Mission Work

The month of January has been exciting! We have had a flurry of movement here at the mission. Two houses are almost done being refinished for the two new staff members that will be joining us! The foundation of the main building is being strengthened, the Equip website is live, and we have our first Open House for Equip coming up on April 30th. This will be for prospective students only.

We are only days away from shipping the CMTS Belize container and we had one shipment to Uganda go out. We are currently helping to get another shipment for Uganda and for Haiti. Shipping into Haiti has proven quite difficult. We can only ship to a few ports since the natural disasters and the gangs at a few ports have been hijacking the containers when they come in. If you could please keep Haiti in your prayers, that would be wonderful. We are also hosting our first Banquet next month and preparations are going well so far. Make sure to come out to the Banquet and visit us. Remember to RSVP by February 7th! We would LOVE to see you and show you what you have invested in by supporting us!

Home Life

We celebrated a birthday this month! Jett turned 10. He LOVES getting his photo taken. LOL He had a few friends sleepover and got his favorite cake for dessert. Cheesecake! He has also been doing a lot of Nerf battles with his siblings and enjoying the snow we have gotten.

Devin is working for a local grocery store and doing online college at her mother’s home. She is working towards getting a degree in social work.

Ace is working part-time for a local horse farm. He really enjoys working with the horses and raising cattle. He got to raise his first steer all on his own last year. He has a real passion for large animals. He has rejoined Ministry Team at our home church, which is a leadership training program, and he is also serving another year in Sunday School at our home church. He is doing it once a month.

Peyton has been really maturing in his faith and has been stepping up in serving. He has started serving once a month in the nursery at our home church. He also loves to play airsoft, hang out with his friends, and play with our dog, Diesel.

Kylie has joined the youth group at our home church this past school year and is enjoying the deepening of her faith and knowledge in Christ. She really enjoys reading and art. She has also built a snow fort with their friends next door and a few of her siblings. She started teaching herself to sew. She got a sewing project for Christmas and has already completed it!

Parker is really into art and crafting. She has been painting a lot and using gold paint pens. She got her first devotional book for Christmas, she has been doing pretty well with it. She also is enjoying the snow fort. She will dress in her snow gear for lunchtime, so the second she is done with lunch she can go with the neighbor kids and play outside in the snow until they have to come in to do the rest of their school work or chores.

Jase is in the snow fort every chance he gets. He refuses to wear anything but snow boots anywhere, just in case there is snow for him to jump in. Last week he fell on some black ice on our driveway and broke his wrist. It is a buckle fracture and it was so minor they put a brace on him instead of a cast. Poor guy cannot go sledding for 4 weeks though. He loves Mandolorian and Boba Fett.

Joel and I, Danielle, try to go out on dates once a month and get away for a weekend here and there a few times a year. It really helps keep our marriage strong and us working as a team. Over the past few months, we have gotten to try a few new things, ax throwing, kayaking, rock climbing. We like adventure!

Homeschool Corner

We have started another year of homeschooling this school year and it has its trials and bad days, but it really is a labor of love and I love the extra time I get with my kids. Ace is in 9th grade and doing Biology and Algebra this year. He is hoping to start doing some woodworking classes to learn carpentry. Peyton is in 7th grade and is really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. His least favorite subjects are science and math, his favorites are vocab and writing. Kylie is in 6th grade and cannot put down the Warriors books, a series of books on clans of cats. She excels at everything school. She is just flying through her school work faster than I can give it to her somedays. Jett is in 4th grade and really into Boba Fett books. He is also a late-night, must-read kind of kid. Whenever I cannot get him the next Boba Fett book from the library fast enough, he will borrow Kylie’s Warriors books. He hates writing but enjoys art. Parker is reading Diary of a Minecraft Zombie right now and doing really well on her own with chapter books this year. She enjoys reading but really does not like writing. She prefers art overall. Jase is not really into school. He is reading really well and doing well with math, but he is also not a fan of writing.

Prayer Requests

Support, we are still not fully supported and are actively raising support. Housing, CMTS is looking into building more housing and one will be for us. We are living in a small apartment above the office currently. With 8 people, it can get a little tight! LOL Homeschool is an ever-going prayer. Guidance, wisdom, and discernment as God leads us as we lead the ministry.

Other Prayers for the mission include:

• Equip
• Teachers for Equip
• That God fills in the gaps and really brings passion into these men that will be coming this year
• For God to provide the students.
• Housing, we are out of housing and we have more roles to fill here
• Support of staff and projects. We have a lot of projects, maintenance, and upkeep to get done on the property. And a few of our staff members are not fully supported.
• Family Needs

Support

We are currently at $750 monthly and where we need to be is $3,570. It has been by the grace and provision of God that we are making it. We could really use your help. Prayers and awareness of this need to others are much appreciated!

Here is a further breakdown in each category:

Retirement is just that. We are saving up to retire one day and be a good steward with our time in the future.

Misc.: is Savings for emergencies and medical expenses like braces and casts. Education and field trips. Fun days with the kids as a family out, date nights with Joel & I (Danielle), and saving each month for vacations.

Transportation: is gas, car insurance, maintenance, and repairs.

Living expenses: are electricity, propane, internet, cell phones, clothing, food, and household items.

If you want to support the Smith Family, click here!