Deputation Notes

November 2006 – February 2007

Dear Praying Friends,

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19.

We take great comfort to know that God knows our needs and will supply them by His own choosing. Through a gracious gift of a supporting church, our container was ordered and finally delivered on December 19, the afternoon before we left for a meeting in Kentucky. The Lord’s timing is always perfect. After visiting with John’s family in South Carolina over Christmas, our home church helped us pack a truck and move our stored belongings to Ohio. We are so thankful for some dear friends who drove the truck from South Carolina to Ohio for us and helped us unload everything into the container.

After a few days in Ohio, we then headed for a month of meetings in January in the frigid state of Iowa. Even though the abundance of snow cancelled a couple of the services, we were still able to be in all the churches scheduled and have the joy of meeting many warm-hearted folks. Thank you for praying for our safety across the many miles of winter roads.

This past month has seen a large increase in our support level. Through a couple of individuals who have taken us on and two more churches our support level is now at 88.5%! Though the month of February has been slow as far as meetings, we have been busy contacting more churches and packing things up in preparation for shipping. In the next few weeks we will be ordering our 220 volt 50 hertz appliances for use in Zambia. The Lord has been gracious to us as He has led a few churches to give special gifts towards preparation expenses. We know He will supply the needed funds for shipping our container, our airfare, and purchasing a vehicle once we arrive in Zambia.

Zambia 101 – While many of you have been trying to stay warm during the frigid and snowy winter, Zambia has been in the midst of its rainy season. It does not rain all day every day, but they do receive most of their yearly rainfall from December to April. The temperature during this time ranges from 85 to 60 degrees F. June and July are actually the coldest months of the year with temps dipping down to below 50 degrees F.

Prayer Requests:

ü Pray for more meetings to be scheduled in like-minded churches. Our schedule this spring and summer is still pretty slow.

ü Pray for more churches to take us on for financial support. If the Lord would be pleased, we would like to be unpacking our container in Zambia by this summer!

ü Pray for wisdom as we decide what to take to Zambia and other preparations we need to make.

ü Pray for the various ministry opportunities available in Zambia – we have received word that the radio station has finally been approved!

Zealous for Zambia,

John, Sophie, Joshua, Caleb and Becky Smith