Our Journey to the Dream: From One End to the Other....

Our Wedding Day

Hello everyone! I know its been quite some time since I’ve last written and I want to apologize for
that. Life seems to be getting away from me these days. But I do want to thank you all for your
thoughts and prayers, even during times when communication has been lacking.

First, I’d like to say that my new blog will be different from the last one in that it will no longer be just about me.
We want to keep you updated and informed of what’s going on in our lives and how the Lord is leading us.My husband (I still get excited saying that) and I will both be represented, as a family.
So grab a cup, relax a few minutes and I’ll start the catch-up process from where life got super busy.

On December 24, 2011, in Kona, Hawaii, I became engaged to my amazing man, Stuart
Smith. Two weeks later, January 12th, 2012 Stuart left for 6 months ( Uber Lame, right?)
to go through a DTS at the YWAM base in Townsville Australia. During our time apart I staffed a DTS
(Discipleship Training School) in Kona. Three months were spent in a schooling/lecture phase, and
then for three months more I led a team to Nepal and India while Stuart was on a team in Papua New
Guinea. Six months apart felt grueling, but at the end of the journey we re-united in Colorado to plan
our August 25th wedding.

It was the most amazing wedding a girl could ever ask for. The satisfaction of having all of your closestis something we will cherish for life. A big thanks to my lovely parents! The ceremony was perfect in every way and havingfriends and family in town for an amazing week of preparations, friendship and shenanigans is such an amazing blessing.
The setting was absolutely beautiful. After a brief trip to Florida to see Stuarts Fam, we settled in to a little basement rental in Colorado Springs and into
a schedule of opposite routines that forced us into a "Hi" and "Bye" life that we are determined never
to repeat. So stressful, with no quality time! The Lord knew what we needed though and soon
blessed us with an awesome opportunity to house-sit for an entire month! So we gave our month’s
notice at the basement apartment, excitedly packed up, and moved into the lovely home of some very
good family friends. What a blessing to be in our “own home” for a time, such a contrast to the way it
was before. The month flew by between work and doing odd jobs at the house for the couple while
they were away. In December, we packed up again to move into mom and dad's for the Christmas
season so Stuart could be available full time to help run dad's annual Christmas tree lot. This was the
second year for Stuart to help.

Living in my parents house was much harder than we had anticipated, but still a true blessing. It
forced us to press in, asking the Lord for His will to be done and to seek Him for what He wanted us to
do and where He wanted us to be. We came together as a couple and decided to do something that can
so easily be forgotten... to simply lift our hands in praise to our amazing God and give it all up to Him.
With all the busyness in life, sometimes I tend to forget the real reason I'm here on this planet... to be
a daughter of Christ! I need to remember to let Him take the reins. It's incredible when I find that
place, because we serve a God that hears our prayers, and with all of His love answers them.

When Stuart and I asked the Lord what He wanted us to do, we sensed He was going to give us His blessing no matter what we chose to do and where we wanted to live.

So, with Papa's blessing, we decided to move to Florida. Besides being able to develop a closer
relationship with Stuart’s family who lives here, we really felt the need for a deep community. A place where we can truly dig in and make friends and fellowship. YWAM is developing a thriving community of
missionaries who are training and developing their passion for bringing hope to the nations. In 2010
YWAM Orlando purchased 198 acres that used to be a horse camp. Under development are 33
structures, with 28 buildings currently available for classes and community living. The campus will
house thousands of future missionaries as they train to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. On
April 5th, the base will accept a new body of students for the Biblical Core Course, the school that
Stuart and I desire to attend.

On January 5th we set out on one big “hoorah” of a road trip to Florida. From Colorado we hit New
Mexico (Four Corners), Arizona (Grand Canyon), California (friends and family), Nevada, Idaho,Indiana (friends & family), Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia (friends), and then finally on Feb 1st, afterMontana (family), Wyoming, S. Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin (friends and family), Illinois, Indiana
6,245 miles - FLORIDA!

We’re currently settled into the basement of Stuart’s family home. The apartment is completely
separate with a full kitchen and 2 bedrooms. We’re applying for jobs to earn money prior to the start
of the BCC. Please pray for us as we take this leap of faith into a new season. Pray that if this school is
of His will, we will be accepted. Pray the Lord will continue providing for us physically, financially,
and spiritually. That He will continue to bring us closer as a couple and that we will continue to keep
ourselves open to whatever He has in store. We want to ask if you would consider joining us on our
journey and pray about supporting us. We still need $4000 towards tuition.

THANK YOU to all who have supported us in our marriage and the journey we are on in relationship
with one another and our beautiful Father. We truly would not be where we are today without the
many prayers from you all.

We send much love and many blessings to each one of you!
The Smiths

YWAM Bible Core Course: A twelve-week course designed to give students a thorough understanding
of the inductive approach to Bible study, equipping them with tools for integrating God’s word into
their personal lives, and using it as a foundation for ministry. Students learn how to employ diverse
methods for reading, interpreting and applying the Scriptures. Students also have opportunities to be
involved in topical seminars, and various forms of historical, archaeological, literary and geographical
research. During the course, students read through the whole Bible, and study in depth many
individual books from both the Old and New Testaments. Students will work with every form of
literature in the Bible, including the Gospels, the Epistles, the Torah, the Prophetic, and Poetical
books.

Cost: $3,000 each, campus housing and meals included.