Andy and Judah leave tomorrow for their big trip to Iowa!  We are busy tonight getting everything ready for them to leave...laundry, packing bags, packing the car, shopping for last minute things, etc.  They will take off very early tomorrow morning.  I'm not sure I will be able to watch them go without lots of tears!

I wish that this trip was just a couple weeks earlier and then I would have been able to go with them.  I am now 17 weeks along in the pregnancy, and my ability to travel away from home ended at 16 weeks.  Now I have weekly doctor appointments and doctor's orders to stay close to home. 

There is no doubt I will miss my little Judah's babbling, singing, smiles and everything else about my little boy.  I hope he doesn't change too much while he's gone or forget the way Mama does things.  I'm sure it will be a happy reunion when they come home in late July.  Please pray for safety on the road for Andy and Judah.  Please also pray for me while I'm in Michigan: health and safety for me and baby and that I wouldn't miss my family too much.

While they are away I plan to work on Judah's scrapbook.  I hope to start it and finish it while they are gone!  I also plan on doing a lot of reading.  The plan is to just take it easy so that I don't do too much to possibly stir up trouble with the pregnancy.

We look forward to how God will orchestrate things for Andy's work back in Iowa.  He will be working on our property to get hook-ups established for our 5th-wheel trailer.  He is also scheduled to speak at a workshop at the CBM family conference in Ankeny.  Wish I could be there for that too!  I always love family conference! 

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

It can be tough, and sometimes lonely, to be the new kid in town.  We've all been there.  Maybe you remember walking nervously into your first day of kindergarten.  Or what about that first awkward day on campus as a college freshmen?  Maybe for you, it's easier to remember your first day at a new job or first Sunday at a new church or first family dinner at your in-law's place.  Lately, the big transition in my life that has stirred up all these emotions of confusion, loneliness and sometimes frustration, has been our move to Michigan.  Some of you can identify, I'm sure, with the feeling of moving into a new town and not knowing where to go grocery shopping, where to find the Post Office, where to get the cheapest gas, which OB doctor should I go to, where is a safe place to go on a walk, where should I go to church, where is the emergency room...and the list goes on and on.

It is difficult to move away from all that you know so well and knowingly place yourself in a new situation, especially when you're making that decision for not only yourself, but for your whole family.  It is a time of stretching yourself:  to be social in situations that may typically make you uncomfortable, to reach out and ask for help when you need it, to TRUST GOD, above all, to help you and to give you just what you need when you need it.  That's really what it's all about, learning that no matter where you are, God is still present and will provide the answers, friends or help that you need.

While I have been here in Rockford, I have seen God provide me with the help I have needed.  A fellow missionary who works in the CBM office offered to take me around the area and show me how to get to all the important places and anywhere else I might need.  That day she showed me where to go grocery shopping, where to fill up our gas tank, where to go to shop thrift stores, where to go to get my Panera Bread fix, where to send out our mail (since we don't have a mailbox), etc.  That was such a helpful day!

God also led our family to a church that has been such a blessing to us.  We love the church body and the teaching we receive there.  We are looking for opportunities to serve in the church since it now looks like we will be here in the Rockford area for awhile, at least until the baby comes at the end of the year.  It's always important to have friends--helps combat the loneliness--and God has been prodding the ladies of the church to include me in their outings and parties, and for that I am so thankful!  We also had some friends from our home church in Iowa move (permanently) just an hour away from us, near Kalamazoo, MI.  We have already gotten together with their family once and will do so again later this month.  Just having them near makes leaving "home" in Iowa not so hard. 

Now, I realize some of you might be thinking, "Won't this be a way of life for you, Elizabeth?  You'll be moving most every year!  You better get used to the moving and settling in process!"  If you were thinking this, then you would be right--believe me, it is a thought that hasn't escaped me.  While part of me does not look forward to this constant "settling in" feeling, a couple things have brought me comfort as I have thought about this fact:

1. Lord willing, this is not a typical building project.  Hopefully in our future building projects, we will have the company of other builders, other families to help us adjust to our new roles and new surroundings.  While we are so happy to have a place to serve right now, it can get lonely parked all by ourselves in the CBM back parking lot.  Also, since we will be serving at churches in the future, the task of picking out a church will not be ours to do.  The church will already be chosen for us as we work on their building construction needs and also attend their services and serve as the Lord should lead.

2. Hopefully this will get easier with time.  This is the first time we have totally moved away from home.  There have been other times we have moved for deputation purposes (think last year when we moved to Pennsylvania for 4 months), but we always went back to Iowa.  This time we packed up everything and whatever we didn't take with us, we sold off or gave away.  The first time is always the hardest, right??  Hopefully this process will get easier and more normal each time we do it. 

3. HOPEFULLY (!) I won't be starting off each building project newly pregnant!  I think that has been the most stretching part of this whole process for me!  Right away I had to find a new OB doctor, a new OB specialist, a new pharmacy and most of all, start my restricted activity routine.  Since I was on restricted activity, I couldn't do day outings with Judah by myself, Andy is always needed to be with us to help lift Judah.  So what does that mean for Judah and me?  All day in or around our trailer!  Yay!  (said sarcastically).  It has been an opportunity for God to show me His design and plan for my life right now.  It won't always be like this (thankfully), but right now it is, and I have been learning to be content with the plan God has given me.

So, I guess my challenge to you who are reading this is to remember how you have felt in new situations.  Remember that anxious, nervous, lonely, maybe even sick feeling?  That isn't pleasant.  If you are feeling that way right now with me, hold on!  Look for God's provision of the things you need.  Pray about everything!  Now think about those around you...is there anyone in your life that God is showing you who may be at the point where I am--trying to fit in, trying to find their role.  Maybe it is the new co-worker that you have to train, maybe it's the new person in your church or Bible study, maybe it's a newly married-in member of your family.  For my sake, reach out to that person, just say "Hi", or offer your service in some way, or invite them to something you are doing.  It's really not a big deal, but it will be to the person who is new. 

I'm so glad people reached out to me.  I hope I can be counted on to make someone feel welcome the next time I'm given the opportunity.

Over the last couple of weeks we have had high fevers, rashes, sore throats, nausea and tears. 

Judah is, thankfully, on the mend now, but was diagnosed with strep throat which eventually turned into scarlet fever, with that unmistakable red rash all over his body.  His fever got so high that it was difficult to hold him close, which was the only thing he wanted when he felt so terrible.  It was difficult to see him so miserable, but kind of nice to have such a cuddly baby again.   His scarlet fever rash looked so awful, but it didn't seem to bother him at all; it is almost gone now.  He'll be on antibiotics for another 4 days. 

Yesterday Judah was more irritable than the day before, and I couldn't figure out why.  I felt inside his mouth, and it turns out he has two new teeth coming in on top.  It's those teeth after the canine teeth--I don't know what they're called--molars, maybe?  Anyway, I'm glad he's getting more teeth (it's been awhile since he has gotten any new teeth!) but I'm sorry that he has to be teething while he's still trying to get over his other sickness.

While the fevers and sore throats have evaded me (and Andy) so far, the nausea hasn't!  This week I complete my first trimester of pregnancy, and slowly but surely, most of that nausea has diminished.  The worst time of day for me is evening.  My blood sugar is usually low, and no matter what snack I have, I can't get rid of that "low blood sugar nauseous" feeling.  So, cooking supper is yucky and a hassle.  I remember when I was pregnant with Judah, I was traveling on deputation for the first 16 weeks of the pregnancy.  On deputation, we were usually staying in other people's homes, which meant they did the cooking for me!  That was such an awesome blessing about being pregnant on deputation--no cooking when I felt nauseous! 

We have been given the due date of December 22nd for the baby's arrival!  We are very excited and we look forward having this new blessing in our family by the end of the year! 

Hopefully you all are staying healthy and enjoying the beginning to your summer! 

Well, this last week I did something for the first time that I don't doubt I will be doing more often in the future.  I drove 465 miles by myself, spanning four states, with Judah in the back seat.  What was supposed to be a 7 hour 35 minute drive, actually turned into 25 hours!  Now, some of that additional time was due to the normal stopping for meals, restrooms, and baby needs.  But, most of that time adjustment was due to an unforeseen problem on the interstate.

Before I get into the real adventure on the interstate, I will start by telling you about my experience driving through the Chicago area.  We were about an hour away from Chicago, and Judah clearly needed something to eat, so I phoned Andy (who was in front of me in the truck, pulling our trailer home).  I told him to go on ahead, but that Judah and I were going to stop and get something to eat.  Since Andy had to drive slower with the trailer behind him, we figured I would catch up to him eventually, and everything would be fine.  Well, Judah is at that age (just turned one a week ago) where we can still do a bottle if we want, so I decided that I would give him a bottle since it was easier on the road.  He ate a normal amount and we got back on the road 30 minutes later.

We were back on I-80 and 20 minutes into our journey, Judah starts wailing like he's hungry...again!  In my attempt to keep going and catch up with Andy, I reached behind me into the diaper bag and grabbed the Tupperware container of cheerios.  I then proceeded to toss the cheerios at my screaming child, hoping that they would land in his lap, or at least in his car seat.  As you can imagine, that didn't work.  I finally pulled over again to feed Judah, after calling Andy to tell him the plan.  Judah took a total of 11 oz. of formula (between the two stops).  Wow!  I guess he was hungry!  Probably the 12 month growth spurt.

We got back on the interstate, and shortly after we hit Chicago.  That was an experience!  I wished at that point that I was following Andy, but Andy was actually almost an hour ahead of me on I-80 at this point.  We made it through just fine though, even through all the construction they have going on right now.  I don't know about you, but I get really claustrophobic when I'm driving on a two lane interstate with construction barricades on either side of me!  I'm one of those people that wants to slow WAY down--probably frustrating to the people behind me.  But better safe than sorry, I guess.

Once Andy and I caught up to each other, we were about 1 hour into Michigan on I-94 and a tire blew on the right side of our trailer.  I was thankful that I was following Andy at this point because I was able to call him and say, "You better pull over!"  There was a very loud explosive sound and smoke.  It was the center tire on the right side of the trailer (we have three axles).  Probably a defective tire, Andy thinks.  We were thankful that the blown tire was on the ditch side, instead of the highway side because it was getting very dark at this point.  We did have a police officer stop and ask Andy a few questions, but most of all, he just wanted to talk to Andy about "the biggest 5th-wheel he's ever seen."  He was more in awe of it all, and didn't really offer any help.  Oh well. 

Judah and I sat in the back seat and prayed real hard for Andy and thanked God that Andy had all the tools and knowledge he needed to change the tire.  By the time Andy was done with the tire, it was 9:30 at night so we decided to get a motel room for the night instead of traveling the rest of the way.  We were exhausted by that point.  I'm glad we waited, because the next morning we went the rest of the way and arrived at the CBM headquarters in full daylight and there were three fellow missionary men who came out to help us get set up!  That was such a blessing!

We are thankful to God that He got us here safely!  I'm sure our time in Rockford will be used by God to bless our lives and hopefully we can be a blessing to others.

In our last two updates we have mentioned to you a prayer need that has been on our hearts not only in the last two months, but really since June of 2009.  There has been an almost unbelievable turn of events, starting last June, and the only comfort is knowing that God is still God!  God is a God of order, not of chaos.  God is a God of love, not of cruelty.  Sometimes when our lives get turned upside down and things do not go as we planned, we tend to question God's plan or His love for us.  I think it is during these times that we should grasp even stronger the truth of God's sovereignty and love!

Most of you do not know Faye Bossman, maybe you have only heard her name in our last two updates.  Even though I know this is true, please allow me to reflect on Faye's life and character.  In doing this, you will, no doubt, be drawn to reflect on the God that Faye served.  I would also like to honor Faye's family as my heart goes out to each one of them in this difficult time.

Faye's role in my life was most of all the mother of three of my really good friends in life: Jodi, Erica and Charity.  These girls have known me since I was around 9 or 10 years old.  I remember our family was looking for a church and the first Sunday that we visited CSBC, my twin sister and I went into the Jr. Girls classroom for Sunday school.  A girl named Erica smiled at us and made us feel so welcome.  This was a big deal to us because Deb and I felt bad that we were leaving a church where we had some good friends.  I remember telling my Mom that we wanted to come back to CSBC to see Erica.  I see so much of Faye in Erica's personality!  Just like Faye, Erica is kind and compassionate--almost to a fault!  Everybody found a listening ear and sympathy in Erica, thus she quickly became a friend to everyone.  Erica has a smile that befriends even the hardest of hearts.  As I got to know more about Faye during these last few years, and especially in these last few months, I have come to understand that Erica's wonderful character traits were learned!  She undoubtedly saw her Mom relate to people in exactly this way and to Erica's credit, she displays the same love and concern toward people that Faye had as well.  Erica was my age, so I related most to her growing up.  There are so many great memories of time spent with Erica!

Faye's youngest daughter Charity was my younger sister's best friend growing up, thus Charity was like a little sister to me.  Charity carries her mom's name as her middle name, Charity Faye, although to Andy, Charity will always be known as Charity Belle.  I have gotten to know Charity really well in the past few years as we have started families together.  Charity's quiet confidence in God's character and abilities is what stands out to me.  There have been issues relating to Charity's experience with having children that could have caused her to shrink back in fear, but instead she chose to trust God and plow ahead.  Charity had this same attitude as she dealt with her Mom's illness.  This is a character trait that I also saw in Faye, especially in dealing with her cancer.  Faye did not let the cancer scare her, at least from what I could see.  From the beginning, Faye dedicated this illness and her feelings about it to God and she let us all know that she trusted God for the outcome, according to His will.  There have been others who have dealt with cancer and it's inconveniences with much less grace.  Praise God, Faye did not fall into an attitude of self-pity or fear!  God was her confidence and strength.  I'm sure her family drew from that as they reacted to the illness as well!

Faye's oldest daughter Jodi is so special to me.  Each one of them are special to me, but Jodi is now my sister-in-law.  We have shared much in our lives as far as life experiences, seeing as how we are now in the same family.  It is no trouble at all for me to see the character traits that stand out to me the most about Jodi: she is a wonderful friend and she cares about the unsaved!  She is an example to me about how to keep up-to-date with people and in touch with their life circumstances for the purpose of living life along side them.  She cares about what is going on with others and so many people count her as one of their closest friends!  Jodi is also an example to me of caring for the unsaved.  She speaks of the Lord, no matter the person.  Her outlook is eternal and she desires for all to see life as she does: with God at the forefront.  Jodi resembles her Mom in all of these ways and more!  Faye was an unbelievable friend to those who were blessed with her friendship!  Faye was an example to all in her love of people, both those who knew God and especially those who didn't.  Even in the midst of her sickness, she was still concerned about people's souls, leading a co-worker to Christ just months before her death.  Faye and Jodi share a love for music.  I didn't know this about Faye until I read a journal entry by her husband a few days ago, but Faye always had music playing in the house!  I couldn't help but smile as I thought how Jodi must have learned that from her mother!  Jodi always has music playing and every year her birthday/Christmas list is full of requests for CDs!  I love it! 

Faye has left an undeniable mark on this world!  She lived life along side her husband for almost 34 years, together they raised three beautiful and amazing girls, and their legacy continues in the lives of (currently) 5 grandchildren.

I praise God for Faye's life.  I hurt deeply because she is gone.  I hurt for my friends who will miss their mother.  I hurt for Duane, a husband who will ache for his wife.  But I am glad that I can still be confident that God is still God!

To Jodi, who told me after the death of our first son, Collin, "You are so strong.", I tell you (and the rest of the family) YOU have been so strong through all of this!  I know God is your strength.  Praise Him!

Hello everyone!

Exciting news to share!  We got word from our mission agency this week that we will be headed to Michigan for our first building project in May!  We are excited to take off to the great state of Michigan for our first church-building adventure!

We will be making our home in Wakefield, MI.  I will tell you everything I know and have learned about Wakefield:

• It is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just about 10 miles east of the Wisconsin border.

• The nearest Walmart is in Ironwood, MI, which is about 10 miles west of Wakefield.  However, there is a small super market in town. 

• Wakefield is near Lake Superior, and according to its city web page, "located in the heart of 'Big Snow Country'"  (Oh dear!)

• Wakefield is home to Sunday Lake, a rather sizeable lake where they hold their annual 4th of July fireworks.  (Can't wait for that!)

• We will be surrounded by thousands of acres of Ottawa National Forest and Gogebic County Forest land.  The Porcupine Mountains State Park is located near Wakefield, which provides Michigan's largest area of undeveloped wilderness.

• As of the census of 2000, there were 2,085 people residing in the city of Wakefield.

• Wakefield, MI is still in the Central Standard Time Zone.

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles, of which, 8.0 square miles of it is land and 0.6 square miles of it is water.

And finally, I will leave you with a quote from the Wakefield, MI city web page:

"As you can see, there is much to do and see in Wakefield and the surrounding area. You will find Wakefield a great place to visit! We are a small City, but we have big hearts and we go the extra mile to insure that visitors to our town leave with fond memories of having been to 'Someplace Special'"

I'm counting on it!  : )
   

Andy's Journal entry for January 20, 2010

God in His great mercy, grace—in His sovereign will—in all His goodness has blessed us with another huge memorial.  He has brought us to 100% of our financial need.  Wow!!  God is so faithful.  We have spent about 3 years 9 months on pre-field ministry.  It really doesn’t seem like it has been that long. 

We have prayed so long for 100%--it just seems unbelievable that we have reached this point-- that it has come. We have visited around 112 churches across the Midwest and out East.  We are so thankful for God’s supply of our living trailer, Dodge Ram, tool trailer, and even our van!  God is so good, faithful, and gracious.  We have never been in need!  We don’t always have what we want, but we always have what we need!  We Praise God for this.  From here we look forward to hearing from our building director on where we will be going for our first building project.  When we hear, you will be the first to know!

Thank you, God for calling us to this ministry.  Thank you, God for supplying us with a presentation that was so good; it was God-given.  Thank you, God for supplying me with the ability to speak.  I try to inform all that it is only by your grace that even one word makes sense that I speak.  Thank you, God for supplying churches to present at.  Every meeting was from your hand, for your glory.  Thank you ,God for those that you have called to partner with us in prayer and finances.  All of them have been called by you to serve you in this fashion and we praise you, God for supplying us with these partnerships.  We thank you, God for the joy that you gave us in pre-field ministry. We didn’t know how you were going to use us at each church.  We prayed that we would be used as an encouragement,an aid, a yielder of the gospel, a challenger, and able to meet specific needs.  We have seen you use us in these ways and ways that we may never know.  Thank you,God for choosing to use us for your glory. Thank you, God for your faithfulness. Thank you for 100%.  Amen.

By God’s Grace,

Andy

In just three short months we will celebrate Judah's first birthday!  Now, that is hard to believe!  This year has gone so fast!  Judah just turned 9 months, and he is learning new things every day!  His eighth month was HUGE!  He was late in learning to sit up by himself, so during the last month he has learned to sit up and he has started crawling!  We are learning how difficult it can be to have a mobile infant in our little trailer!  So many "no-no"s!  Judah is still a little small compared to other babies his age: he is in the 2nd percentile for weight.  But, I've learned not to let that bother me, as long as he is happy and active!  He sleeps incredibly well and loves his "sleep time blanket".  He also loves to play with his toys and read books. 

We have been getting along good in our trailer during this winter so far.  I can't remember what I've mentioned before,but there have been some winter-related headaches with the trailer, causing us to temporarily be without water, a cold refrigerator or laundry, but God has placed wise and helpful people in our path to help out with those concerns.  Andy's brother, Jeremy, came home from the building project in Florida for Christmas, and while he was home he helped us develop a better system for getting water to our trailer.  That was a blessing. 

On another note, this month I have been reflecting on last year.  Last year at this time I was put on bedrest and we spent three weeks in the hospital in Des Moines, followed by 8 more weeks on bedrest at home.  That seems like another life entirely!  I remember watching the Super Bowl and the presidential inauguration in my hospital bed.  Many of you followed our progress and faithfully prayed for us as I stayed in bed in hopes of sustaining the pregnancy as long as possible.  I'm happy to be on the other side of all of that now!  It might be fun for me to go back and read all my blog entries for that time, just to remember it all and see how God worked!

Well, I hope you are all having a safe and healthy start to 2010!  Thanks for checking in with us!

What is your "must list" for Christmas, or your Christmas traditions?  I am willing to guess that most all of us have some sort of Christmas tradition.  A tradition that is up held every year, if for no other reason then because you have done it for the past __ years.  Growing up at home we did the main Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve.  We would always start the festivities with supper.  We would always have the choice between two kinds of soup (this is a decision that I contemplated all year).  Clam chowder or Oyster soup?  Which one should I pick?  Which one is worse, is the real question!  But our soup supper is still a part of the Smith tradition, and it would be missed if it was gone.  The dinner also includes Mom's infamous oatmeal buns (this is what I filled up on).  The Christmas Eve traditions continue with reading the Christmas story from the Bible and opening Christmas presents.  We would typically open gifts from the youngest to oldest.  This was the only time of the year when I was glad to be the youngest Smith.  This is the way Christmas Eve was done every year in our house.  We wouldn't want to do it any other way. 

As Elizabeth and I have started our own family unit, we have sought to begin our own family tradition over the six years we have been married.  We decided to read a different Christmas themed story each night leading up to Christmas.  Each year we expand our story collection.  This year we purchased a copy of "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  If you have any books you might recommend, we would be very interested to hear them!  Another tradition of ours is decorating our house for Christmas on "Black Friday".  Better to stay in and do that then go out in the shopping crowds!  Each year we purchase a Christmas candle that we burn all through the season.  Since the beginning, we have wrapped all our presents in the same kind of wrapping paper, not sure how this became a tradition, but it is always a big decision on what paper we pick out.  Most importantly, we remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas all season long, but especially on Christmas morning when we read Luke 1 & 2, telling of the birth of Jesus Christ - the Messiah.  Who was born in a stable to give hope, to give life - true life!  We do this just before we open our gifts that have been placed beneath the tree.

We have thought a lot about Christmas traditions this year as we celebrate our first Christmas in our 5th-wheel trailer, with our newly expanded family: Judah's first Christmas.  As we decorated in a new way (ornaments hanging from garland on the walls (instead of a tree), putting up a Christmas tree outside), it has caused us to even more consider the real meaning of Christmas: Jesus.  We have also pondered new mysteries such as, where to put the presents if not under a tree?  Still haven't figured that one out.  Good thing Judah is still young enough to not get into the wrapped presents currently sitting under our kitchen table.  We'll see what happens next year.

We pray you all are experiencing a wonderful Christmas season so far!  As you participate in your family's annual Christmas traditions, remember the reason behind each one (if there is one) and remember, most of all, the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place!

Merry Christmas,
Andy (for us all)

Slowly but surely we are getting settled in here at Outback Campground in Tama, IA.

In preparing for Christmas this year, it was a bittersweet thought as we realized there would be no room for a Christmas tree inside our trailer.  We will have to start new decorating traditions for our new life in smaller spaces!  We did, however, purchase a real Christmas tree and put it up OUTSIDE our trailer!  We have both our living trailer and our tool trailer on site, and we "planted" the Christmas tree between our two trailers.  Yesterday afternoon we put some white lights on the tree, as well as two lit wreaths on the two trailer king pins.  We found a creative way to drape greenery and white lights inside our trailer and we have hung our ornaments from that greenery.  We purchased Judah his "Baby's First Christmas" ornament as well!  Even though it's not what I'm used to, and I did have a bit of an attitude about not being able to have a Christmas tree inside under which to put presents, I'm getting used to it now.  I must say, things are looking very festive around here!

Andy and I have finished our Christmas shopping for the year!  It's interesting and fun trying to find a good gift for our little 8 month old!  We are excited to share this Christmas season with Judah and make many lasting memories!

We pray you all are enjoying this holiday season so far!  Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season: A Baby come down from Heaven providing Hope for the World!