WILSON FAMILY MISSIONS: May Update

Greetings from Ecuador!  

I want to start off by saying "thank you" to everyone who was praying for me and the AAI SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week) last week.  It was a long, but fruitful week.  Here is a quick overview of SEW:

Sometime last year I heard a series by Andy Stanley called, "Who Needs God", addressing some key areas why people are walking away from God.  I was really excited about doing this series with my students because the vast majority want nothing to do with God and my prayer was that the mix of apologetics and the gospel would open their eyes and hearts to the truth of God, Jesus and His Word. I loved his approach and some of his content, thus I decided to take some of his ideas and make it my own.  The really tough part was that I had never prepared nor preached for a whole week.  That's pretty much all I did for the 2-3 weeks prior.  I was also in charge of worship & the follow up discussion questions, so it was a lot of fun, but also a very crazy few weeks.  

Daily Topics:

Day 1: 

Atheism 2.0- an update on what atheism believes and teaches.  The big idea was "you can't walk away from something (ie, God) without walking towards something else (ie, atheism)."  

Day 2: 

For the Bible Tells Me So- The big question was "do we believe or not believe just because the Bible tells us so?"  I explained that it's both.  I explained that Christianity doesn't exist because of the Bible any more than we exist because of our birth certificate.  The Bible was the result of something that happened.  I also shared with them some key apologetics and why we can rely on the Bible as truth and as the inspired word of God.  

Day 3:

gods of the no-testament- People walk away from God or don't believe because of wrong thinking and wrong understanding of who God is.  I addressed aspects of God's nature and character that just are not accurate, like "If God exists, then good people should not suffer."  I asked them, "Where did you get that idea?  Who told you that?  Because that's not in the Bible."  I also shared key scriptures and testimonies of who God really is.

Day 4:

Good or God- I showed a short message by John Bevere addressing how there are things deemed good in the world's culture that are bad/sin to God and God's Kingdom Culture.  The message is a "recalibration" message of turning our hearts back to God.  (if you'd like to watch his message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH8a_MShSTA&t=2s

I gave an altar call at the end and about 30 students came up wanting to completely dedicate their lives to the Lord.  

Day 5:

Testimonies & Final Discussion followed up by a big Ice Cream Social. (I bought tons of ice cream and toppings to make ice cream sundaes.  It was a fun way to close out SEW.)

The amazing part of this week was not seeing incredible transformations from atheism to being sold out for Jesus, but seeing and hearing testimonies of students who were heading towards atheism and now are heading towards faith in God.  There were so many who doubted God's existence and the Bible's validity day 1, but by the end they had made a turn towards God.  My prayer is that the work that God began in their hearts will continue to grow & develop.  

Please keep praying for these students.  You don't know them and I honestly don't know all who were touched by the Lord, but He does.  Pray that the seeds planted will grow deep into their hearts, leading them to surrender their lives and put their complete faith in Christ Jesus. 

For us as a family, we're doing really well.  The school year ends at the end of June, so everyone is anxious for the year to be over.  It's been a really hard rainy winter, so much so that the school has flooded a few times.  That was not fun!  It's only been in the last few days that we haven't had a daily downpour.  Praying that "El Nino" has come to an end.

  

Carolina and I had the opportunity to get away on Monday & Tuesday.  We had such a wonderful time together.  It was greatly needed.  The kids are doing well.  They are both growing in piano and doing well in school.  Joaquin's bday is next Friday, so he'll be turning 10.  Can't believe he's going to be in the double digits.  

Well, that's about it for now.  Here are a few prayer requests:

1.  Hunger and desire for more of God's presence.  Ministry is not a replacement for intimacy with Christ.  Complacency has had its way and it's time for that to end.  We need Him and everyone at the school needs Him.  

2.  Family & Marriage!  The enemy is always looking to infiltrate and destroy marriages & families.  Please pray for us and the families at AAI.  We need God's covering, strength and protection.  

3.  Physical Injuries!  Carolina has really hurt her shoulder playing volleyball and needs to get checked out.  I have a partially torn meniscus in my left knee that apparently needs surgery.  I also slipped and fell recently and really hurt my right knee and ankle.  I need to get an MRI on that knee now because I'm in a lot of pain.  It even hurts when I drive.  So, please pray for our healing and if we need surgery, that God will provide the finances to cover that.    

4.  Finances!  God is blessing us and meeting all our needs, but we are just getting by.  God is faithful and we know He is our provider.  We also know God uses the body of Christ to fulfill His purposes. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us both financially and in prayer.  

We want to give a huge 'THANK YOU' to everyone who already supports us financially and/or in prayer.  We are so blessed and grateful.  You are a big part in enabling us to stay on the mission field.  May the Lord richly bless you all!!!  

Love to you all,

Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin & Milena  

  

WILSON FAMILY MISSIONS: MARCH UPDATE

Greetings from Quito, Ecuador!

For starters, it's been a pretty cold & rainy year here in Quito.  Obviously "cold" has no comparison to our South Bend winters.  It's really like our Spring, but that is bad weather for these parts (thank you El Niño).  Anyways, we are doing well.  It's been a very interesting year for us as a family and school.  Carolina coached volleyball in the Fall and then I coached basketball from November to the end of February, which completely changed our schedules (particularly as a family).  We had a lot of fun coaching and were able to build some strong relationships with those students.  I'm praying for increased opportunities to share the gospel and love of Jesus with them.  As a school, there are a lot of transitions.  Our current director is leaving at the end of this year, along with many teachers in Elementary & Secondary. Nothing bad happened, it's just one of those years where there's a lot of changes.  Preparing for next year and responding to all the new requirements by the Ministry of Education this year, it has been quite the year.

Carolina is doing really well with teaching and leading the Spanish Department.  It was pretty rough in the beginning, but now she's got a good handle on everything.  She's playing a lot of volleyball with a club team, so she's really enjoying that.  Joaquin and Milena are both doing well.  They are both taking piano lessons.  Joaquin is playing a lot of basketball and is pretty passionate about it.  He has also started taking drum lessons, which is pretty cool.  Milena is taking gymnastics as well and really enjoys that.  They are doing well in their classes and it's fun to see them grow & develop.  I am doing well overall.  It's been a challenging year and somewhat disappointing in different areas.  We always dream big and usually want to see those dreams fulfilled immediately, but that's not the reality.  I just need to keep close to the fire and trust that God is moving in the lives of those we touch.  Our job is to plant and water, but it's God's job to bring forth the growth.

Prayer Points:
1.  Right now I'm teaching about the Kingdom of God in my chapels.  I'm really praying that students and staff will be provoked to pursue the Kingdom of God and his righteousness personally.  We all know it's a journey, but as in any journey, there's a starting point and I'm praying and believing every individual will take that journey with Jesus.  Pray for breakthrough and open hearts & minds.

2.  We need a fresh fire and hunger for God's presence & face (as a school and family)

3.  That God will bring the right person to lead this school as the new director in this new season.  We need a strong, godly man with a desire & passion for God's presence above all else.

4.  God's guidance, direction and discernment as we begin planning for the next school year.

5.  Salvation for Carolina's family and for my father-in-laws healing (from emphysema).

Thank you so much for all your love, prayer and financial support enabling us to serve the Lord here in Ecuador.  You are greatly loved and appreciated.

With much love,

Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin & Milena

PS...we're coming home for a few weeks this Summer, so we hope to see you.  I'm working on putting together another worship night.  I will let you all know when that is arranged.  Lord bless!