Greetings,
To those of you who don’t know, and also for those of you who do, here is a little bit about me. At Gordon College, my soon to be alma mater, we would call this my “life story,” so shall we start at the beginning? I was born on New Year’s Day, to Cheryl and Barry Smith. I wasn’t the first baby born in the new year, so no free diapers for the Smiths but I’m sure the real reward was in bringing me home. 😉 I am the first born of my family though, I was joined three and a half years later by my sister Emily. I was brought up in a strong Christian family, this includes both grandparents as well as parents. For this, I am more than grateful. Because of this blessing, I grew up knowing Christ, always. I think my earliest memory is of my mom explaining to me that Jesus wants to come and live in my heart, and that when I hear a knock, I am to open the door and invite him in. It was probably just the UPS guy, but I remember sitting at the top of the stairs and hearing a knock, and at that moment, I invited Jesus into my heart. I think I was probably around three or four. I can’t say that life didn’t test that relationship, or that I was always aware of Jesus’ presence in my life, like everyone else I’ve been through some dark times, but all in all he has been there, he is here. Just because I wasn’t aware of him, doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. I was always involved with the church and youth group. I went to a Christian summer camp pretty much until I could work at one. And I eventually did, the summer before my freshman year at Gordon I was a camp counselor. That, as well as being an RA and living in dorms, has been the best training for living in community, co-existing, leading, and following I have experienced this far. But, come July 1, 2010 I will be pushing even those limits with this trip.
