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We have had the privilege of worshiping the Lord in a Sunday morning service at Rapture Baptist Church. This is the church we were working with at the end of our last term on the field. We helped them call a new pastor just before we left. It was truly exciting to see them functioning well as a church. They are growing and God is blessing. I truly share the same heart that John does in 3John 4 when he says “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Getting a chance to make a difference in the lives of people that lives beyond you is a real blessing.
What difference are you making today that will live longer than you? Something to think about
“Attempt great things for GOD, expect great RESULTS from GOD”
I have that challenge written in prominent letters in my BIBLE. It is easy at times to say such passion igniting charges, but living up to them is another story. It takes great faith to trust for GREAT things. And at times our faith can waver when the difficulties come. We all know that the door of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition.
But also in my Bible is the wonderful reminder that as Christians we should: “live and give for what matters most”.
We are so very thankful that as we all have trusted GOD for amazing things, and we have seen many sacrifice their time in prayer and their finances in loving help, GOD has truly amazed us with the RESULTS He has given.
I think we have seen the reality of this passage just come to life these past months of our time here in the USA.
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly , or of necessity: for GOD loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever….Thanks be unto GOD for his unspeakable gift.” 2 COR 10:12
We have seen many sacrifice as they brought before the mighty Throne of Grace, the many needs on broken needs with burdened hearts…and GOD has done the amazing. He has provided unspeakable gifts, over and again! What really thrills me, though, is the promise that each one involved also receives eternal reward for their part, too. A true “win win” situation, in my books.
Behold WHAT MANNER of love the Father hat bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of GOD”
1 John 3:1
The reality of that verse expressing the unfathomable love of GOD towards us truly hit home for me this week. What an overwhelming awesome week I had. Your prayers were felt in ways you may truly not be able to even comprehend as there are just few words that can express and explain all that GOD did in response of your petitions.
Amazing Love was not only experienced but had it’s perfect work demonstrated very practically last week for me especially. The open doors for the perfect ultrasound training and all the tiny little details that came together for me (Lori this week in case you have not noticed the difference in my writing compared to Bill’s update style last week…:-)) was really nothing short of miraculous. Just getting to Charleston, Illinois, and the willingness of that Crisis Pregnancy Center’s leadership to let me join their training time then having that very trainer, a very experienced and skilled TEACHER of ultrasonography ALSO be the very man that orchestrated together and actually sold our machine to us truly revealed how that week was an appointment directly from GOD. But for me, what was even more amazing was the answer to our prayer for my enablement. As we have just honestly and openly shared before….I am NOT TECHNICAL in any stretch of the imagination. The ultrasound machine IS ONLY technical! What a reminder that in our weakness GOD and HIS strength are manifested. It all made sense. It was just like for the first time the blinders went up and the MYSTERY of that ultrasound machine was all of a sudden very clear. What is seen…how it is seen… and WHY it all works along with HOW to use that in our clinical evaluation of our mom’s was just spelled out in a way so clear even I was able to understand. That is the power of prayer!! (and a gifted instructor!). Our trainer being the man who knew better than I did about the wonderful tool GOD has given us (It has been crated and sent directly to our container so I have not even SEEN it yet!) was amazingly helpful as well. He was able to take me aside and tell me specifics and details that correspond to our machine that were slightly different that the ultrasound machine we were using in training. Now I am equipped with a systematic assessment approach when using our ultrasound that not only focuses on evaluating just the baby, but also helps me look for abnormalities with the whole pregnancy and the mom herself. What a gift that is. It was a long and tiring week, but the encouraging fellowship with those sweet ladies I trained with, the opportunities to share CHRIST and minister (a hotel managed and run by a whole extended family of Indian people gave much opportunity to share CHRIST…I was living in a mission field all it’s own!), as well as LEARN, was phenomenal. It was well worth the cost, effort and time!! God even brought some very unique and rare conditions in for us to evaluate as we did the ultrasound “practice”….how thoughtful of HIM!! PNG is the “Land of unexpected” after all, so I am sure we will see more “unique” things in the future!! Amazing love!
God’s gift of love demonstrated through life was so very evident..it never ceases to amaze me All last week I had the joy of just being a spectator taking glimpses into the secret weaving room of life. That place where GOD is just molding and creating those precious little babies, hidden in the quietness of their mommy’s bodies. It is one of those experiences that wells up inside my heart an emotion hard to express. Obviously I was not the only one so deeply affected. In a Crisis Pregnancy Center setting for training there were obviously women being studied that were at a place in their lives where they felt overwhelmed. Several were highly considering the termination of their “pregnancy”. They were in crisis!! There is something almost holy about our little peek into this secret weaving room of God. His presence so evident in the overwhelmingly miraculous reality of His creation staring right at us on the ultrasound screen. Those young women saw it, too. For several, those moments became life changing revelations….just as we have seen over and over again in PNG….in that moment their “pregnancy” becomes THEIR BABY.
A whole week of focus on the intense maternal (and paternal as well, though not many dads were there this week) love within us for children…how amazing to just ponder that thought. That LOVE we just feel explode in our hearts even when all we know of that new little “being” is a rice sized little fuzzy dot on a ultrasound screen. That almost invisible blip of a heartbeat…that life….wow. So amazing. Being able to just stand back and observe the impact of that amazement and watch the miracle of the intensity of that love just “happen”.
Our love of our children is, I believe, the most intense of our emotions. We protect our kids with every ounce of our strength…we envelope them. We give them all we have to provide for them as best we can within our ability…nothing is too hard or too complicated and no sacrifice it too great for them. Parenting is truly a labor of lavish love. There is no moment when they are not in our upper most thoughts. I remember going to the hospital in labor with Rachel. WE just felt that overwhelming joy/fear/expectation that nothing in life would ever be the same…and it has not been. She and the siblings to follow are a part of our body even more real to us than an appendage. I feel their pain, and cry their tears and their laughter comes from my mouth. I thought they cut the umbilical cord…but evidentially there is a special unseen cord from their heart to my own that was never severed!
In the midst of my “maternal focus” ( you KNOW my “weakness” for babies!!), God brought me to the spiritual application this week that was almost epiphital. In my devotions one morning in the quiet of my hotel room a “light” of understanding just illuminated that verse in 1 John. We are GOD’s children. BEHOLD, What manner of LOVE!!!! We are cradled, cuddled in His perfect will…cherished and even chastened when needed…all for LOVE! Perfect, selfless love. The love of a parent for their child. I think a study through the Bible on God as my Father is now in the inner workings of my devotional plans! My morning speculations were truly an amazing reminder of that deep and intriguing “view” of WHO God really is to me! As we are reminded by the very words of Christ, Who is very clear in His understanding of that connection He has with the Father, that if earthly fathers only give good gifts to their children in need…how much more will our Heavenly Father, perfect in His love, care for us. I guess the intensity of that feeling of love He must have hit home in a new dimension for me.
God sure demonstrated His love and care for us in ways crystal clear and truly miraculous this week- Lori Smith
“Hereby perceive we the love of GOD, because He laid down His life for us” 1 John 3:16.
What a joyous day this is…RESURRECTION SUNDAY. We gathered this morning and worshipped a LIVING SAVIOR Who gave His own perfect body as a substitute for my imperfect, sin damaged, broken life. Through His victory over sin and death, as I believe and have received Him, so also will I have VICTORY in my life. It is not just for salvation…it is victory for living now today! Now that is something to celebrate!
The rest of that passage is such a wonderful parallel to that very great ,and my personal favorite, passage (probably the first verse most of us ever learned) in the Gospel of John 3:16. God so loved us that HE gave.
In 1 John 3:16 we see GOD’s great sacrificial love demonstrated by the death of Jesus on the cross, but we also see the impacting result that SHOULD have in our lives.
“and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s goods, and seeth his brother hath need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither love in tongue but in deed and in truth and hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him” 1 Jn 3:16-18
God’s amazing love gift should compel us to reach out to minister to others in love…”I can’t hear the words you are speaking, because your actions are too loud”.
Pondering the actions of Jesus that last night before He knew He would face the horror of the beatings, whippings, humiliation and eventually the agony of the cross, I could not help but be amazed at the way He stopped and gave thanks to the Father three times in the midst of the Last Supper (during the supper, after the distribution of the bread and after the supper). He knew that meal was representative of the very sacrifice HE was about to become. He was that bread to be torn and that blood to be shed for our sins. We realize the full impact of that sacrifice as we see Jesus later that night alone with God in the garden of Gethsemany. He agonized with His Father in prayer, so stressed over becoming sin for us that he sweated blood. Now, I have felt stress before, but I never felt that much agony within my spirit.
Looking at the loving and willing and even thankful way Jesus followed His Fathers incredibly difficult plan to redeem me, my heart felt such great conviction. Am I living a life that demonstrates that level of joyfully submissive obedience to GOD? I will never remember His sacrifice as I celebrate the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper in communion the same way again…it will now be a reminder and challenge to that full surrender that Christ demonstrated for me that night. DO THIS…sacrifice fully, lovingly and willing…in remembrance of Me.
In the midst of that week, a celebration meal of the Passover was complicated with confusing questions and statements for the disciples who really did not have a clue about the life changing events that were unfolding before their very eyes.
The long night in the garden when they must have truly desired to be there for Jesus, but after the large feast at the Passover they were oh so tired and could not help but sleep. Riveted awake out of the deep food induced rest, they experienced the attack of the soldiers and arrest of their beloved Lord led by their own “brother” they thought was also of the same faith. Their pleasant dreams quickly became their worst nightmares in vivid reality.
So much happened. Following the footsteps of Jesus and becoming fishers of men took on whole new spin for them. The reality of the danger and the emotional turmoil of the choice of discipleship demanded a new level of faith. As Jesus has told us, to become His disciples and follow Him, we, too, must carry a cross. We must have that trust and willingness to carry emotional conflicts and even face danger for His sake.
What has really impressed me this year , though, as I contemplate and meditate on the passion week has been the new realization that sprung up and nearly hit me in the face during my study.
Jesus went through that week with literally the fragrance of WHO He really WAS evident to all around Him. I can not imagine the impact His presence must have made through the highs and emotional pits of that week. Mary had lovingly offered her sacrificial gift of worship in anointing the feet of Jesus with Spikenard. That very expensive and precious fragrance was the “smell” of royalty. In Jesus’ day and before that was the identification of the Kings. People knew the King was present in the procession or that they were in the presence of royalty by that amazingly rich scent. It was like a aura of a crown surrounding them. From Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem as the Heir of King David all the way through the whipping and beatings, and torture of crucifixion, all KNEW they were in the presence of the King of all Kings just because of the aura of His scent.
I am sure there has never been an incense of worship or sacrifice able to overwhelm the senses of GOD like that of the fragrance of that “Spikenard Kingliness” mixed with the blood, sweat and tears of the sacrifice of Jesus, the spotless, holy Lamb of GOD slain for us.
My challenge to myself…do I walk through the paths of my life with that scent of royalty representing my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as His ambassador to this lost and dark world? That scent of love set to action serving others as Christ so ultimately demonstrated to us?
Love never thinks in terms of “how little” but always in terms of “how much”!! May we serve the Lord and those He has put in our paths this week with extravagant love as we contemplate His most priceless and most precious gift…salvation for all who put their trust in the VICTORIOUS ONE Who conquered sin and death. HE IS RISEN. INDEED HE IS RISEN!- Lori Smith
“Write your plans in pencil and let GOD have the eraser”
This past weekend we had meetings scheduled in our supporting church down in Barnegat, NJ. WE had planned to fly down there with the little boys that Saturday afternoon. It was the day of the Ladies Day Apart at our home church here in Webster, but Lori was not scheduled to do anything so did not think her attendance was really necessary in that we HAD to travel that day. God had other plans, though. They asked Lori to stay and help with the special day for our ladies. We prayed about it and felt GOD lead us to change her ticket to the last flight offered in the afternoon. It would be close timing to make the flight but possible.
Little did we know that GOD had a whole plan of his own for Lori. The ladies meeting was great and the fellowship wonderful as always. Having needed to travel so much this year, we do miss greatly the dear ones from our home church. HOWEVER, the REAL REASON we believe, for that change of plans was revealed later.
A very brave Dad lugged both little boys, stroller, suitcases through two airports…poor guy, what a site that must have been…and hung out waiting for Lori’s delayed arrival. All that inconvenience was melted away however, as Lori had a Divine appointment on that delayed flight.
Her seat assignment changed at the last minute placed her near a lady, Cindy, from Portland Oregon. God opened a door in conversation and Lori just jumped in with both feet. What a joy to find Cindy very open to the Gospel. Just coming from a ladies meeting, Lori had her Bible which is always filled with tracts and other evangelistic materials …she was armed with an virtual arsenal of GOOD NEWS to share.
Though a short flight, GOD increase that very precious time by allowing an overhead compartment door in the plane to just literally FALL off. (I can’t help but wonder if GOD sent an Angel to just rip that baby off it’s hinges!). They could not take off until a certified mechanic came and repaired the door…there the plane sat on the tarmac…there they both sat with the soul of Cindy an open pendulum swinging between eternal life and condemnation. By the time the plane landed, only a little more than an hour later, Cindy was hungry for the joy and peace offered in Christ. She had long a long trip ahead traveling all the way to Portland that evening…she eagerly accepted five Gospel tracts and a Gospel of John the Lori had in her purse.
Pray for Cindy. What an awesome reason to change a ticket. What an awesome reason for BILL to take on being a single parent for that LONG afternoon of travel. Thank you Lord for using the eraser and penciling in an added Divine appointment with Cindy!
Another dear brother in Christ had a very special Divine Appointment. Jack, one of our dear GBBC graduates and special friends (we have know him since he was very small growing up in the village next door to us) had a special appointment as His soul took flight this past weekend, and he had the joy of a face to face meeting with his beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jack had suffered severe headaches, then evidently blood started oozing from his nose and ears and before Long he had been ushered out of this life of pain, turmoil and sadness into GLORY. Our hearts are numb. Our eyes still wet with tears of grief for our loss and the loss for his precious young wife, Margret, and their families and friends. Jack had been in ministry at his village in the bush. Please pray that we can contact them in some way to share our love, prayer and sorrow with them. Our kids are reeling in pain as Jack was a dear friend and fellow youth with them.
Pray earnestly that the death of this dear young man will be used to further the reality of the brevity of our lives. As James wonderfully wrote under inspiration…our life truly is a vapor. We must run our race with eternity in view as truly it may be right around the corner and our opportunity to serve the Lord will be over before we can imagine..
My Cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead.
For HE doth know the way!
I am so thankful the “what” of our future is determined by the “WHO” of eternity. - Lori Smith
website is up again www.wsmithpng.abwe.org
Blog site www.billandlorismith.com
Reading in the Old Testament this week, I had been reminded of GOD’s promise in Malachi chapter three. God was reprimanding the Israelites for not putting Him first in their lives. They had “returned” to God physically, but the measure of their heart…their finances…were still far from Him Mat. 6:21 reminds us that where our treasure is there our hearts will be also!
Verse 10 just hit me like a arrow in my heart..God tells us to PROVE HIM. He wants us to put Him first, give in trust and with joy and wait for His blessing on our lives.
What a joy to see that even in these dark and depressing times of economic challenges, God’s people are still trusting, giving and opening the way for GOD’s amazing blessings to just dump down from the heavenly portals! We stand amazed at all GOD is doing as His people PROVE HIM in the matter of sacrificial financial giving.
This week as you prayed, people gave and GOD blessed in ways that still boggle our minds.
God provided FORTY sets of flashcards for our Pastors and graduates this week. WOW. We are only 35 sets away from being able to put this amazing tool in the hands of all our PNG partners in ministry. Thanks for praying…God is answering. What seemed impossible is now nearly reality! Keep praying in those last 35 flashcard sets. I think it will be amazing what that $40 investment will accomplish These pictures illustrating life changing HOPE and promise through the chronological teaching of the Bible will be so helpful in our story oriented culture of PNG. We are praying, giving and proving God and He is showing Himself to be amazingly faithful.
As you prayed, God has also begun to move and orchestrate in the possibility of our urgently needed tractor for our Bible College. The Salesman we are dealing with is a believer. He will be contacting the leadership in his company asking if we can get the price he needs to offer us lowered because of the nature of it’s intended use and the fact that we are a not for profit organization. PRAY HARD. Pray also for the finances needed for that tractor. Yes ,it is a lot of money. Yes, it will take a miracle to get that tractor before June first. BUT, we have a God that specializes in the impossible Who has asked us to put Him first in our lives and finances and PROVE Him…so we will!
We are so thrilled to know that as we give, others give and we all sacrifice in prayer together, God has promised to bless us all for that part we are playing in His amazing work just exploding before our very eyes each week. We can ask for the impossible, and give sacrificially without fear, because our GOD is faithful and we can prove that faithfulness in a daily way.
We had the joy of spending time with one of our dear partners in ministry. She has trusted GOD with starting a unique ebay business. She sells amazing retro fabrics…and honors the Lord by her support of our ministry with part of her earnings. We felt so humbled that someone would have us as beneficiaries of their hard work, but they also are proving GOD and He is showing them His faithfulness as well. If you want to possibly support her business, go online and look at her store. You can view her items at http://stores.ebay.com/Cottage-Fabrics. It may be a new way for you to support our ministry and get amazing fabric..double blessings!
God has proven Himself faithful. Please continue to pray for the following needs.
1) We sure would appreciate your prayers for Rachel and Rodney. They need God’s direction and provision. They must make some decisions by the end of this month. Let’s cover them in prayer!
2) We would appreciate your prayer for a dear “son” to us. Iksi is the faithful guy that works with us keeping watch on our kids, ladies looking after them and the outside house jobs.He has been a faithful “male presence” with Bill gone so much. We heard that he has been very ill for a while. He had not gotten much help from the hospital there in Goroka. We were able to get some of our coworkers involved and they got him to a friend of ours who is a National private Doctor there in Goroka. PLEASE PRAY for Iksi and for GOD to heal Him completely. We love him like one of our own kids! (Even though he is a husband and daddy…Amo’s best buddy is his son.)
3) Continue to pray for God’s provision for the tractor and the supplies to FILL a forty foot container…let’s prove GOD together!
4) Continue to pray for God to provide for the rest of the 35 sets of the Flashcards. He is able to complete this amazing GOAL!
5) We continue to keep busy with traveling. Aaron had a really bad ear infection which prevented Lori from attending the start of the conference this week in West Seneca (Near Buffalo) but by the weekend he was doing great, so we were able to travel as a family again. Praise God for medicine!!.
We are still in Harrisburg this week presenting our ministry at the board meetings here (a once in every ten year requirement/blessing. Scary thought…the next time we do that Amo will be driving!!). Lori will be helping at our home church’s ladies day apart meeting this Saturday then jumping immediately on a plane to fly down and join Bill and the two little boys at our supporting church in NJ. Pray for our health, strength and that we will be a blessing as we have these opportunities to share our thanks with those who sacrifice and enable our ministry to function in so many ways!
God is doing amazing things each week. WE are proving Him to be faithful to do the impossible before our very eyes!
True Servants worship and true worshippers serve. May we worship the Lord through our service this week!
Thanks for your partnership as we come to the Lord and follow His challenge…to PROVE HIM. I can’t wait to see what amazing things God does this next week! .
Bill, Lori and the kids
personal website www.wsmithpng.abwe.org Contact us today!
Facebook William Smith
The story is told of a boy that saw lots of starfish that was washed on the beach after a large storm. He was throwing one by one back into the ocean. A man called out to the boy and asked him why was he doing it after all there was too many to throw them all back. WHAT DOES IT MATTER to throw a few back. The boy replied he knew could not throw them all back but he said to the man that at least it DOES matter to the ones he threw back.
We all can make a difference in peoples lives, but only one person at a time. What have you done to today to make a difference in someone’s life today. You cannot help EVERYONE but we can always HELP SOMEONE!
Who will you help today!
We are trying to keep this blog up to date. The main purpose is to discuss ways we can make a difference in people’s lives. To find out mor about us
web site www.wsmithpng.abwe.org
email wsmith@abwe.cc
 Our 2 adopted sons Amotowe & Aaron Reflection on Adoption
My heart literally poured through my tear ducts this week as I watched with amazement while TV stations aired the glorious entrance of precious little Haitian orphans into the arms of the families who had agonized through the adoption process to rescue them. What really got me, though, were the follow up interviews with some of the families. One little girl and her story just impacted my heart in a special way. I just watched in intrigue as there she was in this new home, in the arms of people she did not yet know who spoke in a language she did not understand. Her whole life had so dramatically changed. She went from being lost and alone in this dark and cold world to being a beloved daughter. Much of the amazing reality she now finds herself the beneficiary of…evade her. She seemed overwhelmed and is probably existing day by day uncertain if this dream world will last beyond tomorrow. I am sure it will take all these children years to fully learn to trust and enjoy the elaborate love unconditionally enveloping them and providing for them a lifetime of unfathomable hope and security.
Why did this so greatly impact me? Yes, I love children with my whole being but it was more than that. Yes, adoption is very near and dear to my heart as we have had the amazing blessing of that adventure…but still it is more.
I was so reminded of the still wondrous discovery I continue to make day by day as I grow in my understanding of the spiritual adoption God has granted to me. I have been brought into His amazing family by my faith in His Son, Jesus. I was an orphan of sin lost in desperate hopelessness. My future was only destruction. God, in His overwhelmingly unconditional love enveloped me as I came to Him in salvation. My life has and will never be the same again.
I have at my avail the limitless power of a loving FATHER, the Creator of all. As we come to Him asking His provision for our needs that seem so huge in our own sight, He delights in meeting them through many people that function as loving channels of his resources.
Yet, still at times I just don’t fully understand His plan or His ways. They are at times foreign and uncomprehendable to me as God’s ways are not man’s ways and His thoughts so above our thoughts. As I listen to Him and continue to learn “His language” and “culture” through the study of His Word , an amazing love letter just for me, I understand more and more of just WHO He is and how amazing His love is for me. I am ,after all, the daughter of the King of Kings! It is just hard to take in at times! I am so undeserving of such an unspeakable love.
Reminded of WHO we are asking to meet these needs, may we boldly come before His throne in prayer together.. our Abba Father.
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