Letting go . . .

My husband just ran out to the airport tonight to pick up from friends coming from Indianapolis so I thought I'd sit down and write a new post on our blog. Chris & April will be staying with us for a week, looking at Extreme Response and missions and seeking how God would have them be involved as missionaries here. We're excited to have them be with us and can't wait to see how God will work in their lives.

So anyways while I'm waiting for them to arrive, I thought I'd share a quick post that I've been thinking about . . . I have had Nathan's baby clothes all packed away in storage ever since I started that wonderful process of sorting his clothes as he grows. It was always fun to see him start wearing the next size but it was also a bit nostalgic packing away the clothes that were too small for him. Some of them came with great memories of special days together, others were special because of the person who gave them to us. And well, let's face it, its a bit sentimental when it belongs to your first born.

So the clothes have been packed away for a year now . . . . just sitting in the closet, collecting dust. I would think of them from time to time, pondering what to do with them. It seemed silly to keep 18 months worth of baby clothes . . . to what end? But I (or maybe I should say "we" as my husband was even more sentimental about them that I was) just wasn't quite ready to get rid of them. And what was I going to do? keep all his clothes forever . . . until he turns 18? And then what? So I started praying about what God would have me to do with them. And then another missionary couple got pregnant. And found out they were having a boy . . . .so I called her one day to see if she was up to receiving some used baby boy clothes.

She was thrilled! And I was too - here was the answer to my prayer. So a couple of weeks ago, I loaded up 2 large garbage bags and one box of baby clothes into my car and went to meet Lori to hand them over to her. I thought I was okay with this . . . no more baby Nathan's clothes in the house. . . . well, just as I was getting the things out of my car to put into Lori's car, this wave of nostalgia came over me and I just wasn't quite ready to let go . . . . so silly me, what did I do? I grabbed a couple of his newborn sleepers and hung on to them and quickly handed the rest of the items over to her. I told Lori to go through the items and keep whatever she wanted and to give me back whatever she didn't want . . . thinking that maybe I'd find another friend who could use them. Lori said thank you and we went on our way.

But the story doesn't end there.

The next day, Lori left a message on my phone, asking me if it would be okay to pass the few items she didn't want on to their ministry, Pan de Vida. Quick side note - Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) is a ministry to street people here in Quito and they do amazing things (you can check out their website here). Lori & her husband, Oscar, are missionaries with Extreme Response and they head up the Pan de Vida ministry.

Anyways, she was asking me if they could just pass the unwanted clothes on to Pan de Vida. I didn't call her back right away with an answer as God was still working in my heart to just let go. In the afternoon, I finally called her back and said that yes, it'd be fine to take the last items in a box over to Pan de Vida.

Well, a few days later, she called me back and was so excited to share a testimony to me of how God used those "unwanted clothes". It turns out that it was her husband, Oscar, who suggested taking the clothes to Pan de Vida and all day long he just felt it was important to know right away if I was willing to donate them to Pan de Vida. . . . .and he kept asking her if I had gotten back to her with an answer yet. And she kept telling him to be patient, that I'd get back to them when I was able, but for some reason, he felt it was urgent to know. Thankfully, I did get back to them by the afternoon.

The next day, Oscar had dropped the items off at Pan de Vida and it was also the same day as their feeding program where they feed almost 100 street people. At the end of the event, one of the workers was sitting with two new ladies who had never come before. They each had a baby with them. And they had been praying that God would somehow provide some clothing for their baby. And the Pan de Vida worker was sitting there with them praying and talking to them, when Oscar stopped by to ask what they needed. We all know now why that one last box of baby clothes was so important and why it was so important for it to be at Pan de Vida THAT day . . . . Oscar was able to show them the box of clothes and they cried with joy at what was there . . . clothes for their babies - the very thing they had been praying for!

This was a huge lesson for me on letting go . . . . and on the joy of giving. So often we just aren't ready to let go of whatever that prized possession might be in our life. . . . but the freedom that comes when we do let go is amazing and the joy that comes in knowing that you helped someone else out in the process is also amazing. These "prized possessions" aren't necessarily material things - they can be talents or gifts or sharing of ourselves in different ways. I do know that the next time God is nudging me to "just let go" - I'm going to listen to Him much more quickly!

In my mind's eye, I can just see the two ladies and their little babies with Nathan's clothes on them . . . . and that is a blessing that I will never forget! Who knows, maybe someday, I'll even see them on the street in Quito . . . and recognize them because of Nathan's clothes . . . and have the opportunity to help them out even more.

April Photos on Facebook

We have posted some photos from this month in an album on Facebook. If you'd like to see them, please click here.

a lot going in the Arteaga home . . .

We stay busy - no doubt about it.

Nathan is doing new things all the time and trying to stay out of trouble. His latest thing is to walk around counting things in Spanish . . . the only problem is that he often says "uno, tres, cuatro . . .", skipping the number 2! We're pretty sure he'll figure it out at some point. But he does know the number 2 as he will tell you that he's "two" if you ask him how old he is! Another thing he likes to do is carry around a banana and/or apple (he likes to eat them eventually too). We're not sure why he likes them, but we figure this is just one little stage for him for now.

Isabella has mastered the art of crawling and is finding all sorts of interesting things at ground level. She's also working hard to cut her two bottom teeth - chewing on everything she can get her hands on. . . making the combination with learning to crawl interesting as she's finding new things to chew on!

We've had colds off and on this month. Ruth and Isabella still have runny noses. Hopefully we will be finished with the runny noses in time for our trip to the US on May 13! Yes, the time is rapidly approaching for us to begin our 10 week Home Ministry Assignment in the US. We are looking forward to connecting with friends, family and churches there. It will be a busy time traveling with two little ones, but the renewed connections will be worth it.

Santi had a birthday this month too! It was fun to celebrate several times - once with a date night out together, another time with our small group, and a third time with a lunch at HCJB with the Information Systems department. His birthday has been well celebrated!

We are looking forward to the visit of some friends from Indiana this week, Chris & April Fresh. They are coming with their youngest son, Mason (one of five boys!). They will be here for a week, taking a look at Extreme Response and our ministries here in Ecuador, and seeing what God might have for them as full-time missionaries. We look forward to having them stay with us and are praying that God will clearly direct them as they look into missions.

And Ruth is also helping to organize two baby showers . . . .one for Lori Aguirre. Lori and her husband direct one of our partner ministries, Pan de Vida (Bread of Life - a ministry to people living on the street). They are expecting their first son in July. And the other is for Teri Newburn, Ruth's good friend and co-coordinator of the Kids Club at the Zambiza dump. Teri teaches high school math at Alliance Academy. They are expecting their first boy the first of June.

And then it will be time to pack and do the last minute things needed for our trip! We have all our passports (Nathan and Isa both have two), visas, paperwork and other important things taken care of. . . .but we still have to figure out suitcases, packing for two kids and whatever else we might need! Thank goodness, we will be arriving to the "Land of Walmart" where it will be easier to pick up anything we might need!

Pray for us in these final weeks before we leave on May 13 as Santi has projects to finish up at work. He also needs to find replacements for some of his work while he is gone. We also need to finalize the organization of our presentations for churches while we are in the US. There are so many interesting things to share, that sometimes it's hard to narrow it down and decide on what is the most important. Plus, we also want to be sensitive to God's leading and what He would want us to share with our churches and supporters who have been a part of what God is doing here. Pray that God would direct us to what He wants!

Easter fun . . . .

It's been a fun-filled Easter weekend already - with a play date with our friends the Dawsons yesterday and then with Santi's family over for a traditional fanesca meal today.

Fanesca is a soup made during Semana Santa (Holy Week) that has 12 grains in it (to represent the 12 disciples). Most people also add things like fish, avocado, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs and little fried plantain pieces. It's a great time to get the whole family together. We also added the North American tradition of coloring Easter eggs!

We are looking forward to celebrating Easter Sunday and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior at our Spanish church this coming Sunday.

For more fun photos of the past couple of days, please click HERE.