our church prayed over us in all of our services yesterday.  This picture is from the 8:30 service.  It was a very humbling experience to have our church family pray over us.  We are so thankful for a church who believes in sending out mission teams.  Our Co-Pastor- Jim Gibson- shared that this trip is unique in that we are serving those who work to share Jesus with those all over Europe.  He asked our church to pray not only over us but for every family at the conference.  He asked this would be a time of rest, refreshment, encouragement and renewal for each person.  Will you join us in praying for these things as well, please? 

Also pray for each child to bond with our team quickly especially the youngest children who are not often away from their moms and dads.  We are thankful for each of you praying! 

Stepping out on Faith to GO!

When I first heard about this mission trip, I really wanted to go but thought there was no way it would happen. However, I serve the God who can do anything He wants and He must have really wanted not just me, but Jeff as well, to go to Malta.

When I initially prayed for God’s direction on taking this step of faith, I asked for a clear way, open door, and neon sign. And guess what? Yes, He did exactly that! I know He didn’t have to, but that was what Jeff and I both needed to make sure we were following Him in this.

See, when people go on mission trips, it is not just the people who step foot out of the country that are participating…it is everyone who gives something so these people can go. It is their family sacrificing time and money, it is anyone who gives whether through donations (such as buying a plane ticket, which someone did for Jeff, or writing checks which several people did for me) and fundraisers, and especially those who pray for us (as we prep and through the duration of the trip). So many people actually are a part of this trip and we are thankful for each one!

We have had wonderful friends and family support, but the very best has been our children. They have been such a blessing through this whole process from the second I told them we were thinking about going on a mission trip to Malta. We have tried to teach them the importance of living out our Christian faith all the time. What better example to show them than going on a mission trip to Malta, where we show our support and encouragement to those missionaries who put their lives on the line for Christ daily? We are leading VBS for the missionaries’ children and providing some childcare. I told the kids that it would take lots of self-sacrifice on their part  including going to meetings, time working for extra money, possibly less personal attention for a couple of months, and 9 days away from us during the trip itself. Their response: You should go!

The VBS material we are teaching is Awesome God, Amazing Power, with some of the music talking about facing fears and trusting Him. I get just as much from teaching the material and singing the songs as the kids do! I see God’s awesomeness and His amazing power so many times each day. I also am challenged daily to face my fears in the uncertainties and trials of life, trusting God to see us through since He has plans for us; plans to prosper us and give us a future and a hope! There have been so many teachable moments for our children through this process. They understand that they are part of the reason we are able to go…they have been so generous in accepting the time and energy we are pouring into the trip. They also are encouraging as they smile and say they are really excited we get to go on a mission trip. It has truly been a joy to see the Lord working in their lives, too, as we have shown them examples of God’s direction and His provision along the way.  It is music to my ears when they ask when they can go on a mission trip! We are teaching them the life-long lessons that really matter!

Jill Constance