A day in the life of...Mark Williams

Peru in 10 Days

A pic of our translators, Aracelli and Anibal (J.B.)

I will be heading out to Peru in 10 days with 3 others from our church.  I love the people of Peru.  I love the country.  I love the opportunity that is there to share the Gospel.  Our "base" will be Canta, Peru.  And we will go out to our adopted villages each day to minister.   Our purpose is to plant churches that are led by the people of Peru, not dependent on outside help.  The process is slow, but it is one that we are seeing progress.  Along with sharing the Gospel, prayerwalking, Storying, teaching scripture, we are training/discipling potential church leaders in the villages.  

Prayers:  We covet your prayers.  It is the "wet"/rainy season there.  Or it is at least coming to a close.  That means that the roads in the mountains are not in the greatest of conditions.  Pray for safe travels each day.  Seriously.  Pray.

Pray that we would have success in raising up leaders within the villages to lead the church.  Not the church as an institution, but as the people of God.  

Pray that the "Light" would dispel the "darkness".  You know, the roads concern me a little, but God can handle muddy roads.  Pray that the darkness of evil will be quenched by the light of the Gospel.  

Pray that we stay well.  When you travel up to high altitudes, headaches and sickness can affect people in different ways.  I've been fortunate in the past not to have these problems, but pray for all of our well-being.

Pray for the people.  The Quechua are a lovely group of people created by God.  We have a passion for sharing the Gospel with them.    

Thank you!!  Thank you for praying. 

Monday Morning update

Great weekend!!

Friday:  Melanie and I had a great night out at Osman's in Mobile.  Wonderful meal.  Wonderful atmosphere.  I even had flowers waiting on her at our table when we arrived.  It was a nice evening. 

Saturday:  Our soccer season started back.  I'm coaching Micah's team....probably for the last time.  They had not been doing well in practice.  However, they showed up on Saturday, winning 5-0.  I'm not sure that the other team even took a shot on the goal.  I was so proud of them.  Also, I saw them showing leadership on the field.  It was great. 

Sunday:  Sunday morning was great.  I have been teaching a S.S. class for a few weeks.  It's a great study by Erwin McManus called Stand Against The Wind.  I'm enjoying the teaching and interaction. 

Sunday Evening:  We had our first annual Missions Banquet.  We raised over $4100 for missions.  It was AWESOME to hear the stories about people's journeys on mission.  Story after story of obedience to the call God has given EVERY ONE of us.  Obedience.  Sacrifice.  Life-change.  We are a part of the story of God....and that is the greatest story. 

Today:  Valentine's Day.  We celebrate Valentine's Day.  But I also recognize the love my wife and I have for each other every day.  One day a year isn't enough.  We have to celebrate the love Christ has given us every day as well.  Out of that love, we love others.  Melanie is a wonderful wife and an amazing person.  Glad we are able to do life together. 

Missions: not an option

Missions isn't an add-on program for churches.  It's not even a suggestion.  It's a commandment.  We are commanded in scripture to GO in the Great Commission.  We see in Luke 10:3  that we are to GO OUT like lambs among wolves.  We are called to take care of the widows and orphans.  Missions isn't just something we do to "feel good". 

The bottom line is that if we don't go, there WILL BE some who will not hear the gospel.  If we don't go, HELL becomes an even greater realization to those without the Gospel.  That is what burns in my heart.  I cannot just sit at home.  I cannot even stay in my own community.  I cannot just sit and soak in a pew.  I/we/everyone has been called to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  The fire that God has placed within me is the same fire that comes from the Holy Spirit.  My calling to missions is one from Jesus.  Just as yours is, if you are a follower of Christ.  We cannot wait on someone else to go.  He has called us as His followers to go into the harvest. 

Whether it's across the road, down the street, our state, our nation, or somewhere like Peru.  We.  Must.  Go.  

We have a team of four going to Peru in October.  I ask that you pray for us as we go into places where the Gospel has not been taken.  Pray that we will be bold.  Pray that we will do what God has called us to do.  Pray for safe travel.  Pray that we stay well.  Pray that Jesus is glorified. 

Another Peru summary

Here is a link to Jake and Dodie Glover's blog.  They are the couple that we worked with/through in Iquitos, Peru.  They have two girls, Hannah and Abby (Abigail).  They were gracious enough to open their home to us.  Jake traveled with us down the Amazon.  The overall strategy that Jake is implementing to disciple pastors in Iquitos, as well as reach the unreached is excellent.  We are looking forward to many years of friendship and partnership with the Glovers. 

Jake and Dodie Glover's blog. 

My trip to Peru...part 1

Peru was amazing. God is doing a work there that we envision to be a part of.  I have much to tell.  I do want to point you to Brian and Felicia Henderson's blog for a summary of our trip.  They did a great job verbalizing about our trip.  So....for a summary, here ya go.

http://www.journey4him.com/on_a_journey/2010/04/gods-blessings.html

I'll post more on some of my personal thoughts on the trip over the next few days/weeks. 

Another thought on the airport

As I was waiting the other day for "dude from Africa", I decided to walk upstairs where you can meet people for departures.  You can also wait below by baggage claim.  (This isn't a huge airport...so either works)  So I went upstairs, and a flood of memories came to me. 

1.  This was where I said some temporal goodbyes to The Hendersons', who are now missionaries in Peru.  I remembered that day vividly, taking them to the airport.  13 pieces of luggage....I think.  It was crazy.  I also remembered it being very bittersweet.  Excited that they were going on an amazing journey.  Yet, selfishly going to miss them.  I took a few moments to pray for them.  All I could do was smile, knowing that they were exactly where they were supposed to be. 

2.  This is where we left to go to Malaysia in 2008.  It was a great journey.  I never thought I'd go to the other side of the world.  But....I did, all in the name of Jesus. 

3.  And that is where my family picked me up from Malaysia.  When you're half a world away, home seems so far.  It was a nice sight to see my family, as we walked up the terminal hallway.  I could barely wait!!

4.  This will be the place that I depart from with Jimmy Holcomb to travel to Peru in April.  We'll be going to pray over, visit, and select a people group to adopt and partner with for the next 3-4 years. 

Isn't it amazing the places you go?!!  I think that's a Seuss book. 

Peru-bound.....in a few months

Well....after much going on through prayer, discussions, questions, answers, etc. I will be travelling to Peru on mission in April of this year.  The purpose of my trip will be a vision journey to explore the area and provide the groundwork necessary for adopting a people-group that we will partner with over the next few years. 

Our missions director, Jimmy Holcomb, and I will be travelling together on this first trip.
The basics:  We'll fly to Lima, Peru....then fly to Iquitos, Peru.  Get on a boat and ride up the Amazon River to some villages along the river (or some of its tributaries).  We'll spend time with different unreached people groups.  After this journey, we'll go through the process of praying over the different groups and committing to a partnership. 

I look forward to this process.  Some see it as a slow-start.  I see it as a deliberate way to start our mission strategy in Peru off on the right foot. 

Our friends, the Henderson's, will be coordinating the logistics of the trip.  Also, Brian will make the trip up "The River" with us.  Should be a great opportunity to begin to share Jesus deep in the jungle....literally. 

My first "Stretched Canvas"

I stretched my first "canvas" this past week.  It is a canvas that our child that we sponsor painted for us.    Luo-Set Free is an organization through which we support a child at an orphanage in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa.  Our child's name is Siyena.  He is 12 years old.  Because of the partnership, he is able to eat 2 hot meals a day, have schooling, and medical expenses paid for.  Check out Luo's website.  Here is the pic of the canvas, and my first "stretching" project. 

Open House, Core Essentials, and a busy week

Tonight is open house at Micah's school.  He/we will find out who his 2nd grade teacher will be.  This year, the school system is moving 6th grade back down to the elementary schools.  This will increase the enrollment at each of the community schools.  It does produce some challenges as well.  I.E. space, teacher allocation, bussing of students for SPIRIT and alternative school to middle school.  All of these will be interesting as to how they play out.  As for me, I think that Agricola Elementary is a fantastic school that we have a great relationship with. 

As a matter of fact, we are going to be beginning a mentoring partnership with Agricola Elementary and Agricola Baptist.  We are going to be using curriculum designed for public schools that co-insides with the virtues that we teach in our children's ministry here at Agricola.  The website is www.coreessentials.org .  This is a partnership between Chick-Fil-A, the Rethink Group, and schools across the nation.  I have a great relationship with Tim Walker, one of the guys that heads up the Core Essentials team.  We are looking forward to seeing what God will do with this partnership. 

Here's what I'd like from you guys:  Pray for this opportunity.  I ask that you pray that God would use this as an opportunity to reach others with the Truth of His Word.  We live in a culture and society that needs values and virtues taught to our children.  The partnership that we have is one that will grow.  I just want you to pray that God will do His work in Agricola Elementary. 

Luo Set Free

I want to share with you about an organization that Melanie and I were recently introduced to at the Orange Conference.  Luo-Set Free is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting economic sustainability and improving quality of life through: Biblical Education + Academic Education + Financial Support + Medical Care + Nutrition.   Here is a little more from the website:

 In order to show the love of Jesus to children and communities, we base our efforts on relationship. We build relationships with community leaders, churches, and organizations in order to empower them to help the children in their areas. Our first initiative is in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa. There, we are partnering with the local church and equipping them to be the hands and feet of Jesus on location. Our goal is to allow people to see the church working in its purest form and therefore get to know the true character of Christ. We are also working with community leaders, athletic coaches and teachers, training them to educate and influence the children a in a positive way. We believe that God desires for us to work together in community in order to "do" justice.

The cost to provide these essentials to a child for a year is $250.  You can also buy t-shirts from them to help support the cause.  The cool thing is that the Biblical Education is largely based on many of the virtues that we instill in our children at Agricola Baptist through 252 Basics.  Check out the video below, and check out this organization that is making a real difference in the lives of impoverished children.  We have a special print that was painted by our child.  She is from South Africa.