Darv & Carol Smith’s Newsletter – Nov, 2009
Greetings from Worcester, South Africa where we are having our second ABCS in Africa led by Jonathan Mumbi. We have just finished the first three weeks. There are 15 staff from 7 different countries and 19 students from 11 countries. During the first week the staff and then the students shared their stories of growing up in their families, childhood trauma, addictions, becoming Christians and about current issues. The second week was instruction on support and therapy groups. Darv taught the third week on Understanding Addictions and the Tree of Addiction.
Our year of travel began January 27 to February 15 with teaching in the second ABCS in Lonavala, India led by R and C. Carol taught a week on Human Maturation in our ABCS and also in Early Childhood Education school on campus. Darv taught a week on Understanding Addictions. February 25 we left to teach in Australia. We stayed with former ABCS staff, Gloria Datt, who lives in Sydney. We visited some YWAM bases and enjoyed the zoo, the Opera House tour and sightseeing in Sydney as tourists. We taught in an addiction workshop for 2 weeks in the Foundations of Counseling Ministry (FCM) in Newcastle. We then flew to Canberra where we taught in an FCM school led by Dr. Jun and Sohee Kim until we returned to USA in March.
On March 28th our family attended Carol’s sister, Amy Bauernschmidt, wedding to Jack Julien in Tucson, AZ. In April Darv did Emergency Medicine locum tenens work for 2 weeks on the Native American Rosebud Reservation in Rosebud, SD. Darv was appalled at the high incidence of alcoholism there and very little effective recovery.
After this we attended the YWAM Indigenous and North American Leadership Conference in Estes Park, Co. We spent time getting to know Dr. Clair Schnupp and his extensive counseling ministry to native people throughout Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. In May we enjoyed attending “The Path of Paul Tour” in Turkey and Greece with two Denver Seminary professors and 37 participants. It was exciting to see Ephesus, Corinth and other Biblical cities as well as the well-constructed “Roman roads” and Philippi, the site where Lydia became the first European Christian.
After that we went to Kiev, Ukraine where Carol taught a week in a FCM school while Darv visited a new rehab center. Darv then went to Kona, HI to teach a week on Addiction and in a Church workshop for Korean pastors and their spouses.
We attended some U of N counseling leadership meetings in Chatel, Switzerland. From there we flew to Worcester, South Africa. (Note above)
Our main challenge here has been to help staff and students find ways to pay their school expenses. Those from undeveloped countries are in special need. Most of the funding for ABMI comes from Darv doing emergency medicine work between other ministry activities. We have encouraged our staff and students to develop more income-generating projects. Some have already started small gardens, animal & chicken projects, and making colorful jewelry from colored paper. We will attach some stories of staff and students and their countries and categories.
After Worcester, Darv went to Accra, Ghana to teach pastors and others in an International Substance Abuse and Addiction Coalition workshop for 4 days. We have enjoyed observing the healing of both students and staff in this school. We are enjoying the pleasant spring weather as summer approaches here in South Africa.
From Ghana Darv went to Cairo, Egypt to teach in an FCM on Basic Understanding of Addictions.
Blessings, Darv & Carol
