Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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.