Thankful for God's Blessings

We send our warmest greetings to friends, family, and mission partners in all corners of the world. Based on the news we heard this morning about the snowstorms that hit the Midwest, some of you require warmer greetings than others! Now, we don't want to rub it in, but on this Christmas Eve morning, the children are outside playing in the warm sun dressed in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals, and we are surrounded by lush, tropical greenery as we have been blessed recently by much-needed rain. Some of our colleagues tell us that. "It is not Christmas in Tanzania without receiving God's gift of rain."

This has been quite a year for the Lutheran Mission Cooperation, as well as for our family. In January, the LMC partners began the process to evaluate the cooperation between the ELCT and the LMC northern partners. LMC was created from a previous organization that left most of the decisions only in the hands of the north, while the ELCT participated by voice without vote. When LMC was born, the planning and decision-making became shared equally, and the office was moved from Helsinki, Finland, to Arusha, Tanzania. While for the most part, the current cooperation was a success; there were certainly administrative challenges. Some of the goals and objectives stated were simply too lofty to achieve at this stage of the cooperation. And, rather than expanding the office to achieve what was required constitutionally, the members opted for a simpler structure.

At this year's assembly in October, all members agreed to the new structure which put the planning process entirely into the hands of the ELCT, and the LMC will continue to mobilize resources to the ELCT plans for all of the dioceses and institutions in the ELCT. We celebrate the fact that LMC members are continuing to support the ELCT in Capacity Building for Mission and Evangelism, Income Generation, Social Services, and Advocacy. Through budgeted grants, scholarships, and the funding of specific projects, we pray that the ELCT will be able to implement its mission in Tanzania. Also at the assembly, Dan was appointed to be the interim LMC Secretary (effective in January) until a new appointment is made by the ELCT. Dan's replacement for the finance secretary position will come from Sweden, and Dan is looking forward to training him.

God continued to bless our family this year, as he has in the past. While He has challenged us, He has not given us more than we can handle. Earlier this year, we had a strong feeling that God was asking us to change our call, so we made the decision to leave Tanzania in July 2005, not knowing where He would lead us. We also faced a new challenge in our family, with Emily's diagnosis of juvenile diabetes. We are so thankful for the prayers and support we received when these challenging times seemed like more than we could handle. We are truly thankful that Emily's condition is manageable, and at 7 years old, she is able to check her blood sugar by herself, and is even giving herself her insulin injections! She participates actively at school, ballet, in music, and simply loves to swim. Despite the fact that she pokes her fingers four times every day, she still manages to enjoy playing the violin. Emily is convinced that she will become a veterinarian, because of her love for animals.

Grace, now 6, is our family organizer and planner. She never forgets a promise that we make to her to do a certain activity, craft, or attend an event. She is a very good reader, and assisted us by reading a portion of our family's advent devotions. Grace also participates in ballet, and during swimming lessons she gets to be in the deep end with one other classmate, since she is such a good swimmer! She loves math and told us this year that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, so that she can help people.

Sarah is now eleven (one-teen, by hear measurement) and is growing up faster than we care to admit. She loves school, particularly science, and has participated in swimming, track, and netball events this year. Always willing to lend a hand, Sarah regularly reads the scripture lessons at church, helps organize the flowers, and is a helper for the "little kids" during the junior church program. She continues to play the piano and also takes ballet lessons. Her true passion this year was an environmental conservation project in which some of the students helped plan a revitalization of a nature area at their school. Sarah learned about the types of plants native to this area that would do well, and helped prepare the plans for a preserve for all (wild or tame) to enjoy. Sarah now wants to be a botanist when she grows up, and this has been a marvelous place to study plants.

As the year passed, it became clearer to Dan and Cathy what shape the next call would take. Those of you who have known us for some time know that Dan had no desire to return to the corporate environment after leaving for mission service, and we simply wanted to serve God, regardless of how or where He was leading us. Through a deliberate effort of discernment and prayer, we have accepted God's call to attend seminary. Dan has been accepted to the Masters of Divinity program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul to become an ordained ELCA pastor. Cathy hopes to be accepted to the Masters of Arts program to study faith and health ministry, with the goal to become a rostered Associate in Ministry in the ELCA. We are thankful that we have the support of many friends and our families, the ELCA division for global mission, and our home congregation of Good Shepherd in Kettering, OH. We recently met with Bishop Cal Holloway, of the Southern Ohio Synod, who gave us his support and encouragement. There is more paperwork involved, but we both hope to begin school full time next September. For this, we are truly thankful, and we know you will keep our family supported in your prayers as we continue to discern God's will for our ministry and our family. (We'll need prayers for the anticipated climate change as well!)

As you celebrate the Christmas season, we pray that you are truly blessed in your churches, your homes, and in your travels. May the joy of the gift of Jesus Christ uplift your hearts and bring you peace, in all that you do.

Blessings,

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Dan, Cathy, Sarah, Emily and Grace Smith
PO BOX 15128
Arusha
Tanzania
http://www.goodshepherdkettering.com/pages/mission.html
smithfam91@yahoo.com
or
missionaries@goodshepherdkettering.com
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