WILSON FAMILY MISSIONS- NOVEMBER 2018

Greetings from Quito, Ecuador!

I want to give an update on some of the ministry things going on here, but I want to start by sharing some of what God has been doing in me personally.

I am writing to you in a time where God is doing a great work in my heart and life.  In all my previous updates, I have asked you to pray for God to awaken my heart like never before.  God is answering that prayer!

We know that life with Jesus is a journey and I can honestly say that He is teaching me some things I've always known in my head, but not fully known in my heart, which is the only place true life change occurs.  For years I have struggled understanding the love of God for me personally.  Growing up, I always knew He loved me deeply, but I had my parents' love...their deep, unconditional, love for me.  I always knew it was God's love pouring in and through them, but I never really felt the need to experience God's love personally, even though I know I experienced His love.  I certainly encountered His presence, a deep desire to know Him and walk with Him, but never truly experienced His ongoing, unconditional love for me, which carried on well into my adult years.  At times I even got angry saying, "There's more to God than just love...why do we always have to talk about and sing about God's love."  It is true that there is more to God than just love, but looking back, I realize how much I needed to experience, know and live in the love of God.

As a result, I have been able to see that much of what I did was to earn His love and show God how committed and dedicated I was to Him by what I did and didn't do, rather than just simply allowing Him to love me and love Him in return.  When my striving and efforts fell short, guilt and condemnation flooded in.  For years I wondered, "Why do I feel this void in my heart when I'm serving and loving Jesus?"  I have come to the realization that I was a Martha.  I was pursuing to do for Jesus, but sporadically pursued intimacy with Jesus.  Sure, I had my seasons and moments where I sought Him as silver and gold, and He always responded because He is faithful to His Word.  But it tended to move quickly into doing for Jesus, because I didn't continue pursuing intimacy.  When I needed something or I was preparing to minister, I would seek Him because I recognized I really had nothing to give on my own, but that is not God's design for His children.  No wonder I didn't feel God's continual joy in my heart.  No wonder why the Christian life felt empty a lot of the time.  The Christian life was never meant to be lived apart from intimacy with Jesus.  He is the Vine and we are the branches...we can't live and bear fruit if we're not totally & completely connected to the Vine, our source of life.  Our character, integrity and lifestyle will always be lacking when we try to live the Christian life without being consumed by Christ; and our feelings & emotions will dominate how we ultimately live life.  It's why Paul said, "It's no longer I who live, but Christ Jesus who lives in me."  We will never be able to walk as Jesus and live like Jesus apart from intimacy with Him.  That's why Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better part.  Mary valued intimacy with Jesus above service, even though it was her social responsibility.  You see, serving Jesus needs to be an outflow of our intimacy with Jesus, not a means to an end to get close to Jesus.  That only ends in guilt, condemnation, frustration and fruitlessness.  God can and certainly will use us, but it won't be what He intended for us and won't benefit us when we stand before Him.  But as we enter into a love relationship with God, everything begins to change.  I'm seeing that at a deeper level than ever before.  I am more aware now of God in everything I do than ever before.  I have this growing desire to please Him and love Him in everything...in my relationships, thoughts, words and actions.  I don't want to give myself permissions to sin.  I don't want to compromise anymore.  I don't want to be lukewarm.  I want to pursue and walk in holiness; to passionately love and pursue Jesus; to live in the light.  I want to be FREE!

I'm writing this to you today to share the awakening God is doing in my life and the freedom I am experiencing as I'm pressing in and pursuing Him, as well as to address the lie that we can love and serve Jesus without surrendering our hearts and lives to Him completely.  What many call legalism, God calls obedience.  We were never called to be fans of Jesus, but followers.  We were never called to be complacent & lukewarm, but steadfastly pursue and be passionately in love with Him.  We were never called to have one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom, but to be consecrated, holy and set apart (in this world, but not of it-- ambassadors & representatives of Jesus and His Kingdom here in this world).  Luke 9:23 says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me."

As I said in the beginning, we are all on a journey.  Press in and seek His face with all your heart.  Let's be people of the Word!  Seek first His kingdom and to be in right standing with Him.  That is the only journey worth taking.  Let God awaken your hearts to His great, great love for you and watch what He will do as you surrender to His love and love Him in return.  May the Lord greatly bless you all!

Here's a few amazing videos that God has used in my life recently.  I encourage you to check them out:
Consumed by God

A Call to Holiness


MINISTRY UPDATE:
- Chapels & DNA Groups: This year has been going well.  We have been addressing the topic of LOVE thus far.  We are targeting different facets and meanings of love, specifically God's Agape love.  In mid-October we just had our first SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week) of the year and it went really well.  We had a guest speaker with a powerful testimony of God's love through tragedy and we're believing many seeds were planted and watered.  (Thank you to all who were specifically praying for us that week.)  After SEW I addressed the topic of always hearing about God's love, but not entering into a love relationship with Him.  Please pray that the students will ponder these things and sincerely examine their hearts.  Our desire is that they stop hearing about God's love and enter into a love relationship with Him.

- Deep Discipleship:  We have 3 groups this year so far with about 20 students.  There is a group of Juniors and 2 groups of MS students.  They are a great group of kids, but each week they declare, "We were too busy to spend time with Jesus!'  (Much like many adult Christians).  Each week I respond, "We pursue the things that are important to us!"  Please pray that they will press in, pursue and discover intimacy with Jesus and that He will be their One and Only. 

- Student Worship Band: I am so proud of this group.  They are doing an amazing job.  Their growth from last year to this year is AMAZING.  Pray that these students encounter true worship in their lives with God and that it not be just about playing music.

- Staff Worship Band: We have a great group of staff worshippers and it continues to grow.  Pray for breakthrough...that true, uninhibited, heartfelt worship will flood through our school in the hearts and lives of all our staff.  The spiritual environment continues to be very complacent and lukewarm, but I'm believing for breakthrough.  We must lead the way spiritually!

- Worship Nights: I feel that the Lord has called me to do monthly worship nights again this year at our home.  We had our first in Oct and another one coming up November 16.  Please be praying for these nights.  The objective is to get away from everything, center in and love on Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our lives in Him.

FAMILY UPDATE:   
- Carolina has A LOT on her plate this 1st Semester.  She is Spanish Department Head again, which entails coordinating schedules & classes (a lot of work), plus she has a full teaching load and is coaching Volleyball again, which means she gets home pretty late.  On top of that she is in charge of organizing a big Ecuadorian celebration for the school which takes place the beginning of Dec.  Please pray for her.  It's only in His presence that the Lord can fill her with His joy, strength and peace to see her through.  Stress and anxiety are not of God, but tactics of the enemy to kill, steal and destroy, but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.  The victory is ours in Jesus' name!!!
Also, please pray that God will show us His will and purpose for Carolina next school year and the wisdom to discern and follow His lead.

- Joaquin and Milena are doing great.  They are doing well in school and both are taking piano lessons through FaceTime with my mom.  They are growing and doing a great job.  They both are growing in their relationship with Jesus and love to read the Word, but also are confronted with worldly mindsets and attitudes here at the school.  Please pray that they will receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because that changes everything; and that they love and stand firm in Jesus all the days of their lives.

- As I said above, God is doing some great things in my life.  I'm no where close to perfect, but God is teaching me to love Him and love others, specifically my wife and children, in a whole new way.  I only want to keep growing in Him and His love!
Please pray for Carolina and I.  In the midst of all that's going on, we often times feel disconnected.  Our biggest need is for Jesus to be the center of everything in our lives...individually, relationally, spiritually, in ministry, in our future...everything. 
I've also had the opportunity and privilege to spend lots of time with the kids, which has been great for us.  I've been working with the kids in basketball and they both really love it.  These times with them are priceless.
Also, since January God has been confirming in my heart some specific things moving forward related to ministry here in Ecuador.  I am so excited about these things, but am trying to discern God's timing and process.  I'm intentionally being vague, but please pray for God's guidance and wisdom as I seek for His purpose and plan for our lives moving forward in ministry here in Ecuador. 

Thank you for all your prayer, love and support to us as a family.
For those who partner with us financially, we are so grateful and blessed.  You help keep us here on the mission field and share in the fruit of what God is doing.  Thank you so much!
For those who feel the Lord leading you to partner financially with us in ministry here in Ecuador, you can do so through Radiant Church: Wilson Family Missions Support (Make sure to specify it is for Caleb & Carolina, Ecuador, etc)

Love always!



Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin & Milena

WILSON FAMILY MISSIONS- JULY '18 UPDATE

Greetings from Quito, Ecuador! 

Today is our first day of Summer vacation...PRAISE THE LORD!  We had such a great year, but are so ready for a break.  A lot of great things have happened since I last wrote and I'd like to share a little with you all. 

MINISTRY UPDATES:
This year I began a new ministry at the school, called Deep Discipleship, for our Christian students who were hungry to go deeper.  As a school, we really didn't have anything official to focus on the spiritual growth of our Christian students and I felt it was important to offer something to them during the school hours.  The Lord opened the door for me to have 4 different groups (2 MS & 2 HS), made up of around 6-7 students in each group once a week during the school day.  (What a miracle that was because their schedules can be very difficult.)  These were probably my favorite times of the week because I was with a group of students who chose to be there and who were hungry to grow in their relationship with the Lord.  We really focused on what it means to be a follower of Christ vs just a fan.  All I can say, it was challenging and convicting to us all.  Some of the comments I got from students about Deep Discipleship were, "This is my favorite time of the week!"; "I can't believe we get to do something like this during the school day!"; "When I come into this room, I just feel peace!" What an amazing privilege to invest into and grow in relationship with these students. 

As most of you know, I coached the Varsity Basketball Team this year.  At the end of February, we had our big tournament, which was extremely exciting.  With the crowd shouting and cheering and a tie game with about 8 seconds left, the boys came out and gave their all and beat Americano (considered the best team in our conference) on a buzzer beater to win the championship.  That was such an amazing experience.  I really enjoyed my time coaching this year and the close relationship with my players.  I learned and grew a lot, as did the players on the team.  My ultimate desire is that they will come to know Jesus and serve Him with great passion.  Though the Lord has closed the door for me to continue coaching next year and is leading me into other things, I will always hold these last 2 years of coaching close to my heart.  It was an amazing experience and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity. 

I also had the great privilege to continue building our Student Worship Band at the school.  Last year was made up of mostly seniors, but this year we had 3 Seniors, 1 Junior and 4 Sophmores.  Boy did it start off rough, but it was so amazing to see their growth throughout the year.  They lead our chapels all year, but by April they were really playing well.  They lead a few All Worship Chapels for both Elementary and Secondary in May and played for our Baccalaureate Service just a few weeks ago.  A few of our integral pieces graduated, but we should still have a great core for next year as we continue to build. 

The first week of March was our 2nd Semester Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) and what a powerful week it was.  We had an AMAZING worship team come and lead from South Bend, IN.  Do you recognize anyone? 

The last few Summers we have had the opportunity to do worship nights together, which lead to them coming to minister here in Ecuador.  We lead worship twice a day, had a worship night open to the public and spent time investing into the Student Worship Band.  It was an amazing week of ministry and a blessing to us as a family to spend time with people we love!  (Thank you guys for coming!  I love you and am so grateful for your sacrifice and investment.)   

We also had an AMAZING group of young, passionate, on fire alumni who came back to the school because they felt the Lord calling them to return and minister at their alma mater.  Such a blessing and testimony of God's love and power! 
God moved powerfully in the hearts and lives of many students through our times of worship and ministry.  We saw students physically healed and delivered from demonic oppression and many came away knowing that God was real and that He loved them.  There was definitely some push back from some of the things that were happening, but through it all, I know God was in it, He was glorified and was revealing Himself in a powerful way. 

Those are a lot of the major ministry highlights!  It was a great year and am so thankful to the Lord! 

PERSONAL UPDATES:
Carolina, the kids and I are doing great. 

Carolina had a really good year teaching and coaching volleyball and she will continue coaching again next year.  She is still on her club volleyball team and she really enjoys that.  (She's still playing really well, too!)  She really wants to finish her Master's degree from Bethel (which she can do online), so we are looking into that.  She only has 12 more credits to get her Master's, but it is about $8,000, so please pray for wisdom and financial resources to do that. 

The kids had a great year.  Both are taking piano lessons and were involved with the after school basketball program a few times a week.  Joaquin LOVES basketball and plays a lot.  It's hard because he is not exposed to the same level of basketball that we have in the US, but he works hard and really enjoys it.  Milena really took off with her reading.  At the beginning of the year, she just wasn't that interested and then something clicked and now she is doing amazing!  She was also in the after school ballet program and she did such a great job.  She has a gift to dance and she loves it so much.  Of her 3 dances she did for her recital, her creative dance to a powerful worship song was my favorite.  It was anointed. 

I have been doing well.  I'm really praying about next steps for here in Ecuador.  I had the opportunity to go to a ministry/leadership conference in Lima, Peru back in May.  I met up with Sebastian Mora, my really good friend from Chile and we had a great time together.  While I was there, the Lord really began to speak to me and place some specific things on my heart for our next steps here in Ecuador.  I am really wanting to discern the Lord's plan and timing of it all. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:
- I was challenged recently by something Dante Gebel said when visiting our church recently.  He said, "If you're doing something that you can do without the Holy Spirit, you haven't discovered your divine calling." and "God never calls us to something beyond what we can handle.  He will give us the capacity to do whatever He calls us to do!  God does not have a plan B for your life!"  Before ever coming to Ecuador, I specifically felt from the Lord that my time at AAI was the entry point, not the end point.  Please pray that God will reveal clearly to both Carolina and I the next steps that He has for us here and that we will have the courage and trust to obey His plan and calling.

- One of the biggest sources of struggle for us is looking ahead and asking, "how long can we do this financially?"  We don't want to be driven by finances in what we do or do not do, but we also know finances are an important part of living and ministry.  We are blessed and God has provided our every need.  God is so faithful.  Many of you are faithful supporters of us financially and we are SO grateful.  We could not be here without you.  With that said, please pray for God to show us how we can generate more income. 

- I recently formed a Chaplaincy Team to help advance our ministry efforts at the school for next year.  I'm really excited about it.  Please pray that God will guide us and lead us to make a greater impact on our staff and students as we pray, plan and prepare for greater ministry next school year. 

- Finally, we are traveling back to South Bend tomorrow night.  We are so excited to be back home with everyone and so looking forward to just having some down time.  Please pray for our safety and travel. 

To close, thank you all for your love, prayer and financial support.  As I said before, we couldn't do this without you.  You are part of God's Kingdom work here in Ecuador.  We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  May the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you, be gracious unto you and give you peace!


          Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin and Milena

WILSON FAMILY MISSIONS- JAN '18 UPDATE

Greetings and Happy New Year to you all from Quito, Ecuador!  

I want to start by saying how good and faithful the Lord is.  We’ve seen His continued provision and faithfulness even in times when I haven’t felt worthy of it.  God is moving in the hearts and lives of many of our students here at AAI and I’m so excited to see what He is going to do starting here in 2018. 

PERSONAL UPDATES:

Carolina is doing well overall.  It was a really rough start for her and all the teachers in Elementary this year, but they are handling everything like champions.  She is part of a club volleyball team, but hasn’t played the last few months due to a bad hamstring pull.  Pray she gets better soon.  She really loves playing, and having that outlet is really good for her. 

Joaquin and Milena are doing great.  They love their teachers and being here at the school.  They are both currently in basketball after school and taking piano lessons, so they are keeping quite busy. 

For myself, it’s been somewhat of a roller coaster at times, but I keep moving forward knowing that God is good and He is working in and through me.  I am keeping really busy these days because I’m the head Varsity Basketball Coach.  Our season goes to the end of Feb.  It’s a great opportunity for ministry and I love the group of guys, though it can definitely be a big challenge at times. 

MINISTRY UPDATES:

In September we started classes and the first few days we had Welcome Week.  One of the days we invited some alumni to come share as a panel.  To sum it up, it was a powerful time for both students and staff to hear all that God was doing in their lives.  Most of them wanted very little to do with the Lord while they were here, but now they are on fire for God!  It’s such an affirmation that there are seeds being planted and watered for the kingdom here at AAI. 

In September, I started promoting what I’m calling “Deep Discipleship” groups, a voluntary Discipleship group for students who are hungry to go deeper in their walk with Jesus.  I put out the invite and had 20+ students sign up.  The trick was to find times in their schedule that would work.  My goal was to gather them together once a week during their study hall.  The office thought I was nuts because the schedules are so different and complex.  I got their schedules and prepared myself for a long day to figure it all out, but only after about 10 minutes I had 4 different groups organized with the same study halls.  So, I currently have 4 Deep Discipleship Groups (2 groups of 6 and 2 groups of 7) that I meet with every week and I love it.  It’s by far the area of ministry I’m enjoying the most this year because I’m ministering to groups of students who want to be there…who want to go deeper with Jesus. 

In October, we had a powerful Spiritual Emphasis Week.  We had a guest speaker, a local youth pastor, come speak to the kids and many were impacted.  Many students came confessing some deep-rooted spiritual issues in their lives and we had the opportunity to minister to them and see many set free, particularly in the area of depression and suicidal thoughts. 

Our Chapel and DNA Program (Discipleship, Nuturing and Accountability) is going well overall.  We are following a set curriculum this year, taking students through 8 Core Roots of Discipleship.  It’s really a great program, but it’s also very tough because all students are required to be in a group and many are totally uninterested in the things of God.  But like the alumni shared, seeds are being planted.  We don’t trust in what we see, but in the work of the Holy Spirit who brings light and life to even the hardest of hearts. 

In December, my parents came and we had such an amazing time.  My mom and dad both had the opportunity to minister to everyone here at the school (Christmas Assembly, 8^th Grade Christmas Celebration, Deep Discipleship Groups, MS & HS Chapel Services).  It was such a blessing! 

Also, as we do every year, we try to do something fun.  This year we all took the train to see the volcanoes.  It was such an amazing trip.  We had great weather and could see everything so clearly.  Christmas and New Year’s was a lot of fun, though it rained hard on New Year’s Eve.  As always though, we had an amazing time. 

I sincerely recognize how blessed we are to get to spend that amount of time with them.  Some teachers here haven’t seen their families in a few years and when they do, it’s for a week at most.  Having them here with us is so special, meaningful and fun for all of us. 

Coming up the first week of March, we have our 2^nd SEW.  I’m so excited that a group from South Bend is coming to lead the worship that week (The Skagg’s family, Taylor Urban, Chad and Tony…part of the group from when we do the Worship Night’s back in South Bend when we’re home).  I’m expectant for God to do some big things in the lives of students and staff that week. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-       We are thinking a lot about the future.  We really want and need to know what God’s will is for us long term.  Are we to continue here at AAI, start a ministry here in Quito or does God want to lead us somewhere else? 

-       In thinking about the future, we know God is our provider and he will provide for our every need, but we also recognize that we are not able to prepare for the future financially based on our current income/circumstances.  We are especially thinking about college for the kids.  We are praying for God’s wisdom & creativity for how we can make money…through a business, rental property, etc either here or in the US.  Please pray for us regarding these things. 

-       Pray for my basketball team.  Most on the team are not believers.  I’d love to see God do a great work in their hearts and lives this season. 

-       Pray for our teachers, students and leadership.  We desperately need an awakening and revival here at this school. 

-       Pray for our upcoming SEW and for our DNA and Deep Discipleship Groups. 

-       Pray for our family and our marriage.  Pray that Jesus would be the center of everything we do and desire as a family. 

To close up, thank you all for your love, prayer and financial support.  We truly couldn’t be here and do this without it.  You guys are part of God’s work here in Ecuador.  We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  Lord bless you all!

                                                           Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin and Milena