Post taken from Heartline Haiti's blog:
A New Born: From the Dirt Road to the Warm Hands of Heartline
Posted: January 21, 2012Nothing is boring in Haiti, there is so much to see, so much to experience. When you live in Haiti you go to bed really tired and when you wake up you have no idea how the day will go. The best laid plans are foiled at any moment.
Today was one of little plans gone awry for bigger things. Friday’s are for Family Planning and Bible Study. Never is it just planning and Bible Study. A baby is sick, a mother needs to talk. A teen has a problem. Pregnancy tests bring joy and sadness. A disappointing conversation today brought the news that one of our sewing center young ladies is pregnant for the third time. She is young, she is alone, she gave one child for adoption already and she was just getting on her feet. A bad choice with long reaching consequences. Another child to raise on her own. Thank the Lord He sees beyond our mistakes and makes a way for us. A precious little person loved and cherished by God.
As we were finishing up our work Cherline, the maternity center housekeeper, came rushing in to tell us a baby was born in the dirt outside by the Harbor House. Melissa, Dr. Jen and I grabbed gloves and out the gate we ran. Sure enough there was a squatting mom, a pool of blood, a blue baby lying in the dirt with the cord hanging between mom’s legs. The placenta had not yet been delivered.
The baby was half in the dirt and half on an old tee shirt and blanket just as dirty as the ground. Mom was a tiny lady, clearly not sure of what had just happened. She didn’t know she was in labor. Melissa and I held up mom and Dr Jen held baby with the cord hanging between us we walked/ran back to the maternity center with blood dripping along behind us. A comedy to any passersby.
In we rushed and did the things that we do for every woman and baby. A delivered placenta, vitals taken, baby cleaned and warmed, mom fed and hydrated. A whirlwind of activity not planned for the day. A stranger swept off the dirt road and brought into our haven of rest. Roseline is not in our program, she is not one of our ladies, she is an interruption, a God intended interruption that makes claim that babies shouldn’t be born in the dirt and their moms should be taken care of.
There is something about babies born in humble circumstances. Babies that go from the warm, protected womb to the cold ground. Babies that aren’t delivered into warm hands but onto a hard earth with dirty rags. These babies remind us of Jesus. They remind us that He interrupts our day with bigger plans. He bursts onto the scene and if we respond He has something wonderful for us.
Something wonderful did happen today. We got to minister to a young mom who needed care, a baby who needed a better welcome to life outside the womb. We got to break the rules and take a “walk in”. We got to act a little like Jesus today to a baby who was born like He was ~ in humble circumstances.
He’s a God of interruptions, a God who loves the poor, cares for those who have made wrong choices and wants to redeem situations.
Today was one of little plans gone awry for bigger things. Friday’s are for Family Planning and Bible Study. Never is it just planning and Bible Study. A baby is sick, a mother needs to talk. A teen has a problem. Pregnancy tests bring joy and sadness. A disappointing conversation today brought the news that one of our sewing center young ladies is pregnant for the third time. She is young, she is alone, she gave one child for adoption already and she was just getting on her feet. A bad choice with long reaching consequences. Another child to raise on her own. Thank the Lord He sees beyond our mistakes and makes a way for us. A precious little person loved and cherished by God.
As we were finishing up our work Cherline, the maternity center housekeeper, came rushing in to tell us a baby was born in the dirt outside by the Harbor House. Melissa, Dr. Jen and I grabbed gloves and out the gate we ran. Sure enough there was a squatting mom, a pool of blood, a blue baby lying in the dirt with the cord hanging between mom’s legs. The placenta had not yet been delivered.
The baby was half in the dirt and half on an old tee shirt and blanket just as dirty as the ground. Mom was a tiny lady, clearly not sure of what had just happened. She didn’t know she was in labor. Melissa and I held up mom and Dr Jen held baby with the cord hanging between us we walked/ran back to the maternity center with blood dripping along behind us. A comedy to any passersby.
In we rushed and did the things that we do for every woman and baby. A delivered placenta, vitals taken, baby cleaned and warmed, mom fed and hydrated. A whirlwind of activity not planned for the day. A stranger swept off the dirt road and brought into our haven of rest. Roseline is not in our program, she is not one of our ladies, she is an interruption, a God intended interruption that makes claim that babies shouldn’t be born in the dirt and their moms should be taken care of.
There is something about babies born in humble circumstances. Babies that go from the warm, protected womb to the cold ground. Babies that aren’t delivered into warm hands but onto a hard earth with dirty rags. These babies remind us of Jesus. They remind us that He interrupts our day with bigger plans. He bursts onto the scene and if we respond He has something wonderful for us.
Something wonderful did happen today. We got to minister to a young mom who needed care, a baby who needed a better welcome to life outside the womb. We got to break the rules and take a “walk in”. We got to act a little like Jesus today to a baby who was born like He was ~ in humble circumstances.
He’s a God of interruptions, a God who loves the poor, cares for those who have made wrong choices and wants to redeem situations.
Thank you for your support of Heartline that allows us to be here for the ladies and babies of Haiti.
Beth McHoul
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