October 17, 2006

Dear faithful family, friends & partners,

  I always said that I would write books one day, I just didn’t plan on my update letter being my 1^st book! I apologize for the 3 page letter but I haven’t sent out an update in almost 4 months & I thought you might like to know how the Chapa family is doing. J

October 22^nd marks the one year anniversary of the day that Beto went to be with Jesus. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed since that day. All I have are words of thankfulness & praise for the way that God has taken care of the boys & me. I now have a better understanding of what Psalm 41:1 means because I live it everyday… “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise will continually be in my mouth”.  I really believe that if we praise God at all times, then there is no circumstance or problem that we can’t over come. I am living proof of that! The day that Beto died I shut myself in my bedroom & hit repeat on my favorite worship CD & spent the whole night praying that God would show me what to do next. That night I made the decision that I was going to be thankful for all of the good in my life, rather than the great loss I was going through. When I made up my mind that I was going to trust God with the plans he had for my life, He totally took control & I believe that that is the reason that the boys & I never experienced the deep sorrow or grief that most people go through in times like this.  I knew that the Bible says that God won’t give us more than we can handle, so I was encouraged that God thought that I could “handle” something like this happening to my family!

I felt honored that God had allowed me to be a part of the life of such a passionate man. Everything that Beto did, he did with his whole heart…so life with him was always an adventure! I still get emails all of the time from people telling me how he made an impact on their life! He impacted my life more than he could ever know! When he died, something new in my spirit came to life. Strengths & gifts that I didn’t know that I had began to surface. I like to think that since Beto no longer needed his gifts, God passed them along to me! J I will be forever grateful for our time together & I look forward to seeing more of him in my little “Beto trinity”…Isaac, Jake & Gabe.

My 3 little men are doing well. Isaac is growing up so fast. It seems like he just woke up one morning about 6 inches taller!  Anyone who knows him well knows that he is a smart guy. He would rather be at school than at home playing any day. Science & history are his favorite subjects. The highlight for him last month was when his Grammy (Beto’s mom) came to visit & she bought him his first dissecting kit…then helped him dissect a frog!  He is only 6 ½ years old, but he is so passionate about learning. Unlike me, he retains every bit of information that he hears or reads. He believes that God wants him to grow up to be a scientist/doctor/astronaut/evangelist so it will be interesting to see how God will use him as he grows up! J

Jake just had his 4^th birthday on Oct.6^th. Of course, being into music, he chose to have a guitar birthday cake for the 3^rd year in a row. I let him choose who he wanted to invite to his party & he invited 30 people! I thought it was funny that he only invited 4 kids around his age & the rest were all adults that he looks up to.  He basically invited the entire worship team from church & it made his day that they all came. He still hasn’t stopped talking about that day & he says it was the best birthday ever! I am so thankful that God has given the boys such great role models. The guys that came to the party often come by & pick the boys up to go to a movie or a ballgame. It is those times that they get to go out with the guys that fills the void that I thought only “daddy” could fill.  For me, it is just overwhelming to see how faithful God is to make sure that all of our needs are met!

Gabe or as we call him, “Gaby Baby” is cuter than ever. He is 8 ½ months old now & has the sweetest personality. He is just a happy baby & he laughs & smiles at everything. He is not crawling on his knees yet, but he can get where he wants by rolling or crawling military style! He can get his Granna & Pop to do anything he wants! Granna (my mom) will drop whatever she is doing if she thinks I need help with him. She often calls & tells me that she’ll keep Gabe while I go grocery shopping. I used to think it was to help me out, but I think it is really because she wants more time with him! J  My dad ”Pop” comes to my house all the time to see him & often calls Gabe from work just to talk! The two of them just seem to have a special bond. I’m glad that my dad can be a father figure for Gabe, but I think that dad needs Gabe just as much a Gabe needs him!

Things with me are always good & getting better. I think attitude is everything, so I always try to see things as God would see them. I can usually tell when I am doing things in my own strength, because it shows in my attitude & the way I respond to things. It’s a decision I have to make daily, but I try to put everyday in God’s hands & get my “self” out of the way! This past year had been frustrating for me at first in the aspect of ministry because it was hard to go from being married to someone so driven to pastor people & evangelize, then to have a baby & be back at home with the daily routine of diapers, laundry & cleaning.  My mom & dad know how hard it has been for me to sit still knowing that my greatest desire is to be out doing ministry, so they have offered to come over & put the kids in bed for me a couple of nights a week so I could get more involved with the campus ministry here. I am grateful to have parents who are so willing to jump in & help me, so I can do the things that God has put in my heart.

Every time Beto & I would come to Huntsville to visit, he would want to drive out to Alabama A&M University…for some reason he just wanted to get out on that campus. He said that he just believes that there is so much potential at that school. Since I have been involved in the campus ministry here at the church, I have gotten to be good friends with a girl who goes to A&M and just this past weekend our campus group had an outreach at A&M during their homecoming. I was so glad that I was getting to do what Beto had always wanted to do on that campus & I can’t wait to meet more students from that school. 

I wish I had the opportunity to spend time with each of you. To everyone who has continued to support our family financially, there are no words to express how much I appreciate your faithful love & giving. Your obedience to allow God to use you amazes me every day! Please remember that as you sow into our lives, the things we accomplish for Him will be your reward also. I pray God’s blessings on you & your family!

Still consumed by the call,

Holly Chapa