Inspirations!

Two questions so many people (especially youth leaders) ask which I have always found incredibly difficult to answer:
1. What are three interesting facts about yourself?
2. What/ who are your inspirations?

Now this first one I think most people struggle with, it is, for me anyway, the dreaded ice breaker question. You have under a minute to sift through your brain for 3 facts that might be of the slightest interest to the people you are surrounded by. I have just struggled to come up with 3 over a few days on one of the reply forms for Step in Latin America, never mind when I am under pressure and have little time, while being watched by a group of judging eyes. However this second one, I struggle to do the opposite, I struggle to narrow it down to specific people or things... I feel that too many people have inspired me to choose just a few!

So I've had a little think about my inspirations in life in general, and, more specifically for this post; the things that i believed inspired my passion to be a missionary in Latin America.

• The first obvious influence on me wanting to go to Latin America was a book I read when I was 8/9 called 'A Cry from the Streets' by Jeannette Lukasse. It is about a Christian couple that go to brazil and help street kids. I have no idea why I read this book or how I managed it at that age but I have always felt it was God that set it deep in my heart.

• Other influences on this desire to go, have been Margaret Saunderson, a family friend and lady I know through church, who has been living in Peru as a missionary and has always encouraged me to visit her and has always told me great stories of her work there.

• Also my mother, has done a fair bit of travelling to disadvantaged communities in places like; Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua and Honduras. She is an incredibly caring person and so it is easy for me to say that she has definitely been a huge part in making me want to do similar things.

• Lastly my uncle, I have always seen as a brave and wise man, travels all around the world, but mainly focuses his time in Hong Kong at the moment. I recently visited him and his family and learnt more about what he and his wife have done and are doing, which I find truly inspiring!

So there you are, I think these have been the main influences and inspirations for my desire to be a missionary in Latin America. Woohoo!

Muchas gracias

Roxy x

Help a sister out? 😘 www.virginmoneygiving.com/RoxannaSmith

Facebook event page: Latin American Quiz Night!!!

Christmas already??

Last week we started playing Christmas music at work. Every 5 songs a Christmas song is played. My colleague told me how they play the same songs every year and she knows every one of them by heart, and after I told her that I had heard a few that I didn't recognise, she kindly informed me that by Christmas I will know them all and be sick of them all, along with being sick of gift wrapping!

She is most probably correct, and after that day I realised how quickly Christmas is coming up! Not only that but I then realised how quickly time seems to be going....

There is now 41 days until Christmas

47 days until new years eve..... 48 days until the new year commences!

475 since the London Olympics Opening Ceremony.

121 days since I turned 18..... 6,696 days since I was born.

Around 118 days until I set off to Latin America.

37 days until my fundraising event......

I apologise if I have scared you by reminding you of how long you have left until Christmas, but the purpose of this post isn't to scare, it is to 1) Sneakily promote my event and, 2) To encourage and motivate you!

So, I have 37 days to plan my event and it seems like there is so much to do! When I realised how little time I had left I went into a bit of a downer mood, I felt sorry for myself and ended up wasting the whole day because I was feeling down.

You are probably thinking, as I am now looking back, what stupid logic! Roxy, you realise how little time you have left and how much there is to do and so you spend your day doing nothing but worry about these facts?!? Yes. That is what I did. However the next day I gave myself a little pep talk and managed to do more that day!

Time does go so quickly, and it is so easy to waste time! Looking at the big picture, at how much you have to do, and how little time you have and then feeling down because you haven't done as much as you wanted to is what most of us tend to do. But, you can conquer this! (I know I'm sounding cheesy) sometimes all you need is a little pep talk to motivate yourself and setting yourself small targets. Aim to reply to 5 emails instead of 20, try to spend 15minutes revising instead of 2 hours, plan to meet up with 1 friend instead of organising to see 5 in one day. Set your self reasonable targets, that are manageable and if you manage to do more, then bonus!!

Lastly make time for yourself to relax! This doesn't mean sitting there doing nothing for 10minutes, but it can be going on a walk, watching tv, doing a hobby, something you ENJOY. Enjoy yourself, allow yourself to laugh and smile. :)

Muchas gracias
Roxy x

Please donate: www.virginmoneygiving.com/RoxannaSmith
Contact me: roxielou16@hotmail.com
Event Facebook page: Latin American themed night

How you doin'?

"How are you feeling about your trip?"

"Excited?"
YES, very excited!

"Nervous??"
Yep, fairly nervous.... What if I miss my friends and family too much..... What if  I struggle with my spanish..... What if my team don't like me..... What if?

"Has it hit you yet?"
Is it meant to all of a sudden punch me in the face? Am I meant to feel pain as I realise that I'm going to the other side of the world for 4/5months....?

Truthfully one minute I'm super super excited to go, after all I have been saying that I want to go for about 10 years! But the next a flood of worry rushes over me and me being me, every single possible thing you could worry about I am worrying about! Even the most unrealistic things like what if I run out of underwear and I'm in the middle of nowhere and nobody sells underwear?! What if nobody likes each other in the team and the whole time spent together is awkward?!? Sometimes I just have to take a step back and tell myself to shut up.

Don't judge me....

Muchas gracias
Roxy x

Email me: roxielou16@hotmail.com
Donate: www.virginmoneygiving.com/RoxannaSmith

Latin American themed quiz night!

A lot of people have been asking what I am doing to raise money for Latin Link who I will be travelling to Latin America with.

Well this is one you can all get involved with! Woohoo!

I am hosting a Latin American themed night, where there will be:

• A quiz hosted by the one and only Simon Ashby. (the master of all quiz masters, I hear he will be turning up in a sombrero and poncho!) Possibly with a cash prize!
• Refreshments which will be free! Yes, that is correct free food and drinks!
• A raffle with some awesome prizes which will be announced asap!
• An auction of promises (which involves auctioning people and their services like professional makeovers, a day with your own handy man etc)
• Also there will be more information about my trip and what the money raised will go towards!

Tickets are £3 and will be available very soon! Email me at roxielou16@hotmail.com or go to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/658640227494666/ to find out more or get tickets.

It will be on the 21st December at Amblecote Christian Centre, Brettell Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 4BS at 7pm-10pm.

Let me know if you feel you could help in any way either with set up, prize donations, refreshments etc, any help is appreciated!

Most importantly come along, invite all your friends!

Muchas gracias

Roxy

Sudden Realisation

It seems my life has changed so dramatically in just a year. I have gone from being a full time student to not having a clue what my next steps are, to having 2 jobs and deciding to go to Latin America. Not only that but I feel like I have gone from my lowest point (a year ago last month), hating myself and my life to realising now that things have got so much better and life aint so bad really.

Do not think this is another of those attention seeking sob stories. My life really wasn't that terrible, there are people who have suffered far far worse than me! And my life now isn't suddenly amazing. My sudden realisation wasn't me realising that my life has got so much better now, or that I now know what my purpose in life is, or that I'm a better person now....

So what is the sudden realisation? This change in my life and change in myself isn't, and wasn't down to me. At first I thought 'I have become a stronger person and that is how I got myself out of that bad place in my life' but just recently it has been revealed to me that I cannot take any credit for where I am now. The sudden realisation was that it is and has been all down to God.

A lot of my friends reading this now may be thinking what a load of crap, is she really talking about God? How boring.... But truthfully if I didn't have God in my life right now, I would still be in that bad place in my life. Don't get me wrong, I still have bad days, and am still a bad person but now I find it easier to rely on God and to see the better rather than the worst.

Without God, I wouldn't have passed my A-levels, I wouldn't have 2 jobs, I wouldn't be going to Latin America, without God I am nothing.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast."

So thanks God, all credit to you big man.

I apologise for the difference in this blog post to my last one. I want my posts to be truthful and representative, the direction of my posts will be mixed, today's blog post was just more God directed. I have changed in the past year, changed for the better, but I'm still the same little crazy Roxy and I love you all dearly.

Muchas Gracias,
Roxy x

Various links for you to click and poke:
My email: roxielou16@hotmail.com
Donation Page: http://virginmoneygiving.com/roxannasmith

6 months to go.... What?!

To be able to say that now there is only 6 months left before I go to Latin America seems crazy! For all of those that don't know, in March 2014 I will be travelling to Latin America for 4 months with a Christian organisation called Latin Link (I will put the various appropriate links at the bottom), doing voluntary work in some local, less privileged, communities! This will involve being part of a 'Step Team', with about 7 other people who I will be living and working with for those months.

It seems even crazier when you take into consideration the fact that I have been telling my family and friends that I am going to be a missionary in Latin America since I was about 8... While all my friends wanted to be rich businessmen, or famous singers, or heroic firemen I wanted to be working voluntarily in a place I barely knew about. However at that age my dream seemed an eternity away.... I never thought I would grow up and have to make big, potentially life changing decisions. I still don't feel anywhere near old enough to call myself an adult. Sometimes I think, if only the typical view of a 5 year old was true; that we are born a certain age. Kids will always be kids and adults will always be adults and teachers live in school.

Anyway! Change is good! Scary and unpredictable, but good! I am excited for what my future holds, for what God has planned for my life and for what my travels will teach me.

These next 6 months leading up to my trip will be filled with physical, emotional and spiritual preparation for 'Step', which may sound slightly extreme, "Roxy it's not like you are going to be doing a marathon or living there forever...", however I want to give as much as I possibly can on this adventure and I feel the only way I can do this is by going the extra mile! I will be practising my Spanish, making sure I am fit and healthy, reading the Bible, working extra hours, fundraising and so on. After all what is the point in letting this opportunity go to waste?

Thanks so much for reading my first ever post on here, I hope it wasn't too long and boring! And thank you for everyone that has supported me so far whether it has been financially, through prayer or helping me plan it all!

Muchas gracias
Roxy x

Latin Link website: http://www.latinlink.org.uk/
My email: roxielou16@hotmail.com
Donation Page: http://virginmoneygiving.com/roxannasmith