06/04/2026
Dear Smith Chapel family and friends,
Peace and grace be with you in Christ, our Lord and Savior!
With both excitement and a trembling heart, I want to share with you about the first mission trip Smith Chapel is preparing to embark on from June 22 to 29. As we are now just 18 days away from our departure, I humbly ask for your prayers with the words of Psalm 90:17:
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!”
Five of us from Smith Chapel will be joining Jason Goins and his team from Birthmark Ministries. Originally, our hope was to participate in a mission trip to Cuba. However, due to political unrest, our partners in Cuba advised us to postpone that visit. When that door closed, God immediately opened another door to the Dominican Republic.
All I can say is that the Holy Spirit has been guiding this process. Since then, God has opened door after door, connecting us with the right people to help plan this mission. This will be the first mission trip to the Dominican Republic not only for Smith Chapel, but also for Jason and his mission team. Because of that, we are depending on God all the more.
Smith Chapel has been journeying with a new vision to become a river of God’s grace and mission. I truly believe God is leading us, not only the five of us who are going, but also all of our church members and friends who are sending, to witness what God is already doing in and among us. He is shaping us, molding us, and empowering us to live more missionally.
As far as I know, this will be Smith Chapel’s first international mission trip in our young 136-year history. Indeed, God is doing something new in us and through us. Praise the Lord!
Here are three ways you can help and participate:
First, please pray for the team. Please pray for the five of us who are going from Smith Chapel: Sara and the Kang family (Ho, Yeonmi, Charis, and Noelle). Please also pray for the rest of the team: Jason, Eva, Erik, Gregory, Emily, and Arianna. In addition, please pray for our local partners, Aylem and Oscar, and for our mission house hosts from SCORE International, Rick and Karen.
I invite you to set your alarm for 6:22 AM and/or 6:22 PM as a daily reminder to pray for a meaningful, fruitful, and safe mission trip.
Second, please help us “Fill a Suitcase, Share His Grace.” Our primary mission work in the Dominican Republic will include visiting orphanages and local churches. Our local partners have sent us a list of needed items, and we would love for you to help fill the suitcase located in Lambert Hall.
Since we will be visiting orphanages, small children’s toys, arts and crafts supplies, and other useful items will be a great blessing. Because we are traveling by airplane, lightweight and compact items are preferred. Monetary gifts are also deeply appreciated and will help support the mission.
Third, please join us in faith and expectation. This is an exciting and humbling time for Smith Chapel as we join God’s mission in a deeper way. Yes, we are going deeper! So, let's expect with an abounding joy and faith, saying, "Lord, have Your way in us."
Thank you, always, for your loving support and faithful prayers for one another. May the peace of God richly fill and overflow in all of you who are in life union with Christ (1 Peter 5:14).
Shalom Shalom!
- Yours in Christ,
Ho
