Ray and Carol Williams

Ray and Carol Williams opened their home to us when we were serving in Mexico a couple months ago.  This precious couple have spent all of their adult years actively serving our Lord as missionaries in multiple countries and in multiple ways. Ray shared that God called to "go to the nations" as a very young man, and relative newlywed.  He said he responded to this calling by making a deal with the Lord, that he would go wherever the Lord pointed, but that he would not seek to raise support; the Lord would need to provide.  Some 47 years later, they are still actively serving, sometimes they have needed outside employment to make ends meet and raise their family, most of the time Christians learned of their ministries and provided for their needs (even including airplanes).  They are based out of Yuma, AZ these days, but as a pilot, Ray is able to get around pretty easily - and boy does he! They really blessed us during our stay - and have been a blessing to so many others.  Following are some excerpts and closing reflections from their recent newsletter that you may enjoy.

 

We have spent most of the last couple of months in Mexico... Carol brought a beautiful message to a group of ladies on a Saturday morning. There were almost 80 women who were first time visitors. Many of them stepped forward to acknowledge their new found belief in the finished work of Christ.

The “Mother Church” in Mexico City (which they planted) has grown immensely. There are six daughter churches now. On Easter Sunday the Pastor baptized many new believers. Through the years they have baptized almost 1,000 new believers in that Church. Most of the leaders and elders now were babies in the arms at the dedication service of the Church sanctuary many years ago.

In April, together with CALO, Fundación Codett and Hospital El Buen Pastor, we took a volunteer medical team to the city of San Quintín, on the Baja Peninsula to do an eye clinic...The unity and the love of the entire team was so sweet to watch.

On Mother’s Day (May 10 in Mexico) Carol and I each taught a session and served lunch to the ladies of the Church David and Iracela Power are planting in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora (this is the church we've drawn Community Center plans for). It was sweet and really anointed. The young mothers were like hungry little birds. It is so much fun to minister to people who really want to learn and grow.

The faithfulness of people who love and trust us has allowed Carol and I to be a part of a world changing, sometimes battlefront and sometimes victory parade which has lasted since we were sent out to be full time servants in 1966. That is 47 years of faithfulness on the part of God and of God’s people. We have no plans or thoughts to quit or retire. No one has ever had a job that was more fun.

We have note been in Europe or on the African Continent for a couple of years, but we do stay in close contact with some of our dear friends and disciples there.  The young men and women we have trained and sent out over the years have planted more than 700 churches on five continents, and created schools, hospitals and feeding ministries all over the globe.  I always feel like I've never really had a job in my life, and that I just get to show up and watch the incredible things God is doing.

We love you. Thank you a 1000 times. Ray Williams

O. Ray Williams, D. D. Pres.
I CARE, Inc.
P O Box 1000
Yuma, AZ 85366-2345
928-580-1285

Skype: oraywilliams1
oraywilliams@roadrunner.com
www.icaretgc.org

 

OH, MEXICO - Days 1 & 2

We arrived in Yuma on the evening of February 23rd.  That day, and the previous day, David Power and Rene Bustamante set up a make-shift clinic at the Church at San Luis site.  We were not part of this clinic, but what was intended to help provide medical assistance to this very poor community, provided the life changing Hope of Christ as well.  Following is a Facebook post by Rene summarizing the clinic experience:

 

"We had a succesful medical clinic last weekend.  There was a total of 86 families who received medical attention and perscription medicine.  Half of the families knew about God but had drifted away, and the other half were non-believers.  There were about17 people who received Christ as their Lord and Savior. AWESOME! All of these people were planted in the local church of Iglesia de San Luis with Pastor David Power.  As a result, we saw the need of additional medical clinics in the future.  Please maintain us in your prayers."

We spent Sunday, the 24th, attending a wonderful worshp service in Yuma with Rene & Gloria at "Champion Church" (www.championchurch.org), and visiting San Luis for the first tim.  Rene & Gloria drove us around a bit, giving us a flavor of this city.  Rene showed where he and his mom crossed the dried up Rio Colorado when he was 8 (he received his US citizenship this January!).  San Luis is a border town, with the issues that surround border towns such as drug and people trafficking.  Border security is tight, which translated into more than 3 hours of waiting in a line of cars to leave that evening.  We visitedthe city park, where every week locals spend time visiting.  We witnessed a group of young men chanting and dancing around the park, representing the traditional, pagan worship system of these peoples (but mostly seeking to raise money it seemed). 

 

We had hoped to attend the Church at San Luis sevice that afternoon; but the windy, dusty, and cool conditions led most of the regular to stay home and the service was canceled.  This did allow us to visit more extensively with David Power and his family, and hear more of the vision that the Lord has placed on his heart.  We learned that if you want excellent Chinese food, San Luis is the place to be (who would have thought!).

OH, MEXICO church community

Following are eight photographs representing housing in the Reforma District of San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico, and the nearby city landfill housing.  This is the community where the Church at San Luis has been planted, and is developing (75 or so strong so far).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OH, MEXICO intro

What an amazingly powerful week we had in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.   and I went to serve in this architectural ministry, and indeed, much was acomplished in this regard, but we left feeling that we were the ones being ministered to, particularly by three wonderful couples.

CAROL & RAY WILLIAMS

We spent our evenings in Yuma, AZ at the home of Ray and Carol Williams, missionaries for nearly 50 years and still actively and passionately serving our King (www.icaretgc.org). They were such wonderful hosts; sharing some life experiences and wisdom that words cannot adequately express.  I hope to write a blog "attempting" to express their experiences in a future post.


GLORIA & RENE BUSTAMANTE

Our daily hosts and guides were Rene and Gloria Bustamante (on Sunday), and Rene on Monday and Tuesday.  Rene's testimony is awesome.  God pulled him out of a destructive life and has given such amazing passion for serving our Lord that it was infectious (and Lord willing, contageous as well). Rene has been mentored by Ray, and is also being mentored by and serving alongside David Power, subject of the next paragraph.

 

 

DAVID & IRACELA POWER FAMILY

David is the Pastor of the Church at San Luis, and initiator of Church Mexico, and church planting initiative (www.churchmexico.com); he and his wife, Iracela, and family live in San Luis, in the Reforma District. His love and compassion for the lost and hurting people of Mexico is evidenced by his families commitment and sacrifice.  He would not likely look at this as sacrifice, but as just being obedient to the Lord's calling.  The Church at San Luis was able to purchase some land in one of the most impoverished parts of San Luis, and presently meets under a tarp, with an outhouse as the restroom facility.  Yet, the people of the community increasingly respond to the good news, are joining in regular worship and Bible study, are being mentored to reach out to their neighbors, and are doing so more and more.

 

There are days (such as the Sunday we visited) were the weather is not conducive for meeting outside for worship (frequently wind, sometimes rain), so a building where this church could meeting would be helpful.  However, rather than building a structure solely for the church, the Lord has laid it on David & Iracela's hearts to build a Community Center for the entire community to enjoy (see David's vision on an earlier post).

 

Centro De Comunidad

Vision and Plan for Community Center - Church Mexico

Church Mexico, a New Testament Church Planting Initiative (churchmexico.com) has a vision for a new Community Center, and "so much more".  Following is a recent Facebook post by David Power, the pastor and founder of this ministry, which speaks to the need:

"Well, normally there's about 40 adults and 35 kids sitting under a shade structure right now sharing testimonies and getting ready to sing songs glorifying to God and getting ready to hear the Word of God preached. Not tonight. We got rained out. I have to confess, I'm disappointed (but not lacking trust in the Lord). It seemed the Holy Spirit has been moving mightily in lots of people's lives this week, including many folks whom we've only introduced to the gospel message in their homes or on the streets - many were waiting for the van to join us when instead we had to notify them that there would be no service this evening, and that we'd be back for them Sunday.

This experience also caused me to be anxious to get the community center built because if we had it done, or at least part of it, all of those folks would be there right now in a safe place learning more about Jesus and God's plan and will for their lives. I really feel there was great opportunity missed.

The architectural plans are getting closer to completion thanks to our friend Rene Bustamante along with our friend Mr. Ed Luebben and his associate Mr. Dale Slusser who are with Helps International Ministries. Once the plans are complete, we will submit them and acquire the building permit for the community center. We haven't received very many funds for the building materials yet, so we're praying that generous men and women who appreciate the work that's being done here, who want to support us and who want to see the Kingdom of God further expanded in this area will express that generosity. We're also looking forward to having many friends come down to help us build. Please let me know if that's you so we can keep you updated with the progress and the dates for building after we get the permit.

Pressing On With You,
David"

Following is the Vision for this new Community Center:

While providing basic necessitates that the families have not been able to provide for themselves, we will share the gospel message, baptize believers, make disciples and teach them to obey what the Lord Jesus has commanded.

This location will also be used as a base to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. People will come to this place to be trained and taught, and people will be sent out from this place throughout Mexico to proclaim and demonstrate Jesus’ Word, Love and Power so that multitudes of people’s lives will be changed forever. As a result, a New Testament Church planting initiative will be fulfilled as Churches plant Autonomous Churches to Extend the Kingdom of God. 

The following will be included as use for the Community Center:

• Air Conditioning for families in Summer

• Small Group Bible Studies (different types: Mixed Adults; Men; Women; Children)

• Large Groups/Church Services

• Showers for Community

• Storage for Materials and Tools and Vehicles

• Temporary Housing for Pastors, Missionaries, Bible School Students and Mission Teams

• Location for Community Events

• Distribution Point for: Backpacks, Food, Soccer Balls, Blankets, etc.

• Free Drinking Water Distribution

• Location for Baptisms (portable tank)

• Classes: English, Cooking, Hygiene, Character, Financial Management, Marriage, & More

• Emergency Aid

• Whatever else the Lord might reveal to us that we ourselves haven’t thought of…
  
  

God's call in my life

I’d like to start this post by sharing a couple of my favorite quotes from our Lord Jesus Christ: 

"John 10:27-30: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

"John 6:37: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.”

God, in His sovereign grace, chose for me to be born into a Christian home, the youngest of four; to be raised by passionate, Spirit filled parents.  My mom led me in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ into my heart and life at the age of 5.  Now, was this when I “came to Jesus”, as the second part of Jn. 6:37 speaks to?  In hindsight, I would say no.  I began to hear the call of Jesus (Jn 10:27) from my earliest memories, through my mom’s Bible stories, to the neighbor’s Good News Club, to Sunday School lessons.  However, it was towards the end of my third grade year that this “call” became increasingly audible, and personal.  This “call of our Savior” grew and developed into a very intimate and wonderful bond by the time I entered my teens – which is when my faith in our Lord would be seriously tested for the first time.

 1963 family photo

 

During my eighth grade year our once tight knit Christian family began to unravel; so I began praying that God would do whatever it takes, except for death, to bring our family back together again. So when my parents separated early in my 9^th grade year – I felt certain this was what the Lord needed to do to eventually pull us together; even though the separation drove my oldest siblings away from the home, and my closest brother, Cliff, deep into the drug scene.  

It was tough watching Cliff dive into drugs.  He and I had been very close; just 19 months apart, he had taken me under his wings as his little buddy; we had always been best friends.  We shared the same room, the same set of friends.  My earliest memories in life were of Cliff and me playing with our stuffed animals.  We actually created a story around these stuffed creatures that became fairly elaborate as we grew up, and developed into a special connection between the two of us that continued throughout our teens.  When Cliff started into the drug scene – he developed a new set of “friends” – and though we remained close, our relationship became a little more distant. Even so, I had full confidence that God would work these circumstances out and our family would be stronger for it.

Unfortunately, it did take death to truly pull us together as a family.  My brother, Cliff, was 18 when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. God granted us some of that “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) to guide us through this experience.  But I was angry that He used death; it felt as if He had turned His back on me!  Not only did He use death, but He took away the person that had been closest to me for my entire life.  I remember telling God that this was TOO MUCH!  I determined that I would punish God by pulling back from the Him.  And though I could never truly stop believing in Him; I had heard His call, and I couldn’t deny that reality; I could, and did cease to follow Him as closely as I once had.

  

After about five years, I began to long for that once close relationship I had shared with our Lord.  However, it took nearly a decade of His prodding and wooing before our relationship would begin to resemble what it once was. Throughout this long decade, God never let go of me, and never let anyone or anything “snatch me from His hands”.  He is always faithful, even when I am not; but life, though not necessarily easier, is a lot better when I’m holding onto Him, and not pulling away from Him.

 1975 family photo (last time with Cliff)

I’d like to conclude by sharing two areas where the Lord has been testing my faithfulness recently. The first has to do with serving as an elder; the second with serving as an architectural missionary.  Both calls to service required commitments during the summer of 2011; both invite heightened spiritual attack from our adversary the devil; and the missionary service requires that I trust the Lord to lead others to provide my financial support.  To me; spiritual warfare and financial uncertainty sort of look like the giants that the Israelites saw when God was pointing them to the Promised Land in Numbers 13; I could respond like the Israelites and pull away, or respond like Caleb and Joshua and trust the Lord.  As shared earlier, I’ve tried the pulling away thing – NOT a good idea.  So, I would appreciate your prayers in these two areas. 

One final thought, I’ve been blessed to have had a relationship with the Lord throughout my life; I don’t know, and can’t fathom how anyone can cope in this world without our Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Guide.  If you don’t know the Lord, I urge you with all that is within me to call out to Him today, and begin to know what true life really is.

2009 family photo - with our kids, grandkids, and my (Ed's) brother, sister, and parents