Hello dear people!
Things have been positively crazy around here and it has been SO much fun! As of today we have been here for almost 3 months! Time has flown. We have had so many visitors and have already completed 3 medical brigades! This is our first month with no visitors and it has been bittersweet. So hard to not have our close friends and family here, but so good to settle into ministry and form relationships here. We FINALLY moved into our home! It is so beautiful and such a blessing from the Lord. I have been having so much fun decorating on a budget, with plants and pottery and doing my best to create a cozy house for people to feel right at home in. Our neighborhood is SO special. It is right next to a lively park bubbling with kids and dogs, delicious cafes and bakeries, and our favorite ice cream. It's in walking distance to the markets and downtown and beautiful rivers and it is downright amazing. So thankful.
Our first brigade was in Azogues, a cute neighboring town known for their indigenous jewelry and bright markets. The Lord had his hand SO heavily on this brigade.
Let me explain. For a few weeks here, there was a political crisis with protests and riots regarding gas prices and inflation and cost of living. People protested by blocking every major road to every city, meaning no gas for cooking or hot water, no groceries, and no coming or going. As I mentioned, Azogues is a neighboring town, around 40 minutes from Cuenca. Our brigade was smack in the middle of this protesting period. Every single morning, our group would board a bus with all of our supplies, knowing that crowds of people were waiting in Azogues for medical care. Every morning, all the roads were blocked. We were told to turn back, that we would never get there, and that we should cancel the brigade. EVERY DAY, somehow, God made a way. Backroads, driving on the wrong side of the highway, crossing rivers, driving through mountains. Every day, we got there. By the GRACE of God. He made a way when there was no way, when everyone we met told us to give up. And every day we made it home! By faith, we were able to treat hundreds of patients, providing internal medicine, simple procedures, OBGYN, dental, vision, cardiology, pediatrics, and dermatology. It was incredible to see the Lord work through the seemingly impossible. WOW. I'm still floored by it!
Next up was our first highly anticipating medical brigade in the Amazon jungle. Again, I wish I could adequately explain how much the Lord provides. This specific tribe location was about 5 hours from Cuenca. And praise the Lord, we bought a car! Introducing Granny the Grand Vitara. She's a spicy lady, and she gets us all sorts of places.
So, naturally we took our new whip for a spin down to the jungle. She did amazing, bombing down the Andes mountains, taking the curves and turns with ease... Until she decided she didn't want to anymore. Poor Granny's breaks were shot within the 2nd hour of the drive. No mechanic (or anything) for hours. We prayed for safety and trusted the Lord and pushed on. Spoiler alert: Granny made it to the jungle AND back to Cuenca with no accidents or issues. Rory did an amazing job driving and boy, were we surrounded by angels!
We arrived to the jungle to meet with the Shuar tribe with about 12 people: 4 doctors, 1 nurse, and a few guides and
evangelists. We brought all our supplies and carried them across a large river, then got picked up by a truck to take us as far into the jungle as it could, then we walked about 45 minutes deeper in to get to our first location. Rubber boots worn to protect against mud and snakes. We saw 100 patients, provided assessments, medications, injections, eye exams and shared the love of Jesus with them. They made us lunch, and we ate our first armadillo soup and drank a cold Pilsner with the locals. It was fabulous. The next day we worked with another village in the same tribe and one of our guides later had us over for dinner! They cooked for us, danced and sang for us in Shuar and it was truly one of the most intimate, special moments of my life. What an honor to get to be a part of their sacred culture. Our guide friend had accepted Jesus years prior during one of these brigades. What a beautiful, full circle moment.
Right after the Shuar brigade, we took a night bus to Manta, a coastal town in the north. We met up with a GHO team there and did another week of medical clinics! The sweetest, most welcoming people. We had a great time and are finally back in Cuenca, hoping to settle down for a few weeks. I (Claire) begin volunteering at the Health Foundation here this week! Rory has been helping plan a youth leader retreat and he will actually be headed back to Manta in 2 weeks to do ministry with a friend from Living Streams! They will be doing an outreach basketball tournament with teams from all over Ecuador and will be doing service projects and serving in schools as well! Pray for fruitful ministry, safety, and eyes to see people who are ready to recieve Jesus.
We love you all. We miss you tons. Don't hesitate to reach out, we LOVE catching up with family and friends and we are starting to feel some homesickness for our people! It is so beautiful to come alive like never before in Christ here, but we are also glad for the feeling of sadness, knowing it means our home in the States is so precious to us.
All our love,
Rory and Claire Angulo
It is so reassuring to read about your mission trips. Pray you stay safe and continue your great work for Christ. Love you and pray for you. Love grandma okeefe