Hello everyone! My name is Kelsi Smurr, and I am so excited to be joining Solid Rock as the Ministry Support Coordinator.
I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself and tell you how I ended up being called to serve in the Dominican Republic.
I was born and raised in Northeast Indiana, the middle of three girls.
From about 6th grade, I knew I wanted to be a nurse, so after I graduated from high school I attended nursing school and graduated in 2012. From there I found myself working as an oncology nurse with a practice in Fort Wayne, and I loved it!
In 2019 I made my first trip to the Dominican Republic and fell in love with the country. I was traveling with Pine Hills Church on that trip, and since then have been blessed to make the trip back year after year.
On those return trips, I always learned a little bit more about SRI’s mission to care for the mind, body, and soul of the Dominican people. Throughout the week I would help in the guesthouse kitchen, and serve on the Barrio teams. In my new role with Solid Rock, I’ll get to support both the Guesthouse Host and Medical Coordinator.
In October 2023 God placed it on my heart to serve with Solid Rock. As I was driving home from church that Sunday, I was overcome with emotion, and texted one of my closest friends and said “God brought a non-believer to a country and it changed her life.” That is right, friends, you read that correctly. My first trip in 2019, I did not believe in God or Jesus.
In 2019 I had friends on the trip who were faithful to share the gospel with me and invite me to start attending church. From there, I gave my life to God in December 2019 and over time joined the global outreach team at Pine Hills where I gained an even greater understanding of Solid Rock International, and my passion to be involved and support Solid Rock continued to grow.
So here I am, two days into a new journey God has called me on. I was so lucky to travel one last time (for now) with Pine Hills Church to serve and spend the week with them. I went to Santo Domingo this weekend to see them off and made the return trip with Kamanda and Brantley to San Juan Sunday morning.
Since surrendering this opportunity to God, He has given me a peace that I have never sensed before. He has also reminded me that He isn’t asking me to step into the new role alone. He has gone before me and goes with me.
I’m excited about what this next chapter will bring, and I look forward to serving all of you during your time in the Dominican!