Welcome

Hey there. Now, the pressure of making the first 'post' on my new 'blog' is a rather overwhelming experience; similar to that of my first soccer tournament (I cried and left); my first day at school (I got sick and didn't go); or my first kiss (I nearly threw up and wondered 'is this it?'). I'm determined to make this a more enjoyable experience.

I should introduce myself. A good place to start is usually the beginning, but as that's an awful thought that I will never allow to infiltrate my mind, let's skip forward a few months. I decided I wasn't happy in my mother's womb, it was too warm in there and I'd heard there was a 'sick snowfall' outside. Being a skier I decided it would be a good idea to get out and enjoy the snow. Nobody had told me that 6 week premature babies can't breathe or eat without help, so skiing was out of the question supposedly. I quickly regreted my decision; which was as premature as my birth. Despairing of my life, I decided to try to end it a few times by pulling those tubes that the nurses liked to put in my nose out. This began my lifelong flirtation with death; not really, I just thought that would be dramatic and might make you want to read on?

Eventually I was allowed out into the snowstorm that was Glasgow in late 1986 / early 1987. Due to my 'early' entrance to the world much of my childhood was spent rather 'sickly'; but it also meant I began school early; and left early. From the age of four to sixteen I bluffed and joked my way through school until I could get out of there.

Around sixteen I let God really get a hold of my life; His plans seemed better than mine, which amounted to, 'get out of school... sleep?' This changed things, I moved to the Scottish Highlands to work as a slave, I mean 'kitchen and house helper', at a 'Christian Outdoor Centre'. This experience nearly killed my newfound Faith. I didn't understand why Christians didn't like it when I got excited about God. I didn't understand how they could treat each other with such a lack of love. A few months in and I was nearly broken. God said, 'get out while you still can'. I said, 'No, I'm scared, people will think I failed'. So God did what He does when we go against His Will and He's feeling generous, He broke me (the less generous alternative was to let me stay and have my seedling Faith uprooted). I found myself in hospital after a skiing accident, not able to work. So having been humbled and broken, it was on to University.

Somehow through those years of doing nothing except from joke, fool around and generally avoid work I'd been allowed grades that got me into every course I applied for. Stupidly I hadn't applied for anything I wanted. So I asked God what to do. He said, 'Do Divinity, why do you never listen?' He was right to think I was being stupid. When I was fifteen I'd had one of those weird moments I wasn't even sure were real. I was at a Christian camp, and was praying with some lads, anyways. So I had this vivid image all of a sudden appear in front of me. There was me, teaching a group of kids, in a town that I later found out was Nelson in British Columbia, Canada. God said, 'British Columbia is your mission'. I wet myself and pretended nothing had ever happened.

So! Off I go to study Divinity at 'The University of Aberdeen'. I thought my study would be about becoming a Christian minister, but really it's about learning how to be a post-modern, liberal, relativist that causes no offense to anyone. I was a Christian, so I was offensive to these people. I didn't really enjoy my time studying there. I certainly learnt a lot outside of the classes though. And I used the long summers to visit British Columbia; with God helping me lay some foundations there.

My summers were 'Camp Qwanoes', a Christian camp on Vancouver Island. I was a 'Senior Counsellor', trying to disciple a 'Junior/Co Counsellor' and nine or ten children, whilst building some great friends and surviving. These summers have been used by God to keep breaking and humbling me; with times of reconstruction going on in between.

As I'm coming to a close on my quick fly through of my life I feel there are some people that deserve a mention. Well, really, there are thousands. And this isn't an Oscar, so I won't be placing 'God' at the end, or the beginning, of any lists. He gets the credit throughout, every letter, character and symbol here should really just read 'God'. But then it would be very hard to read. "GodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGodGod" could translate, 'My Name Is Dave', 'I Love Chicken!', '123456789......', or any other variation of numbers, letters and grammatical aids. So after that short aside.

My Family: The Smiths. Michael (Mikey), Christine (Smokey Joe), Catriona (Stink) and Abbie (Miss Terrorist Toddler 2007). They've always let me be different, even when it meant watching me get hurt, even when it meant I left home so young, even when it means I'll be moving to the other side of the world in June.

My Friends: Those who didn't believe; your lack of Faith in what God could do in my life has inspired me to have more. Those who did; your encouragement means the world to me and I can only pray to encourage you as you have encouraged me.

Well, there were fewer tears than my first soccer tournament; I haven't had to go home with chickenpox; and I'm not reminding myself to 'breath through my nose'. I have enjoyed writing this blog more than the three events listed in the introductory paragraph. Now that the history is over; I look forward to telling you of my todays.

-Scottish Dave Smith