Praise & Prayer Update

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14-15

I don't think we realize how busy we actually are until I look at how long ago I sent out our last update. A whole month—WOW! It's definitely been an eventful one.
(Of course, lately, they all are!)


We had a full guest house this past month, which seems to be the case these days. However, we had one special guest who really touched our hearts. Gelen (you would pronounce it Helen) was dropped off at an orphanage in Shell by a desperate mother who had nowhere else to go. The lady who runs the guest house immediately brought her to Quito for medical attention. She was 11 months old, weighed 10 pounds and was struggling for every breath that night when she arrived. Of course, Darryl and I, being the baby-lovers that we are, took her immediately when she arrived and held her for the longest time. Our hearts were taken with this baby. She was quite the fighter in the hospital, but her little body had been through too much, and it eventually shut down. Heaven has inherited one precious, little girl. We don’t really know anything about Gelen’s family, but we would ask you to pray that they would see God’s love revealed to them in an amazing way through the loss of their daughter.

Thank you for praying for the women’s retreat. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. We were able to pamper ourselves, shop, eat at great restaurants…all of those girly things! God has really blessed us with a great OMS Ecuador family, and we are truly grateful for each of them.


Darryl and I will be heading out tomorrow to drop off some furniture at our camp and take some VBS material to one of the churches that we are going to bring a team to this summer. As I have mentioned before, traveling is always a concern (especially for me, the second most nervous passenger I know…my mom would be the first, so it runs in the family!). Please pray for safe travels, for good health and for a productive meeting with the VBS teachers in La Union. I just spent three days being sick, so I am not anxious to go there again! We will be back on Friday in time to receive some guests.

On May 4th-14th we will be working with a group of nursing students from University of Indiana. This is the third year for us to work with this group, and we always look forward to them coming. We will be having a medical clinic in Azogues. As always, pray for travel safety and good health, but we would also ask you to pray that we would be a light in that community that would draw people to come and know the true healer.

One last prayer request: May 21-23 we are hosting a women’s retreat for the women in the central district. That is the district we live in. My mom will be speaking on the fruits of the spirit, and I will be leading worship. The thing is, I am really just learning to play the keyboard, I am not a worship leader and all of this has to be in Spanish. Okay…you can guess my prayer request. That’s right—A MIRACLE! I’m sure my mom would appreciate your prayers as well.

I have the verses from 1 John 5 posted on a note card that I can see every day. They not only remind me of the confidence I can place in my prayers, but they also remind me of the confidence I have in you as our prayer warriors. We know that you pray for God’s will in every situation that you lift before the throne concerning us, our ministry and our children. Thank you so much for your partnership with us in these ministries that we are so blessed to be a part of!

Serving the King,
Kelly, for the Chambers

Praise & Prayer Update

“He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Easter is my favorite holiday, simply because of what it stands for. The fact that God sent his son to earth is an amazing act of love, but the fact that Jesus died on the cross in my place…well that is just mind-blowing to me. This verse is particularly meaningful to me this year, as I think about Jesus’ death on the cross. When God looks at me now, he sees me as righteous. Not because of anything I am or because of anything I have done, but because of Christ took my place on the cross. Thank you, Jesus!

This month has been a busy one for us. We have made two trips with my parents to the North Coast District. The first trip was to get to know the pastors of that district. The second was to attend a joint worship service between two churches. Reality set in when we got to San Juan for the joint worship service only to find out that the host church didn’t know anything about it, and had already made plans for a mini marriage seminar. Most of the pastors of this district live in poverty, not owning a computer, a cell phone, or even a land-line phone…the things that Darryl and I take for granted. Therefore, communication becomes a big issue. Please pray for Xavier Borja and my parents, Mike and Bonnie Shrode, as they work together to find ways to improve communication within the district. One praise note…we saw the Lord move in a very touching way among the couples that attended the marriage seminar. Displays of affection are not common among married couples, but it was so touching to see so many couples asking each other for forgiveness, crying and praying together. We went for one reason, but we were totally blessed in a way we didn’t expect. God is good!

We have had a full guest house, which has been fun for us. We had three days in March with no guests, so that gave us a chance to catch up on some rest. April looks to be another very busy month. Please pray that God will continue to provide us with the energy that we need to serve our guests.

Darryl will be traveling quite a bit this month. He is scheduled to travel April 8-11 to Cuenca and Yantzaza. Later on this month he will be traveling to Pallatanga. Traveling in this country is always a safety issue, so please pray for God’s protective hand to be on Darryl as he travels. Pray for me as well, as I will be running the guest house “solo” during those times.

April 16-18 we will have a women’s retreat for all of the missionary women here with OMS. There are few times during the year that we get to see each other, so I am looking forward to that weekend. Please pray for each of us as we travel, and that the Lord will bless our fellowship.

We pray that you have a very blessed Easter.

Serving the King,
Kelly, for the Chambers

Praise & Prayer Update

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

1 Cor. 15:58

This verse is one of the verses I have posted on a notecard in our house where we can see it every day. What a wonderful promise and word of encouragement this is from the Lord! There are times when we wonder if we are making any difference in God's kingdom by being here. We deal with daily frustrations and often don't see the "fruits" of our labor. Then, we come home, see this verse, and are reminded that our work is not in vain, and we are encouraged to press onward. Dear friends, we pray that you will receive the same encouragement from this verse. Know that anything you do for the Lord, whether it is on the "front lines" or supporting those who are is never in vain. Thank you, Lord!

It has been a while since our last update, and I apoligize for not doing better at communicating with you. I always have such great intentions, but...well, you know how it is with my good intentions--they often go unrealized! We do think about you and pray for you every day. You are so important to our ministry through your prayers and financial support, and we pray for God's blessing and protection over your lives as you continue to partner with us in such sacrificial ways. We are so thankful for each of you.

The guest house was very busy in February. There were only four days when we didn't have guests! The Lord has really blessed and grown this ministry over the past year. It is quickly becoming a full-time ministry in itself. Because of that fact, we would ask you to be in prayer for us as we seek guidance for our future. We want to be in God's will concerning our ministry here in Ecuador, whether it is running the guest house or coordinating the short-term mission teams.

We recently completed a ministry trip with my parents to the North Coast District. My parents are the liaisons of that district, and we are looking at bringing some teams into that area. My heart was burdened for the pastors of that area. It is a very poor district, and many of our pastors live in extreme situations, yet they faithfully serve the Lord with grateful hearts for his blessings in their lives. The question that continued to plague me throughout the trip was, "Lord, why is it that I was born in such a blessed nation, in a loving family, with every need I ever had met without even giving it a second thought?" I believe the Lord's answer came in the form of a verse that he brought to my mind, "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded." Please pray for us as we begin the process of finding teams to come to this area. We truly believe that God has laid it on our hearts to bless the pastors of this district. Pray that as we seek God's will concerning the North Coast, he will reveal himself clearly to us.

A year ago I had the opportunity to share my testimony with a group of women at the English Fellowship Church. There wasa high school girl in attendance that night who had suffered a very similar past as mine. She asked me if I would be willing to meet with her, and we had our first meeting three weeks ago. The Lord has really blessed that time, and each week I am able to recognize more and more just what a wonderful work of healing God has done in my life as I share with her and listen to her. Please pray for me as I meet with this young lady. Pray for wisdom as I try to guide her closer to the Father, who can completely restore her life as he is doing in mine.

Darryl is at a men's retreat as I am writing this update. He is with the other OMS missionaries from Ecuador. Please pray that they will have a wonderful time of fellowhip, that they will each return refreshed, and for safe travel home on Sunday.

Thank you for your partnership. We know that we are only able to be here because you said, "Yes!" when the Lord laid us on your hearts. May he richly repay you for your obedience and for your faithfulness.

Serving the King,

Kelly, for the Chambers

Back Home Again

Greetings from a sunny Quito. We have had three days of no sun, so the bright sunshine today is most welcome! We have finally entered the rainy season which was much needed because everything was looking brown. Pretty soon, things will be looking green and lush. I guess it's just the opposite of what you all are experiencing in the states.

Thank you for your prayers for us over the last month. Our missionary-pastor retreat went well. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. We were a little disappointed because there weren't many pastors there, but it was a good beginning to what we hope will be an annual event. We had a wonderful speaker who talked to us about dealing with change. God sent just the right man to speak to us at just the right time, as we all seemed to be going through some real changes in our lives. We were able to pray and worship together for two days, and even found time to fit in some volleyball. It was a great time together with our Ecuadorian co-laborers in Christ.

After the retreat, we headed off to La Libertad to help with a medical team. We had an amazing week! The Ecuadorian brothers and sisters that we partnered with were so great. They had everything organized and ready for us to go when we arrived. They served us all week with such love, and they truly ministered to the team of doctors and nurses who came from the states. We saw close to 700 patients throughout the week. The best part is that 213 people made decisions to accept Christ for the first time. Praise the Lord! Now comes the huge task of following up on each person. Please pray for Pastor Gerardo and the members of the church as they begin the process of getting those new believers plugged into churches.


After some much needed days of vacation in Guayaquil (thank you Pablo and Rebecca), we are now back in Quito getting ready for our next event which is tomorrow. We are hosting a Pastor Appreciation Day for the pastors in the North District. The pastors and their families have been invited for a day of fun and fellowship. We are busy getting ready for 50+ people. We have been able to put together gift bags for each of the pastors and their families, as well as gift bags for each church's Sunday school program. We want to say thank you to the many teams that brought down boxes of crayons, scissors, glue, paints, markers, stickers, etc...Because of you, there are 14 churches who now have supplies for their Sunday school classes. MUCHAS GRACIAS! Please pray for us tomorrow. Most of the pastors will be traveling by bus to get here, so pray for their safe travel. Pray that our time of fellowship will be sweet, and pray for Tom Bowen, who will be our guest speaker for the event.



We currently have a group of 16 in the guest house. They arrived last night and will be here for a week. Please pray for them as they spend this week ministering in Quito and Salcedo.

We would also ask that you be in prayer for my dad, Mike Shrode, this week. He has had a biopsy of a lymph node done and should go in this Friday for the results. Please join us in praying that the doctors will find him cancer free.

We love you and appreciate your partnership. We pray that God will richly bless you and keep you this coming week.

Serving the King,
Kelly (for the Chambers)

We're Alive!!!

Wow...June 11th seems like forever ago! I have sent out several prayer updates since then, but I had kind of given up on this blog idea. We weren't sure that there was much interest in it, so I decided to quit adding posts. However, a couple of weeks ago, we received an email from a fellow missionary who works at our headquarters in Indiana. He had been in contact with a man who had shown interest in bringing a team to Ecuador to work with us. When he contacted the man to find out how he knew us, he said that he surfed the web looking for missionaries to pray for and found our blog site. God just never ceases to amaze me. Just when we think about giving up on something, He sends someone along to encourage us to keep on doing what we are doing.

Since our last blog update, we have had some absolutely wonderful teams and opportunities for ministry here. We had an awesome group of youth come down from Iowa to paint our huge (or so they thought when they started painting it) house. We also had the chance to partner with some former street boys to witness to people in a park near our house. It was a great experience, and 8 people were led to the Lord in one afternoon! It was amazing to watch the Lord build the language gap between these U.S. and Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in Christ. It was also especially touching to us to watch these teenage boys, who had been rescued from a life on the streets, share their testimonies with strangers in the park of how God had saved them. The Iowa team also had an opportunity to do a kids' program during a "Gran Celebracion", which is gathering of several churches for a corporate worship service. They led in some games, arts and crafts and face painting. It was a fun day and the kids had a wonderful time.

In July we had a group from the Second Baptist Church of Houston, Texas come down to give away freee wheelchairs. It was amazing to be a part of helping to change people's lives just by giving them the gift of mobility. We saw people who were brought to us in the backs of pick-ups and people who were carried in on the backs of family members. I can't even put into words the gratitude that was shown to us as families left the churches. We were hugged, kissed and thanked so deeply as tears streamed down all of our faces. Each wheelchair recipient was given a Bible and was prayed for before he/she left. Not only were physical needs met, but each person was presented with an opportunity to make a life-changing decision for Christ. Many accepted Christ for the first time. It was an amazing week!

In August, Darryl took a group from New Jersey and Illinois to Cuenca to do construction on our seminary and to hold a VBS. The construction group laid the drain lines and did electrical work. The VBS group worked with about 50-60 kids during the week. Darryl said that after the first day of VBS, he had a hard time keeping people at the construction site because they were so blessed by the kids! I took that week to spend time with my brothers and sisters who were here in Ecuador visiting. We went to the beach for the week.

In September, we went to our camp in Pallatanga to work with a team from Pennsylvania who came down to work on one of the dorms. We spent the first day painting our local OMS church in Pallatanga, and the rest of the week painting, pouring cement and remodelling the bathrooms of one dorm. It was a tiring, but wonderful week of hard work and fellowship. We enjoyed getting to know the group and seeing their their desire to serve the Lord and the missionaries at camp Pallatanga. We felt truly blessed to be able to join them for the week. We also found out that we will be in charge of all of the groups that come to work at the camp from now on, so we are excited about the new opportunities that will bring.

On Sunday, we traveled to Salcedo to celebrate AIEE's 31st anniversary with the churches of the North District. AIEE is one of the associations that OMS works with in Ecuador. It is always very exciting for us to get together with the churches of the district and see the growth. We have taken teams to most of the churches in our district, so it is always great to reunite with the friends that we have made in the various churches. Once again, Cindy, my mom and me were asked to sing. This time I attempted to play the guitar as we sang. I have been taking lessons and this was my debut. Fortunately, one of the pastors accompanied us on the keyboard, so I didn't have to play

solo!

Now we are getting ready for October. We have a pastor-missionary retreat at Camp Pallatanga from the 8th-10th. We will leave straight from there to meet a medical team in Guayaquil. We will be working with that team in a coastal town called La Libertad from October 10th-17th. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for the upcoming events. Pray that the Lord would really bless our time with the pastors from the AIEE association. Pray that there would be a wonderful sense of unity experienced between the missionaries, the pastors and their spouses. Pray also that the Lord will already be preparing the hearts of the people that we will treat and minister to during the medical clinic at La Libertad. Pray for the team as they are preparing to come, and pray for Susan Stiles as she is doing the last minute things to get everything organized.

We love you all, and we are always blessed by your faithfulness to us and our ministry! We pray that you all will continue to see the blessings of the Lord in your lives as you walk faithfully with Him.

Serving the King,

Kelly, for the Chambers

Well, we knew it was coming, and it's just around the corner---the empty nest. Waaaahhhhh! (That would be me crying!) Tomorrow Courtney will graduate from high school. We have such mixed emotions. We are so proud of Courtney and the wonderful young woman that she has become, and we are so excited to see where the Lord will take her. Yet, it seems like there is a tear just on the verge of falling anytime we think of her leaving. She has one final exam that she will take tomorrow morning, and then she will finally (as she says) be done with high school. She will be returning to Texas on June 17th where she will work as a waitress for the summer--her first job, by the way. Then, on August 5th she will begin the next phase of her life--college. She will be going to Wayland Baptist University where she plans on playing soccer and majoring in sports and exercise science. We want to thank you so much for praying for our children over the years. Please pray for Courtney during this time of transition in her life.

We have had a special blessing this week. Three of Courtney's friends from the states are here for her graduation. Courtney has spent the week showing them around Quito. Yesterday we were able to go to a soccer game between Ecuador and Argentina, which was quite an experience. Ecuadorians are extremely passionate about their soccer team! We were relieved that Ecuador won, as we could forsee a riot coming if they didn't. Courtney and her friends are planning on taking a trip on Saturday to a town about four hours from Quito to go canyoning and white-water rafting. Please pray for their safety as they travel and as they participate in some adventurous activities over the next couple of days. They will be returning on Monday just in time for Courtney to pack and leave on Wednesday.

We had an unfortunate event happen at the soccer game. At the end of the game, as we were leaving, Darryl got his wallet stolen. He knew exactly when it happened, but there were so many people crowding around us that there was no way of knowing who had taken it. We weren't as concerned about losing the money as we were the documents that were in it. Replacing documents here is no easy task. Darryl is going to have to get a new driver's license, and we both lost our documents that show we are legal to live here. Please pray for us as we begin the process of renewing the stolen documents.

We currently have 22 guests at the house. They will be here through the 18th, and then we have a team coming to work on the guest house from the 20th-30th. We will be painting the outside of the house and replacing the rain gutters, as well as whatever other jobs we might be able to accomplish. We also will be taking a little time out to do some evangelizing while they are here. Please pray that we will be able to get everything ready this week.

We have been so blessed over the past couple of months to see God doing amazing things through the teams we have worked with. Over 300 people have come to know the Lord. Two foundations have been laid for a church and a pastoral training center. We have given medical attention to more than 1300 people. We hosted a vision clinic in the women's prison that lead to an increase in our Bible study attendance from 35 to 60 women. Wow--just reading this gives me goose bumps! We hope that you don't think that your prayers and financial support aren't making a difference here in Ecuador. You are a huge part of our team, and you share in each victory. We love and appreciate each one of you!

Serving the King,

Kelly, for the Chambers

What an amazing two weeks we have had! The Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to work with so many wonderful teams. These last two weeks were no exception.

On March 21-28, I had the privilege of hosting the Dynamic Women in Missions team. This group of women came down to spend a week in three different areas of the country to get a better understanding of just how women across the world are involved in ministry. Their desire was to get to know personally women who are involved in building God's kingdom in Ecuador. We visited Guayaquil, Cuenca and Quito. During this time they were able to get to know the pastors' wives, other women with leadership roles in various churches and the OMS missionaries in each area. The ladies had several opportunities to minister to their Ecuadorian sisters in Christ despite the language differences. In one of the meetings we had, Patricia, a pastor's wife, had been going through several months of difficult trials in her ministry. We were able to have a wonderful time of prayer with her. Before she left she said that there were a few events in her life that she considered treasures, and that the time of prayer we had for her was one of those treasured events. The funny thing was that she was not even going to attend the meeting because she didn't know what to expect. It was a wonderul week in which the ladies got a better understanding of how to pray for and to partner with women in ministries here in Ecuador.

On March 27th through April 4th, a team from Ovid Community Church arrived to do a week of ministry in two different towns. Part of the group went to Riobamba to help with the construction of a new church. Darryl and I spent the week with them. We were able to build the frames for the columns of the church. During the week we were also able to attend two cell groups. The members of the group shared their testimonies and sang songs (in English) for each group. Darryl and I were blessed, as we always are, to see how cultural and language differences are overcome and two complete groups of strangers quickly become brothers and sisters in Christ. The second group went to Salcedo to spend the week working with the members of our OMS church there to do evangelizing. They did a drama in the market and visited door to door presenting the gospel in several different ways. Doug Tankersley went with this team and reported to us that they lost track of how many people accepted the Lord as their Savior during the week. It was a wonderful week of ministry in both towns.

Tonight we attended the spring sports' banquet at Courtney's school. Courtney fractured her right hand and had to miss the last two weeks of her basketball season, but she still received the Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player awards. She is done with sports for the rest of the school year, and now is just waiting to graduate. She has 8 weeks left of school. Please pray that she will finish her senior year well. Pray also that she will be able to find a job for the summer. She has been accepted to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. She is hoping to get a job in our home town for the summer before she heads to school.

Josh is looking for a job as well. He quit his job thinking that he would be living in Austin by now, but his plans have changed, so now he is looking for another job until he moves. Please pray that something will come his way soon. He is wanting to come down for Courtney's graduation, but without a job, it will be very difficult.

We are so thankful for your faithful prayers for our ministry. We have seen God working in amazing ways over the past several weeks, and we feel so privileged to be a part of it. Through your prayers and your faithful financial support, you are a huge part of it as well. We are praying that God will richly bless you as you remain faithful to his call on your lives to support missions around the world.

Serving the King,

Kelly, for the Chambers