In PNG we ex-pats (short for expatriates, meaning we live
outside of our home countries) work alongside nationals. Sometimes our lives
intersect on a more personal level. Samuel is a literacy worker and part of the
Scripture Use-Media department where I work. This morning everyone from our
department went to his home at 10:00 for a haus krai (pronounced house cry).
Last night Samuel took his pregnant wife to a clinic/hospital
(PNG-style) in Kainantu (pronounced K9-2) because she was experiencing
cramping. The doctor there said she was not ready to give birth and he (the
doctor) went home. She went into labor and Samuel himself delivered a little
boy about 7 lbs. Then he saw a leg coming out and realized there was a second
baby in breach position. Samuel did his best to help his wife, but sadly, the
baby died.
Today inside their house, the baby was wrapped in a blanket
with his beautiful little head cradled gently on a pillow. Relatives, friends
and co-workers (including me) were seated on the floor or standing wherever
there was space. Some cried softly, some prayed, some just extended a hand or
hug. Samuel expressed gratitude for the encouragement and prayers of those who
came. He said if they had known there were twins, he would have driven an hour
further to Goroka where there was a better hospital. Through all this, he expressed his faith in
the goodness of God and in the certainty of the resurrection.
Tomorrow Samuel and his wife will take the baby to their
home village about 4 or 6 hours away. There, relatives will grieve with them;
and there the baby will be buried.
It was a sad reminder that life here is very hard, and the
people here do not have what we have in the West. But God gave Samuel the same
things He gives us and all His children during times like these—faith, hope,
and assurance of his love, power and presence.
Comments
Beth