First Visit to Ibarra, Ecuador and Great News about God's Plan for us...

We made our first trip to Ibarra this last weekend and it was so wonderful!  For those of you who know us well, you know we like countryside and calm more than the closeness of city life... well, God has called us into city  life and more closeness than we ever imagined we would face as a family!  In just three days most of our team will be arriving in Quito and moving in with us!  We have lived on regular-neighborhood-side-by-side-houses streets for about a year and a half now, but in this stuff, God has blessed us and continues to bless us with sweet family time in spite of the 24 hour working day, patches of warm grass, climbing trees, flowers, and here in Ecuador the most incredible collection of hummingbirds that hang outside our dining room window all day long. Which brings me back to our visit to Ibarra this last weekend... it is the calmest little busy city!  It has a neat and quaint busy little city center with homemade ice cream, plazas, Sunday afternoons in the park, a big open market for fruits and vegetables, and silent nights.  We could imagine our team and evangelism in the streets... kids running to hear about Jesus in the park...  It  is also filled with massive saint shrines that just make me uneasy and so eager to share with them something of real power in prayer...to the great I AM.  I don't quite know how to describe the strangeness of these shrines.  They are large wooden dolls, painted, adorned, lit up, prayed to, worshiped and expected to bring blessing. I recently learned that in Catholic teachings they completely leave out the following verses in their version of the 10 Commandments:

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." Ex 20:4-6. 

We are seriously so excited to plant a church there...and not just any church...one that is truly committed to God, discipleship, loving others, prayer, service, tithing, and kingdom work!  I can't stop thinking about the warnings to the 7 churches in Revelation... what kind of churches are out there right now?  Is it possible that some of us are missing the whole point of Jesus' words to us?  I know I want to hear from my Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  I want to really KNOW my God, to hear his call in my heart, his approval, his life, love and forgiveness.  I want to feed his sheep

Already the mission in Ibarra has begun...  we have another trip planned to Ibarra to scout locations for the new church plant and possible houses for the team and an apartment for the pastor.  Since our arrival in Quito, Cole and I have been praying with Yoan and Astrid, our pastor and his wife, over the 4040's, the people in Ibarra, funding for the whole project in all categories, and for the right locations in Ibarra.  The goal is for us to have a complete team of 10 4040's and right now we are short.  I have asked you to pray for us in this matter previously and I ask you again to pray with fervency on our behalf.  We need 2 North American men to join our team, 1 South American male, and 1 South American female in addition to complete funding for one of our NA females, Rebecca Fahrni, who has struggled to find those willing to obey God's call in supporting her.  If you know of any young men that are excellent leaders and called to international missions, we would love for them to consider if God is calling them to Ibarra. Please know that your prayers are so, so important. We know God will provide every need, just as he has up to this point and this situation we are in nowncall out in us another leap of faith, a trusting that though we see obstacles ahead, to God they are moments for glory and power that only come through Him.

***Just as I am writing this, Cole returned home from a leadership conference here in Quito with amazing news...  The whole day was filled with incredible sermons, lessons and stories.  The very last speaker, Doug Carter shared on generosity in our living...more than just our finances, but true generosity in our spirits. He was being translated by Christian Sarmiento, the Regional Director for South America.  He translated the last bits of Doug Carter's message then continued talking.  He talked about Extreme and the need for more missionaries to serve in Ibarra and Manta.  He waited and began singing until about 6 young men came forward to the altar to answer the call! God is so good all the time!! Oh my goodness we are humbled.***

Help us get 4040's to the field!  If you have influence in your district's NYI, youth group, college, college group, spread the word.  Your invitation for someone to check out Extreme and join us in Ibarra could be the very thing God is planning to use to get us our last 2 North American males!

I know you all are invested in this project along with us and I ask that you not neglect praying for the ministry and that God would send more workers to the field for harvest.  Let us be churches and people that SEND and GO when God calls!

Seriously, it is a tremendous blessing to get to know our leaders like Christian Sarmiento and Dr. David Graves and both of their sweet wives (not pictured here), The Rich's and Howard's and many others.  We as a church are in very good hands...first God's and in those that lead us from within the body.  They are truly humble servants and amazing examples of disciples.

Some pictures of Ibarra...our soon to be home : )

 

 

 
 

 

 

IMBABURA volcano and Ibarra, the White City below it!

WWW.EXTREMENAZARENE.ORG for more information about becoming a 4040 for Ibarra!!!

If you have made it this far... THANKS!  Check out this song that I can't get out of my head right now...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSIVjjY8Ou8 

Blessings to you my friends, brothers and sisters in Christ!

Hi friends!!!

We have been in Quito for almost a month!  We spent the first 2 weeks buying and setting up the 4040 house where all the missionary teams will be living during their training time in Quito... the next 2 weeks we spent helping with the current 40 days program for folks interested in missions and discipleship.  We have been tagging along on their "tour" days and helping teach and cook.  In addition we have side trips to Ambato for cluster planning for the Ibarra project and soon a trip to Ibarra to scout locations for team housing and the church plant.  

Things are going well! I think no small part is the joy of being where God has called us to be.  It is cool looking back on all the nervousness we felt before joining Extreme...the nervousness and really worry about the unknown.  In fact, we had been told by a non-Christian before leaving CA in 2012 that what we were doing made no sense, it was abnormal, extreme, and illogical behavior to be uprooting one's family in a struggling economy for something uncertain and as dangerous as South American living.  That man does not know our God.  Our God makes the very best, most perfect plans.  While they may not be considered "safe" the way the world thinks, there is no safer place than in the hands of our God.  

We are working through lots of details as we eagerly await the arrival of our team.  Please, please keep our team and pastors in prayer.  We are still in need of 1 or 2 North American young men to join our team.  For some reason there is a shortage of male applicants.  If you are feeling called or know someone that is called to missions... supply the need, answer the call!  This too is in God's hands.  We expect God's very best in our team.  

As I close this little update I have a request if you are able and willing to help...  I am in need of a smartphone, used or new, and it needs to be unblocked/unlocked so that we can use it internationally.  The one I was able to bring down has a broken screen and is worsening.  Right now I am able to use it but I do need to replace it.  If you have an upgrade coming on your phone plan or a smartphone in good condition that is not being used, I could definitely use it!   My mom may be shipping a small box in September and I could get you in touch with her.  In addition, we need a couple of other items that are very costly here even considering the expense of shipment from the states, or are simply unavailable here... If you are willing to help out with one or more of these my mom is able to ship them to us, or we can coordinate with you directly for shipment...  for the most part there is a lot more available here than we found in Paraguay but still are missing a few bits if you are interested in helping...

Costco Items: 

Kirkland Adult Multi-Vitamins

Kirkland Adult Vitamin C

2-4 Bottles Gummi Vitamins for Kids

Others:

1000mg chewable Vitamin C -large bottle(s)

Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacAurthur - English Book, Spanish copy, and study book used or new

Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacAurthur - English Book, Spanish copy, and study book used or new

As always, we appreciate your support, encouragement and prayers.  I hope you feel as privileged as we do in the service of our Lord!!!  Very seriously, consider and start praying about a visit to Ecuador while we are here...  Love Extreme Quito 2014 is on the calendar for July 17-29 next summer... In addition, you can find out more about coordinating a separate Short Term group on another date in 2014 or 2015 to Ibarra and help us minister!   At all costs, do what the Lord asks of you.  

Lots and Lots of Love to you all from The Williams Family in Quito for now!!!

www.extremenazarene.org/williams for online giving

In Quito...

After a sort of eventful couple of days in the Miami airport ( we expected this to be our shortest trip to South America), we finally arrived in Quito safe and sound, amazingly, with all of our luggage...9 checked bags, 4 backpacks, 2 computers, 1 projector, 1 guitar and a partridge in a pear tree.   Flying over Ecuador was beautiful! It really is a lovely country filled with mountains, lakes, and lots of green.

Within about a week or so we had ventured all over Quito buying household goods and beds for what is now the 4040 House on the NMI Work and Witness grounds (thanks John Fischer and Dwight Rich!).  The house and grounds are very peaceful and beautiful!  Yoan and Astrid Camacarro, our pastor family, is also living here in a casita and so we have really been able to spend some important time with them sharing meals, praying for our team that will be arriving in August, and working on strategies for ministry and team structure.

 The Work and Witness House and neighborhood that will serve as the 4040 House for our team and all other teams training in Quito.

Agregar leyenda

 Reese and Teddy making fairy houses : )

Quito city views

 Buying beds and mattresses! All on one small truck!

the livingroom in our Quito home.

Our first weekend we traveled with Yoan, Astrid and their 8 month old boy Yared to Otavalo and Gualsaqui because Yoan had been invited to preach to the Gualsaqui Church.  This town of Otavalo is similar to Ibarra, though we have not yet been to Ibarra (we are planning our trip right now).  The community of Gualsaqui is about 20-30 minutes outside of Otavalo via a very rustic and dusty road.  We took a city bus from the hostel where we slept the night before and then hired a local pick-up truck to take us all up the mountain as it is rough for taxis.  We have a clip of the truck ride below as well as a clip of the beautiful  special music the women presented that Sunday.  It was such a wonderful Sabbath praising God with these believers.  Last Sunday we went to another new community church in Quito that has about 10 people and is growing. It is such a blessing to worship with believers from all over the world.  Such a rare treat... 

   Volcan Imbabura near Araque and Lago San Pedro

 Getting to church!

 Pastor Yoan arriving in true missionary style : )

 Yoan preaching

 Truck Ride Clip

 Special music from Gualsaqui Church

 Helping prepare lunch afterward

Right now we are feeling pretty settled in here for the time being.  We are helping teach and cook for the current 40 days group of 10 young men and women and planning to visit Ambato this next weekend to see the Ambato Cluster and their developing church plant as well as nail down some financial details and plans for the Ibarra church plant.  Monday we are accompanying the 40 days group to "La Mitad del Mundo", the equatorial center of the earth, then later visiting Shell, Ecuador with them as well (which is the site of the End of the Spear events).  We have a lot going right now even as we wait and pray on our teams arrival and the super cool blessing being that even as we have given much up to be here, our cup overflows.  

I would ask special prayer for our team as they are fundraising in their communities.  In addition, we really need 1 or 2 more North American males to join our team.  This need is quite urgent as time is short for planning, fundraising and the Visa process.  It would be an amazing blessing to receive a young man that already speaks Spanish as he would not be required to be to the field until November for training in Colombia right before our deployment to Ibarra.  Please pray for God's call on exactly the right young men and women and that they would be faithful to say "Yes, Here I am Send Me".  We as a church, are in desperate need of men who are willing to stand up and lead.

Lastly, Love Extreme Peru 2013 is underway and the short term volunteers are rolling in tomorrow in Arequipa, Peru! Pray for this amazing opportunity to expand the kingdom of God! The harvest is plentiful!!!

We Love and appreciate you who support us through your prayers, encouragement and funding.  We are so blessed to be serving God in this way...we hope some of you will be able to join us at some point and share the experience as well!

Grace and Peace, 

The Williams Family

www.extremenazarene.org/williams

Visas Granted!

Praises! Yesterday in San Francisco we were granted our Visas to Ecuador for 2 years!  Thank You so much for your faithful prayers!  We are getting so close to the send off! Only 23 more days...  Oh my goodness we have so much still to do!  We are visiting family a bit this weekend then finish up packing both our bags and the home we have been living in.  W still are in need of a few items to take with us if you feel led and able to help in any way... they would be incredible blessings to the ministry but we will be pleased with however God provides or does not provide.

Still need:
1.  Projector (mid-size, light weight enough to travel and portable but equipped for medium size group display)

2.  Digital Camera with Zoom

We could also use your support through regular prayer.  Our team is still being formed so keep each person that will comprise the Ibarra team in your prayers throughout this 27 month term.  When we have our full and complete team all together for the first time in Quito we will of course post pictures and link you to their blogs so you can read about the ministry from their perspectives as well.  We will also be putting together an Ibarra Team page that I hope you will follow as well.  We want to connect you as much as possible to what God is doing so that you may join us as you are able and be blessed as the body of Christ. 

Stay tuned because over the next 3 months things will be getting REALLY exciting!  For Thanksgiving this year we will share with you the inspiration of the Church in Cali, Colombia and finish up the year with our first greetings from Ibarra!  There are exciting times filled with lots of transition for us and the kids.  Please consider joining the Kids Prayer Team and commit to prayer for one month.  You can sign up by sending me an email and seeing more details at http://jesusadventure.blogspot.com/p/kids-prayer-team.html.  I will update our mailing address each time it changes. 

We LOVE you all!  We are so blessed to be on this crazy journey with you!  Grace and Peace from our Lord Jesus Christ to you, and may you always be experiencing the joy that comes from His daily blessings in your lives!

With Great Love,

The Williams Family

 

For One-Time or Monthly giving go to http://www.extremenazarene.org/Volunteer.aspx?ID=190

 

***

Urgent Prayer Requests

As we are readying ourselves over these final days in the US, there are some last things that we really need your help with..namely I am talking prayer.  We all know in reading the Bible that quite often the Lord reminds us that HE ALONE is the provider and the ONE IN CONTROL by acting in the moment when there is no question that what was accomplished could only have happened by God's provision.  It builds my faith more and more to see these amazing things happen.   I believe God is glorified and we grow closer when we ask faithfully for Him to meet our needs.  Join with us in a spirit of great FAITH for the ministry to Ibarra, Ecuador!

Please Pray for the following:
1.  40/40's: TOP PRIORITY! We still need 2-3 North Americans to partner up with our last couple of approved South American teammates.  Please PRAY that whoever God is calling to fill these positions would answer with boldness and that funding would come in miraculous ways.  If you know someone or are someone that is feeling called go to http://www.extremenazarene.org/FortyForty.aspx AND email us or Liz Waterman at lwaterman@extremenazarene.org. They need to be Approved, Funded and in Quito by August of this year.  WE do have some potential candidates attending the 40 Days program so keep them in prayer too.  God's timing is not always in line with ours, but His ways are sure higher!

2.  VISAS: We have finished compiling all the crazy documents and letters to apply for the "Religious Volunteer" type Visa to Ecuador.  There is a possibility of receiving entry for 1 or 2 years.  Please PRAY that all goes smoothly and that we receive the max of 2 years.  We are going to the LA Consulate today (we have had some trouble contacting them so created a back-up appointment in San Francisco for next week).  Hopefully we come home with Visas for everyone and if not, please pray for us as we head to San Francisco next Tuesday.

3.  FUNDS: Thank You all so much for supporting us along the way!!  Truly, truly your giving is amazing and  humbling.  We pray that the Lord faithfully provides for each of you  as you generously share your blessings with us as we serve in Ecuador.  It is no small miracle that by many giving little, a lot is accomplished.  Please pray that 5 more families would join us in monthly giving for $40-50 per month..  We have a small gap in our funding and I know God is faithful to complete the work He begins.  To sign up visit www.extremenazarene.org/williams

Cool News: We have connected with the Pastor that will be leading the new church plant for Ibarra!  His name is Yoan and has a wife named Astrid and a little boy about a year old named Yared.  We are so excited!  It looks  like will be living in the North Andean Work and Witness house in Quito with then as our neighbors until our deployment in November to Ibarra.  We are so excited to get to know them and coordinate ideas and plans for ministry over the next months during our team training.  God is pulling this all together!

PS: I have to mention that TODAY is our little Reese's 4th Birthday!  Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!!!

2012 in a Nutshell Video : )

For those of you that weren't able to make it to "A Taste of Paraguay" we are posting the slide show below.  It was so awesome working on this video, sifting through a gagillion photos of all the amazing people we met and ministered to as a team...all the faces of the people that came to volunteer...and the beautiful backdrop of South America that God has given to the people of Peru and Paraguay...just amazing. 

These photos in the slide show take me back to a year filled with stretching on all sides throughout our whole team and in the people that were ministered to.  Christ came to save and change the world.  When we go out in the name of Christ, that is exactly what happens... people are saved and all of us are changed.   The body of Christ is growing daily....literally.  Every day people are coming to know the Lord through the grace and mercy of God via the obedience and willingness of His people. 

Pastor Mark asked us if we felt like we had sacrificed a lot to join Extreme.  Cole answered perfectly...  at the time YES, we totally had an attitude of sacrifice for Christ.  I know in certain moments I felt that He was asking too much of me... Looking back on the last year we know we exchanged a good life heading in one direction for God's plan that was moving us in another.  I think it depends a lot on what we are measuring.  If our goal is safety, predictability, and stability then yes, we gave up a lot.  Where we are at now is very unpredictable.  On a daily basis we are trusting that the Lord will provide for our needs and the needs of the ministry and often the way God works is totally different than we expect.  When we look at how much we have grown, the front row seat to the miracles of international ministry, the new and amazing relationships we have formed with folks at home and on the field through the unity of the body of Christ, the things our kids learn that we aren't even teaching them... I would say we have saved our lives by losing them.  We only get this one life... we want to choose at every turn to follow Christ.  Crazily enough, He has called us far from home for now.  One day He may call us back to our home town and He might call one of you out here to the international mission field : )  (If He does, just GO!)

With eyes on Christ, we can see just how beautiful the other side of sacrifice really is.  (really, what can we sacrifice that is bigger than what God freely sacrificed for us?) We have said this before, the body of Christ IS THE PLAN.  When Christ ascended after the resurection, all of us were entrusted with this mission.  As we wait for the bridegroom to return, let us not be found wasting what we have been given, sitting idle, having forgotten our great first love.  Our lives are short.  The lives of those not yet saved are worth anything and everything we can give in exchange for that opportunity to share with them the hope in Christ Jesus.  Every moment we are given is for Him.  We live, preach, love, sing, laugh, move, give, and rest all for the Lord and thank God for the Grace that catches us when we all fall along the way because in our falling and struggle, God is working on His story and gracefully weaving us in.  If you aren't sure if you are in God's will in your life right now, or maybe you know you aren't... Pray for Him to speak clearly to you about where you are at, and then pray that you will want what He wants for you...that He will change your heart.  Pray for the strength and courage to trust in God's plan.  Sometimes we know His plan but find it hard to trust it and end up trying to make things happen on our own.  Trust in the still, small voice and know that He is God.  Follow Him wherever He leads, near or far.

 

In just 8 short weeks our family will pack up and head out once more to enter the mission field in Ecuador.  We are still looking to connect with those of you whom God is calling to join us through financial giving.  We have about 69% covered at this time and are trusting that God will provide the means for us to carry out this call.  I know He will.  If you are feeling led to give I hope that you will commit to do so and receive the blessing that comes from obedience.  We are so thankful to each one of you that love and encourage us along the way. 

www.extremenazarene.org/williams

for monthly or one-time giving

 

Grace and Peace always in Christ alone.

Who said anything about safe.?...

We have been so blessed to be home these past weeks. Among the most wonderful blessings have been Pastor Mark's sermons. God is working wonders everywhere in those who look to Him. These days in our world that is so focused on filling every emptiness with temporary satiations, it is quite natural to let ourselves carry on much in the same way. We forget to be transformed by the renwewing of our minds... we forget that the truth the world speaks of is hardly the truth at all and yet we fit our lives into this strange modern paradigm. If we could just live fully in each moment aware of Christ we would be both anchored and free... Free from anxieties, free from our "stuff", free to love, free to follow as Christ leads without fear...Anchored to REAL Truth in unwavering faith and confidence in life. We cannot put off God's purpose for each of our lives. If anything is worth doing it is worth doing well and now. We have to stop defining ourselves and our sense of accomplishment by our appearance, wealth, friends, job, our ability to avoid trouble and pain, by how long we can maintain a safe routine...

"Is he—quite safe?"..."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver ... "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

We all have the ups and downs of feeling strong, then not...feeling sure, then not. I think stepping out in faith has both pushed growth and exposed my weakness. I feel both confidence in the calling and a sense of total inadequacy. By far the coolest part is having confidence in He who sends us. Like all of the "heroes of the faith" we are quite inadequate for holy work without the Holy One.

We are getting back into gear as we are in the count down for Ecuador! We are about 10 weeks away from our flight to Quito and I am amazed how busy we have been and still are since being in the US for this short break. Our time home was unplanned but I can see exactly why the Lord has us here for this time. It has been a wonderful blessing to be with our loved ones and help out where we have been needed. That said, our hearts are definitely being tugged all the way down in Ecuador : ) The kids and I have been doing some reading at the library about the sweet people of Ecuador and are just more than eager to be a part of God's work there.

Right now we are getting things ready for our VISA application to Ecuador as missionaries, looking for the things we need to bring down there with us, praying a ton about our team that is also doing the same, as well as taking care of the day to day things here including kindergarten homework (way more than I remember!). Life is full no matter where we are!

For those of you that are within driving distance to Porterville, CA we are hosting an evening at Porterville Church of the Nazarene this Sunday April 7 at 5:30pm to share about our experiences in South America. We will have a presentation with hilights of the ministry, a slide show, some cultural items including "terere y sopa paraguaya" to share as well as discussing what we plan to accomplish as we head into Ecuador. I hope you come if you can squeeze it in! We were blessed to see Christ moving in the world through the body of Christ while we were down there and many of you have been vital parts of the blessings the Lord spread out through the people... come and receive the blessing yourselves. For those of you that are out of the area I will be posting the slide show and possibly the powerpoint so that you can check it out too : )

Porterville Church of the Nazarene
2005 Olive Ave Porterville, CA 93257
Sunday April 7 5:30pm - 7pm

As we are preparing for the next extended part of this journey we ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers. As full-time volunteers we are in total reliance upon the provision of God through His people to support the ministry in Ecuador. We are still looking for those whom God is calling to be our support as we devote our days to full-time ministry. My hope for you is that if God is indeed calling you to join us that you do so right away and with complete joy so that you may enjoy the blessing that comes from trusting in God's will at each turn. He has called us each to fill a purpose and has equipped us to accomplish it though sometimes we choose to say no. I remember when we were just beginning on this adventure and I kept feeling like I identified more with those that said "no" to God... like Jonah, or Zachariah who was struck dumb when questioning God's plan, even Moses tried to convince God that he was the wrong guy for the job... but we all know that God used these people in crazy amazing ways! In the end they each were compelled by the assurance they could not escape doing God's will, no matter how impossible or ilogical it might seem, is the only sure way to go...maybe not safe...but sure. They are there in the Bible to show us not so much about ourselves but a lot about God. He accomplishes through us, in spite of us. Be used by God!!!! Live to Worship! Join us if you should through prayer, financial support, or come to volunteer! At all costs do what the Lord is asking of you whatever that may be! And come hear about the cool stuff God is up to in Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador through Extreme Nazarene Ministries!

www.extremenazarene.org/williams




In His Love,

Kelly