Lupe

(By Ang)
Each Wednesday Casa Victoria has a "Mom's Club" for all the mom's in the neighborhood. Lately, not too many show up, but there is always a faithful few. Today was the first time I was leading Mom's Club. I felt a little nervous just because I didn't feel I had a "word" to share with the group. I prayed for the Lord's help and His words....especially His help with my Spanish.
About 4:30pm Lupe, a 30 or 40 something single mom (it's hard to tell sometimes...the hardships they endure on a daily basis shows on thier face)showed up. We walked up to the rooftop of the house and drank some afternoon tea. Lupe is a mom of 4 and grandmother of 3. Her clothes are mismatched, her teeth are rotting, and her smile gives way to sadness. We sat and chatted for a half hour mostly about her family. Lupe told me her daughter, Gabriella, was murdered by her husband in January of this year, at 21 years old. As much as she fought it, she began to cry telling me how hard it is for her each and every day to find the motivation to carry on with her kids and grandkids. Gabriella left behind 3 kids, which Lupe is raising on her own. My heart just broke into a million pieces listening to her story. I can't even begin to imagine the pain Lupe feels in her heart...losing her daughter so young and in such a brutal way. On top of all her suffering, her oldest son, 19 years old, tried to kill himself by drinking poison not long ago...his sister was his best friend and he didn't want to mourn her anymore. As Lupe regains her composure she tells me she knows God is going to take care of her and her family. She said she loves coming to Mom's Club to hear God's word. She knows God is looking for her and she is also looking for Him.
I was totally blown away by her faith. I was still trying to process the loss of her daughter and what that must feel like and Lupe was proclaiming her faith in God's goodness. My spirit is still heavy, just thinking about her and her family. It really hit me to see someone with so little who finds the most in what they have. I have soooooooooooooooooooo much and yet I manage to find so many ways to feel sorry for myself.
If you think about it, pray for Lupe. Specifically for a scholarship to come through so her 12 year old daughter can return to school. Pray in general for the Lord to provide for her and her family and to comfort her broken heart.

Tylenol PM

(Excuse my spelling....the spell check isn't working)

Well, 2 more bite the dust...Seth, Chris, Jon, Anna, Carolina, Esteban and myself(Angela) have all been sick within the last 2 weeks. I am currently ditching Spanish class as I write this. The temptation to walk over to Sano Sano and buy some $5 antibiotics is great but I am doing my best to resist it.

Last week was great! December 2-6th of every year are what Quito calls "Quito Days". It's 4 days of celebration; eating, drinking, dancing, etc. Each night, the plazas fill up with locals celebrating and the "Chiva" buses ( small, open aired, buses you can rent for $200 and pack in as many people as you want....drinking as many drinks as you want) are packed with Quitodorians hanging off the sides with thier cups of Canelazo ( a traditional hot drink of cinnamon, some kind of herb and some kind of hard alcohol. It will warm you right up!). Chris, Guillermo Jr. (my second cousin) and I hopped on a Chiva bus just to get a taste of what it feels like but couldn't hang for long...thier was soooo much energy on that bus! It was so fun!

We were invited by Jon and Anna to a dinner with American missionaries, Adam and Sarah, which was really fun. This is where I was introduced to my new favorite side dish: Quinoa. Why didn't anyone tell me about this precious food! I loved it...it's kind of like rice but full of protein. Here, in Casa Victoria, we appreciate any chance we get at some good protein.

We met our second cousin, Guillermo Jr. Tricerri. He is my grandpa's brother's son. He stopped by Casa Victoria last Thursday. We watched a video of my grandpa's 90th birthday and went out for some Ecuadorian food in Plaza Grande. It was really cool to hear about this whole new side of my family I have never met or heard much about. He shared with us the story of how my great grandfather came from Italy to Ecuador and married my great grandmother. It was cool listening to the history of our family.We are hoping to get to be able to meet the rest of the family at some point.

Chris is and I are wrapping up Spanish school this week. Yeah!!! We are looking forward to some "normal" days here at Casa V. Chris has been teaching the English classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will begin leading the "mom's club" on Wednesdays. All the classes/groups held here at Casa V are geared towards reaching out to the neighborhood. I know in the past Mom's club has struggled a bit. It's difficult for the moms to take time out of thier hectic lives and just hang out for an hour. Their time is precious and expensive. Their are so many other things that are calling for thier attention: kids, work, husbands, etc. Please pray that the moms would want to come and the Lord would use me to direct this group in the direction He desires. I want it to be a good investment of thier time. Our hope is that they will begin to connect with one another, realizing each of them share many of the same struggles and have many of the same desires.

Next week will be quite eventful.... Jon's whole family is coming to stay at Casa V for 10 days. Sunday is Casa V's Christmas Open House for all the friends and supporters. The kitchen will be filled with the aroma of sugar cookies, which the kids will help make during thier weekly "Kids Club". Our Christmas tree will be up and fully decorated! And, ....it's my 29th birthday! Chris and I will probably spend an evening drinking Chilian wine, eating Argentine steak, and hopefully getting our hands on some Creme Brulee!

Llegamos!

It is now our second week in Ecuador and we feel like locals....minus the bus routes. Where we live, in San Roque, you can't help but become fully immersed in the culture here.... shopping in outdoor markets, taking the bus everwhere, hanging our clothes out to dry, bartering with locals over every purchase, drinking fresh juice from the local juicer and eating freshly baked bread every morning from Edwin and Cecilia's shop, our local bakers. It's been great.

Last Thursday we had a fabulous Thanksgiving celebration with neighbors and friends of Casa Victoria. It was such a beautiful time. Both rich and poor came together at one table and shared from the heart. There was lots of laughter, tears, and hugs. It really showed that regardless of your background, ethnicity, socio economic status...all are one in Christ.

It has been really great getting to know everyone involved in Casa Victoria, from board members to house members. Right now there are 5 guys who live in the house, 3 Ecuadorians (Estaban, Ivan, and Javier) and 2 Americans (Charlie and Seth). Jon and Anna Eshleman are the house leaders. Chris and I are still defining exactly what our role is. Primarily, we came to help Jon and Anna. So far, that has looked like helping with house chores, meals, and hanging out with the guys in the house and people in the neighborhood. For example, every Wednesday we have Kids Club made up of a group of 15-20 local kids who we play games with, color, read to, etc. Every Tuesday the house hosts English classes for the adults. Chris and I haven't gotten fully in the swing of things just because we are in Spanish class 3 hours a day, 4 days a week.

One of our highlights so far is a bull fight we went to on Sunday with Jon, Anna, Daniella and her family. Talk about crazy. Why didn't anyone ever tell me they actually kill the bull at the end of each fight?! I thought it was a bunch of dancing around with a bull and a blanket. Not the case. However, they deemed one bull "worthy" and let him pass. The entire time we were watching this 3 hour event I was thinking "Animal Planet". I was waiting for something crazy to go wrong and end up on "When Animals Attack"....and it kind of did. We saw one guy get bucked up in the air by the bull, but he was okay. We saw another get smashed up against the wall by the bull..he was okay, too. Watching that in the moment was scary. It is such an interesting sport. Very violent, very loud, and very popular.

This week has been good. Just pluggin along in our spanish classes. Who knew that grammer would come back to haunt us. What is a preterite anyways?! Who cares! Just teach me how to speak! Pray for our patience ;)