Showers Of Blessings

We are right in the middle of rainy season.  People often complain during this time because when it rains, it pours here in Quito...every day....most of the day!  We rarely see the sun these days, and that tends to bring out the grumpy in folks.  However, I love rainy season.  Everything is green.  The flowers and plants that surround our house are in full bloom and oh, so beautiful.  The smog is at a minimum.  The evenings are cool and crisp (well, we tend to have that year-round!)  Needless to say, I choose to see the bright side of the daily showers.

Speaking of showers, Darryl and I have experienced some showers of our own.  Showers of blessings!  As we look back over the past year, we realize that God has been so faithful in every aspect of our lives, and we are go grateful.

The Central District Team

In September we changed ministries, as I've blogged about before.  We were received by the pastors in our district with open arms.  We have had the opportunity to meet on several occasions with each pastor, and are looking forward to hosting each of them and their families for an overnight stay in our home over the next few months to get to know them better.  We have several events coming up that will enable both Darryl and I to step out of our comfort zones and host some speaking and teaching events.  We are excited to see how God will use us even in our weakest areas!  More showers to come!

We ended up hosting over 1,000 people in our home last year.  God has really grown the guest house ministry, and we hardly ever have an empty house.  So many wonderful people have passed through our home in this ministry, and we have been able to get a real feel for all that God is doing right now in Ecuador.  Our lives have been enriched by each guest.  In January and February we have no open nights in the guest house.  We are preparing for the showers of blessing that each guest will bring.

OMS Ecuador Team

We survived the holidays!  Yes, I say survived, because this was our first holiday season to not be with family.  Thanksgiving was okay because we decided to get together this year as a mission family and celebrate Thanksgiving together in Cuenca.  It was such a wonderful time of fellowship, and we so enjoyed watching our Ecuadorian and other non-USA missionaries celebrate...and eat....and eat...and eat!


Christmas was a little different story.  From the time we put up our decorations I felt depressed.  My parents retired in October and weren't going to be here, which meant no visits from brothers and sisters.  The worst part was that, for the first Christmas in 24 years, we were going to be childless.  I just couldn't imagine having Christmas without kids in the house.  Thank God for dear friends!  I was reminded that maybe I should focus on who was there for Christmas and not on who wasn't.  Jesus--Christmas is still all about him, no matter who is or isn't gathered around the Christmas tree!  It still was difficult, but Darryl and I were able to spend our day (and the next five days after that we spent at the beach) really focusing on our greatest gift--Christ.

We also were showered with blessings in December by so many of you.  Our support account had a really great Christmas!  Thank you to each one who gave so sacrificially so that we can continue to carry on our ministry that God has called us to.  What a blessing!

Now, as we enter the new year, and the new rainy season, we are excited for the "showers" that are to come: a full guest house, 15 different speaking opportunities (so far), working alongside the pastors of our district to help them grow and strengthen their churches, 6 mission teams, returning to the states for our HMA (home ministry assignment) in August...and who knows what else God has in store?!  God is so faithful, and we are bursting at the seems with excitement at what is in store for us this year.  We pray that you, too, will experience showers of blessings in 2012!

Building God's Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers

Season of Change

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." Ecc. 3:1

Darryl and I find ourselves going through a season of change as I write this update.  Most people who leave for the mission field, leave their parents behind.  I have the had the most wonderful blessing of joining mine when we arrived in 2005.  However, as it says in Ecclesiates, to everything there is a season, and the season for my parent's retirement is upon us.  We said good-bye to them on Wednesday, and I have found myself wondering around in a dazed-like state wondering, "What now?"  They have been our best friends, our trustiest confidants, our wisest source of advice.  We have been so thankful for the years we have had together.  We have learned so much from them and have enjoyed watching how the people respond to them.  They are so loved and respected by everyone, and it has been a privilege to observe their relationships with their Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in Christ.  We have been given a wonderful legacy to follow, and our prayer is that we will leave as rich a legacy behind us as the one we have been handed.  Please pray for Mike and Bonnie Shrode as they begin this new season in their lives.  Pray that they will quickly adjust to life in the states and that the Lord will open up new opportunities for ministry as they continue to serve him.

entertainment  center before

entertainment center after

During the first two weeks of September, we were finally able to do some work on our apartment.  It was in desperate need of some sprucing up.  We did a little remodeling, some painting, and finally ordered some furniture.  I guess it's about time after six years!  As in true Ecuadorian fashion, we are still waiting for our furniture (one month later), but our part is finished!  Well, all but the final decorative touches, which, for those of you who know me know that decorative touches are not my forte!

September 18th-24th we were with a group of nursing students from Indiana Wesleyan University.  We were at a missions conference at IWU when we received our call into full-time missions, so it was special to work with a group from there.  We spent the week in a small little village called Susudel, where we attended around 700 paitents.  We left the church with lots of follow-up work to do, as many people accepted the Lord for the first time or requested a home visit to learn more about the gospel message that was presented.  Please pray for pastor Carlos and his ministry team as they begin the follow up work of visiting the homes of those who accepted the Lord or requested home visits.

On September 25th, we attended the 34th annual anniversary celebration of the church association that we work with.  Each year, for the anniversary celebration, all of the churches of the Central District get together for a worship service.  This year, the service was held at Yatchil in the exact place where two of the current pastors were persecuted for several days for being Christians.  It was very inspirational to hear a brief account of the suffering and torture that they endured and to rejoice with them at God's goodness and mercy for so faithfully bringing them through that horrible ordeal.  It was a very exciting day for us because we were officially introduced as the District Liaisons for the Central District.  It was extra special because my parents were there with us on the stage receiving recognition for their thirty-one years of service, while we were being recognized for the start of our new ministry.  Please continue to lift us before the throne as we begin this new season in our ministry.

Dwight, Tandy and Jonathan

For the next ten days we are getting to play "grandparents" to Jonathan.  Dwight and Tandy Martin, who have become like family, are in the process of adopting Jonathan.  They currently need to be in the states, and Jonathan does not have the necessary paperwork to travel to the U.S., so we get to keep him until they return.  Please pray for Jonathan as he adjusts to us and to his new surroundings.  Pray for peace for Dwight and Tandy as they leave Jonathan with us to take care of some much needed business in the states.  Pray for extra energy, patience and wisdom for us as we attempt to keep up with a very energetic three year old!

We pray that whatever season you are in at this point in your lives, that you will walk in the knowledge and assurance that God is right there with you!

Building God's Kingdom,

Kelly, for the Chambers

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."

Matthew 5:13-14

 

This morning during my devotion time I was challenged by a few questions. "Are you salty salt?  Does your presence in the world cause others to thirst after the Fountain of Living Water?"  We are called to have a distinctive "flavor" from those who are not saved.  If our lives are indistguishable from those who don't claim to follow Christ, then what are we doing here?   Good food for thought!

Our VBS in Puyo was great.  We took a team of seven down to help with a week-long VBS the first week in August.  We had 96 kids that came during the week, and our group was responsible for arts and crafts, music, game time and helping out wherever needed.   Darryl and I were very moved by how the group immediately loved on and ministered to all of the children.  Even through language barriers, the group was able to have a wonderful impact in the lives of so many children as well as the national team members who we worked with during the week.  This video was taken during one of the opening ceremonies.  In it the kids are singing, "My Savior is not dead.  He is not in the grave.  My Savior is not dead, because he has risen.  Christ lives!"

Alejandro & Rosa performing with their family

Our "high" for the week came when the Lord put an opportunity before us to witness to and pray with a family of Shuar Indians.  We met Rosa on Sunday night when she, along with her children and a few other Shuar women, came to do a special presentation for our group. During the church service she shared her sadness of living with an alcoholic husband who, even that night, was out drunk in the street.  The group committed to pray for her during the week, and on Tuesday night, during the evening service, we noticed that Alejandro, her husband, had come to church with her.  On Wednesday, we had the chance to go to Alejandro and Rosa's home to visit and pray with them.  It was such a moving time, as Alejandro rededicated his life to the Lord and then spoke a blessing over each of his children and over Rosa.  What a blessing to be used by God even in a small way in the transformation of that family.  On Friday, when we had our closing ceremony for VBS, Alejandro and his family came to do one more presentation for us, and as he led his family in praising the Lord through songs and dance, we all were moved to tears. 

Jess & Ryan at the rehearsal

We sent the group off on the morning of August 7th and filled the house with wedding guests that evening for the following week.  My sister Jessica and her fiancee Ryan got married August 12th here in Quito, and we had a week filled with activites for the family and friends who came to Ecuador for the wedding.  It was such a fun week, and we enjoyed getting to know Ryan's family and friends better.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and we were so blessed to be able to be a part of that special time for Ryan and Jess.

Thankfully, we have a pretty slow couple of weeks coming up.  We have a full guest house this week, but after that, things slow down a little bit, and we plan on FINALLY working on our apartment.  We have made improvements to every part of the guest house except for our apartment.  Hopefully, we will be able to at least get it painted before things pick up again.

We pray that your presence will cause others to thirst for the Fountain of Living Water this week.

Building His Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers

Greetings from Ecuador.  We just want to assure you that we are still alive!!  Extremely busy, but alive. God, as always, has been faithfully sustaining us with just the right amount of energy and health to run a full guest house, to continue to work with teams, attend meetings and all of the daily activities that life sends our way.  We continue to value and depend on your prayers, and we are so thankful to have each one of you as part of our ministry team.

Our meetings in June with the association that we work with did not go as well as we were hoping, but we continue to desire to maintain a working relationship with the AIEE.  We are currently looking for other opportunities for ministry as well and are excited about the possibilities for church planting in Ecuador.  Thank you for your prayers for our meeting.

We had our annual business meeting last week.  It was great to be together as a mission family once again.  We were really blessed to have a group come from North Carolina to bless us by taking care of the kids and with some great teaching each morning before we began our business meetings.  Thank you to the Fletchers and the Baylors for your willingness to come and serve the Lord by serving our mission family!

On Saturday, our next group arrives.  Our dear friends, Doug and Cindy Tankersley are bringing down a Vacation Bible School team to minister to our church in Puyo.  We asked you to pray for a team for this church and God graciously provided us with this team as an answer.  The team arrives on Saturday, and we will be leaving on Sunday for Puyo.  We will hold our VBS from Monday through Friday, and return to Quito on Saturday.  The team will return to the states on the August 7th. 

On the 7th, we have the house reserved for my sister's wedding.  She is getting married on August 12, and most of the wedding guests will be staying with us.  It is an exciting time for our family and we are so happy it is taking place here so we can be a part of it.

Praise Reports:

• Thank you for praying for our team in June.  The Lord had his hand of protection over us as we traveled, everyone stayed healthy, and they were able to have some very productive meetings with the pastors at each of the churches in our district.
• Praise God for his presence and guidance during our annual meetings.  We had several decisions to make about our future ministry here, and we felt God's presence and peace at every session.  We are excited about where we are heading and the ministry opportunities that lie ahead.
• Join us in praising God for his continual provision of health and energy for Darryl and me.  We have gone for several months now with very few days off, yet we continue to be able to keep on going.  God is so faithful!

Prayer Requests:

• Please continue to pray for our relationship with the AIEE.  We want to continue to work with the churches that want to work with us.  Pray also as we look for new churches to partner with.
• Pray for the Tankersley team and the VBS in Puyo.  Pray for travel safety, for good health, and for the children who will attend.  
• Please pray for my sister Jessica and Ryan as they begin their life together.  Pray for all of the guests as they travel to Ecuador, and pray for us as we show them a "good time" while they are here. 
• Josh has had some health problems lately.  He had to spend the night in the emergency room, get a cat scan, plus he needs some follow up with a doctor, all of this with no insurance.  Please pray that the doctor will find the problem quickly and that somehow he will find the means to pay for everything.

We appreciate you and love you all dearly.  We pray that God will bless each of you as you continue to walk with him.

Building God's Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers

On The Road Again!

Even though I'm a day late, Happy Father's Day to all you daddies out there.  We pray that you all had a wonderful day and received the honor you so deserve!  I enjoyed spending the day with my dad, and was reminded, once again, just how blessed I am to have my parents here with me in Ecuador.

We have had a whirlwind couple of weeks, and things are not going to slow down anytime soon.  We so enjoyed having the Tankersleys here and the opportunity that we had to travel with them as they said good-bye to the pastors and congregations that they have served so lovingly over the last four years.  We are going to miss them as co-workers here in Ecuador, but are excited for the opportunity that God has put before them for the next three years, and we are thrilled to be taking over their ministry as liaisons in the Central District.

Having said that, even though we are not scheduled to start that ministry officially until September, we have had the opportunity to travel with Antonio Zabala, the district superintendent over the last couple of weeks, and it has been an absolute joy to get to know him better as well as the pastors we will be serving.

We also had the privilege of traveling with my parents to a church service in their honor in Milagro.  The church we visited was the first church that my dad helped plant when we arrived, and it was the church we attended when we lived in Guayaquil.  It was so touching to see how much the church has grown and what wonderful ministries they are involved in presently.  I have added a picture of the church today.  It is quite a bit different from the tiny garage we met in before.  God is so good!

Tomorrow we have a small group that will be arriving to do a scouting mission for future partnership opportunities in our district.  They arrive tomorrow evening and we take off early Wednesday morning.  Here is our schedule so that you know how to pray:
Wednesday:  Travel to Ibarra to meet with the pastor and the leadership team.  Church service that night.
Thursday:  Travel to Latacunga to meet with the pastor.  Travel to Sucre for an evening service.
Friday:  Meeting with the pastor and leadership team in Pillaro.  Meeting with pastor and leadership team in Puyo. Evening service in Puyo.
Saturday: Meeting with FLET students in Salcedo in the morning.  Travel to Ambato for a meeting with the pastor.  Evening service in Yatchil.  Travel back to Ambato that night to sleep.
Sunday: Morning service (10:00) in Riobamba.  Meet with pastor and leadership team after service.  Return to Quito in the afternoon.
Monday: Day of tourism in Quito and a debriefing meeting with Antonio and the team.
Tuesday: Team returns to Indiana.
As you can see, we need a LOT of prayer for travel safety.  I know that you have no idea where these towns are located, but all of them are in the Andes Mountains and the roads are quite curvy. The team will also be eating most of their meals in local restaurants, so please pray for their health while they are here as well.  Pray also that as the team meets with the different pastors, they will be sensitive to the Lord's guidance as to future ministry in this district.  The team members are Alan Landes, and Bill and Spring Brown.

On June 29th, I will be flying to Cuenca for a meeting with the AIEE (our partner association) to look at the future of our partnership.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will be noticeably present as we look at how we can work together in the future.  The last time we had a joint meeting, it was not very pleasant, and we want to avoid another meeting like that.  Pray for the association president Alfredo Gonzales, who seems to have some bad feelings toward the mission.  Pray that we will be an example of Christ's love to him and to each member of the association that will be present.  Pray for our field leader, Tom Stiles, as well, for wisdom as he directs the meeting.

We have much more coming up in July, but I will close for now.  Thank each of you for your prayer coverage.  It is evident to us each day and we are so grateful.  May God richly bless each one of you this week!

Building God's Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers

Happy Memorial Day!  I hope that as you reflect today on your gratitude for those who have sacrificed that we may live in freedom, you will also take the time to thank the ONE who sacrificed His life that we may live in victory!  I also want to take this time to say Happy 51st to my beloved!  ( I just had to get the age in there somehow, Darryl.)

We have had a very busy three weeks.  Thank you so much for praying for the UIndy medical team.  We had a team of 34 members including doctors, nurses and missionaries.  Even though it was quite warm, and we had several who had to battle through illnesses, we were able to attend over 700 patients in four and a half days.  I have heard several numbers, but I think that the final number of those who made decisions for Christ was 311.  We ask you to  pray for the team in Santo Domingo that is responsible for the follow up on each person who made a decision for the Lord.  They definitely have their work cut out for them!

We sent the team back to the states on May 19th, and left on May 20th for Cuenca, where we attended two days of mission meetings.  As the OMS Ecuador team, we had to come together to make some decisions about the future of our ministry here and our future partnership with one of the associations that we currently work with.  Thank you so much for praying for us as we met.  I know that the Holy Spirit was present as we met as a team to look at our future.  We still have hopes of being able to continue in partnership with the A.I.E.E., and we are excited about the opportunities to form new partnerships as well.  Please pray for us as the leadership committees of OMS and  A.I.E.E.  meet together here at the guest house to look at our future partnership on June 28th.

On Saturday I was able to participate in a women's retreat for the women of the Central District with my mom and Cindy Tankersley.  We had a time of teaching and group activity in the morning.  The afternoon session was a special service to honor my mom for 31 years of missionary service.  It was such a blessing to me to be able to have a small part in honoring my mom for her influence in my life, and to listen as many women shared of the impact her life and her ministry have had on so many people over the last 31 years.  I know that she and my dad will be greatly missed when they retire in October!

Darryl and I are excited to announce an upcoming change in ministry.  We have been so blessed to be able to coordinate all of the mission teams that have come to Ecuador to serve the Lord in ministry over the past six years.  It has enabled us to be involved in work all over the country.  However, we have been feeling a tug at our hearts to be more directly involved with our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in Christ.  Starting in September, we will serve as the District Liaisons for the Central District.  We will be serving in a support role for 14 different churches.  We will come alongside the pastors and their wives to help them grow and strengthen their existing churches.  We will also be helping them with the planting of new churches.  We are so thankful to the Lord for this opportunity to move into a different area of ministry, but we are also a little intimidated by all that this ministry will require.  Thankfully, we have a really big God who equips those he calls with exactly what they need to do the task!   We will still run the guest house and coordinate them teams that come into our district, so we will continue to have a "full plate"!

We have one week in Quito and then we will be off and traveling again.  We are hoping to travel with Doug and Cindy Tankersley (the current district liaisons) next week as they inform the churches of their change in ministry.  They will be serving stateside for the next three years.  This trip will be a time for them to say good-bye to the churches they worked with for the past four years and to introduce us as the new liaisons.  Please pray for the Tankersleys as they transition into a new ministry and for us as we continue on with the liaison ministry in the central district.

Praise Reports:

• Courtney made all A's for the first time in her school career!  We are so proud of her.
• We also want to praise the Lord and thank you for your prayers for Courtney as she has struggled with some difficult choices in her life.  She informed us on Mother's Day that she had ended a relationship that we were very concerned about.   Thank you for praying for our kids!
• We had another good month in our support account!  Thanks to all of you who faithfully give so that we can stay here.
• Praise God for the 311 new believers in Santo Domingo.
• We are praising God for giving us such a wonderful team of missionaries to work with here in Ecuador.
• Praise God for blessing Darryl and me with 14 years of a wonderful life together this month.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for my (Kelly) health.   I have a very sore throat right now, and we have a lot of traveling coming up.  Please pray for a quick healing! 
• Continue to pray for Josh and Courtney as they figure out what their relationship with the Lord is going to be.  Pray that God will reveal himself in mighty ways that they can not ignore.
• Please keep my parents (Mike and Bonnie Shrode) in your prayers as they finish up their time here in Ecuador.  They still are involved in ministry, are planning my sister's wedding in August here in Ecuador, and are trying to take care of all of the things that come with retirement.  Pray for strength, health and stamina as they finish their time here and prepare to return to the states in October.
• We have a team coming from June 19th -28th.  Pray for us as we get the final preparations done for thatteam. 
• Join us in praying for all of those who are suffering due to the natural disasters around the world.  We know that many in the states have been devastated by the recent tornadoes. We are praying that in the midst of such hard times, people will turn to the Lord for their strength.

We pray that each of you has a blessed week as you walk with the Lord.

Serving the King,
Kelly, for the Chambers

We finally did it!  We shut down the guest house for four days and took a vacation.  It was a much needed break for us, as we have only had three days with no guests since January.  Last Tuesday, Darryl and I headed for Baños, one of our favorite places to "get away".  As we were leaving Quito, Darryl mentioned how glad he was that we finally were able to get out of the city without anything getting in our way and stopping us as has happened several times before.


About an hour into our trip, I looked up and noticed a strange "cloud" in the sky.  I told Darryl that I thought it looked like Tungurahua, an active volcano here in Ecuador, was erupting.  We stopped and pulled over to take some pictures, and just about that time we saw an explosion of black ash coming from the crater.  Wouldn't you know that Tungurahua is located right where we were going!  I looked at Darryl and said, "Well, we thought nothing was going to stop us this time!"  Darryl, however, with the excitement a child has on Christmas morning looked at me and said, "Never in my life did I think I would have the chance to see a volcano erupting.  We are going to get as close as we can!"

As we drove toward the erupting volcano, we noticed a continuous stream of smoke and ash shooting out.  We stopped several times to take pictures, just waiting to come to a blockade where we would have to turn around.  However, we never arrived at that blockade.  About ten minutes before we arrived in Baños, we pulled over, stood at the base of the volcano, and marveled at one of God's amazing creations.

We did end up staying in Baños just as planned.  We were able to sit on the terrace of our hotel and watch Tungurahua erupt for three days.  We drove up to a lookout point where we were 2.5 kilometers from the volcano.  We heard it rumbling, saw the ash and smoke spewing, and even went back up at night to see the lava shooting out.  It was quite an amazing and exciting spectacle.

We had a wonderful, relaxing time in Baños.  On Thursday, we rented bikes and rode 35 kilometers (round trip) to see a waterfall.  It was a beautiful site and another reminder of how creation speaks of God's majesty.  The 17.5 kilometers back to Baños were mostly all uphill and took us about two and a half hours to finish.  But we did finish!  We turned our bikes in, cleaned up and proceeded directly to get massages on our aching bodies!

We planned to leave on Friday, which was just perfect, as Thursday night, the winds shifted, and we awoke to an ash-covered Baños Friday morning.  Everyone in the town was out in their masks, sweeping the ash from the sidewalks and streets.  The whole trip was a fun, new experience for us...one that we will never forget!

On Sunday, we attended a church service in Riobamba.  They are building a new church and had a celebration Sunday for the next phase of their building process.  They had a special service to collect funds for this next phase, and Darryl and I had the privilege of praying for each person (or family) as they gave their offering to the project.  We then had a prayer service at the sight of the new church.  It was great to be able to see how far they have come on the building.  Currently, two families from the church spend the night on the property each night so that none of the materials get stolen.  Every night different families are on "duty".  Is that dedication, or what?  Would you please pray for this body of believers in Riobamba as they work to build their new place of worship?

This week we are preparing for our next team.  The team arrives on May 9th, and we will head out on May 10th to Santo Domingo for a medical ministry.  We are still trying to locate at least one more doctor for this team, so please be in prayer for that.  We also are trying to finish up with the transportation arrangements.  This will be a team of 32 members altogether, so transportation is an issue.  Please pray for the 17 nursing students from University of Indianapolis as well as the three team leaders and two doctors as they prepare to come and minister to the physical and spiritual health of all those who will be attending.

We return from Santo Domingo on the 17th for two days of "touristy" activities before the group returns to the states.  Then, on the 20th, we leave for Cuenca, where we will be attending an extraordinary field council meeting.   We are going to be taking a close look at each of our ministries, at our partnerships, and at the future direction that we as a mission are going to be headed.  It is a very important meeting, and we really need God's guidance as we look at the future of OMS Ecuador.  Please join us in prayer as we seek God's wisdom for our meetings on May 21st-23rd.

We pray that each of you will have a blessed week!

Building God's Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers