Fatima and other items . . .

Hello everyone - I know that I have been really terrible at posting. Is the fact that I have a very active 9 month old (almost 10 months) baby boy running around a good enough excuse? It seems like there's never a quiet moment when I can get some desk work done! And therefore, my lack of taking time to post on our blog.

But it's been great to hear from so many of you and to know that you're still there praying for us!

I do want to mention that Santi passed his oral exam for his English class last (and thus passed the 5th level). Congratulations, honey! The classes are increasingly getting harder. I seriously am not sure that I have ever even thought about some of the grammar stuff that he's having to learn and I actually like English grammar (yea, I know I'm weird). His oral exam last night was to talk for five minutes about the importance of recycling. Thankfully we found an article on the internet that was just perfect for it! And he passed with flying colors! So we were excited last night. He has a break for about a week and will then start Level 6! I hope I still know enough English grammar to be able to help him out. And we do need to be speaking more English at home so that he can put into practice all that he is learning.

Many of you have asked about Fatima. The girl who called me out of the blue a couple of months ago because she was pregnant with a baby who would be born with the same CDH complications that Nathan was born with. Our pediatrician connected her to me. Her baby was born the day we left for the states, so I didn't have an opportunity to be there with her. I finally called her last week to see how things were going.

I was very sad to learn that her little boy, Mattias, passed away in the NICU at Metropolitano about 10 days after he was born. They did do the same surgery on him that they did on Nathan - but when they opened him up they found many more complications - including his stomach and liver being up in his lung cavity along with a tumor on his kidney. He just wasn't strong enough to make it through the surgery and recover.

We both cried tears of sadness as we talked on the phone. And a rush of emotions came over me - both for Fatima and her little boy that she only got to know a very short time and also for my family - knowing that Nathan's life could be so different than it is now. I often am weary trying to keep up with him (I kid you not, he is extremely active and never stops moving when he's awake - he also moves in his sleep!). But I'm also grateful for his activity knowing that things could be so much different for him. God has truly brought Nathan's life to be for a reason and we pray every day that we would be faithful in bringing Nathan up to know God's purpose for his life and to live his life to the fullest!

I also was reminded of our time in the NICU just a short time ago - when Nathan was so little and helpless and how God and the prayers of His people sustained us. And Santi and I had each other. I so felt for Fatima, knowing that she was basically on her own during all this time.

She is now back at her home in Ambato and was starting back at her work in an office for a agricultural company (they grow roses - probably the very same ones that are exported to the US). She will be coming to Quito in the next couple of weeks and she promised that she would call me so that we could finally meet and get together for a cup of coffee. She is also anxious to meet our little "gordito" as she calls Nathan. Please pray for this meeting - I'm a little nervous about it as my emotions are still raw and also knowing what to say to her - here I am with my little boy all healed from his birth defects while she's still grieving for the loss of hers. I'm asking God to give me wisdom and just the words to say. Please pray with me on this.