Thursday, December 26, 2013

...HELLO 2014!



**Go see the almost 200 new pictures we have uploaded to Flickr HERE**

We are thrilled to see what 2014 brings! 2013 was a year of transition after transition... we have finished up training and language school for the Ibarra team and housing for the team is on the horizon...promised land here we come!

2013 began on an international flight home to CA, celebrating the New Year three times in the air over 3 time zones... So many of you made our homecoming welcome, amazing and way more comfortable than we ever expected!  It was a true blessing to spend the first half of the year with you all..Cole returned to work with his family's business and the grape vineyards of the south valley, Teddy started school as a kindergartner at Summit Charter Academy where he continued learning Spanish, Reese spent two days a week as a big girl at PortNaz pre-school, and I got to be a professional stay-at-home mommy and wife with few distractions...  It was a real special treat to attend church in Porterville and sneak back into your lives for a little while.  We are truly grateful and blessed at your generosity, encouragement and support through our unexpected change of plans for this year.

Our coming to Quito has also been truly blessed and guided by Christ.  We have started on a brand new project and team headed into Ibarra, Ecuador to officially start ministry with the people this Jan.  Our team is particularly gifted, sincere, hard-working and focused... We have 28 year-old Prsicila Inca of Santo Domingo, Ecuador who was a leader in her local church and had a radio show on the regional Christian station.  She has been partnered with 24 year-old Rebecca Fahrni of Massillion, Ohio, a graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University and would-be teacher except that she is now an Extreme missionary.   We also have 23 year-old Abigail Crespin from Guayaquil, Ecuador who because of a medical issue was told she may never walk again.  She promised God that if he would help her walk she would go wherever he wanted her to go bringing the good news. She will be walking alongside her partner, 19 year-old Michaela Rimmer of Eugene, Oregon who has felt called to missions since the age of 10.  David Pilco of Riobamba, Ecuador, age 22, received his call to missions as a product of ministry work by Extreme in Ambato, Ecuador where David had been studying Industrial Design. His partner is 23 year-old Chase Howard an accounting graduate of SNU.  They are amazing.  They are inspiring.  They are going to be used by the great I AM to change lives and generations in the community of Ibarra, Ecuador!  We are so excited to be serving alongside them and to invite you to do the same!

It is mind-blowing, scary and exciting to be standing on the crest of the hill so to speak, looking out into the next 2 years.  We have laid out our 100 days plan to hit the ground running, are armed with the power of Christ, your prayers, our prayers, the gift of a lifetime to hand out freely... and of course an enemy that is prowling around us like a lion ready to consume.  It is going to be one crazy race but in the end I am confident that He who began this good work will be faithful to complete it!

Thanks be to God first of all for his faithfulness and provision during this year.  Thanks to you who give so we can give... we love and miss you terribly but are so blessed by your desire to bless us and take part in this call God has placed in your lives.  We truly Love you and look forward to the day we will be reunited with great stories of life change that are direct results of this partnership.

I promise to get better at sharing all the little stories along the way through this next year of ministry...we get busy and it gets hard to settle down and write sometimes but we are eager to share this journey with you as much as we can! Please feel encouraged to let us know how you are doing and how we can pray as well for you.  This distance does not diminish our great love and sense of responsibility to lift you up.  We pray that God's grace and peace will truly fill your lives and ministries as we begin another new year...

with Crazy Huge amounts of Love and Thankfulness, 
The Williams Family




Friday, October 25, 2013

Wrapping Up in Quito...

We are less than a month away from leaving Quito and heading to Cali, Colombia for the final and most intense part of Team Ibarra Training!  I remember when Cole came home from Cali in July of 2011, he was a changed man...  I am so excited to see and experience the great passion that is growing and flows from the people of God there.  The ironic thing about what is happening in Cali is that it is not a new idea really...it is what Jesus has asked His followers do do from the very beginning - "Go and Make Disciples" (Mat 28:19) and "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9).   The whole structure of the church is focused on prayer and discipleship as the sincere and life-changing mark of a believer.  Our team will be in training for a month practicing and learning the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and how to effectively disciple new believers.

We finish up in Colombia and return to Ecuador on the 19th and on the 29th we will move into Ibarra!  This coming Monday through Wednesday our family will be in Ibarra looking for houses/apartments for the us, the pastors and the team.  Please pray for God's hand to be guiding us with wisdom and His divine voice to find the right places.  We have 3 appointments to see houses and are hoping to come across some more options while we are there.  We have some very specific needs and also want to be sure they will be locations that provide safety and comfort for everyone while being prime locations for ministry.  We really appreciate your prayers!  In general keep the whole team in prayer as we grow and develop together.

This month Teddy turned 6 years old!  I can't believe how fast these kids are growing up!  Reese is sounding out words and just as busy as ever!  They are the most amazing little people : )  I just read somewhere about children that "the days are long but the years go by fast"...true stuff.  They are also missionaries with another organization and will be running a camp (that we are hoping to possibly use for church retreats!).

This month and next month are feeling like the final warm-ups for the big race...  Deep Breath.  I am looking forward to settling down and getting this project underway!  It will be nice for the family to stay in one house for the next two years as compared to the 9 different homes we will have lived in since Feb of last year... Can you believe it??  Since Feb of last year through this coming December we will have lived a month or more in 5 countries, in 7 cities, and 9 homes.  As you can imagine, we are very excited to stop with the transitions, suitcases, packing, and unpacking for a short spell as the Lord allows : )

Please keep especially our kids in prayer as we strive to provide them with all they need and also for the community that surrounds them.  We have a lot of open months for the Kid's Prayer Team if you feel called to pray for them for a month or two over the duration of our missionary journey.

Teddy is on a T-Ball team here in Quito!  It is mostly other missionary kids and diplomatic families.  He will miss the last 3 games of the season but he is really enjoying it!!! Teddy has an awesome throwing arm!  I will have to film it so we don't forget : )






Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sing Like Never Before

"Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I worship Your holy name

The sun comes up; it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes"
 From 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman
To preface this post a little, read through it with an attitude of praise, worship and thankfulness : ) Don't mistake the worship for sorrow.  What began as sorrow has ended in praise.  

My aunt Pamela Geisler passed away last weekend and I was able to come home amazingly thanks to tons of airline miles... death is so crazy.  We just don't get it and it always seems to catch us not ready even though "death is the destiny of every man...the living should take this to heart." (Ecc 7:2)  These are the times when I can easily feel like what God asks of me is too hard.  I have missed many special and important moments being away.  At the same time, being home this weekend reminds me exactly why what we do is so important... 2 people got saved this Saturday at my aunts funeral and the beautiful ceremony was to me so worshipful and honoring of the Lord because that is just how my Aunt Pam lived....in praise of God at all times. The following song was sung just before the last prayer:

 I had heard it before but never experienced it quite so real...   I raised my hands and sung in worship right there in the church...not loud, but I worshiped in that sad moment of loss knowing that life is nothing without our worship and love for Christ.  We take nothing home but our heavenly treasures and that day we enter nothing here will seem quite as big as we make it seem right now.  No matter what a day may bring... Bless the Lord Oh my soul! Worship His Holy Name!  Sing like never before, oh my soul! 

Each new day is a chance to sing our song of praise again, a new moment to witness the promises of God fulfilled.  "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thes. (5:16-18)  This is not to say that we don't mourn or feel sorrow...even Jesus wept when Lazarus died in spite of knowing he was about to raise him... but we can be thankful in all circumstances and look in wisdom on even the most difficult of days.  

God is powerful and always good.  He continues to work in amazing ways.  As a great testament to the unstoppable will of the Lord...we are so excited to say the Team Ibarra is now COMPLETE!  We just received word that our final team member has been approved which sets us at 6 amazing women and 4 men of God!  In just about a month we went from no leads and an incomplete team of only 5 to a full 10.  God is providing and doing great things on behalf of the people of Ibarra, Ecuador.  The team is doing great.  I can hardly believe they have already been here for over a month.  We are nearing the time when we will be travelling a few times to Ibarra in search of places to live for us, the team and the pastoral family.  Finding homes, especially for so many of us that will be close in proximity, is not as easy in South America as it would be in the states.  Many homes and apartments tend to be available for sale more often than they are for rent and often they are smaller spaces.  We have very specific needs for the team as far as housing so please, please keep this aspect of our ministry in prayer over the next month and a half.  We hope to have our places secured by the beginning of November.  As a team we head to Cali, Colombia for training from Nov 21-Dec 19 and we would LOVE to come home to a home : )  Once we finish up in Cali, we plan to celebrate the birth of our Saviour and then we begin the full time work of ministering to the people in Ibarra!  

We hope you consider joining us as at some point on a short-term missions trip!  There is an open college group trip planned for May of next year.  You can also work with the Extreme Mobilizers to plan a short-term project specific to your church.  Short-term events are so important to what we do.  I love that they create an opportunity for you our supporters to come and be blessed to see and do for the Lord with your own eyes and hands what God is doing in Ecuador.  It also allows us to do bigger outreach events, it creates increased momentum and jump-off points in the ministry, and often it expands involvement with Extreme for those called to missions on a long-term basis.  Not to mention the great encouragement short-termers bring to the field.  Check out www.extremenazarene.org for more information about short-term opportunities.

Cole and I will be participating as missions representatives in the  Join HiStory event this weekend held at PortNaz in Porterville, CA.  Join HiStory is a conference on missions designed to engage and inspire more believers in the great commission on an international level.  You can find out more about it on facebook or at http://www.joinhistory.org/event.html.

Lastly, Extreme is still mobilizing 40/40's for the Manta and Portoviejo teams starting next year.  We are looking for young men and women that are called to missions and willing to serve for a 28-month term in Ecuador.  If God is calling you to Ecuador, don't be like Jonah... after being spewed out of the great fish I imagine he was pretty stinky : )    If you are called to Send others to the field, I pray that you continue to do so or ready your heart to let go of whatever God is asking you to give.  Don't miss what God has for you...any of you...no matter what He has called you to.  Don't live wanting to serve the Lord, serve Him NOW.
Grace and Peace to each of you, 
The Williams Family

www.extremenazarene.org/williams






Monday, September 9, 2013

Getting Schooled!

So, we came down to Ecuador prepared to homeschool the kids, mainly Teddy right now as Reese is preschool still... and that is exactly what we are doing! I say that with an exclamation point because I was so nervous about it before.  I have never before had a desire to be a homeschooling parent...maybe the introvert in me found the idea a little intense.   It turns out that it is not as hard as it seems, doesn't take all day and Teddy is actually, truly, really learning things!!!!  This boy has memorized a poem that he can still repeat effortlessly a month later, has also memorized bible verses, the difference between common and proper nouns, his handwriting is improving, he is telling me his 1st grade math book is too easy so we have skipped ahead about 60 pages to find something "new", he is also doing Spanish class online with duolingo.com ALL BY HIMSELF, and he is excited and eager for class each day!  Who knew!?  I teach him math, language and writing each day while Cole teaches him history, PE and early science about 3 days a week.
Reese joins in on a lot of the lessons though we don't pressure her with the same amount of schoolwork.  She is however working on the beginning skills to be reading soon and "teaching" her stuffed animals while Teddy and I aren't using the white board.  It is an unexpected bonus that Reese gets to see Teddy in school and gets excited about the idea for herself.  Ted even helps Reese with her writing practice and re-teaches what he is learning to her a little here and there.  This week we are planning to do a volcano project since we are living in a crazy volcano range here in the Andes... should be fun and apropos : )  We get all this done in the mornings while the team is at the seminary Monday through Friday 8am-12pm... Thanks to those of you that helped me find the right materials and were great encouragers as I prepared for this...  It has been a very awesome blessing this past month to home school...      Which brings me to the team!  This past Saturday they practiced evangelism for the first time as a team and it went awesome!!!


We are still praying with great hope for the remainder of our team.  We have 7 on our team officially right now, interviewing a young man this week and still very much praying for the last South American girl and North American boys to complete the team.  It is crazy and crazy cool hanging on the edge of our front row seats to God's plan for our team and ministry in Ibarra.  Our girls, Caty, Michaela and Rebecca are all in language school and the other half of the team, Priscila, Abby and Diego are in seminary classes.  They are doing awesome!  You can bookmark the team blog at http://equipoibarra.wordpress.com/ for news about the team.   ALSO, I am working on keeping our Flickr album updated for those of you that don't use facebook.  You can see our online Flickr album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/50908506@N02/.  

Thanks for your prayers!!! If you get a chance, check out this article, http://engagemagazine.com/content/when-call-send.... It is for those of you who SEND others to the mission field.  We Love you all very much!!!

Grace and Peace, 
The Williams Family
www.extremenazarene.org/williams 

Monday, August 12, 2013

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!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

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

Saturday, July 6, 2013

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

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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
 
***

Monday, May 13, 2013

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!!!!!




Tuesday, April 16, 2013

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. 

for monthly or one-time giving
 
Grace and Peace always in Christ alone.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

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