Jeremiah 17:5,7
It is always about this time, when Darryl and I are “knee-deep” in teams, guests, and so many things going on, that we get a little nervous. Have we done enough? Have we thought of everything that needs to be taken care of before the teams arrive? Have our Ecuadorian partners done their parts to prepare for the teams? What else can we do? Today, during my devotion time, I read these verses in Jeremiah. I could barely keep my mind on what I was reading because of thinking about what all needed to be done today and in the next couple of days. It seems like Darryl and I tend to put the focus on us, and what all we must do to make these trips a success, when really, our trust and confidence need to be in the Lord, who is the one in control anyway! Please pray that as the time quickly approaches for the arrival of our teams for the summer, that we will realize who is in control, that we will seek his will, and that we will not be focused on us and our ability to put together a meaningful experience for these teams, but that we will allow God to “do his thing”, and that we will give him the glory for what he accomplishes this summer with our teams.
Before I get into the upcoming events, I want to give you an update and a praise report on our medical team and the women’s retreat.
Medical Team:
We always enjoy the nursing students from UIndy who come every May. This year they were accompanied by three doctors and a dentist. We held medical clinics in two different places: Biblian and La Villa. We were able to see about 500 patients during the week and had over 250 decisions to accept Christ. Praise the Lord! We had a wonderful team of Ecuadorians who counseled with each person. This Ecuadorian team is also responsible for the follow-up of each person who made a decision for Christ or requested a home visit. I had the chance to talk with two of the team members recently, and they are so excited about what God is doing. So far, they have been able to locate each family they have looked for, and have been invited in to visit with the family every time. That is not always the case. They are praising God for the results that they are seeing. Please keep Sergio, Jacob and Pablo in your prayers as they continue to make home visits and get these new believers plugged into a church.Women’s Retreat:
I asked you to pray for the Central District women’s retreat that we held at the guest house on May 21-23. Up until the actual time that they were to arrive, we had no idea how many were coming. We had planned for 30, but, as often happens, even though they were supposed to be registered to come, there was no one registered ahead of time. We did some serious praying that day because we were afraid that there would be 50 show up, and not enough room, food or materials for all of them. When it was all said and done, there were exactly 30 women who came to the retreat. God is so good! Thank you for praying for my mom and for me, as she spoke and I led the worship. She did a great job, and even though it was definitely confirmed that I was not called to lead worship, we were able to have a good worship time. The women had a wonderful time, and were truly blessed by their time together. They were also very touched by Darryl, Doug Tankersley and my dad, who served them all weekend. I think that might have been their favorite thing of the whole weekend! One of the things we realized is that there are a lot of hurting women here in Ecuador. We have received several prayer requests from women with very serious issues. Please pray, along with us, that these women will see victory in their lives and in each situation they face.Upcoming Teams:
Our first team arrives on Wednesday. They will be here from the 9th through the 23rd. This is a group of college students from Wayland Baptist University in Texas (where our daughter attends). We will be spending the majority of our time near the jungle. Right now, Tungurahua, a volcano located right where we are going to be, is very active. We have not come up with a plan B, but we are praying for God’s wisdom. The group is scheduled to work at an orphanage, to attend a jungle course and to do some adventure sports (all for college credits). It is going to be very difficult to come up with something else this late. Please pray that God will either calm down the volcano, or miraculously bring to our attention some other opportunity. Either way, we pretty much need a miracle!
Our next team arrives on June 26th. They are coming from Murphy’s Landing, a church in Indiana. They will be doing a VBS, a marriage seminar and some work on the church there. We are taking them to a very poor area called La Union. My parents are the liaisons for this area, so we will be working with them during this week. We are expecting up to 300 children and 100 couples, so we are going to have our hands full! Please pray for the team as they prepare to come. Pray that all of the last minute details will work themselves out, and for safety and health for all of us.
We have two more teams after that, but I will write about them in the next email, as this has already turned into a small novel!
One big praise note:
Our support account continues to remain in the black. Last month we even brought in more money than we spent! Thank you to all of you who support us financially. Having a positive support account allows us to focus on what God has called us to do here in Ecuador.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We sense them every day. It brings us such comfort to know our ministry is the hands of so many amazing prayer warriors. We love each of you, and we are praying for you, too.
Serving the King,
Kelly, for the Chambers
