November 2021 Update
11/26/21
Dear Friends of Amor y Esperanza,
We hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! We’re grateful for many things this year, but especially you -- our faithful prayer partners, donors, friends of Amor y Esperanza, and family in Christ. We have a lot of specific, fun things to be thankful for as well, and we hope this newsletter brings you as much joy and gratitude as it does us.
Comet for Quito:
Board member David McCune’s Comet for Quito fundraising bike ride raised over $12,000 for AyE! Praise God! And what a fun way to fun-draise! We hope to repeat this event next year, so start getting in shape now.
Zola’s Visit to the States:
The Zola family recently was able to visit the states after a long absence due to COVID19 travel restrictions. Danny Zola, their eldest son, came early to Georgia for several weeks to participate in an internship with Trinity Anglican Church and Upper 90, a soccer ministry in Atlanta. He became the fifth McCune child during that time, experienced his first Halloween, got to see the Atlanta Braves win the World Series and see the subsequent celebratory parade (he also learned about the very strange sport of baseball, which David McCune learned was harder to explain than soccer/futbol). He held a pet guinea pig at the McCune’s that wasn’t for eating (as they often are in Ecuador), and he got to play with a community college soccer team through Upper 90. One of Danny’s spiritual gifts is to encourage others. While he’s normally the one lifting others up, while he was in Atlanta he was able to share his own story and be poured into by those around him, which was refreshing and encouraging to him.
Pancho, Pitty, Mateo, and Maria Victoria joined Danny in the states in November and visited many long-term mission partners. They were able to visit Miami for a few days, then came to Atlanta. They visited Christ Journey Church,Whitefield Academy, and Trinity Anglican, as well as meeting with supporting families in Chattanooga and Orlando. After almost two years of Zoom connections, it was life-giving and vitally important for them to make so many in-person connections with many of their existing mission partners--renewing relationships but also beginning many new friendships. The Zola’s were able to finish their visit to the states with a family vacation to Orlando, Florida, where they enjoyed the parks and time to intentionally relax together.
Thank you to everyone who made their trip so special and for your faithful commitment to keeping in touch with our precious brothers and sisters in Christ, even when we are unable to fellowship with them in person.
Board Member Update:
In addition to welcoming Lee Martin to the LHF Board, we are also blessed to have Bob Fugate joining us! These two additions will assuredly bring depth of experience and ability to the board, and we are grateful to each of them for their commitment and ultimately to the Lord for bringing them to us.
End of Year Giving:
We’re entering the end of the year, which means it’s giving season. This is the most important time of the year to raise funds for Amor y Esperanza. Here at the Love and Hope Foundation, we hope you’ll consider making a donation!
The board of directors along with one of our faithful donors have established a match of $40,000 for end of year giving, so your gifts up to that amount will be doubled! End of year giving will support student tuition, teacher salaries, and special projects including technology and an upgrade to the school kitchen.
Click this link to double your donation to support student tuition or teacher salaries
Click this link to double your donation to support technology projects
Click this link to double your donation to support the upgrade to school kitchen
As we wrap up Thanksgiving, a time to reflect with gratitude on our many blessings, we are so thankful for the Zola’s visit to the states. Now as we enter into Advent and Christmastide, a time to eagerly anticipate celebrating the greatest gift God has given us, we ask with sincerity that you search your heart to see if God may be leading you to give this year.
As always, we are so grateful for your support, both through prayers as well as donations, and we look forward to continuing our partnerships with you all in the coming new year.
Please stay in touch with us via social media and continue journeying with us in prayer.
In Christ,
The Board of Love and Hope Foundation
