November 6, 2006

Dear supporting Churches, Friends and Family,

Once again, too much time has passed since our last letter. We appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support over the years, but it is surprisingly hard to write while in the States. What can we say about our lives here that would interest you?

We are living in our house in Blacksburg, Virginia, while Scott takes some work related-graduate courses here in town at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech): social policy course called “Poverty and Power,” a course on non-profit leadership and governance, and a course on international development.

This summer has been full of transitions. Scott transitioned to being a bike-riding graduate student, Timothy to being a college student in Hoboken, New Jersey. Kelli moved to Iowa City, and Hilary to Blacksburg High School. Daniel stayed in Louisville, but he is now director of the improvisation drama troupe, Project Improv, in his spare time. I find myself in a new hometown, surrounded by family items that have been in storage for years.

Our friends in the Emmanuel Hospital Association in India are carrying on the work of running the community health projects. This work can be inspiring, but it does include the daily grind of planning, budgeting, and reporting. Director David Abraham has to move the project to another district the group that provides the funding decided, using second-hand information, that the present project area isn’t poor enough. That’s just one of the hazards of depending on funding agencies to set project priorities. The project staff of another EHA community health project was attacked and robbed by rebels while traveling in the interior of Bihar District. So the work continues under frustrating conditions.

The Emmanuel Hospital Association’s Web site has more information on their work in the area of community health.

Back here in the States we are bemused by how church mission committees operate. We have been communicating to these entities for years and, as PC(USA) missionaries, they are our umbilical cord for life and work overseas. Even though we have just moved here, we are involved in rewriting the mission statement of the Peace, Justice, and Global Mission Committee of the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. This is a challenge because there is so much good work to be supported. Members of the committee all agreed they did not want to just process requests for funding but to involve the majority of the congregation in work to become a “missioning church.” This requires action and involvement, which is more easily done locally than globally. The committee meets once a month for an hour or so. How can it have time to look at issues of funding and priorities in any depth? If this is normal process, no wonder the congregations are uninformed about the desperate needs around the world, and what the PC(USA) is doing to respond to these needs. No wonder the Worldwide Ministries Division is getting such little publicity and so little support.

Another incident of reverse culture shock: I am amazed when I sweep the floor how little dirt there is. Our windows and door close well enough not to let dust and dirt in. Next time you clean, be glad your house is not India and Nepal. There you clean and within a few hours everything is covered again.

I’m also amazed at the importance people put on hygiene. Yesterday, one of Hilary’s science teachers wouldn’t shake hands with us. She said her kids had a bug and offered us some antiseptic wipes. Next time something like this happens to you, remember to compare the small everyday bugs here with the serious infections that are common in other countries—typhoid, malaria—and feel thankful for that level of awareness. This is one reason why it is important to encourage mission trips: After seeing how others live, we feel more like giving from our relative comfort.

We are at the point that we need to schedule visits to supporting churches from January through May, when we return to India for two more years. We have some churches already on our list, and some weeks are assigned to presbyteries (possibly Grace and Flint) who will work out a schedule for us to visit, talk, and run workshops in as many churches as possible in their areas. In the past, we have been rushed in our visits, but this year we have the time to visit any church that invites us. It’s part of our job description to talk about the witness of the PC(USA) around the world. There is a short fall in our support for 2006 and 2007, about 20 percent. This includes healthcare, transportation, housing, salary, and so forth. Our Direct Mission Support number is D507150 Smith.

Our email continues to be melscofam at sbcglobal.net and our phone number is (540) 951-0345. We do send out email updates quite often. If you would like to be on our list please send us your email.

Melanie and Scott Smith

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 116