Our Missionary Family

One of the great blessings of missionary life for the Anzalone family has been our extended family of fellow missionaries in Ecuador. When we came to Ecuador bringing our three little girls, we left behind a large and supportive extended family structure in the States. Over the years we have been able to stay close to our family back in the USA through letters, phone calls, internet, and other marvels of modern communication; but God has also blessed us with close relationships with our missionary co-workers. When we came to serve in Ecuador, back in February of 1991, we were immediately adopted by Jim and Sharon Smith and their family in Quito. They hosted us in their home, helped us to get settled, and encouraged our girls to call them Uncle Jim and Aunt Sharon. We became Uncle Tony and Aunt Joy to their teens Zac and Stacey. Zac and Stacey received our little girls like younger cousins--played with them, ate at our house, even stayed at our house sometimes. Over those first few years we became as close as I can imagine any "real" relatives can be to one another, and during our service in Ecuador we have known the joy of family-like relationships with many other missionary aunts and uncles and cousins, nieces and nephews. Pray for all of the missionaries you know, asking God to bless them in this same way. We treasure these ties that bind.
That's one reason why it has been so hard these days to let go of our MK nephew Zac Smith. After a hard-fought struggle with cancer, Zac went to be with the Lord last Sunday afternoon. He was 33 years old. Zac was a joy to know as a teen--intelligent, witty, competitive, talented; he was always willing to join in with the missionary family, even being Santa Claus at Christmas gatherings and tickling his little nieces until they lost it completely! It was as an adult, however, that Zac's life made an eternal impact. As he grew closer to the Lord, he shared the wisdom and life-experiences with others as a teacher and through a blog. I was a regular reader. His insights often "blew my doors off." He worked in a very technical field, but eventually heard a calling to put his skills to use in ministry. Ironically, it was just a few months after he began to work in "full-time" ministry that he was diagnosed with cancer. He lived the roller coaster ride of surgery, chemo, no cancer, and recurrence with grace, and with an amazing openness that impressed him to share his experiences and emotions with others on the internet. He always seasoned his writings with biblical truth and urged people to turn to Jesus. Ultimately, with the help of the team he served with at NewSpring Church in South Carolina, Zac made a couple of videos that have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. Others suffering pain like Zac have found encouragement in his words, and some who didn't know Jesus have turned to him as their Master. Zac's own words tell the story: "God is still God. God is still good. To God be the glory."
Link to Zac's Story.