Hello hello dear family and friends!!
It has been a WHILE. Things have been so fun and so busy this summer! Starting in late April up until a few days ago, we had about 15 different guests staying with us here in Cuenca and it was so sweet to share ministry and culture with some of our dearest people! We had all of Claire's siblings and her sister in-law's sister, her cousins Jacci and Jakob, then some of Rory's best friends, his mom, and some people from our church in Phoenix! In the middle of that, we took a little hiatus for 3 different weddings in three different states! Colorado, California, and Idaho! Some of our best friends got married and it was so special to get to celebrate them. Claire was in all 3 of the weddings and it worked out perfectly that they were each a week apart! One of the weddings was Rory's sister Meli and so we got to see all our family from Colombia as well. We also have an exciting new ministry partner after our trip to Denver: hopefully we will be able to tell you more soon!
Health Update: Thank you to those who have been praying for Claire's lung infection! We thought she was finished with her anti-fungal treatment, but after seeing her Infectious Disease doctor this summer in California, we were informed she would need 3 more months of treatment because of the continued presence of fungus in her blood. Please pray that this is the last bit of treatment, as it causes her to be immunocompromised and she falls sick very frequently.
We are so happy to be home and back in our rhythm after such a full summer of medical brigades, ministry events, and weddings! Here are some of the sweet things we have been working on!
YOUNG LIFE (VIDA JOVEN) ECUADOR!
We have been having a great time partnering with Young Life! This ministry is just starting to pick up in Ecuador and we got connected with the leader in our area and have been supporting her and her husband as much as possible! We helped them fundraise for camp and we also helped direct and work the camp! It was crazy! Marcela, her husband, our friend Caro, and Rory and I basically put the entire camp on. It was a ton of work but it was so awesome to see how they do things here and we got to watch the Lord work in such cool ways. We did lots of skits, activities, small group time, and worship.
Operation Christmas Child Event
We ended up having quite a few Christmas boxes and books left over after our big event, so we decided to throw another party for some kids at an afterschool program. We had food, danced, played games, and shared the gospel with the kids! Afterwards we were able to give them the boxes and it was so special.
Another special piece of this event is that we knew all these kids very well. We have been providing tutoring and spending a lot of time at this facility. The goal is to keep the kids from dropping out of school to help their families collect recycling and to break the cycle of poverty in this community.
Getting to give these boxes and give the message of Jesus to these kiddos was just spectacular and really super emotional. Thankful to be here and get to be doing life with them. God opens such amazing doors for ministry.
We even got to go support them in their school presentation with folkloric dance and music and seeing their faces light up to have us simply cheering in the crowd was so sweet. Someone donated a bunch of kids bibles and we were able to hand those out as well!
HOME CHURCH
SO much spiritual growth happening in our home church. It is beautiful and wild and messy and good. Keep praying for this gang!!
Studying the word of God in Mark together. Eating together. Laughing together and crying together.
More precious than gold.
Church Planting and Worship Team
Huge exciting development: we helped plant a church!!! Arco Lagos! With staff and volunteers and leaders from Arco Center, we were able to open a new branch of the church in a different part of town and it has been AMAZING watching God work. Our first sunday we had over 500 people attending and worshipping Jesus. So many people accepted Christ and are continuing to months later! I (Claire) also stepped onto the leadership team of Worship Ministry and that has been so rewarding, getting to worship in Spanish, help run rehearsal and pour into my team. The power of worship is alive and well in Ecuador!
College Ministry - Garden City
The college ministry we started had a great summer! We did a karaoke night, trivia, the amazing race, a field day, and dance classes! It has been such a success, with so many new people coming, joining home churches and finding Christian community here. We are excited to see what is in store as school starts up again. We are hoping to get on college campuses and run events with them as well! Please pray over this ministry, as we have experienced a bit of resistance and spiritual warfare within the community.
Jungle Brigade April
Went down to the jungle with the crew and saw lots of patients and had a grueling 2 hour drive on a rocky dirt road to and from our sleeping arrangements to our work site. Rory didn't get to come with me on this one because he had to pick up people from Guayaquil, the coastal town with the international airport closest to Cuenca. We saw lots of patients, did education, wound care, and lots of evangelism.
Jungle Brigade July
This brigade was EXTRA special because Claire's brother Connor and his wife Breanne came with us and helped provide medical care! Our friend Abby, who is a nurse, also came and was a huge help. Bree is a registered dietician and Connor is a PA! They came and lived with us for 2 months this summer and were so amazing to have around. Connor was a provider for this trip with Rory translating for him and Bree worked in the pharmacy and provided nutrition counseling! Praise the Lord for helping hands and the best family ever.
Mountain Medical Brigade - June - Azogues, Ecuador
This medical brigade was with Global Health Outreach and Claire's little brother Kyle got to be with us for this one, along with Bree and Connor! Kyle had the hardest job of all. He set up a kids waiting area for all the kids of patients while their parents were getting dental extractions and other procedures. Kyle literally wrangled these kids, told them about jesus, and came up with games for them for 10 hours a day all week. He is a saint. He learned how to make balloon animals just for them! I couldn't be more proud. SO patient and loving. Breanne did nutricion counseling and it was HUGE for our diabetic and hypertension patients. Even the staff and volunteers would go sit with her and ask for counseling! She did amazing. Connor did an AMAZING job as a provider. He was so thorough, kind, and spent time praying for every patient. I have tears in my eyes reminiscing about having all my siblings here, completely in love with Jesus, and dying to themselves daily to serve. Wow.
Medical Inventory twice, but this time with help from Connorrrrrr!!! Wooohooo!!!
This past spring semester, we had about 20 exchange students from Taylor University studying here! Rory and I lead devotionals for them and hosted a worship night for them at our house. It felt so good to worship in English. They were such an awesome team and we miss them!
Sports Ministry & Basketball Camp in Manta
Rory has been working so hard with sports ministry! Below is his league team for basketball and it has been so cool to watch him minister to these guys and be a light on the court. Watching him play with integrity is beautiful, especially his ability to apologize when he isn't perfect. Such an awesome example.
Rory also helped run a basketball camp with the Dordt team and our friend Shane's ministry, Identity Hoops International. Rory worked so hard translating and sharing and working! We loved making relationships with the players and watching them serve the community and change the game of basketball for these kids.
Below: Our old friend from our home church moved to Manta and it was such a sweet reunion!! Javier, we miss you!
Photo Updates!!
Alrighty, that's all for now!! I promise it won't be so long before the next newsletter! We just get caught up in life, you know how it goes :)
Love you all. Thank you for constantly praying and supporting. Without going into detail, there has been some really hard things behind the scenes here with our community, including domestic violence, rape, and stealing. We would ask that you pray even harder over these situations, that the devil would not get a foothold, and for God to redeem these dark places. For wisdom for Rory and I as we navigate, and for safety for us and our community.
We also ask that you pray for us for continued financial provision in this next year of ministry, as support is transitioning without those who only committed for a year. Thank you all for your generousity and allowing us to serve God's kingdom full time here in Ecuador. Don't hesitate to reach out, we love sharing about what God is doing here.
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Rory and Claire Angulo
Rory with all the tiny ladies 😂 YOU both are more precious than gold.
This brought back so many happy memories!! You guys are amazing and so grateful we got to experience Ecuador through your lens! Love you both! <3