Presenting: Fred W. Smith (my great grandfather)

My great-grandfather, Fred W. Smith, was an artist. Most often he used watercolors, but he also did some pen and ink sketches. I am priviledged enough to have 4 of his pieces in my possession - the rest of the collection still held by the family are spread between my cousin, my mom's sister and my mom, though there are a number of others sold out among the world.

In honor of him, and of my grandparents (Joy and Dick) whom I love so much, I wanted to post pics of his paintings tonight. I had one of them hanging in my old house, but when I moved to Illinois three years ago, the frame broke. The others were not ever framed. So this week I bit the bullet and decided that I would rather have his pictures hanging in cheap frames than not hanging at all (while saving up for custom frames).

Here they are:


I used to think this one (above) was a painting of my grandma, Joy, and my mom and her sister. Even though my mom says its not so... secretly I still believe it. And I love it even more because even if it isn't really them, it could be. And it reminds me of my happy times in a state that had lots of water places - WA!
You may think I picked this photo because my fantastic new bookcase is in it... but no. The pic on top is of a harbor, with a sailboat in the foreground and a boathouse in the background. It goes nicely in that little space above the bookshelf (click photo to enlarge)
Lastly, this one of a country cabin, kind of ramshackle, seems to fit perfectly in th space above my bed - the colors are really pretty and its a peaceful setting.

This is part of my family legacy - and why I am fairly good with art-related stuff. Genetics. :)

Jenn's Coming!

OK, one last post before I go to bed tonight!

My friend Jenn is coming to visit (Jenn from Greenville, IL) this Thursday through Sunday. I am super excited for her to be here and I'm looking forward to relaxing with her (ok, doing a little homework, too) and showing her around Waco. We're going to a fundraiser on Saturday night at Pizza Hut and may go to a Disco dance fundraiser on Friday if she wants - the David Crowder Band will be performing and people are wearing costumes - it could be fun. But we'll see.

Anyway, - hooray!

Missions Orientation and Pictures! (recycled from Kenya site)

Please don't be mad, dear friends, but its 11:35 and I have a quiz in something like 9 hours and so I can't bear to re-write an update. I wrote this for our Kenya webpage tonight and thought those of you who haven't checked out that site yet might like to read this info.

Blessings to you and peace. Love, Tiffani

Hi Friends!

I've written this update twice (last night) and started it a third time... this is the fourth. I'm going to chalk it up to spiritual warfare and push through...

Yesterday we had our mission trip orientation. All the students and staff were there that are going to go on trips this summer - 140 people between Kenya, Armenia and Honduras (go to: www.baylor.edu/um for more information on the various trips!). It was a great day - I think that all of us are itching to go more now than ever! There were four main parts to the day.

First, the team members spent just over an hour filling out paperwork and turning in passport and visa information. It was pretty difficult actually, and most of us messed it up at least once - the key to the Kenyan passport: surname = last name, and "block letters" means CAPS! You'd be surprised how many of us made mistakes on that form at least once.... if not more times!

Next, Becky Kennedy (director for missions) gave us tips on how to travel, what to expect and what kind of attitude we should bring. Christy Correll-Hughes (GA for missions), packed pretend luggate to tell us what physical items we should and shouldn't bring.

Then, Ryan Richardson (associate director for worship and media) gave the Kenya people specifics about the country - like the size = about the same as Texas; population = way bigger than Texas; major exports = coffee; major industry = tourism, etc. Meanwhile the other teams got schooled on Armenia and Honduras. Its possible that Ryan's talk gave us as many questions as it answered!

Finally, we met together as a team, talked more about what we were going to be doing and experiencing and enjoyed each other's company (as usual).
Marquette and I have been blessed by some missionaries and pastors who live in Nairobi and our itinerary for our activities in country is almost complete. Lord willing, it will all be approved and set in stone (as much as anything like this can) by the end of this week. We are both really excited to be working with these communities in Kibera, Mitumba and Nairobi!

We are also encouraged by your prayers and financial generousity, as we continue to receive donations that are amazing and prompted completed by the Lord's moving in people's hearts as a response to prayer! Thank you for your spiritual and financial gifts on our behalf! We will have another fundraising update tomorrow.

Lastly tonight, attached are some photos taken by a mission team that went to Nairobi in January. There are a number of slide shows at the website listed below, but some that you might like to check out are: Gracia Guesthouse - where we will be staying while in Kenya, Railia and Mitumba Kids Clubs - both of which we will be visiting while there, and there are shorter slide shows with photos from Kibera and Mitumba slum (Mitumba slum is a poorer district of Kibera). There is also a slide show from the Masai Mara safari park, where we will spend our first 2 days resting off jet lag. http://www.smitsphotography.com/kenya.htm

I hope this information and the photos are helpful as you pray for us. We are grateful!Blessings!

today's playlist

Hi Friends,

First - here is the current song on my ipod - its new to me, and I love it. But I think this album's been around a couple years. Its from tthe album Writing on the Wall by Jill Phillips.

Even Still:
Well you came just like they said you would
Like you always have from what I’ve seen and heard
And you took our dreams and future plans
Crushed them all like grains of sand

Even still, even still
You have no power, you never will
And even still, even still
You have no power and you never will

Easy to say, but it’s hard to live
When life itself is near the end
Because that fear resides in every soul
When it shows its face, it’s good to know

Even still, even still
You have no power, you never will
And even still, even still
You have no power and you never will

So when the hourglass is empty
And there’s knocking at my door
I don’t want my fear to grip me
So I’ll sing this ‘till I’m sure

This song ministered to me today.

Second - Kenya trip planning is going well and I'm getting SO excited. Its just under two months now until we go - can you believe that? I can barely believe it. Thank you to my friends and family who have donated monies toward the trip, and to those who are preparing to do so. And thanks to all of you who have been praying for our planning and preparation - the Lord is doing great things.

Blessings to you today!

Brief Photo Update

More to come, and writing too - but for now, here's a pictorial report on my spring break.
Blessings.

(see pics and captions below)

This week Andilyn read a chapter book to me - I think she read me three chapters in all. It was pretty amazing. She likes to read now. I love this picture - her little fingers and painted nails holding the book.

From left to right: baby drexel, Karen, Andi, Jared, Kristen, Ryan and AJ. We were hanging out outside on Thursday after the girls arrived in town. It was a PERFECT day!

Drex is teething. It was only a matter of time before he latched onto someone's nose...

Here are the three of us getting ready to take our San Antonio Riverwalk Boat Tour. Fun.

Last one of the night. Kristen is being a superhero. So is AJ, but it looks like she is about to kill Kristen with her gun - this picture (and the other to be posted later) cracks me up!

On my heart today

Here is one of the songs we sang in church today:
"Jesus Calls Us"
Jesus calls us o'er the tumult
of our life's wild, restless sea;
day by day his sweet voice soundeth,
saying, "Christian, follow me!"

As of old the apostles heard it
by the Galilean lake,
turned from home and toil and kindred,
leaving all for Jesus' sake.

Jesus calls us from the worship
of the vain world's golden store,
from each idol that would keep us
saying, "Christian, love me more!"

In our joys and in our sorrows,
days of toil and hours of ease,
still he calls, in cares and pleasures,
"Christian, love me more than these!"

Jesus calls us! By thy mercies,
Savior, may we hear thy call,
give our hearts to thine obedience,
serve and love thee best of all.

(by Cecil Alexander, 1852)

We talked about "The Secret" today. And how we, as a church, are failing to communicate the grace of God enough when people are taken in by this type of teaching. It was a great sermon and I was glad to hear it and think about the areas where I live for the things I want, versus living for giving to others the things they need.

Blessings to you today, church.

Bookcase

I couldn't resist posting these pics.... of my new bookcase. I'm so excited about it. All my books fit in it. And sometimes I lay in bed and just stare at it happily (its at the end of my bed). Thanks for putting it together, Dad!
the whole thing - its over 6 vertical feet of book-holding goodness! and there is room to spare!
some of my favorite books!
the school shelf. last semester I had WAY more books - would have filled it up. this semester, not so much. but eventually i'm going to run out of school book space as I add each semester.

This one is for Kristina Mosier

Kristina Mosier wrote me a long newsy email in the beginning of February. I started to write back to it, but then was unable to finish my email to her, because of school, work, Kenya, etc. Her email to me is still in my inbox, and my half-written note is still in my drafts... waiting to be finished.

This update is dedicated to her.

Hi darling!

Sometimes I use the opportunity to send an email to one person to create an "update" that I can use for all peoples - so here goes. :) YOU are the lucky solo recipient and my blog will get the reheated version.

To utilize your format...

Regarding School:
I love graduate school. Have you considered going? Normally I would say that people should get some work experience before they go to further study... but when you don't know what you want to do, sometimes grad school is a good option. You could get a masters in Social Work or Theology or Divinity.... just throwing it out there. In an unrelated topic... perhaps you should come to Baylor for graduate school. :) Anyway, about me. I love graduate school. I enjoy what I'm studying and that makes it less of a burden. Last semester was pretty challenging - lots of reading in every class, lots of papers, but even though I was exhausted by December, it was like the exhaustion of a good workout. I did well in my classes, too, so that was nice. This semester is a little easier, but still a lot of reading and a lot of forcing me to make decisions about what I believe about Higher Education and my part in it. I'm thrilled with this choice for my field of study and career.
Each semester I only have three courses. They meet one time per week, for three hours each. This semester two of those classes are evening classes. That makes for a really full feeling week because it means that if I go to sorority meetings on Monday nights (see below) I am booked Monday - Wednesday nights. :( boo hiss.
March (which to me seems like its almost over, because next week is spring break and when we get out its the 20th!) and April are going to be doozies (is that how you would spell that?)! I have two big papers and two projects due. The one I am most excited about is a 25 page paper based on a case study of a college - I have to pretend I'm the newly hired president and developing a strategic plan - crazy. I have some friends visiting next weekend and hopefully near the end of March, so I'm hoping to be really diligent with my homework in the meantime!

Regarding Work and other activities:
Work is good. I have been worn out lately, because I've had a lot of intense meetings with people one-on-one, and they have often been back to back to back. I don't think it would have been so tiring except that I haven't had a lot of relaxed fun interaction with my friends to charge me up. A couple weeks ago some friends and I, along with my roommate and her parents played this game, Settlers of Catan, and we had a rollicking (literally) good time! There was competition, laughter, shouting, wheedling, etc and I felt totally charged up and refilled. I really like my job a lot and I'm hoping to get more opportunities this semester to teach small groups, though its slow in starting (i'd like to start a bible study for a segment of campus, but I have to wait two more weeks until this other campus activity - not spiritually related - is over).

I'm advising my sorority - Alpha Delta Pi. I'm the "membership education advisor" and that has actually been really fun. I have enjoyed spending time with the girls and learning about their lives. Sometimes its hard because right now the sorority needs a lot of attention (there is a big campus-wide musical production at mid-semester - it just ended - and all the sororities and fraternities are involved and so I've been helping make costumes and attending practice, PLUS helping them learn how to recruit and coordinating initiation for the new members, etc), and I don't want to sacrifice the time that my other students (for my work) get. So I've really had to balance my time carefully.

I'm co-leading a mission trip to Kenya this summer. (our group website is: http://kenyahelpusgo.blogspot.com) I've really had a good time getting to know the other leader - Marquette - better. We have breakfast on Thursdays and it blessses me. We've met with the team and they are really starting to enjoy each other. They are working on fundraising right now and thats been great. Balancing my work with fraternities and sororities with my work with the Kenya project has been difficult.

My parents came to visit two weeks ago (I can't believe its already been two weeks!) and we had a GREAT time. We visited the Dr. Pepper museum (Waco is the original home of Dr. Pepper... it was invented here!) and Cameron Park (the second largest municipal park in the country - second to Central Park), toured campus, ate at a lot of places and attended "Sing" that big musical event). I won't see them again until Christmas, so it was nice to have them out here for a little bit.

Thats probably all from me for now. I miss you! I miss Greenville, I miss church and Jo's Java and Tuesday mornings. But slowly I'm finding my place here and seeing God working. I hope I get to visit again before too long, but it may not be until next school year (or late summer). So maybe you should consider a road trip here?!