Smith Family Foundation

08/29/2012

08/25/2012

08/14/2012

This was the original site under consideration for the new Compassion School. Lillies is currently looking for another location(this one was too close to another Compassion school) that will serve more children.

08/14/2012

So we are back and I need to post some pictures, but I wanted to tell the last part of our story because God really directed us from beginning to end. We left Nicaragua by bus so we could go visit Michael in Costa Rica. Due to unforseen car problems and very limited ability to communicate, we ended up stranded on a street corner in Liberia,Costa Rica looking for a way to get to Jaco. A very nice young man asked in broken English if he could help. I explained the situation. He made some calls,borrowed his brother's car(his was too small) and drove us the 3 1/2 hours to Jaco. During the drive we found out that his family had been missionaries to Nicaragua for 11 years-from 1996-2007. He also gave us his father's name and phone number because he is still working there with Habitat for Humanity!!! This was the only connection we had not been able to make while we were there. This entire experience was nothing short of AMAZING!!

08/08/2012

Our last 2 days were spent with the kids from the Compassion school at Lillies of the Valley, Wayne and Megan Tingle at Lifelink and getting all of the information and contacts needed to follow up with the different needs in Los Brasiles.On our last night, our son was given the opportunity to bless a little boy we had seen begging every night for money to buy shoes. He walked him home with us, washed his feet, gave him a pair of his shoes and prayed with him. It was an incredible moment for all of us. Our friend that we stayed with Alvarro, who grew up on the street and in an orphanage, was crying remembering how hard his life used to be.

08/06/2012

Finally! Access to the internet! Since our last post where we visited Pastor Romero and his project, we headed up to the Nicaraguan Christian Academy Nejapo to meet with Mike Dilbert the vocational teacher who is a missionary with Missionary Ventures. We went mainly to ask questions and find out how Rick might get involved with some vocational training for the kids we will be working with. He was incredibly helpful and said if we were really interested in doing vocational teaching he had a building that was already set up, didn't have a teacher and he would just give it to us to get it back in use helping the local children! We went and toured and it was located in Los Brasiles directly between the new Compassion project with Lillies of the Valley and Pastor Romero's orphanage and school!!!!! We are still in shock how clearly God is directing our path....this truly made our mouths drop.

08/01/2012

We met with Pastor Ramiro Blandon because we had heard great things about his newly planted papaya fields and thought he might be interested in a tilapia farm. Once again God led us to Los Brasiles and we toured an amazing project that the Pastor has spent 33 years of his life building. He and his wife started a church (Josue 1:9) in their home which is now on it's own grounds and they have helped 14 other churches start. They have built a school (Josue 1:8) which serves pre-k thru 11th grade and an orphanage that currently takes care of 56 children who have been abandoned and/or abused. They are currently growing corn and papayas in order to be self sustaining and create a little income to support their school and children's home. Although they have already done incredible things, they want to do more. They have been praying for someone to come and help them build a vocational school, tilapia farm and finish building a restaurant to continue to help them be self-supporting! These are their dreams and hopes for the future. Right now they desperately need closets for the 4 bedrooms at the orphanage and the money to pay a full time psychologist to help the children in the orphanage heal emotionally from their abandonment and abuse. We will continue to pray for this wonderful family and how we might partner with them.

07/31/2012

Yesterday we were invited to a luncheon with Pastor Ronald and the elders of the Lillies of the Valley church. We toured the property where they are planning to build the new Compassion project in Los Brasiles. They were selected as the #2 Compassion school in Nicaragua (they are #1 of the 24 schools in Ciudad Sandino) and were asked to build a new school and train the teachers and workers. Everyone who gave of their time, talent or treasure over the eight years spent to build this successful school should celebrate the 460 children's lives that are touched each week. The members and elders of the church are incredibly grateful and remember each and every one of you. They continue to pray for all that served and hope that one day you will return to see the fruits of your labor.

07/28/2012

Last Sunday PASTOR Mike Conaway said to live your life like a thank you note to God. Carrying this message in our hearts as we head to see our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua. They are inspiring examples of lives led just like that. Thank you Stacey Hotchkin Robinson, Beth Morgan Terry, Guenter Otto Kehrhahn, and Rae Derby Boulay for your gifts for the children of Nicaragua.

07/27/2012

Two Days and counting, ready or not here we come Nicaragua.
We also wanted to say thanks to our friends that will be staying at the house while we are away. Hopefully we will have an offer on the house when we return, that's how we sold the condo 12 years ago, we went away on a vacation and the Realtor sold it while we were gone.

07/14/2012

We will be heading to Nicaragua for an exploratory trip to see what project we will be involved in next. We will be visiting all of our previous projects so please let us know if you have something you would like us to bring. I know many of you are sponsoring kids at the Compassion and LifeLink projects so please contact us for exact dates. We would love to help.

07/09/2012

When we remove ourselves from our comfort zone profound change occurs...Rick Smith

Recently, I boarded a plane to Managua, Nicaragua, with a group of 20 teens and adults to spend a week on a mission trip with Mustard Seed Communities, a ministry that cares for abandoned children with special needs -- providing care and a loving home ...