Our personal identity is one of the most important things to understand about ourselves. Knowing who we are, what makes us tick, what makes us laugh, what gets on our nerves, and what brings us joy.  Those are essential for us because understanding those affects everything else in our lives. Our personal identity affects how we; look at life, look at other people, deal with conflicts, and even who we choose to spend our time with.

I over the past 13 months of healing, discernment, and waiting, I have found myself pondering the question, “Why do we, who have been called out by our Heavenly Father, try so hard to fit in and get approval from a world we are no longer a part of?”  Expounding on this question I wonder that as a Christian, if you’ve decided to follow Jesus with all of your heart, are you called to “fit in”?

I feel as global servants (missionaries) we are called to a life of “standing out”.  However, I think it should extend beyond just our calling.  Rather, it should include all Christians to accept the Great Commission and we need to work on understanding that we’re never going to completely “fit in.”

The world’s approval doesn’t matter. You have a Heavenly Father who loves you more than anyone or thing on this earth. And God’s love for you doesn’t change. It never fails. And it’s eternal.

You are worthy—even if when you don’t feel like it.

I know many of us, especially myself in recent months, we have felt insecure during these times. But that’s because we keep trying to find our worth and security in the wrong things. Hebrews 6:19 says, In Christ, we are firm and secure He’s always with us, and we’ll always have Christ to anchor us. We never have to try harder for Him to love us more. We never have to beg Him to stay. Because all of those things are a part of His character. God’s unshakable and unchangeable love for us is what God promised to us as Christ followers.

During the past 13 months, our family has been through so many turbulent times as we have seen the door to our dreams of living in Haiti right now come to a close.  This has caused us to seek the face of Jesus and to discern what is next for us.  Through many prayers from our Missionary Partnership Team and many of our partners, you, we are affirmed by God that we are indeed called to serve people cross-culturally.  We were also affirmed that we are called to serve the Haitian people, except this time these people will be marginalized and living outside of their beautiful home country.  This was a difficult decision for us to accept, but we know that our security doesn’t rely on our “plan”, rather we are called to live by faith and not by sight.

We are so excited announce that on Friday, October 30^th, our family moved to La Romana, Dominican Republic. We are looking forward to be partnered with Mission Maranatha and to work along side their ministries that serve marginalized people in and around La Romana.  Lynette had the opportunity to travel to La Romana in September for 10 days and with the help of our partner and colleagues, she was able to secure and rent a house for our family.  Ricky and Calen, as well as Lynette and I, are relieved to finally make this transition as we seek God’s kingdom in the Dominican Republic.  We are eager to be learning the culture, improving our Kreyòl language, and begin learning Spanish.  We are also ready to begin developing deep relationships with local churches, leaders, and our new neighbors.

During the next 12 months, our focus will be on getting the lay of the land, developing relationships, language acquisition, and making the Dominican Republic home for our family.  We are anxious to get to work, but know that this time of learning is very important to know how God would like us to work best for Him in the Dominican Republic. We are looking forward to being mentored by our colleagues, Ketly and Vital Pierre.

Will you please continue to lift our family in prayer, as you all have so many times before?  Pray for the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Pray for our children and the new friends that they will meet.  Pray for our families in the USA that we are leaving behind. Pray for Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and for the the United States.

Regardless of what you are going through right now, God is there with you.  Hold firm to the anchor that is our faith in Jesus Christ and we will be securely seated within the hand of God.

Blessings to each one.

Brian Smith

-Lynette, Ricky and Calen too!

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