January 2022 Update

1/25/22

Dear Friends of Amor y Esperanza, 

Happy New Year! We hope that everyone experienced the love and grace of Jesus during Christmas and New Year celebrations and is settling back into normal rhythms. Christmas looked different again this year for many, and we pray for encouragement for those who are suffering loss or pain. Jesus came to give us not only salvation, but to be our indwelling Lord!  May His peace rule in your heart and may his presence and lovingkindness pour out on you like water to a thirsty soul. 

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: 

We want to start off by extending our most profound thanks to all of you who gifted your money and prayers to the Love and Hope Foundation at the end of 2021. Your generosity far exceeded our expectations: we raised just over $122,000, dwarfing our goal of $80,000! Pancho was led in December to pray for a large donation at the end of the year, and one generous donor ended up giving the very amount prayed for. Praise God! With your generous contributions, Amor y Esperanza’s school kitchen updates (including new oven, stove, and furniture) and technology projects (to fully equip the remaining classrooms with interactive white boards, lap tops, and microphones for the teachers) are covered as are the first three months of 2022’s operating expenses for Amor y Esperanza! We know that it is difficult to be generous when we are all living through a pandemic that brings a lot of uncertainty to our lives, often including financial instability, and we are so grateful to you for donating some of your resources to us. Thank you!

SCHOOL UPDATE: 

Due to the high rate of transmissions of the Omicron variant, the Ecuadorian government shut down schools during the second week of January to curb the spread. Amor y Esperanza hopes to start in-person classes back up mid-January pending the government’s decision. Please pray that they might be able to go back to school soon. 

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM UPDATE: 

The communications team, which serves alongside the LHF Board to bring you these newsletters as well as the LHF social media posts, has had some changes in this new year. Kathryn Bracher, the social media communicator, is stepping down from her role, and Maggie Heiskell is taking her place. We want to thank Kathryn for all her hard work this past year keeping us informed and connected via social media. She’s done a lot of organizational work behind the scenes and set up and solidified communication systems so that Maggie can have a smooth transition into her new role. Thank you, Kathryn! 

We also want to welcome Maggie, who graduated from Whitefield Academy in 2018 and traveled to Amor y Esperanza on the school’s Ecuador Mission Trip in 2017. She’s a senior at Berry College and after graduation hopes to work for the WinShape College Program to mentor and disciple college students. She’s getting married to Janson Slaughter in October.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

As COVID-19 remains a global concern, please pray for the health, safety, and continued in-person schooling for the students, teachers, faculty, and families of Amor y Esperanza. 

We’re so grateful for your support, both through prayers as well as donations, and we are also grateful to continue in our partnerships with you all in this 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