For someone who was born in the "big city" of Oakland, CA, I find it interesting that I have lived most of my life in two counties in Oregon, and not much more than 25 miles from where I grew up. From these two counties, however, I also found my way four times to Riga, Latvia because of my involvement with the ministry of Bridge Builders International.
I first learned about Latvia when BBI's President, Chuck Kelley, was my pastor, and I watched with great interest and excitement as his pastorate at First Baptist Church in Corvallis, OR, led to the first sister-church partnership between American and Latvian churches. This partnership, of course, became the model that caused Bridge Builders International to be born.
As a volunteer, I began serving with BBI in February of 1996. In June of 1997, I joined the staff as a full-time administrative assistant. This continues to be my title, but my job has changed and grown over the years. My duties currently include: issuing receipts for donations, maintaining BBI's database, coordinating BBI's annual banquets, and providing administrative support in a variety of other areas in the office.
When I was two years old, my parents decided to move from California to Oregon. My dad wanted to raise sheep, so they bought a large piece of property in the country and began to do just that. I grew up in the small community of Lacomb, located 10 miles NE of Lebanon (another small town). I graduated from Lebanon Union High School in 1981. I then attended Linn-Benton Community College and graduated in 1983 with an Associate of Science - Administrative Secretary degree.
In September of 1983, I began to work at the Oregon State University Radiation Center as a Clerical Assistant. (The inevitable jokes about my "glowing" personality always followed my answer to the question, "Where do you work?") Many significant changes occurred in my life during the time I worked at OSU. I turned 21; my grandmother died (this was my first close experience with death); and my mom had an accident that forever changed the lives of our family (she fell and broke her leg in 1985 and because of osteoporosis and post-polio syndrome, she used a walker and wheelchair for the rest of her life).
One of the most significant life changes occurred in 1988 when my name changed from Jennie Latham to Mrs. Jeff Smith. I met Jeff in 1986 at the Campus Ambassadors college group that gathered weekly at First Baptist Church in Corvallis. While we were "just friends" at first (at least that's what I thought), it was eventually clear that our relationship was deepening. On April 9, 1988, that friendship relationship became permanent. (It might be interesting to note that the same weekend we were married was also Chuck Kelley's first Sunday as FBC's Senior Pastor. And we're "all" still together!) Jeff works in a precision sheet metal shop as a fabricator. He enjoys taking care of our yard and working on his two 1954 Fords when he has time.
As a child, I attended "Release Time" classes with friends from elementary school and began to learn stories from the Bible. I learned about who Jesus is and what He did for me by dying on the cross and returning to life three days later. One day, one of my fifth grade classmates challenged, "Wouldn't you like to become a Christian? You don't want to go to Hell, do you?" This led to my initial, although fear-motivated, decision to begin a relationship with Jesus. Of course, over the years I have learned that this relationship is more about love than fear, and my relationship with Jesus has continued to grow. I am now motivated by (and extremely grateful for) the fact that Jesus loves me unconditionally, in spite of my many flaws and failings, and the desire of my heart is to serve Him. It's not about "rules" to be kept, but experiencing the love of this Person, Jesus, that keeps me from giving up when things in life are hard.
I have two older siblings - a sister and a brother. My brother retired from being the Linn County (OR) Surveyor about a year ago and now lives in Central Oregon. My sister just recently retired from the Antioch (CA) School District (Human Resources department) and made a huge move from the East Bay Area of California to Corvallis, OR.
In recent years, both of my parents have died - my mom in 2000 and my dad in 2001. These events have been the most difficult things I have experienced in my life so far. Although these losses were deep and profound, I know that it is my relationship with the Perfect Comforter, Jesus, which has enabled me to continue to find joy in life.
Perhaps this article has seemed a bit jumbled and "out of order" instead of a chronological history of my personal and professional life. But isn't life just like that - jumbled and out of order? Only Jesus can bring order and purpose to a "jumbled" life. My hope is that you would get to know my Friend, Jesus, and experience His love and purpose for yourself.
Last revised August, 2004
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