Verge Family

Smiths' Ministry Update!

Thanks for taking the time to read this update.  And thanks to Ray for doing a lot of the writing.

Verge2016 Ray: Well, what a whirlwind of a time it has been lately.  Verge has been and gone and I am still trying to get my head around the whole experience. I have heard so much about this camp for the last few years, so much hype and excitement, but have never experienced it for myself.  Well, all I can say is, if you ever get the chance to do it, make sure you do, it is amazing. I was blown away by the sense of community that was created, from people of all ages, all walks of life, all classes of society.  By people with a high intellect (unlike me) and those like me who want it told to them straight, without the mumbo jumbo of big words. Christians and non-christians gathered around stories from God's word and discovered for themselves the reality of how they (themselves) fit into God's story.  As cliche as it is to say, it is very hard to explain what Verge actually is except for an experience around God's word with God's people that you will never forget. We had a true "Prodigal Son" moment, where a guy named Michael, who grew up in a Christian home, left home and hit the world hard (drugs, alcohol, women, the works) was offered the opportunity to come to Verge (someone paid for him to come), he came and had a truly life changing experience.  Michael committed his life to Christ in an amazing way - his story touched us all.  But it didn't end there.  We went to his church on the Sunday and his father came up to us fighting back tears and thanked us for Verge and for what we at AccessTheStory are doing.  It was so affirming for us.   Thanks Alex Pay for letting me use your photo of Michael. Michael decided to get baptised that night and we got invited to come and see him be baptised and to go back to his family's home for a party afterwards.  It was truly like the story of the prodigal son from the Bible. At the party there were probably about 80 people and the family provided pizza for everyone, not just your regular take-away pizza's but huge, expensive ones.  I turned to [my] Mike and said, "It's just like the prodigal son where they killed the fatted calf," - Only the best for the son who has returned. We made so many new friends while in South Australia.  I am so glad that we went. Hannah: From the garden of Gethsemane station on, I had to stop and think and journal about a page or two per station. Just the volume of it all. [Jesus] knew everything that would happen, when, how, and by who to the exact [detail].  He also had every imaginable power to stop it, but instead he prays "not my will Lord but thine be done."  Even though I knew all of this, the way it was worded, I can't even explain, but it made me see it on a different level, I guess you could say.  And because of the rhetorical questions that this camp also uses a lot of, I started asking myself whether I would do that.  Every step and movement and breath he took, he was making the decision "not my will but thine be done."  I couldn't even imagine how that must have felt. And then to be rejected by the father. ... I prayed on a level I have never prayed before, I've been a Christian my whole life, but I guess I never really took that for myself, until now it was more of a head faith that my parents taught me but now I've taken it and made it mine. Stepping out of the darkened room into the sunshine was the best feeling - I felt a weight literally lift off my shoulders. That is only a small portion of the camp.  It was literally the best experience I've ever had. It was so worth it!

Hervey Bay We are busy planning an Access the Story experience weekend in Hervey Bay to be held on 3rd and 4th September.  We will be holding a story experience at Glendyne out at Nikenbah on the Saturday afternoon, followed by dinner during an info session.  Travis will be flying up for these sessions from South Australia and will be preaching at Hervey Bay Bible Church on the Sunday.  Our time in Hervey Bay will be very limited, so please come along to Glendyne as we would love to catch up.  We'll be getting more info out soon.

Ray's Health Unfortunately, my heart is still giving me some problems.  I have now been hospitalised 3 times with it and each time they up the medication a little more.  It is improving, but just not quite there yet.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers for this, also that the side affects of the medication wouldn't be too bad and that I wouldn't be anxious about my health or work as I have now taken more sick days than I have available.

Family Life Winter is definitely here.  Our house was so lovely and cool during summer, but unfortunately it is also lovely and COLD during winter. We have been lighting the fire in our wood stove most nights, but it doesn't reach the rest of the house.  We have been battling colds for a few weeks, but alas there is only a few more weeks of winter and then we will probably be complaining about the heat. Hannah has been very busy with school, working at McD's and doing driving lessons.  She is well on here way to doing her 100 hours. Her and Josh also really enjoyed Verge.  She has been joining in the Young Adults Bible study that we have at our house on a Thursday night as well as the Teenage girl study on Thursday afternoon.  Josh still loves playing the PS4, we finally allowed him to use Facebook (so he could keep in touch with the new friends he made at Verge), he is also becoming a Pokemon fan.  He is begging us for a mobile phone so that he can keep in touch with friends, but I think it is more for the Pokemon factor. Michael has been a huge help and support for me through this heart condition.  He has picked up a few extra chores, as I don't have the strength or energy to do everything I use to.  The workload is starting to pickup for Access the Story and at the moment he is busy planning a Story experience for Hervey Bay on the first weekend of September.  If you live in Hervey Bay, we would love for you to come along and check us out.

SEQUEL We (Mike & Ray) have both signed up to be part of the next Sequel, which follows on from Verge and digs deeper into God's Story.  This kicks off in the next week and will run over the next three months. Looking forward to journeying together through this.

Young Adults Ministry The couple who have been leading the Young Adults Ministry at church have asked Rayleen and I to take over this role.  Thanks Kristy and Jonathan - We're really grateful for all the great work you've done with this group and are thankful to be part of this community as we continue to grow together in our relationships with Jesus through His Story.  We met with Sam, our pastor, last week to discuss this new role, and we're all excited about what God is doing. 😃

We’re grateful that you’re continuing to partner with us and we want to say a big “THANK YOU” to each of you.  We couldn't do this without you and your prayers, and we're also very grateful for those who are supporting financially as well!

Your financial support is what enabled us to travel to South Australia for Verge. 😃 

This does mean that our support account is in real need of a boost.  God has always shown Himself faithful to us and we're thankful and excited to see the opportunities that He is opening up for us to be part of His Story impacting more and more lives.  If you'd like to partner with us to see this increase then please use this Partnership form.

Mike & Ray

Serving with ...