From Anguish to Joy

As I was reading from the book of John this week a verse struck me in a new way. John 16:12 says, "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the JOY that a child has been born into the world."

This of course reminds me of the birth of Christ and the pain that it brought Mary but then what JOY the birth also brought not only she and Joseph but many others as our Lord grew and ministered to multitudes through the love and power of God.

This verse also has brought to mind the pain and anguish that many couples here in Nigeria feel as they see their friends and family members give birth to tiny babies. Yet year after year they remain childless themselves. But when we place a baby in their arms we see the anguish and pain replaced with JOY because of their new child.
Many have asked us how we can care for and love a baby for several months and then give that baby to someone else. They see how we embrace the baby as our own and love them deeply. We tell them that it is because we see this as a ministry to bless these couples who desperately desire a child but can not have their own. We do see the JOY that the baby brings them as we hand the child over to them and pray God's blessing on the new family. Yes, we feel a loss for a few days as our house is much quieter but we are also filled with JOY, knowing that God is using us to bring His JOY to couples in Nigeria.

The daddy of our most recent placement, 'Aaron' who is now named Joshua, told us last week that although they had wanted and waited for a child for many years, he was a bit fearful and apprehensive on the day we came to bring their son. "I knew it was a big responsibility", he said, "and I was not sure I could really love this child as my own and as I knew I should". But he said, "I soon found God gave me a changed heart and a great love for little Joshua that I never knew existed. I am sure I could never love a child of my own flesh any more than I love him. " Now when people ask him about this adoption and his son, he shares with them of his changed heart and love for little Joshua.
The pain and anguish of this couple has truly been changed to JOY!

Christmas party for Babies

We were busy last week as we prepared to host a Christmas party for 'our babies' and their new families. We made special foods, decorated the house, and wrapped some special gifts for these families. It was so much fun to see how these little ones have grown and to hear what a blessing they are to their new families. One family could not attend so we are expecting them to come by at a later date. We also enjoyed meeting the Pro-Life directors wife and two small children.

Here is a photo of us with Liah, Joshua (Aaron), Sarah, and Destiny (Elizabeth)

I now have a cookie exchange to bake for, a ladies meeting to attend, and a Christmas fellowship time to organize this week. Normally things are much quieter here for Christmas but this year it seems that we are involved with a few more groups of people so there are more events to attend.

Weddings & Babies

Yes, once again we have been caring for a newborn! It seems that as word gets out more about the Pro-Life ministry at Evangel Hospital we are seeing more women in crisis situations bring their newborns to us for care and adoption. Some of their stories are very sad.

One of the babies that came in two weeks ago is a two month old little girl who is an orphan as a result of HIV. Her father had died a few months ago and her mother has just died leaving three small children. The family is able to care for the other two children but do not have the means to care for the infant so she is now in foster care with a missionary. The family is still looking for a relative who may be able to take the baby but it is very likely they will need to place her in an adoptive home. She was quite small when she came to the center but is growing and gaining weight well now.

The baby we are caring for was abandoned. Someone found this little wrapped bundle by the side of a road and brought her to the hospital. We are thankful her mother placed her where she could be readily found. She was maybe one day old when she was brought in and seemed quite healthy. They kept her on admission for two weeks to observe her but we brought her home on Oct. 29. She is a sweet little thing that we have named Adaliah, Liah for short. Because we don't know the HIV status of her mother we have started her on drugs and will have her tested in six weeks. We are praying that she will be HIV neg.

There is also another woman who came to inquire about leaving her baby last week but she has not returned. We pray that she has found the help she needs or will return soon.

We have three lab staff weddings this month to attend. Weddings here are an ALL day affair. We enjoyed two nights in Abuja this past weekend to attend one of the weddings. It was a long hot day but we had a nice time and were the only missionaries there so her family appreciated our presence very much.

The next two weddings we will attend in Jos. For most of these occasions we have had matching 'lab uniforms'. It is very common here for groups of people attending a special event to have outfits made of matching fabric. The lab staff have been appreciative that we have chosen to do this with them. We were given the fabric and then had a tailor make the style we wanted.

EMPTY NEST

We now have a quiet house. Jacob is still here, so no, it is not really the 'empty nest'. But after fourteen months with four different newborns in our home it seems empty and quiet. The crib has been put away, baby clothes, blankets, and bottles are all washed have been stored away for over a month. I now have time to update this blog and keep better contact with friends and family!
We loved each of these babies and continue to pray that God will bless them and their new families.

This past week was one of much celebrating at our house. Jacob turned eighteen on Oct 15 so he invited five friends to spend the night. They had a lot of fun and finished off six pizzas.

We also attended the Send Forth Prayer for Henrietta, one of the lab staff. She is the daughter of a Nigerian friend on our hospital compound, whom we helped with school fees. It is customary for the bride's family to have a service of prayer and dedication for her before her wedding. The church was full and there was much singing and prayer. There was also an offering at the end of the service and rice and minerals (pop) were served to all the guests.
This is just one of three weddings that we will be attending in the next month. Rick has three of his lab staff getting married in November. We will be having lab 'uniforms' (matching outfits) made for all of them.

New Year News

Christmas was relatively quiet at our house but the new year started off busy and with much excitement.

The sound of a baby's cry, gunshots, and teens having fun were part of the month of January 2010 for us.

On New Year's Eve we picked up a new arrival from the hospital. She weighed only 5 lbs., a very tiny little thing. A young unwed woman gave birth to her then told the doctor she could not care for her and her family would not treat the baby well so she did not intend to take her home. The Pro-Life Ministry was asked to find a place for the baby so we were called. We have named her Sarah and she is a sweet cuddly baby who is now 8 lbs. and 18.5". We pray that she will soon be placed with an adoptive couple.

The first week of January we attended our missions Spiritual Life Conference. We were blessed by the speaker and enjoyed some time of rest and relaxation with our fellow SIM missionaries. The theme for the week was "Press On", which was a very timely reminder and challenge to us in light of all that we would experience in just one week.

Jacob had friends over often during the school break so there were many boys here off and on eating, playing Xbox, and eating some more.

Just as school had started again a new crisis broke out in the city of Jos.

We returned home from church on Jan. 17 and later in the afternoon began to hear gunshots. By evening we could see smoke in the sky from homes, churches, and mosques that had been set on fire. This new crisis kept us home most of the week and things are just now getting back to a sense of 'normal', with a curfew and military presence still in place.

We are praying that February will be a bit less eventful.