Dear Wallenstein family,
Merry belated Christmas from the Espinozas! What a joyful time it was to celebrate our Savior’s birth and what that means for humanity!
This year Christmas was extra special for us for a number of reasons. Jessenia’s brother came to visit for a couple of weeks along with his girlfriend and then Jessenia’s parents came for a visit that extends into January. Seeing Tiago finally get to interact with his Canadian family in person after more than a year of not seeing them has made our hearts so happy.
We are very thankful to Wallenstein for the opportunity to do the grocery hamper project with our youth! They were very participative and genuinely wanted to help those around them. When first asked about families that they knew with needs, most of our youth said they didn’t know any, but each week, as we continued to talk about it, more and more of them found they or their parents did know of struggling families. We hope this exercise will keep their eyes open to the needs of those around them. We pray too that gospel seeds will have been planted in the hearts of the families who received hampers and devotional books.
Christmas day held a beautiful surprise for us. We have been doing a Bible study with Raul’s family for the past few months and have been praying for the salvation of his brother-in-law and step-dad. Both are VERY interested in spiritual things and our studies with them are so interactive they can last for over an hour and a half. On Christmas day, Raul’s family decided they wanted to do the Bible study in the afternoon because we were all going to be together anyway. We studied the fall of man and how God made clothes for Adam and Eve and that connection to the gospel message. Something must have clicked for Marcos- Raul’s step-dad, because afterwards he prayed to receive Christ!
Once again, we thank you for being part of our work here in Ecuador. Without your support and prayers we wouldn’t be here and get to see first-hand the wonderful ways God is moving here. We are grateful for being able to work here and have such a great support system back home.
Joyful and thankful in Him,
Raul and Jessenia
Travels with Cory
Youth Christmas outing
Bible study with Raul’s family