Happy New Years from Quito!

We couldn't resist taking this photo of us in my hospital room. The hospital serves very nice meals here and they made a special meal for New Year's Eve . . . it even included the traditional 12 grapes that you are supposed to eat for each month of the next year (some sort of random tradition here). We can hear fire works going off around the city and from the room, we have a great view of the night sky here in Quito! Santi's mom is also here with us.

The doctor will be releasing me to go home tomorrow. And so will begin a new schedule of coming and going from the hospital until Nathan is released. But we don't mind - we're thrilled with every moment we can spend with him! By tomorrow morning, he should be taking 25 cc's of milk during each feeding and hopefully I can start working on breastfeeding! They have now taken out his oxygen tube and he's breathing well on his own. Tomorrow they hope to take out the tube that goes into his stomach (to pump out gases). It's so exciting as all the cables, wires, and tubes go away one by one!

What a way to start a new year! We're excited to see what God has for us in 2008 and we wish you all many blessings in 2008!

Some fun in all this!

Santi and I have actually had a few good laughs the past few days in the midst of all the stress, concern and lack of sleep! A couple of them are silly but I thought I'd share them with you.

Here's some background for the first one - just to go into the NICU, we have to go through a major process . . . first we have to hope that the guard is available to let us go through the secure door, or hope that someone will be passing by who will let us through. Then we go in and first thing is to scrub our hands (up to our elbows) real well (reminds me of my dad constantly reminding us kids to wash our hands!). Then we have to put a hospital gown on, then we have to put our scrub cap on, and then we put the mask on. And then anytime before we touch our baby we have to put disinfecting gel on our hands up to our elbows! Santi and I have decided that if we keep this up much longer, our hands are going to fall off!!! What often happens is that one of Nathan's doctors will walk in right after we have scrubbed in and wouldn't you know it, we'll shake hands with him and will have to scrub up again! It's pretty funny in there with all of us walking around all dressed up with the hospital gown, hats and masks on. You get to know everyone by their eyes because that is about all you can see!

Well, yesterday, I was having trouble getting my mask to stay up on my nose, so Santi started to put the strings up over my ears to help keep my mask on! I looked at him and said "don't do that, I"ll look funny!" We both just kind of stopped and then burst out laughing, realizing that no matter where the strings were placed, we both look pretty funny all dressed up in our gowns, masks and scrub caps!!!

We have had the privilege of being in a room with a sofa bed in it so that Santi can spend nights here with me. The other morning, I came back from an early morning visiting to the NICU (it was like 4 am) and Santi woke up and in Spanish I thought I told him something like "don't worry, everything is fine, keep on resting" . . . . .well, what he heard and understood was that I told him "Descanse en paz" which means Rest in Peace! Needless to say that caused another burst of laughter from us!

Then I'm sure that the nurses in the NICU think we're crazy. While we're standing there looking at Nathan or talking to him while he's laying in his incubator, we often can't help but chuckle at all the silly faces he makes (and sometimes it's more than a chuckle, because its just too funny). He makes them while he's sleeping and while he's awake. In fact, he pretty much is not still for very long - even in his sleep he moves.

We've also decided that we're going to have to figure out some way to have lots of noise going on in his room when we finally have a chance to take him home . . . between all the monitors going off, the lights going on and off and all the activity on the unit, I have a feeling that there's no way he will fall asleep in a quiet, calm room anymore!

Nathan is progressing!

Well, so much has happened since yesterday afternoon that it's hard to keep up with it all! The good news is that Nathan is progressing really well! I know we have said it before, but we are so convinced that it's the work of God's people praying for us! THANK YOU!

Just some highlights from the past 24 hours or less:
- Nathan is now drinking my milk that I've been working so hard to pump out! They started him yesterday with just 5 cc's (which is like a tablespoon or so) and he tolerated it very well. In fact, he sucked it right up! We were concerned that he wouldn't have much of a sucking reflex with all tubes in his mouth, but they didn't seem to affect him. He also has a pacifier that he enjoys from time to time and he does really well with it.
- The doctor indicated that we would have to gradually increase his milk intake to give his system time to get used to it - but at his noon feeding today, they indicated that every two feedings they will add an additional 5 cc's. So he's already getting 10 cc's right now and he certainly drinks it right up!
- what this also means is that he will quickly get to 30 cc's - which is the goal amount for me to start breast feeding him. So - I may be breast feeding him as early as tomorrow afternoon! which will really help move things along.
- and they are working at getting him off the minimal oxygen that he's been on. So basically, the feedings and the oxygen are the two main things we're looking at before he can go home with us! we can hardly wait!
- We were with the doctor yesterday when he looked at Nathan's daily x-ray and he was encouraged because he could see a slight enlargement in Nathan's left lung (the one that was not developed well at all due to the intestines being in the way). So that hopefully means that the lung was not completely damaged and that it will continue to grow and develop in the left-side cavity as far as we know. The lung currently fills about 40% of the space. This is encouraging as the doctors weren't really sure how his lung would respond after the surgery. In fact, they seemed more concerned about this than they were about the actual surgery. His right lung has been unaffected so far and is doing very well as it was completely developed at birth. So once again, we have been blessed by some encouraging news!
- Both Santi and I have been able to hold Nathan now - I try to get down to the NICU by his feeding time and they take him out of his incubator and let me hold him and feed him. Today we watched the nurse give him a bath, helped change his diaper and got to feed him twice! Such wonderful moments after being separated from him via the incubator all these days.
- And Nathan is resting and sleeping much better now that he is eating. He seemed quite restless up until now (unless he was sedated which they had to do earlier last week to keep him from pulling his monitor wires and tubes). He really is a very active little boy and somehow early this morning had managed to pull out the tube that is in his nose that goes down to his stomach! The nurse and I couldn't believe it! The tube was taped to his nose and should have been hard to pull out! But he's definitely a determined little boy who is alert and active. Sometimes it's hard for us to remember how serious his situation is (even though he's doing well, the doctors have reminded us that there are things that we will need to watch when we take him home) and all that he has been through in just a week.

So this is where things are at this point. We'll see what the next few hours bring. It's exciting to see things move along so quickly - we also need to remember to take things moment by moment. Again, thanks for everything that all of you are doing to be encouragement to us and help us along during this challenge in our lives. It means a lot to us!!!

Happy New Year to all of you!

A view of the other side!

During one of our visits to the unit yesterday, the nurses had Nathan laying on his stomach. We thought these photos were rather sweet . . . . check out his hairy back and arms! Yep, he's our little monkey! Click on any photo to enlarge it and you can see more detail if you want.

I especially like the photo of him all stretched out as it shows how much he really fills up the incubator mattress. Just to give you an idea of how big he is in comparison to some of the other little ones we're seeing in the unit, here's an example. Nathan is now one of four babies in the unit and today we were looking at the others. Nathan was born at 39 weeks gestation and weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 52 cm long. Another little girl in there was born last night at 38 weeks gestation and weighed just over 4 lbs. and was only 45 cm long. He looks like a giant next to her!

And again, this is another testimony of God already working in this situation before Nathan was even born . . .the doctors have told us over and over again that Nathan's size and weight and the fact that he was basically full-term has been a huge advantage in his situation! And we're so grateful for these blessings from God as we have also been told by the doctor several times that CDH (Congenital Diaphramatic Hernia) is one of the most grave and serious neo-natal health problems that a baby can be born with! Isn't our God good!!!!!!

Holding Nathan!

Yes, you read correctly! Last night I got to hold Nathan for the very first time! Needless to say, it was a very special time for us!!! The photos tell it all!

Emails and such

Santi and I just want to let you all know how much your emails and words of encouragement mean to us! It brings tears to our eyes just knowing how many people are praying and thinking about us and trusting God for us. It doesn't take much for me to break down into tears these days anyways, but I think even without the "hormonal crying" I would still be moved to tears by so much care, love and concern for us. THANK YOU!

I wish I had time to respond to each email personally - I think you all understand if we can't. It seems like our days and nights are taken up by visits by the nurses, aids and doctors in my room to take my vitals, visiting the unit every three hours to pump milk and see Nathan, waiting for the doctor to come and give us updates, eating (which I'm finding is very important if you're pumping milk!), and just trying to get some rest.

So please know that yes, I'd love to respond to all you and thank you - and I'm keeping your emails and comments in the hopes that some day I may have time to do so (yea, like when Nathan is about 18 years old, right!?).

Again, THANK YOU from the depths of our hearts for your love, care and concern for us. We are so blessed and we trust that you are being blessed too by seeing God work a miracle in our little Nathan's life and our lives as well. We are convinced that his recovery so far has been a miracle! The doctor's continue to be amazed - pray for us as we seek ways to be a testimony of the working of God in our lives.

Happy News!

Nathan's doctor, Dr. Jijón, just came in to my room with a smile on his face, saying that he is very happy with Nathan's progress and they have taken him off the ventilator!!! He's not completely out of the water yet (I believe that's the correct phrase) as they will still be monitoring him - especially as time goes on as he may get tired breathing on his own, but its definitely a step in the right direction, with continued monitoring.

The doctor says that Nathan is a little pale right now - and also his blood counts are a little bit down right now - mostly due to the surgery and them having to take blood samples so often for tests. He said in a much smaller baby he would probably consider doing a blood transfusion but because of Nathan's good size he is going to hold off doing one at this point.

The doctor said if things go well, they will possibly try feeding him tomorrow. Thankfully, we have been saving the milk that I have been able to pump and it's sitting in the freezer down at the NICU, ready to roll!

As he was walking out the door he said "I'm happy for your baby!" And needless to say, we are happy too! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE SO FAITHFULLY PRAYING!

Ventilator Day for Nathan

I was just down at the NICU to check in on Nathan and he's moving along. He really hates the tubes in his mouth and gets hiccups pretty regularly (which is common with the type of surgery he had). But the nurses try to keep him calm and as comfortable as possible. They still have to keep his little arms hidden under the blanket other wise he grabs at things and tries to pull tubes and wires out.

And in talking to the nurse, she thinks the doctor will start with taking him off the ventilator today - so pray for that process that all will go well. It would be so exciting today if we could see him breathing completely on his own and even have a chance to hold him!

I've been going down there every 3 hours to work on pumping milk. So it's nice to have the opportunity to see him often. Most times, it is hard for us to see him lying there with all the tubes, wires and stuff on him, but we keep reminding ourselves how well he is doing in light of being in a very serious situation healthwise. Of course, in my case, it doesn't help that the "hormonal crying" of a new mom has set in!!!!

And I do feel for the other family who has a premature baby girl in there - we thought she was born recently until I asked the nurse and she's been there for 5 weeks or so and still has a ways to go. . . . she's tiny, itty bitty - especially when compared to our "giant of a boy" (all the ecuadorians think he's big - even though he's pretty average for a north american baby).

So that's the latest from the Metropolitan Hospital in Quito. Thanks again for all the wonderful notes, emails, prayers and encouragement! IT ALL HELPS A TON!

God bless you all!

Nathan is doing well!

Here are some photos from late this afternoon - we happened to be at the unit and Nathan woke up for a little bit - it was exciting!!! I especially like the photo with Santi holding his little hand.

We continue to receive good reports on Nathan's progress. As the doctor said to one of the nurses today - he is "un fuerte muchacho" (he's one strong little boy!). And we totally agree with his comment. We also know that so many prayers are helping him to be strong!

So while we were down at the unit visiting Nathan and he woke up, the nurse pulled the top of his incubator up for a bit and we got to talk to him and touch him and hold his little hands. He sure is a sweety! She had to do a few things to him and he's so patient and calm - doesn't even cry and just lays there contently while she adjusts cables and so on. She cleaned out his mouth with sterile water and let him suck on the gauze for a little bit. It's obvious that he's ready for the two tubes in his mouth to removed (wouldn't any of us!).

The good reports for today include that the swelling in his stomach has gone down by 1 cm. That he's mostly breathing on his own with just a little help from the ventilator. That each x-ray they take shows some improvement. That they are able to lower his pain medication which will be helpful for him to have a BM, which seems to one next step in the process as they would like to see how his digestive system is working.

All in all, we're doing well. Ruth makes visits every three hours down to the unit to work on pumping milk. She doesn't mind as it gives her another chance to see Nathan. Santi has been very patient and kind and loving through all of this and is doing well too. God has given me the best husband and father in all the world!

The doctor has given us hope that Nathan may be taken off the ventilator tomorrow - Sat. So we're praying for that next step at this point as it will be a big one! Each day has brought us much hope.

We are grateful to our "family" here in Quito who have called, stopped by to visit and leave flowers and gifts. And to those of you sending emails and notes. What a blessing! We truly feel the amazing love of all of God's people. THANK YOU!

Backtracking to Christmas Eve

When we think over all that has gone on the past couple of weeks, we do chuckle when we think about Christmas Eve and getting ready to go to the hospital for Nathan's birth.

We had already planned to have a quiet, stay-at-home holiday as we didn't want to plan anything major knowing that Nathan could arrive at any time now . . . so we had just planned a simple turkey and cheesy potato dinner for Christmas Eve night (eating dinner at midnight is the tradition here in Ecuador on the 24th) with Santi's mom who was here visiting us from Tulcan.

Well, about 5:00 pm, after having been out and around town with Santi and his mom for a few hours, I told Santi that I just had to lay down and take a nap. But I thought I'd throw the turkey and potatoes in the oven on a low temperature and lay down for some rest. In the end, all three of us laid down for a nap while turkey and potatoes were cooking.

Well, I was the first to get up because of the typical pregnancy syndrome of need to empty the bladder and when I went to get back into bed, I thought, oops! I guess I didn't get it all. It didn't take us long to realize that my water had broke! Then several moments of confusion - what do we do next!?!?! I hadn't even packed my suitcase yet (for those who really know me and my procrastination tendencies, I'm sure you're not surprised). Who do we call? When do we need to leave?

And then the "critical" question on my mind - what do I do with the turkey in the oven!?!?! Well, from the photos, you can see that we found a solution in the midst of everything. . . . the turkey & potatoes were cooked and about the time I got my suitcase packed and everything ready to go, the turkey was just ready for eating. So we quickly carved the turkey (froze most of it) and while standing in the kitchen we had our Christmas Eve dinner before running off to the hospital for Nathan's birth! I mostly just nibbled, but thankfully Santi and his mom were able to enjoy the delicious turkey and potatoes!

That was how we celebrated Christmas this year! We're hoping that next year will be different with a one-year old Nathan running around!

Update on Nathan

Nathan's pediatrician, Dr. Jijón, just came to my room and gave us an update on Nathan, saying that he's doing very well. He seems very pleased with his progress today and is hopeful that tomorrow will bring the same results. He continues to be very optimistic about Nathan's recovery.

We are more than sure that all the positive news is the result of so many prayers going up to our Father in heaven! We can't tell you how blessed we are to receive emails, notes, comments and so on from so many of you who are praying and are so concerned for us. We have mentioned several times that this is a testimony of God's family working together here on earth.

We'd appreciate your continued prayers as even though we are receiving good reports at this time, as the doctor said just now, "we haven't completely won the victory yet!" Nathan still has a ways to go in his recovery.

This afternoon around 6 we went down to see Nathan and were thrilled with the opportunity to touch him - as the lid of his incubator was open. It was fun to see his reaction as we touched his legs. It was exciting to get a little closer to him rather than peering at him through the incubator. The two photos in this post are from this visit. The incision from the surgery on Nathan's belly is about 2 inches long.

Thanks again for your prayers and words of encouragement. We wish you all well as well, especially as we near a new year 2008!

Surgery Day for Nathan

We have been totally blessed by all the prayers, calls, emails, notes, and concern on our behalf. Thank you to so many of you who are praying! And we are grateful . . . .

Nathan went into the surgery section this morning at 7:45. We were able to be there in the ICU around 7 am so had some time with him and Santi prayed for him before the nurses told us to move out of the way! Our friends Dan & Cyndi Maloy graciously came and spent the morning with us waiting. THANK YOU DAN & CYNDI!

We had been told the surgery would be around 1 to 1 1/2 hours. So Santi went and checked things out a couple of times around 9:30. At 10:10, I told him I'd go with him to see if maybe Nathan was back in the ICU yet. We got there in time to see them move him back into his incubator and and all the docs were peering over his x-rays, and other tests.

They quickly called us in and we met with the surgeon, our pediatrician (who has been truly wonderful through all this), the pediatric cardiologist (and later we saw the anesthesiologist as well). They gave us very GOOD NEWS - that Nathan did wonderfully through the surgery - no issues with oxygen, with his heart, or any other issues for that matter . . . that he did very well.

They were able to make all the necessary corrections - including moving the intestines into their place in the abdomen, removing his appendix (because it was in a spot different than normal, so I guess we won't have to worry about appendicitis in the future!), and closing the hole in his diaphragm. His right lung is functioning well and they believe that his left lung may be functioning some, but it's too early to tell for sure. And his heart is now in the correct location (it was pushed over to the right due to the hernia).

We know that all this good news it the result of so many of you praying and God's hand on our little boy!!! THANK YOU!!!

We were told that the next 48 hours are critical as they watch his lungs to see how they react. Continue to pray that Nathan's lungs will do well and continue to develop.

We are very pleased with all the care that he has had. All the nurses and doctors in the ICU are excellent and Ruth is receiving good care as well as she recovers from the c-section.

Again, thank you for your prayers - we are very grateful!
Love from Quito - Ruth & Santi & Nathan (ps - I couldn't resist putting another photo of our little guy even though it looks pretty much like yesterday's photos).

Nathan Santiago has arrived! a Gift from God!

Nathan Santiago arrived on Christmas Day Dec. 25, 2007 at 3:26 am via c-section! We are so excited to have him in our lives and are thrilled to share this news. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and is 52 cm long (I believe that is about 20 inches).

Please pray for us at this time as both mom and baby are in the hospital. Ruth is still in the hospital recuperating from an emergency c-section (a natural birth was planned but due to heavy bleeding they decided to do a c-section). She is recovering well.

Nathan is still in the hospital because he was born with a form of CDH which stands for Congenital Diaphramatic (sp?) Hernia. Basically in as few as words a possible, his diaphragm developed a hole and his intestines moved up into his lung cavity on his left side and pushed aside his lung and prevented it from developing completely.

So this means that he is in the neo-natal intensive care unit here at Hospital Metropolitano in Quito and is being very well taken care of. He will also be having surgery to correct the situation tomorrow morning, Thursday, at 8:00 am. We'd appreciate your prayers for the surgery.

We'd also appreciate your prayers for his recovery. The doctors have let us know that the surgery is a risk, but even more of a risk is how his lungs recover and develop.

In the meantime, we also have many positive things in this situation. One, we are at the best hospital in the city of Quito and at the only one that has a neo-natal ICU. We have a great OB/GYN taking care of Ruth and a wonderful pediatrician taking care of Nathan - one who canceled his vacation this week to help us through this.

Two, Nathan went to full term and had a great birth weight and size which is going to help him through this. He also is very stable and strong in spite of the problem. I'd even call him fiesty! The nurses have to practically tie his arms down so that he doesn't pull out his tubes and wires and sensors. And the doctors have been very optimistic but cautious with their reports to us.

And three, we have so many people praying for us!!! We want to thank you all for your gracious notes, emails, calls and prayers.

There are lots of other positives in what otherwise seems to be a dim situation. Pray for us as we stay focused and trust God. Sometimes, it's hard to do, but it's our hope in God that gets us through the day.

We have figured out that we can use the wireless here at the hospital. And we are receiving emails, however, we are having problems sending emails at this point, so this blog will be our main form of communication.

Here are a couple of photos of Nathan in his incubator! He looks like his dad with his black hair (he looks like a little wild man with it all standing on end!). His skin color is a cross between the two of us - not as dark as Santi and not as white as me. And so far his eyes are a dark grey - typical of a new born. We think he is the cutest baby ever born and can't wait to hold him in our arms!!!!!!

I'm on the same floor as Nathan and we enjoy going to the ICU to visit him throughout the day. Sometimes it's hard to see him like this and not be able to hold him or nurse him yet. But as Santi reminded me today - we have waited 9 months for him, we can wait a little while longer.

In the meantime, we are very grateful for good care for Nathan and for all your prayers! The name Nathan is a Hebrew name that means "Gift of God" and we truly believe that he is a gift from God and that he is in God's hands!

We'll try to post sometime tomorrow after the surgery to let you know how it went!

A MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . BABY!

Well, we do want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS from Quito! We have a turkey ready to come out of the oven along with our favorite recipe of cheesy potatoes! However, we will have to just put everything into the refrigerator because my water broke and we're headed to the hospital! If all goes well, within 24 hours, Baby Nathan will be here with us! We will let you know! Thanks for praying!
love from Quito - Ruth & Santi

Still waiting . . . .

Many of you have written to ask about Nathan's arrival. We are still waiting . . . we are pleased with a good report at the doctor's office yesterday. He tells us "not to worry" and that all is well at this point. However, no indication of specifically when Nathan might arrive. We'll see what he says at our appt next week on Weds. We continue to be very excited to see our baby boy soon!

In the meantime, we're mostly taking it easy over the holidays (Ruth is too tired most of the time to do much else! smiles!). Santi started his vacation today and Ruth is cleaning off her desk at the office in anticipation of having a three month maternity leave during January, February and March.

We hope to get our Christmas tree decorated tomorrow (just in time for Christmas, right!?). The tree is up, but somehow we have only managed to get two strings of lights on it so far! It'd be nice to have a finished tree in time for Dec. 25! We also have a turkey in the freezer in anticipation of a yummy Christmas dinner!

Thank you for all your emails and encouraging words! We'll post news as soon as we have it!

Misión Compartida Part III

The share-a-thon at HCJB finished late Saturday night. Santi had the priviledge of helping all day Saturday. He not only continued helping with technical support, but also sat at one of the stations receiving walk-in donations. Our hearts were warmed as he shared stories of people who arrived and sacrificially gave so that HCJB Radio could continue to be on the air in 2008.

He told of one lady whose husband recently left her with two children and she doesn't have much but pledged to give $5.00 per month. She came to his station to donate and only had about $3.00 in change, but wanted to make sure it went towards the goal!

And as you can see from the photos, even children came in and emptied out their banks!

We are pleased to share that the financial goal was met in abundance . . . . $170,000 in direct donations and pledges for the year! But even more important, many hearts were touched in hearing how God is using HCJB Radio to bring people to Him.

Santi finally got home at 11 pm on Saturday evening. What could have been a long exhausting day turned out to be an inspiration to both of us! Hopefully it will be an inspiration to you as well during this holiday season!!

Misión Compartida - Part II and Misc.

I've taken the opportunity to stop by the HCJB radio station facility a couple of times today and it's been exciting to see all the people arrive to visit the station, meet our radio staff and make donations. Santi is working long hours today and tomorrow providing technical support for the staff taking phone calls.

I just talked to Santi who is on his way home and he said that up until the station has received close to $74,000 in donations and pledges! What an exciting way to end the day! They are half-way to their goal of $150,000.

He also shared a story with me that brought tears to both of us about an elderly man who came to HCJB today who had just received his retirement check - it was for $200 which is probably all he will receive for his retirement after working many years (let's just say that Ecuador's social security is way worse than the US social security). He wanted to turn it all in to HCJB as a donation! Amazing to hear stories of how people sacrifice to give toward a ministry that blesses them every day. And it's inspiring to keep helping and serving!

I finally broke down and called the doctor today because I just can't shake this cold that I have and it's probably to the point of a sinus infection. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics and I'm sure that I will soon be breathing much easier! Thanks for praying!

Misión Compartida - Shared Mission

Every year in December, HCJB Global radio hosts an open house and radio share-a-thon in Quito. The name for the three days is “Misión Compartida” which means Shared Mission in English. The share-a-thon is being held this week - December 13, 14, and 15.

The goal is to raise $150,000 toward the annual operating expenses of Latin American Radio and to also call people to join us in our mission to reach Latin America and the world by way of Christian radio and health care.

We hope many people will come visit the HCJB Radio facility and that we can strengthen relationships with our listeners. It’s always exciting to receive the listeners to the radio station and have a chance to hear first-hand of how HCJB Global’s radio station in Quito has made a difference in their lives.

The visitors also have the opportunity to visit various booths on the HCJB facility represented by our other ministries such as Hospital Vozandes, the Christian Center of Comunications, and the Spotlight Listener’s Clubs.

Santi will be helping by providing technical support during the three days as the radio staff receives phone calls and visits from listeners for financial pledges as well as commitments to pray for HCJB Global! Pray along with us!

Hogar Betania photos

This past Sunday we had our regular service at the Hogar de Ancianos Betania (Bethany Home for the elderly). I had my camera along and couldn't resist taking some photos. We also had our usual group of volunteers together so we took a group photo. We are looking for some new helpers in 2008 as Roger & Lois Reimer will be in the states for a year. So pray that we will find some other volunteers.

It was also a blessing to have our good friends Sam & Karen Pedersen visiting with us as well. They lived here in Ecuador for many years and probably have spent the most time helping at the Hogar. What a treat to have them here for a couple of weeks to visit!

We hope you enjoy these photos of the dear people at the Hogar!

Baby Update

Yesterday we had our regular appointment with our doctor. We also had the opportunity to have a tour of the maternity section at the Metropolitan Hospital here in Quito where we plan on having Baby Nathan. We were very impressed with the friendliness of the staff as well as their professionalism. Santi was glad that I will have a soothing, calming place to go through labor and birth.

To truly understand and appreciate his statement, you would have to see the usual options here in Quito which include the Social Security hospitals and clinics and the government-run maternity hospital. All of which require you to go out to a pharmacy and purchase all the supplies and meds that you will need for your procedure and let's just say that the service at these hospitals/clinics is less than desireable.

We are very grateful that we have the opportunity and option to go to a nice place like Metropolitan Hospital.

The doctor gave us a good report and told us to basically "be happy and not worry" . . . . that all is fine. I do still have swelling in my hands and feet, but he has come to the conclusion that since I don't have "preeclempsia face" (his literal words), he's not terribly concerned about the swelling at this point (although its getting annoying to me!). He did send us to have an ultrasound as he was concerned that the baby is getting quite big! So we had the joy of seeing Baby Nathan once again on the ultrasound screen. According to the doctor who did the ultrasound, Nathan is at about 6 1/2 pounds at the moment and he predicts that our due date is closer to Jan. 3. So we will see when Baby Nathan will finally come!

Anyone want to take any guesses as to when he'll actually come!?!?!?

We are grateful for the good report from the doctor and will continue patiently waiting. Pray that I will get over this bad cold that I have. It seems to be part of a virus that is going around here and hopefully will not turn into a sinus infection!

Thanks so much for all your emails and encouragement these days! We do appreciate it!

Kids Club Christmas

Last week Wednesday was the Christmas party for the Kids Club children! As you can see from the photos, they had a great time. I especially wanted to include the photo of the MOMS CLUB who had so much fun decorating sugar cookies (we now have 6 moms regularly attending the Moms' Club - isn't that exciting!)!

I haven't been able to go out to the dump for the Kids Club due to my pregnancy and I really miss it. Thanks to my friend, Teri, I get to see it via her photos! I did make the sugar cookies for the occasion which helped me to feel a part of the Christmas party!

We also want to thank the children at the Tri-county Bible Church AWANA group (Rensalear, IN) for collecting and donating the beanie babies that we gave out in the children's Christmas bags. They brought lots of smiles to their faces!!!

Dump Christmas Party - Dec 1, 2007

Last Saturday was the 11th annual dump christmas party. We had a record attendance of 3,300 people who came to play games, have their photo taken with Santa, listen to live music, and have a good time together as a family.

Santi coordinated the entrance with about 12 other volunteers - we enjoyed seeing the people come in and be so excited about a Christmas party. We saw many of the families from the regular Wednesday afternoon Kids Club as well as families from the Day Care Center.

The day care children sang some Christmas songs from the stage and their mother's performed a folklore dance. There was a film tent set up with Christian videos being shown. There was a huge craft center set up where everyone had a chance to make a Christmas ornament and color and use glitter (one of their favorite things). Other tables were set up for face-painting and nail painting.

The evangelistic team was able to share with people throughout the day on a one-on-one basis and many people were open to hear about Jesus - the real reason that we celebrate this season! Over 170 people accepted Christ as their Saviour during the party, sixty of those being regular dump workers. Pastor Jose (our director of the dump ministry) will be following up with these new Christians!

The day ended when all 3,300 people lined up to receive their gifts - a 10 lb. bag of staple food items for the adults and a gift bag with beanie babies and other small items for the children. It never ceases to amaze us how excited the party attendees get over such a simple gift.

Please pray for those who accepted Christ as their Saviour during the party and for Jose and his wife Teresa as they continue with follow-up - especially with the 60 dump workers. . . . may God use this outreach in a mighty way!

Catching up!

I know I promised photos from the Christmas party week, but I've gotten delayed by a few things - one of them being that I have gotten a bad cold this week! I never knew how miserable a cold can be when you can't take the normal cold meds! Thank goodness for Tylenol, which I am able to take. Everyone around seems to have a cold - so I'm sure it's just something I picked up!

Some other noteworthy news:
1) My niece Cris returned to the US on Monday. Her six weeks here flew by and we miss her! We wish her well as she continues with the application process to Physician Assistant's schools. We are proud of her as she now has 4 interviews set up in the next few weeks.

2) The team of 55 people who came from the US and Canada to help with the week-long Christmas parties left on Tuesday morning. The ER staff have been been busy cleaning up and recuperating from the very busy week.

3) Our next doctor's appt is on Tuesday, Dec. 11. We will also be having a tour of the maternity section at Hospital Metropolitano where we plan on having Nathan. It'll be good for us to have an idea of where to head when the big day comes! And we still have no idea when that day might be!

4) We have three Christmas parties in the next week - one on Sunday with the HCJB missionaries, another one on Monday with the Extreme Response staff and I have one on Weds with our high school group! A full month of celebrations!

5) Santi will be busy next week setting up the last minute technical preparations for HCJB's Annual Radio Sharathon - called "Misión Compartida" (Shared Mission). He is part of the technical support staff for this sharathon to be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday - pray for him as he will be working long hours. We are grateful for the many HCJB radio listeners who will be responding and giving sacrificially so that HCJB Radio can continue on the air in 2008!

Many of the people come to the open house on the HCJB Radio compound to see their favorite radio announcers, watch live radio programs as they air, share testimonies and prayer requests as well as donate money for radio operations. It's an exciting time!

6) This Sunday we will be having the service at the Nursing Home (Hogar Betania) and also on Dec. 23. Pray that we can be an encouragement to these dear elderly people who have so little. We're also looking for ideas of something that we can give them as a gift on Dec. 23. We'd like to do something special for them in honor of Jesus' birth.

Good night for now - I hope to post a report of the Christmas parties as well as include some photos! I will let you know that more than 8,000 people showed up for the various parties held in five days time (we had planned for 6,000)! We were amazed at how God multiplied the supplies and gifts that we had prepared and made it possible for everyone to receive something! It felt like the feeding of the 5,000!