(this is a long one, brace yourselves)
CARNAVAL!
Back in the swing of things!! These past few months have been filled to the brim with ministry, fun, and such sweet fellowship with our community. We got to celebrate Carnaval together for the first time and it was a blast! Carnaval is a national holiday in many South American countries, signifying the last big party before Lent (fasting before Easter) begins. Here in Ecuador, it is essentially an all out prank war with water, flour, eggs, foam, etc. Everything is closed for 5 days and everyone spends time throwing parties and spending time with loved ones! You really have to watch your back though, everyone is armed with squirt guns to spray you at any moment. Walking to the market, or even driving in your car with the window down.... no one is safe. We learned that the hard way when someone with deadly aim threw a bucket of water into our car at a stop sign. Ecuador is wild.
One of the many parties we went to was a pool party! It's pretty special to have a pool in Cuenca, and we played pool games all day long with some of our favorite families and kids! We are so blessed with the community we have here. People are so generous and make us feel like family everytime there is a holiday! Our amazing friends, the Orellana's, hosted us several times during Carnaval!
Our dear friends Deanna and Klever hosted the kick-off for the festivities! We ate amazing food, played games, swam in the river, had a nerf war, and pelted each other with water balloons, foam, and freezing cold water! Pictured to the left is me in the Carnaval throne. Everyone had to take a turn getting drenched! So much fun.
We had the best time celebrating with everyone and felt so loved and included!! Ecuadorians are the most welcoming of all time. Award winning.
CANAR!
We got to do a super cool trip to Canar to share the gospel, bring food and clothes, prayer, and visit an elderly home. It was so special! Canar is a beautiful mountain town about an hour from Cuenca. The view is amazing, so green and luscious! It is home to some very famous Incan ruins as well!
We premade lunches and brought Bibles and coloring books and clothes for families in the area. People came by and would get lunch, and we'd invite them to sit with us and we would pray for them and tell them about Jesus. SO many people heard the gospel and accepted Christ. It was incredible! Rory spoke in front of all of them and did an AMAZING job. He is so good at leading people to Christ.
We then went to an elderly home and spend time with the residents there! They were so extremely precious with so much joy and laughter to share. It was such a blessing to spend time with them! I met a sweet blind lady who loved to sing, and she sang for me with all her heart and it was so so cool. What a gift!
HOME VISITS!
We got to do some really special home visits this month with a few refugee families! We are currently working on helping these families with medical appointments, finding jobs, meeting physical needs like food and clothing, and getting them plugged in with church into community and counseling sessions! Please be praying for all these things for these families!!
Pictured first is the Martinez family. Their oldest daughter just had her quinceanera! They are a sweet married couple with 5 kids (1 not pictured). Please be praying for the mother's health, and that she would get hired at a hair salon soon! Her husband works at the market, and is praying for consistent work to support the family.
Second: The Estrada family! Boy, do these sweet people love Jesus so much. We are working on getting them family vitamins and prenatals for the mom's sister, who is pregnant with her second child! Please pray over her pregnancy and that they would recieve blessing from the Lord.
Third: Our sweet friend Ms. Perez! She is a single mom of 3 kids and is an incredible caretaker. She works as a maid and recently fell off a motorcycle and broke her left arm in 3 different places. She needs major reconstructive surgery. HUGE prayer request, that we could find a doctor willing to operate and the funds to pay for this surgery so she can go back to work to support her family, and be able to hold her baby with both arms again.
Let's Talk!
We are still continuing our free language classes! It's been such a fruitful way to meet people and bring them into church! A few weeks ago I had the immense pleasure of teaching my friend Maria Gracia, who just graduated MED SCHOOL (a queen!) a whole bunch of medical terms in English to prepare for her residency in Hungary! She is so smart and it was so fun to hole up in a conference room and teach medical terms! She reports back that she is doing so well in her rotation and continuing to practice her terms.
Medical Stuff!
We just got a bunch of medication donated to Manos Ministry, so we made a make-shift free pharmacy! We take people's prescriptions when they can't afford medications and see if we can fill them with our new stash! It has already been a huge blessing.
I also got called in to scribe for a liver specialist who was doing free ultrasounds for the community. He saw so many patients, it was a major deal!
Operation Christmas Child and Recyclers Foundation!
As you know we have been working with these students all years and sharing the gospel with them! This week is SO EXCITING because we are throwing a carnival for the kids and their families and giving them the Compassion boxes! They are going to be so stinking excited and I am going to weep. Praise God for the generousity of his people and that he leaves the 99 for the 1. Wow.
NEW YOUNG ADULTS GROUP!
PLEASE pray for our new young adults group! It is being launched this month and is an outreach program! We are teaching our existing young adults how to share the gospel well, then creating a space for them to invite non-believers into a fun, non-intimidating environment to fellowship with other believers and hopefully come to know the Lord and be more comfortable in the church! Rory did an awesome job sharing tools and we are starting off strong with a Karaoke Night!!! So excited for this to be established!
Photo Updates!!!
This is when there is too much to write about so we switch to photos and captions :)))
We just got back from such a sweet visit to Phoenix and our home church, Living Streams. Seeing all of you was so life-giving and we feel so blessed to have such a steadfast, loyal team at our backs lifting us up and supporting us through thick and thin. What an amazing example of the body of Christ you are to us. We love you and feel so undeserving.
If you made it this far, you rock. I'm impressed.
Lots of love,
Rory and Claire Angulo
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