Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries

at the Grand Canyon National Park

Bill Black and Tracy and Jay Hartman took SMRM to the Grand Canyon for four days while attending the national board meeting for A Christian Ministry In The National Parks. Both Bill and Tracy are on the board of this wonderful organizatiion. The meeting provided time for us to enjoy each other (Jana and Jonathon were both there too!) and to enjoy the canyon. Our relationships with ACMNP are central to our mission as they provide access into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These relationships also provide us insights into other expressions of resort minitries. In turn, we speak into practical ministry guidance for the board, since we live with the ACMNP team each summer.

As a side note, we were greeted at the opening banquet by our friend Dave Gable, who was wearing a SMRM staff shirt! Dave and Millie have visited the dorm and SMRM. He is a pastor from California who was serving as interim pastor at the Grand Canyon Community Church. SMRM does get out there --or better, SMRM gets into peoples' lives!

Filing away at the Bunion

A fantastic day full of friendship, spiritual conversations, life & culture discussions, and sharing the blessings of God. Seven international students came hiking with me to Charlies Bunion. After a wearisome 8 miles (or 12K sounds better...) we made it back to the car and a few of us headed out to dinner. If communication is an art, then why not step into the creative nature of our God; there is much to discover in this canvas!

"No one in my country does this sort of kindness to us." were the words I heard as I was helping them shop for food and sundries. An end to a perfect day? Maybe not perfect, my wife and son are back in Texas so my home was empty when I returned, but being able to share the motive for our kindness sure made my day better!

-Joey Buck