Long-awaited Children

 It was a surprise to see Uhaju at our door. He hadn’t visited in a long time, but a bigger surprise was that he had brought his wife. That was a first, but we knew the reason. We had heard the news, but now we could see for ourselves that his wife was pregnant— seven months along.

Now it isn’t normal to go around and announce a pregnancy on the islands, but this was different. Uhaju and his wife had been trying for years to get pregnant.  It wasn’t clear if their marriage would even survive their struggles, but we had prayed.  He had asked us to and he knew that we had been praying for them.  For years we had been praying. That is why he had come, to thank us for our prayers, to celebrate the answer and to pray in thanksgiving to God together. We took the opportunity to remind them of why and how we pray. 

 A long-awaited son

Islanders see prayers as valuable and are truly thankful when we pray for them.

Later that same week, we were making a visit to see a new baby. He was already 4 months old, but he had been born in India (where they were receiving fertility treatments) and had come to the islands while we were gone, so he was new to us.  Another baby born after years of prayers. As we sat with his mother, we reminded her of all the prayers we had said and again we lifted our prayers of thanksgiving for answered prayers.

Like many places, having children is important on the islands. Fertility issues is often a reason for divorce. A man will find another wife because his current one isn’t getting pregnant. Even if he doesn’t want to divorce, he may have lots of pressure from his family to do so.

Having children changes your identity. If new parents give birth to a little baby named Sam— from that day forward they will be known as Ma Sam and Ba Sam. For some, this will be the only name they go by.  

Also, having children is seen as a religious obligation on the islands. It is accepted and preached as a command from God that everyone should marry and have children. So, it is understood that you need to make every effort to have kids. This isn’t a choice.

So at any given point in time, there is always a handful of couples whom we are praying with, asking that they’d be able to have children. Currently, there are two that stand out in my mind. One is a woman who was been a friend of our group since we first arrived. She married late (especially by island standards) and hasn’t gotten pregnant yet.  She is constantly watching the babies and toddlers of her extended family, but has none of her own yet. People in our group have prayed with her on many occasions.

Our new roof starting to leak.

The second is Ma Imani’s youngest sister. Another woman married for years, but without a child. Ma Imani has prayed very boldly and publicly for her sister, but I wonder if God is waiting for her sister to come to Him personally, to accept the good news and change how she prays.

Because as much as we love children and even as we do pray fervently with these women and couples, we also know that their needs run deeper. So we pray for their hearts before God, knowing that it may be that it is answered prayers that will draw them closer.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are very thankful for these two couples who have had their prayers for children answered and acknowledge that it is from answered prayers. The translation workshop for all the islands went well. We’re thankful that we got some time with the medical team this week and were encouraged by how they are all doing and all the opportunities they have to share and study with people. Muki brought two of his sons to study with Tom this week and wants to share audio recordings with others. Mtsa studied again and had clearly been reading and studying on his own. We are thankful that more of the cheapest kind of rice has come in and some of our poorer friends have been able to buy bags.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for travels this week— we have regional meetings in South Africa at the end of the week. Pray for safe and smooth travels. The family on the medical team is traveling by plane for the first time since the plane accident some months ago, pray for especially smooth travels for them. Our daughter will be going on a follow-up appointment this week to check on the current treatment plan (meanwhile she has gotten a cold which means she has to temporarily stop treatment of the immunosuppressants so she can recover). Pray for a quick recovery from her cold and for a clear way forward with her treatment. Megan is traveling ahead of Tom and our son to take our daughter to the doctor, pray for the boys on their own and for Megan traveling alone. There has been some rain and one of the brand new sections of roof is leaking— the landlord has already contacted the builder— pray for an easy solution. The young daughter of one of our colleagues has come down with a serious medical condition— they have sought out better medical care and have been undergoing lots of tests. Pray for healing and clarity for future treatment for that family. Ma Imani is committed to studying with her sisters and their kids (even though they live in different villages now). They have agreed but have struggled to find times where everyone is available and healthy— pray they find a consistent time to study.