Posted in General Posts by Will Treat on 6/21/2011
I've decided to write one last blog about something I experienced in February on Valentine's Day while our team was in Ecuador. I've been meaning to blog about it since it happened. My team, "Grace Under Fire" went to the beach on one of our Mondays off. We had all our stuff set up and everyone split up to go do their own thing - either lounging, swimming in the ocean, or looking for food and drink. I was alone, walking on the sand just minding my own business. I looked up and I don't know exactly what happened but I think I received a glimpse of heaven. The world as I had known it up until that point fell away, and I found myself a part of a story - a romance, and every person around me was in that story with me. Our Lord, the Great Romancer, absorbed me in that moment. It lasted maybe 15 seconds, but I'll never forget it because it felt like I was in the greatest romantic film ever made. What a coincidence that it happened on Valentine's Day! This blog is my real goodbye blog. I hope you can take with you a little of what I experienced that day - God's deep, gentle, and everlasting peace. He is with you. He guards, protects, and loves.
"Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
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Posted in General Posts by Will Treat on 6/14/2011
I'm not sure what to write in this goodbye blog, other than thank you for all those who came together to get me home safely. Jeremiah, you're my guardian angel. I'm having trouble putting something of substance together into this last blog, so I'll just keep it simple and say: I don't know where I'm headed, but I know I can trust God to be my healer. I'm in a season of recovery, restoration, and patience and as difficult as it is, I want to thank everyone for covering me in prayer. Healing will come with time. Again, a huge thank you from my whole family to everyone who got me home safely. God bless : )
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Posted in General Posts by Will Treat on 5/9/2011
Hi, Mom!
My love for you cannot be summarized in a video, but I tried anyway : )
I am so blessed to have you as my Mom. Thank you for so many wonderful years of support, encouragement, and love. God bless you!
Love,
William
Untitled from lorozco.wwjd on Vimeo.
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 4/6/2011
Teams "Divine Collision" and "Transformed" are together this month in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. We're staying with an American man from Utah named Tony and his Honduran wife Nidia at their beautiful farmland in a sector called "El Orno" (The Oven). I'm not sure why it's called The Oven because the weather is absolutely terrific, not too hot and not too cold. Tony and Nidia use "la finca" (the farm) as a Christian retreat center, but also to provide a safe haven for young teenagers living in "Los Pinos," the most dangerous colony in Tegucigalpa due to its high murder rate and out of control drug and alcohol use. It's about 15 minutes away from El Orno. Tony has lived in Honduras for five years. His third year he began going into Los Pinos. Every day for six months he drove through Los Pinos with his window rolled down to get people used to seeing his face. He never got out of his car for those six months. In the past three years, however, he has made relationships with several of the teenagers. Like Henry, who has been living with Tony and Nidia on the farm since February. He does some work around the farm and attends classes at night. He is turning 18 this Friday and will be baptized in the presence of almost 80 people - a church group of 50 from Honduras and the two World Race teams.
Christopher, 16 years old, is another miracle on the way. He's been battling addiction to paint thinner (used in many third world countries to numb hunger pains). Tony has been in his life for two years, and I know in my Spirit that he is one of the biggest reasons why God brought us here this month. Christopher is staying at the farm for an entire month, away from his past influences. Tony doesn't know what will happen after that, though he and Nidia are considering having him move in with them, like Henry. He has two younger brothers, Carlos and Fernando, who Tony is taking under his wing as well. He is also building trust with a 16 year old named Carlitos, who told Tony he is tired of the lifestyle in Los Pinos. While these boys are on the farm, he gives them some work to do, but the priority here is giving them a place where they can be free from Los Pinos. They come here to be with one another, relax, and mature in a territory governed by a spirit of freedom. As one girl on my squad told me, they can come here to be kids because the adults act like adults.
It's incredible to observe the relationship Tony has with these boys, namely Christopher. Tony is very direct and his favorite question is "so what's your plan?" He tells Christopher and the other boys constantly, "Estoy aqui." In English, "I am here." He's letting Christopher make the decision himself to say yes and follow him in trust as his guardian. It has taken Christopher two years and 17 relapses with paint thinner to reach this point. Tony's teaching me that change cannot be forced upon them, but that true change only happens in these boys when the decision is theirs. This is indeed the Father's love working through Tony, and I know in my Spirit 100% that this is the month where everthing changes for Christopher. In the first few days he has shown incredible progress. I am BLESSED to witness the first seeds of redemption in this son of God.
The word "ministry" is being thrown out the window this month. Instead of devoting certain hours of the day to specific deeds, we get to come alongside Tony and his wife and actually live the gospel as they assume the role of mother and father for these boys. Living the gospel is challenging, but as long as we're keeping our eyes locked on Christ and filling ourselves with his love, it is incredibly freeing - not getting caught up in words, but showing love simply, directly, and with confidence. Henry and Christopher are living proof that with patient love and a whole lot of prayer, anything is possible.
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 3/27/2011
This week teams Grace Under Fire, HIS, and Deliverance lived together in an orphanage that is under construction and planning to open in April. Teams HIS and Deliverance have spent the whole month there together, and my team Grace Under Fire joined them this past week to finish out the month.
As a man on V-Squad, something incredible happened this week. On "Man Night," six of us men sat around a fire outside the orphanage while the women were inside having "Women Night." What started off as ordinary conversation around a fire ended with something called deliverance. Basically, God baptized me into manhood. He baptized me into brotherhood with Christ as well as with the men in my life, both on and off the field. It's like stepping into my skin as a man.
That brings me to the point of this blog: the men and women of V squad are beginning to walk out that which we are engineered to do: living a life of giving to God and others. I know that we hear this so many times growing up in church, but once I actually began doing it this week after receiving a new mind and heart, I am seeing now that true satisfaction comes only out of surrendering to God, that living comes only from dying, and that receiving happens only when you give. While these words are easy to tell ourelves and one another, at the end of the day it's not about words. It's about actions. And to live a life lead by Christ means you are devoting yourself to action. Yes, I need grace every single second and I need to continually remind myself that nothing I do, and nothing I don't do, will make God love me any less. It's not about right and wrong, because that's called legalism and it's wordly, not of God. So it's learning to make the fuel of our actions love, which comes from only one source: our Heavenly Dad. My team is learning that this is not always going to be a pretty process. It takes discipline and sometimes hard conversations.  We as Americans all struggle with selfishness, but when I live a poured out life I see that it never has been about me and never will. Anything praiseworthy in my life, even before I started taking my walk with Christ seriously, still came from my Dad in heaven. He is the author of all things good. He invented the idea of good. I remember something from the book "Purpose Driven Life" that my dad also told me: that we don't actually own anything, we are just temporary keepers of that which has been given us by our Father. It all belongs to him, but he loves us so well and wants us to be a part of his story.
So living a life poured out, a life consumed by giving, is why we're here. If our squad does not learn how to live like that towards one another, then it's not going to happen on the mission field. God taught me that this week. He also did a lot of work on my heart while working at the garbage dump in a district in Trujillo about half an hour from the orphanage. In the picture above is ChiChi and his brother Jose, who Katie, Elizabeth, Vanessa, and I worked with at the garbage dump. That is for the next blog, so stay tuned.
May you pass on to the next person what the Lord has freely given you in your life. Look up 1 Peter 4:8-11 to see God's thoughts on what we are to do after he freely gives to us. Thank you for all those supporting me financially and prayerfully. Thank you for your obedience in walking out what the Spirit put on your heart to do. The fruits of this trip are spreading fast, and they are likely coming your way. So thank you and God bless, or as we're saying more and more: "Dios te bendiga!"
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 3/24/2011
Hola, and greetings from Trujillo, Peru. Here´s an update of what we´ve been doing this month in Peru. My team, Grace Under Fire, spent the first two weeks in Chepen, Peru. Chepen was honestly one of the  strangest cities I¨ve ever been. It´s like a midget city - the buildings are very short but the sidewalks are very big and shiny, and everyone drives something called a moto, a motorcycle/carriage hybrid. We worked with the Christian Missionary Aliance Church. We stayed at the house of an elderly lady who attended the church named Lydia. She was an absolute blessing and loved on us so well during our time with her. She bought us several mangos and they became a quick favorite among everyone on my team. So the first week in Chepen we helped out with sanding, scraping, and painting an upstairs portion of the church that will be used for children´s ministry. This construction work  was the first half of the day. We´d have lunch, then have some down time, and then return to the church to either attend bible studies with different contacts and church members, or help out with youth group. My team learned the Lifehouse Everything skit by watching it online. If you´ve never seen it, please, right now, youtube Lifehouse Everything Skit and you will be blown away. I got to play Jesus/God and it was a very powerful experience performing it for young people at a special night at the church for teenagers. The second week there we helped run a 4 day bible school for children, like Vacation Bible School in the states. We met several new women from the church who helped out, and we got to memorize several short dances to lead the children with during praise and worship. Very fun stuff!! After the second week, our team traveled to Trujillo to meet up with two other teams. We´re staying at an orphange that is going to open sometime in April. I joined in working in a cornfield for three days, tilling soil with a shovel for better irrigation and to mix in fertilizer. Others have spent their time painting and making bricks. Our time here has been totally salted with courage and stepping out and challenging one another with the words God gives us to share, even when they´re difficult to say and hear. Today, we are going to work at a daycare for the afternoon and tonight I will be joining 3 other people to work the night shift at the local garbage dump from 6pm to 6am. There will be two more teams of 4 that do the same thing the next two nights. I´m certainly curious about this, and I don´t expect it will be easy, but I know the Lord will teach me so much in living life like the locals do as we take on a 12 hour shift at the garbage dump together.
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 3/6/2011
I think about San Pablo and it's like thinking about a good friend that I miss. We left at around 2pm that afternoon. There were 8 of us - Percy (my team´s main contact), the father of the family we stayed with, Elvis (16 years old, he came with my team from Portoviejo), and then five world racers : Bekah, Joel, Lacey, Allie, and myself. Walking in the daytime was easier because I could see where I was stepping, but I wasn't prepared for the heat. We'd start singing or talking to get us out of our heads when we started getting tired. We took our first break after climbing up a steep part of the trail and prayed for Christ's strength. A few of us shared words of encouragement God had laid on our hearts - Joel shared that we are each confronting mountains in our life right now and that God wants us to go straight up it, not around. I shared that God says his burden is light, and that the struggles and difficulties we face in this walk, or any walk of life, cannot be compared to how "wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."
For me, the journey there and the time spent in San Pablo were two very different experiences. During our hike there, I saw and felt God moving in some really energetic ways, while the 12 hours in San Pablo felt very still and quiet with God's grace. God speaks to me very strongly with images, and I'm going to do my best to describe what he showed me on the way there. A little background information is required before I continue. Michael Hindes, the director of the World Race, shared with us at launch back in January a vision he'd received from God while traveling. He went into detail about seeing an elegent and beautiful woman approaching him on an escalator connecting his heart to his mind. He explained that the woman he saw WAS grace, the grace of God, in all her beauty and mercy.
And so during our hike to San Pablo, we were maybe an hour and a half in when suddenly I saw in my mind an extravagantly bright image of a young woman. I couldn't see every detail of her face because her skin was just pouring out this brightness. She was looking at me through a cottage window. Not sure what that means. But her face was bright, beautiful, striking, and mysterious. I realized a few minutes later that I had seen her, Grace. The light in her eyes was the light of the world, and they looked so infinite.
And so I'm walking along with this image in my mind, still aware of my steps, but not really aware of much else. I saw her for about 5 seconds, and then she was gone. But I was meeting the face of Grace for the first time. Another strong image I received in my mind was a photo. Again, it came like a flash, and two seconds later it was gone. Even though I couldn't see it clearly, I could make out what it was. In this photo was a young man, maybe 19 or 20. I saw only his torso because he was sitting down, but his posture was disarming. Though I couldn't make out his face, I felt like I was looking at the embodiment of dignity. He was sitting in a chair with the most dignified posture, and behind him stood another person. Though I could only faintly recognize this person's outline, I knew it was the Father, and his Son was sitting in the chair in front of him. I was looking at a family photo, Father and Son, and their royalty was not in their clothing, but in their posture, dignity, and mystery.
We arrived in San Pablo around 5:30pm and the Pastor introduced us to the family we stayed with. They were the only Christians living in San Pablo. After taking some time at the river behind the house, we went inside and upstairs. We took off our packs and socks and sat on the floor to rest. We all felt strongly that he was ready to move and so we started praying. Lacy said something like, "God, we know this place is thirsty for you." About two seconds later it was raining hard. I'm not exaggerating. I prayed aloud and said, "God, you are like a thunderbolt." Then a crack of thunder in the sky. And I told the team then that I felt the love of God so strongly in the house, that it was already there and moving. I can't remember how long we prayed for but after we finished, I opened my eyes and a group of kids had gathered near us, staring at us with confused but intrigued faces. One of them asked Percy, "why are they talking to themselves?" He explained that we were talking to God.
Dinner was ready, and we walked downstairs. I felt strongly a loss of place and time because suddenly grace was just so thick in that place, and it made me feel very light and I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. The presence of God was moving, but not impolitely or in a forceful way. It was just waiting, but also eager, to be acknowledged. Our time around the dinner table made me feel the intimacy of God even stronger - we learned that the Pastor's cousin, the man who had died, had prayed to God as well as told the town that he wanted someone to speak about Jesus at his funeral. We were told no one in San Pablo wanted to. We just happened to be staying in Igarrones four hours away. God's timing is perfecty. Later we learned we were the second missionaries ever to visit San Pablo, and the first Americans ever to spend the night.
The river was high from all the rain, so we rolled our pants up above our knees and linked arms to walk through the current. The funeral was being held underneath a white tent. We stood outside the tent for awhile which got us attention from others at the funeral. The family of the man who died began singing worship and we made our way further into the center with a bench. We sat down, and most everyone there was staring at us. I made eye contact with a few people. Their stares were not out of anger, but of intrigue. It was certainly uncomfortable but I was just happy to be there. The family finished their last song and then Percy played a few songs on his guitar. He finished and then introduced the five of us. Joel stood up and shared great words with the crowd about how those in Christ all share the same ending to our story. Percy spoke again and asked anyone who wanted to receive Christ to raise their hand. Eight people raised their hand. Joel and I joined Percy as he walked around and met with each one. I was able to share with one guy, in Spanish, that sometimes all I can do is be still before God because he is so wonderful.
Things wrapped up and we walked back across the river. It had gone down so no water in the boots this time! We got back to the house and hung our clothes up to dry. There were four of us guys sleeping on a mattress turned sideways so as to make room for all of us. I didn't get good rest and what felt like a few hours later we were up again gathering up semi-dry clothes. I was not exactly looking forward to the return trip, but we made it back to the house. God showed up as a strong image in my mind on the way back. The image was of me, but I had the same eyes as Grace, as well as two enormous white wings unfolding from my back. I think the image illustrates that through Christ, we become ONE with God - that is, we begin to take on the same mysterious and infinite nature. A way I've heard it described: we become a new species in Christ.
I was reminded today of something I said on the way there, that only love would do this. Only the most real love, which is Christ, would march through mud to find his children. I'm just honored I got to be a part of it.
Pictures coming soon!
I still need to raise $4,000 by the end of June. Please prayerfully consider partnering with me financially in this ministry. My cup is overflowing with support from family and friends, so a big thank you. Our God is good!!
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 3/5/2011
I went to Igarrones not knowing I'd come back changed. The night before heading out, I had in my mind that the hike there would be similar to others I've done in the past. Looking back on those four days, I can say now that it was neither a walk, nor a hike, but a spiritually refining trek. Sooner or later each one of us had to look Jesus in the face and say, "Help me. I can't do this." By the time we finally reached Igarrones at 1:00am, I think we were each still in a little shock from our expectations being annihilated.
We had just finished a 5 hour walk at night on a trail hidden beneath mud. It was difficult to tell whether my next step would land on a solid foothold, or sink into mud. When someone accidentally stepped in mud, it rose about halfway up the boot, and a very strong suction was formed beneath the  foot. Getting someone "unstuck" was usually at least a two person effort. I think by hour 4, some of us didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All I can say is Jesus was doing the hiking for all of us. Even though we got frustrated at times, we made it to our destination because of his strength being made perfect in our weakness. We stayed with a family in a large, open, wooden house built into the side of the hill. The family consisted of children, young people, and parents. They served us an excellent dinner of rice and chicken. A few people took bucket showers, but I went on right to bed. I was pretty anxious falling asleep on the floor that night because dead spiders were in between the wood boards of the wall. I tried not to think about whether some of them were living or not. That night's sleep was rough, but the next day I was walking around with this sense of calm and peace, like I couldn't really feel the tiredness. That right there is Christ's strength!
That morning I woke up around 7:30am. We ate a breakfast of rice and chicken and then met altogether to talk about the day. Percy and Elmer split us up into two groups and explained the labor
The second matter of business shared that morning after breakfast concerned the Pastor, the father of the family we stayed with. Percy explained that the Pastor found out that morning that his cousin had passed away the night before, and that the funeral was going to be later that night. It was in San Pablo, about a 3 hour walk away through stuff similar to the night before. Percy explained that five of us had been chosen to join them and share some testimonies with people at the funeral. I was the  third person he pointed to, and honestly my first feeling was just this overwhelming thankfulness. I wasn't exactly celebrating the surprise hike, but I still thank God for considering me worthy to make the additional journey. So we had lunch and the five of us got our daypacks ready. Before we left, the rest of the team prayed for us. I started crying because...I don't know. Several reasons. I felt like I was stepping into something pretty special and set apart from the rest of the race. I felt like God wanted to introduce more of himself to me, and that intimacy stirred me pretty deep inside. God didn't want me to analayze it, or try to understand it, and I didn't want to. I just wanted to go, because I knew it was out of love that I'd been chosen. Our 12 hours in San Pablo was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.
To be continued in the next blog : )
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Posted in General Posts by Will Treat on 2/20/2011
Hi! We got back from a 4 day adventure in Igarrones on Friday, which is what these two pictures are from. The week before that, my team and I spent the week in Calderon, about a 20 min drive from Portoviejo. We worked with a pastor and his family who lived above the church we slept in with our tents. Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of sanding concrete walls of a new house being finished for one of the church members. We´d have lunch, then do door to door ministry until 5 o´clock. On Tuesday, Bekah and I ended up having about an hour and a half conversation with two young women who were friends. My Spanish is improving a little, and Gabriel, the pastor´s son, was helping us....a little. So it was to our surprise that we were able to keep a relatively slow conversation going with these women when neither Bekah nor myself are fluent in Spanish. How mysterious, praise Jesus! On Wednesday, during door to door ministry time, our team ended up playing a game of Ecua-volley with a group of young people we passed earlier in the day. Almost every evening the pastor took us along to his bible studies that he held at different church members´houses. It was great meeting so many people who were eager to open their homes to complete strangers. On Thursday, we spent the first half of the day cleaning the church and washing all the white patio chairs for the congregation. That afternoon at the church we attended a Dengue fever presentation put on by a few local doctors. That evening´s bible study included walking through forest for about 30 minutes with the Pastor so he could visit an elderly man who cannot walk long distances anymore because of his feet. We spent Friday morning in a prayer meeting with some of the church members, praying for a young people camp called Hakuna Matata that we unfortunately will not be able to attend since it starts on March. This I am sad about because the Holy Spirit lives in the eyes of the Christian yyouth in Portoviejo. There´s a stillness and an absolute love and surrender to the Lord in their lives. We spent the rest of that Friday afternoon playing soccer and swimming in the river with the Pastor and his family. We spent 40 minutes on the way home in torrential rain in the back of a pickup!! Saturday was by far our most intense day of ministry yet this year. We spent half the day at the garbage dump where locals go to find recyclables to sell. We spent the first few hours delivering drinking water to families who lived on the hillside of the garbage dump. They were very heavy barrels and the slope was almost pure mud. It was a physical and spiritual test, but love, which is our God, made it strangely easy. I stepped on glass and cut my feet but I´m fine now! After that we walked through the dump and handed out cups of soft drinks to the locals. Every person I encountered at the dump was polite. This puts my life, and your life, in perspective. Focus not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is unseen is temporary, but what is unseen lasts forever.
My next post will be about the 4 day trip to Igarrones. I need time to put it into words, but it will be here soon. Until then, thank your all for your prayers and your support!!
I still need to raise $4,000 by the end of May to be fully funded. If you feel lead to partner financially in this ministry, please click on the ¨Support Me¨ tab to the left. Thank you, God Bless, and there is more to come. Thank you for reading, my faithful friends and family. May the Son of Love guard your hearts and open your eyes as you continue with the rest of your day. See ya, or as they say in Ecuador, ¨Ciao!¨
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Posted in General Posts by William Treat on 2/5/2011
It is hard to leave those I've gotten to know well, but it's even harder to leave those who have become my friends. God has showed me the value of focusing on establishing a great relationship first, so that Christ can find his way in naturally. He has given me a deep love for two young men my team befriended in San Juan - Alvin and Rafael.
Alvin is 18 years old and left on Jan. 30 for university in Santo Domingo to study civil engineering. His real name is Alwin, but he gave up after correcting everyone saying "Alvin." Chris, Nancy, and I were walking through the neighborhood one afternoon on our third or so day of ministry and we came upon a young man sitting outside with his three siblings. He answered us in broken English. We appreciated this because earlier that day our team prayed for "silver platters" for our first  prayer walk. Alvin invited us into his house. We met his mother and explained why we were in San Juan. A few days later we introduced Alvin to the rest of our team. He quickly became our friend and we began visiting him almost every day. Alvin has absolutely been one of the highlights of our stay in San Juan. He's bright, honest, gentle, polite, and humble. He was eager to serve as our translator a few times during door to door ministry. One evening he took us on a short walk to see a remarkable view of the D.R. at sunset. I see God using him in huge ways throughout his schooling in Santo Domingo and in his home community. I'm looking forward to hearing from him throughout the year as we continue our mission. I know that the love I have for him is the same love that Christ has for him because it comes from within a very deep, rather mysterious place inside me. I've only known him for three weeks, but Christ's love makes me feel like I've known him much longer.
God has given me the same love for Rafael. Rafael is fifteen and getting baptized, along with the rest of his family, the day after we leave San Juan. At first Rafael seemed like a teenager who wanted to avoid serious moments at all cost. The more time we spent with him and his family, however, it 
became clear to me there was an honest love for Christ running deep inside him. He and his mother have a very centered way about them. Leaving is a little hard because it means trusting that he will continue seeking after God with all his strength. In this, I remind myself that the reason he'll continue seeking after God is not because of us, but because of the Holy Spirit awakening love for Christ inside him. I am praying that God will use him in great ways for his community as he continues maturing into a man of God. I had the honor of speaking to the men in the family-size congregation at our last service, telling them that in the eyes of God, they are a royal priesthood capable of changing their community with Christ's love - that is, if they choose to walk in it, which I am confident that they will.
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