Meet Team Member Diana Smith from Iowa

 

 

 



My name is Diana Smith, one of the team members and blog master for the 2014 Zimbabwe Ubuntu mission experience.  I live in Des Moines, Iowa.  I am a lifelong United Methodist and am a member of the West Des Moines United Methodist Church.  I enjoy traveling and learning about other cultures and countries, especially in a mission capacity.  I have participated on several mission opportunities in the past.  In July of 2012 I was an adult chaperone for our church's youth mission trip to Colorado for the Week of Hope mission experience where my team worked at a senior assisted living facility.  In 2007 I spent four months in Guatemala as an individual Volunteer In Mission (VIM) through the United Methodist Church.  I volunteered at a low-income daycare facility in the mornings and taught English to elementary aged children at the local Methodist church in the afternoons.  In 2006 I was part of my church's mission work trip to Buffalo, New York.

 

Through my church I have also been involved in many programs and ministries.  I currently sing on our Praise Team and help lead our contemporary worship service as well as co-leading our young adult small group.  In the past I have taught children's Sunday School and English as a Second Language to adults.  I was a co-chair of our missions committee, volunteered with vacation Bible school, sang in the choir, participated in small groups and local service projects.

 

I currently work for the State of Iowa at the economic development department as the trade show coordinator on the marketing and communications team.  Before joining the IEDA, I worked for Children and Families of Iowa at the domestic violence shelter, where I coordinated donations for the families using our services as well as facilitated staff trainings and gave community presentations to raise awareness about domestic violence. 

 

I am a recent breast cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in October of 2012 and I finished my last treatment in July of 2013.  I am now cancer free and thankful that God isn't done with me yet.  I am a strong, quiet individual who is very passionate about my faith and women's issues around the world.  I enjoy history, traveling, practicing speaking Spanish, gardening, reading, music, spending time with family and friends, volunteering at church and helping people.  I have never been to Africa and I am very much looking forward to this trip to learn about the women of Zimbabwe and their lack of healthcare and how we can help.  I hope this is the first of many international team mission trips I will be involved with and someday I hope to be a team leader of one of these trips.

 

I have one cat, Chloe, who provides me with daily enjoyment.  I have two wonderful parents and one younger brother plus many more family members and friends.  Below are pictures of me from my time volunteering in Guatemala.