Raul & Jessenia Espinoza
Dear WBC family,
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it," 1 Corinthians 12: 27.
We are so grateful for the body of Christ. Without it, we would not be able to serve here in Guayaquil, Ecuador nor could the Hope of Bastion School function. We saw God’s hand so clearly in 2024, providing financially for our needs and those of the school. You were a part of that each month. THANK YOU! Thank you for being an active part of the body of Christ and allowing us to continue to serve here.
In 2024 our family continued serving in Bastion, Guayaquil at the local church (in leadership and the youth group) and at Hope of Bastion School (Raul on the school board and Jessenia in the sponsorship office). Our boys accompanied us to youth group, made friends and enjoyed being there even though they were so young.
Youth group was great this year! We had a group of kids who were participative and came out faithfully. One of our youth leaders is the junior high Christian Education teacher and he encouraged many of the youth from the school to come to youth group. A number of them accepted Christ, and we are thankful for the partnership between the school and church that allows us to work in tandem.
The school continued its trajectory of increased organization and professionalism. Though Raul feels tired from being at the helm and making decisions, we are both encouraged by the changes that have been made and the refreshed mission of serving the community and making Christ known.
In the sponsorship office we are excited that we finished the year with nearly all our 200 students sponsored! This has been a great help financially and we know it is a blessing in the lives of our students who are touched by the prayers and love of their sponsors.
Our family had its first introduction to having the boys in school a few hours of the day. Tiago has been in pre-school and Danilo in a sort of short day-care. They both did well, and we were happy to see them grow socially and learn how to make friends and interact in groups of people.
Guayaquil continues to be a center for crime and especially in neighbourhoods such as Bastion, gangs hold a lot of power. We have seen God’s protection of our family, the school and church community this last year, and we ask that you pray for continued protection. Another challenge we faced this year was severe power outages during the last few months of 2024. We are grateful that these came to an end around Christmas and we are back to normal.
Once again, we thank you for your prayers and financial support. May God bless you as you continue to follow Him!
In Christ,
The Espinozas- Raul, Jessenia, Tiago and Danilo
