About The Heart of Steven

My friendship in ministry partnership with Steven Smith of LivingSent Ministries

A day in the life of Steven. From street and home visitations on Friday mornings to Bible Study on Friday evenings

Imagine living next door to a neighbor who loves the Lord so much, that even though he already has an incredibly taxing schedule of producing and delivering water from his recent adventures in creating Jacob's Well. Imagine this same neighbor holding various services during the week and at the same time, being a faithful husband to his wife Kelly, a part-time caretaker for his mother-in-law Bambi, and the living example of great fatherhood; raising two wonderful sons with Kelly in Noah and Aidan. Imagine this same neighbor employing a small staff; including a plethora of translators to assist him in navigating the Spanish language, so he can witness to our local community in Chiquimula, Guatemala.

This amazing mission leader is Steven Smith. My wife Myra and I have had the pleasure of being next door neighbors with the Smith family for almost three years now. We have shared meals together, conversations and advice together, supplies and provisions together, and a love of Jesus Christ and the ministry of reconciliation, together.

So consider my surprise when Steven came to my home office and pitched this idea to go throughout a neighbor not too far from our homes, and share the Word of God with anyone the Lord would lead us to approach, and knock on doors to encourage prayer to all parties in the homes, and invite them to come to a Bible study. Well, I was chomping at the bits to be a part of this adventure; I had been wanting to have a "walking buddy" to go with me to speak bad Spanish to the community, and show them a lot of agape love in the process. So the two masterminds started strategizing how this would work, and after a bit of deliberation; decided that each Friday morning around 10am, we would head over to my wife's ministry building, pickup my son Angel and my wife's assistant, Gilma (pronounced hill-mah) and walk the neighborhood.

Steven, Gilma, and Angel heading down the incline to visit families

Now it is important to understand that the roads in Chiquimula are very rocky, and the main street we travel each Friday, is in pretty bad shape, and in much need of being smoothed out due to less than excellent under the road water plumbing. Added to the challenges we face in travel, is the fact that most of our families live on declines, that for the average North American men (that would mostly be me as the now 63 year old adventurer), can be very challenging, especially making our way back uphill. Yet, the enthusiasm of our Steven has been an additional motivation for me to weather the terrain.

I must say, it has been an incredible experience walking the community that has been part of my life for the past 10 years. There is something about being in 85 to 90 degree heat with my walking partners, meeting people, praying for them, and extending invitations to come to our Bible study. In our travels, we found favor with one of the local mechanics named Raul, and his wonderfully friendly and magnificent chef, Marianela (mah-ree-ah-nell-ah); who open their home to us each Friday evening; allowing anyone with a heart for the Lord, to come sup with us, as we share from the scriptures, and from our Christian experiences.

I must say that we have been doing this for approximately a month now, and here are the things I have learned about Steven and how he ministers. (1) He is naturally a people person, and it is much funnier because his Spanish is worse than mine, yet the people gravitate to him, (2) He always carries a treat, which he shares with all the adults and the children as we walk, (3) His favorite place to share are actually the tiendas (small neighborhood stores). It is in these setting that we met a deacon who encouraged us with words of wisdom, as Steven prayed for him, (4) He is tireless in sharing his faith, and like myself, is always able to bring any conversation to one talking about Jesus.

In conclusion, God has blessed me not only with a ministry buddy, but an actual friend. Steven has always been there for me and Myra; even supplying us with much needed medical treatment for minor issues. We have watched his wife Kelly grow in confidence and she is becoming a major factor in all things related to Jacob's Well, as well as being the main organizer and meal preparer for mission teams they host on a regular basis. As I am composing this blog, they are returning from Antigua, Guatemala, on what has been a bit of supporting another family that is close to us, but also fitting in a bit of a break from the daily toil, right in time for our two families to celebrate Thanksgiving together as families united in Christ, and bonded in fellowship.

Composed by Mac on Saturday, November 22, 2025