Written by Ken Chin on December 20, 2009 – 12:00 pm -
Team to Los Angeles and future African missionaries! (From left to right: Erica Felder, Cassel Spence, April Ryles, Earl Jones, Patrique Smellie, Andrew Smellie, Dejaimenay Stephenson, & Jonathan Pedican)
Once again, we are in the midst of the holiday season. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, to deck the halls, to sing Christmas carols, to give and receive gifts. ‘Tis the season most loved by merchants. With the proverbial dollar signs in their eyes, these captains of industry profit from the dreams of children, lovingly catered to by doting parents. Commercials play right into the desires of women looking to impress that special someone with the latest stunning fashion. And then, there are those well-deserved cutting-edge, high-tech stereos and big screen TV’s earned and purchased by over-worked husbands, slaves to gruelling 12-hour days at the office. And to placate the wives who have suffered through many dinners-for-one, exquisite pieces of jewelry are bought, hopefully impressive enough to make them forget the countless lonely evenings. The baby Jesus was given gifts of gold, incense and myrrh at his birth by the Magi from the east (
Matthew 2:11). The adult Jesus, the son of God, gave the ultimate gift, the opportunity for eternal life to those who would become his disciples. To do this, he lay down his own life on the cross (
John 15:13;
1 John 3:16). What greater gift can we give to others than the “laying down” of our own life? Self-denial purposed to teach the lost the good news, to disciple growth in spiritual character, to inspire married couples to true, scriptural marital bliss and to nurture younger disciples on to maturity. These gifts do not perish, spoil, or fade. They have eternal impact! My wife Cheryl and I are truly grateful for the gifts of friendship and discipleship so warmly extended to us by Andrew & Patrique Smellie. We still remember our first encounter with this inspiring couple. It was late one evening, when Andrew & Patrique on their way to DC for a retreat, drove over an hour out of their way to meet with us at our home in Magnolia, Delaware. We were grateful for the visit and the time spent eating, talking, and praying. This encounter made an incredible impact on our lives as Andrew and Patrique lovingly yet boldly called us to leave our home and move to DC to join the Washington, DC International Christian Church. So obvious was our need for discipleship and fellowship with unified, sold-out disciples! Our hearts recognized that the Smellies were sent by God to rescue us. How could we not accept the challenge to move? It was, by no means, an easy decision to make. We owned a home and Cheryl had within the previous two years, opened her own pediatric practice. Our two sons were comfortable with their schools, our older son Kyle in an excellent special-needs program for autism, our younger son Kevyn also excelling in school. In addition, our boys lived a mere eight minutes away from their best friends and I was part of a thriving dental practice on the Eastern Shore, over two hours away from DC!
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