Where does the time go?

Smiths' Ministry Update!

Here we are in April and this is only the second blog/newsletter that I've posted.  I want to apologise for that.  It is my goal to keep you up-to-date with the great things that God is doing in our lives, so please pray with me as I think about how to streamline this process, and streamline these updates.

With that in mind, here are some highlights we're thankful for:



Snag a Good Story!

Thanks to Sam Jackson and our church family at Toowoomba Community Baptist Church for supporting us with their sausage sizzle fund raiser in February. It was great to have Travis Johnson travel from Adelaide and be here on the day. What an opportunity this was to give people a better understanding of Access The Story and the way God impacts lives through His Story.  J


Streets and Lanes!

The inaugural Toowoomba Streets & Lanes Festival on Easter Saturday was a great day with thousands of people enjoying the various events in the CBD.  It was amazing to be part of this and to present an interactive Easter Story walk-through, as we invited people to Step into the Story of God. Hundreds went through on the day and many interacted with the displays.  Going by the conversations and feedback received, a number of people were touched by the story of God's mission to bring restoration to our brokenness.  It demonstrated that this kind of event can really work well, even in a public space.  Hoping that this is the first of many such opportunities.

Young Adults Community!

On Thursday night I was given the opportunity with our Young Adults Community Group, to facilitate a time of storying.  We even had a walk-through and broke up into four small groups for further exploration.  It was a fantastic night with lots of discussions and great feedback from participants.  I think God knew what He was doing when He chose narrative as a main form of literature when He gave us His Word.  There is something about His Story that speaks to our hearts and draws us to Him.  Thanks Jonno and Kristy for asking Rayleen and I to help lead this group.  Looking forward to continuing to explore God's Story together.

What's Coming Up?

  • Shift:m2M - Mike has been learning so much from this study through the life of Jesus, and will complete this course with one final retreat at the end of the month.  You can find out more here.
  • VERGE - The Smiths are planning to head to Victor Harbour, SA, in July for VERGE!!!  Want to join us???  This is the one national Verge event for 2016 and the invitation has gone out across the country.  The hope is to see this life-changing event multiply nationally.
  • An Access The Story event is being planned for Hervey Bay later this year.  More info to come.

Toowoomba Family Life!

  • Mike continues to work two days a week as a support worker.
  • Ray is still working at the hospital, but her role has now changed to a Ward Clerk Reliever.
  • Hannah has turned 16, is working at McDonalds, has her Learners Permit, and is well on her way to learning to drive.
  • Josh is looking forward to going on his 7,8,9 (Sunday School) Camp at the end of the month.



Financial Support Update!
We’re grateful that you’re partnering with us and we also want to say, “THANK YOU” to those supporting financially! 
As an “Associate Worker” with AccessTheStory, any support raised for Mike can be made available to him to cover ministry expenses.  We’re excited about what God is doing and the doors that He is opening, and are hoping to continue raising support which will also allow Mike to
supplement his income as a “Worker” with ATS in the future.  
Meanwhile we continue seeking further opportunities to serve through Jesus’ Story.  And we invite you to consider whether God is calling you to contribute financially to help cover ministry expenses .
An example of this could be to help cover costs for the family to travel to South Australia for VERGE in July.  J

Thanks for your continued support and prayers.  We could not do this without you.  God continues to be good to us and we're thankful and excited about the opportunities that He is opening up for us to see His Story written in more and more lives.


Mike & Ray

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