Some say life is full of coincidences. Or perhaps experiences in life are all pre-ordained, you know…destined to happen.
A few years ago, I received this greeting card from the late Deacon Jim and my dear friend Betty. The greeting card is one of my favorites. I keep it in my home office, where I can see it as often as possible. It sits on a shelf directly above my head. The beautifully designed greeting card includes: “There’s a place you can stay as long as you like — it’s safe and you never have to pay rent…It’s in my heart. I’m here for you.” Let me tell you a story and then I’ll get back to my treasured greeting card.
It had only been 4 months since I returned from our unforgettable cruise. I hadn’t planned to take another trip quite so soon. But opportunity knocked. And I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by. So, I answered.
There were eight of us who traveled to Ecuador. Ecuador is named after this invisible line that divides northern and southern hemispheres. There’s something it seems all travelers to Ecuador love to do, which is to simultaneously place one foot in each hemisphere. I have a framed photograph of when I did this. It’s a nice reminder of one item I have checked off my bucket list. Anyways, back to my story.
Although we arrived in one of the poorest countries on earth, I will tell you that the beautiful scenery in Ecuador was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I saw breathtaking mountains in the background — in every direction I turned. In the early mornings, while eating breakfast, my view was of dazzling white clouds at the mountaintops, like a snowy Alp that extended all the way to Heaven. On most of our 10-day stay numerous gloomy gray nimbus clouds brewed rainstorms, and nearly every day rain came in short squalls of great violence.
But beauty and stunning sights weren’t just way up in the air. I saw varied traditional houses in the two cities where we stayed. There were dilapidated one-story wooden shacks with corrugated-metal roofs, to bamboo huts on stilts; to dreary little two-story concrete shacks. A clothesline was a necessity at every home. Every place I went I saw colorful clothing hung from ropes, which had been strung from one end of a house to the other end. The indigenous communities did everything in the river: they bathed themselves, washed dishes, and their clothes.
The eight of us who traveled to Ecuador had a purpose. We were going to be volunteers at an orphanage based in the Amazon jungle of Shell, Ecuador. The orphanage named “La Casa de Fe” would take us far from civilization where there was no Internet, no TV, no iPhones, and no video games.
I had the opportunity to meet the founder of “La Casa de Fe.” Patti Sue is an amazing woman. She was raised in Knoxville, Illinois where she graduated from High School. In 1978 she joined the Army and was stationed all over the world, mostly in Europe, before retiring as a U.S. Army warrant officer in 1998. After retiring from the Army and working as a graphic designer Patti Sue was living a comfortable life. She had this passion stirred inside her and it tugged on her to do something more. A small voice kept whispering to her. She wanted to work as a missionary, but soon discovered most mission organizations had strict rules. For instance, you can’t be divorced nor have kids. Unfortunately, Patti Sue already had those two strikes against her. She grappled with those two regulations that kept her from becoming a missionary. I can only imagine how terribly frustrating it would have been to have doors closed over something from your past that you couldn’t change. However, that voice, some force beyond her, kept whispering in her ear, and kept stirring her heart and mind. So, she continued to pursue this calling.
Then it finally happened. In 2000 an opportunity arose when a mission group asked Patti Sue to go to a third world country. Patti Sue left her comfort zone. This fearless woman followed her passion, bringing along her then 13-year-old son, to Ecuador. She followed her heart into uncharted lands and toward unknown goals. The magnitude of listening to this passion and inner voice took courage. But not the kind of courage that sends you parachuting out of a plane or climbing Mount Everest. The kind of courage I’m talking about is mostly the quiet kind. This courage is the listening, working, thinking, and obeying kind. After they arrived in Ecuador, Patti Sue went to work repairing wheelchairs.
Approximately six months later someone approached her and asked Patti Sue to foster a child. She accepted without giving it a second thought. She took the plunge, the willingness to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of a child, someone else’s child. But the mission didn’t approve.
“You cannot foster children while you’re staying in a mission.” Patti Sue was told.
Months went by before Patti Sue was asked to foster another child. She accepted and after doing so the mission organization came down on her. This courageous and caring woman quit the mission because she simply was incapable of turning away a child in need. I marveled at how she did that. Caring for someone else’s children is emotionally different from caring for your own. Wasn’t she the least bit afraid? A little, itty-bitty bit terrified? After all, this wasn’t a babysitting position she was asked to fulfill. Patti Sue had been asked to take in these children full-time while living where the local population lives well below the poverty line. Patti Sue was living in the middle of the globe, in a third-world country. She was so far from family and lifelong friends. In fact, living in this part of Ecuador, residents have no official street address, house number, or mailbox.
The following year her family doubled; she took in two more kids. Then four turned into eight. By the time she had 8 kids, plus her own, Patti Sue heard that gentle voice inside whisper, “Just love the children, I will take care of the rest.” This experience was an ‘ah-ha’ moment for her. It finally dawned on Patti Sue why she was there. It was God’s plan. Patti Sue trusted the draw of God that was something beyond her own resources, beyond her emotional, intellectual, and physical resources. But Patti Sue knew that if she was doing God’s work, she was going to need help. This brave woman knew she needed to move to a much larger house to provide enough room for her rapidly growing family. Patti Sue explained that each year the children kept doubling: eight turned into sixteen, sixteen into thirty-two, etc.
In 2002 Patti Sue wanted to purchase land in Shell, a village in the foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes. She found some lots with overgrown brush. She discussed her desire to buy land from its owner. He told her how much it was going to cost to clear one lot. Patti Sue had enough funds for only two.
When they decided to make the deal the landowner asked, “How much land do you want?” Patti Sue, full of faith, replied, “Three.”
She went on to clarify to the landowner that she had enough money for two lots, but truly needed three. The landowner said he would give her six months to come up with the balance. She prayed a lot. She prayed trusting and above all, BELIEVING. Patti Sue’s prayers were heard, and answered. Donations poured in, arriving at the last propitious moment. Patti Sue purchased all three lots.
The first thing she did was build a water tower. Then a septic system. Next was the bodega, a warehouse. In 2002 “La Casa de Fe” (means house of faith) was built and a foundation was formed. In 2012 a two-story school was built, and a gated fence was added. The orphanage is for unwanted, abandoned, and abused children in the jungle. Most of the children have special needs.
Its mind boggling to know what the alternative is for an infant or child with special needs in a foreign country. The parents of a baby with special medical needs in the Ecuador rainforest know there’s no way the infant/child could survive the harsh lifestyle. Children are required to work in the jungle to help their families. Third-world mothers who give birth to handicapped babies often have a stigma—people around them—say God gave her a defective child. Some of these poor, special need babies are either taken out to the rainforest and left to die or drowned in the river. Just the thought of innocent lives ending this way made me sick to my stomach. Every now and then parents will find their way to either a hospital or La Casa de Fe. It takes a day—or two—to reach the orphanage from the jungle. After they have traveled a long distance to reach the orphanage, no baby or child is turned away.
While the circumstances and events that led me to meeting Patti Sue and visiting La Casa de Fe may appear to be coincidental, there are no coincidences when it comes to helping the most vulnerable among us—the children. I asked Patti Sue, “Did you envision this (I spread my hands all around me to emphasize the huge orphanage)?”
Patti Sue gave me an immediate nonverbal answer when she shook her “no.” Then she gave me a smile when she replied, “I had a vision of a hillside home with children running all around. I never dreamed of this large organization currently with sixty-seven children.”
On a Sunday morning I joined TIAs (caretakers), teachers, volunteers, and children ranging from two-year-old to teenagers for a devotion time. Nothing you have ever heard about in Ecuador comes even close to describing this amazing experience. Peace, calm, and silence filled the giant room while Bible scriptures were read, in Spanish. Then songs were sung, also in Spanish. Some children stood with their little hands in the air as they sang. I figured they were waving at angels only they could see. Others sat on cold metal folding chairs. The beautiful sound of the fifty voices lifted up in prayer and song. I had no clue about the lyrics, having arrived in Ecuador with no ability to speak or understand Spanish. But the splendor of God in this room took my breath away. These children have already seen abandonment, experienced poverty, and neglect. They’ve lost their homes, parents, and siblings; they’ve seen their most important relationship fail. The children own nothing, but they are rich in faith. They put their trust in the Lord. I have never seen anyone so alive with love for their Maker. Inside their hearts they have a peace that could only come from God.
And though my words may be inadequate, I want to try to express how these children are loved and cared for. La Casa de Fe is a home jam-packed with children: laughing, dancing, singing, playing, and just being kids. The orphanage has provided a place where the children feel safe, happy, and where they feel love. The older kids, when they weren’t hanging out with one another, looked out for the younger ones. The kitchen is large enough for the children to enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, together as a family. All the children are well fed, had their own clean bed, and wore proper clothing. Out front the children played soccer and in the back yard they rode bikes or played on outdoor swings.
Heroism isn’t always about glory, fame, or acts of valor. It can be about helping, healing, and loving. I admire Patti Sue Arnold’s strength and I am in awe of how she overcame obstacles to be where she is right now. She worked hard to bring purpose to her life, and she lives out her purpose every single day. Patti Sue has moved beyond her own concerns and puts all that she has into upholding others. She is a courageous hero. She didn’t shrink from the challenge before her. She rose to the occasion when good deeds were needed. Heroes tend to be kind, compassionate, generous, and giving people. In my opinion, Patti Sue performed the ultimate sacrificial act when she gave up her life for a great and noble cause.
La Casa de Fe is blessed beyond any place I have ever encountered. My favorite greeting card reminds me of this extraordinary home in which Patti Sue created. It’s a place for children to safely stay, and they never have to pay rent. Those children found a place in Patti Sue’s heart. And in mine, too.
If you would like to donate to La Casa de Fe, go here.
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