26 Weeks
Where is time going?! Only 99 days until my due date! Only 99 days (hopefully) until we meet Little Leu!
Things are going well. Had an appointment with the doctor a couple days ago. Little Leu’s heartbeat was great and measurements are all on track. I haven’t had any real problems so far. My lower back frequently bothers me when I’m walking, but I’m pretty used to having a sore back, so that’s no big deal. Just in the last couple days I’ve had to start eating smaller amounts, more often because I feel like my abdomen is going to explode if I eat a regular size meal. I’m fully recovered from my hatred of Chinese food and actually wanting to eat it again. I’m still managing to run my mile or so a few times each week, but it is becoming quite . . . awkward, and I don’t mean physically. Anyone who is on the track or infield (and that’s usually a lot) or walking by shamelessly stare at me now, realizing I’m pregnant. I really can’t imagine what they are saying. Actually, I’ve been surprised that jogging is quite comfortable at this point, even more so than walking. I’m hoping that continues. Little Leu is also enjoying getting his / her exercise as well, squirming, wiggling, kicking, and doing all sorts of maneuvers. : )
I will try to get a belly picture up in the next couple of days.
Thoughts from Today
I realize this post will probably seem out of place on this blog . . . sort of. This is supposed to be a HAPPY blog about celebrating the life of Littlest Leu. And we are overjoyed! But this week I have been awakened to the realities that exist for so many orphans in China and also the countless lives that are aborted in our own nation each year and this sorrow has been intensified in my heart as I think of this gift God has given us.
Planned Parenthood states on their website that more than 1 in 3 women in America have had an abortion by the age of 45. I know there is a good chance that someone reading this now has had an abortion . . . and that they now deeply regret that decision. My intentions are not to make women in these situations feel worse. I am speaking to those of us who disagree with abortion and understand the plight of the orphan and haven chosen simply to shake our heads yet do nothing (this includes me).
We are living in the midst of a holocaust. Ask yourself if you had been part of Nazi Germany what would you have done? Most of us would like to think we would have done something. We would never stand for such a thing. Certainly we wouldn’t have been blinded or calloused to the mass murders of so many. . . would we? But I have been. When the Pregnancy Decision Health Center (a faith-based organization formed to encourage and support women in a decision to keep their babies) visited our church each year and gave a presentation I was always moved and very sympathetic. I even picked up a free little feet pin to put on my shirt collar on my way out the door. But that was about it.
If you visit the orphanage here you will find babies in boxes waiting to die. There is nobody to hold them. There is no hope for them. I’ve always had a heart for orphans, even cried when I’ve seen videos of their circumstances. And in fact, I’ve had the desire to go and help them for many years. But what are tears and desires to the baby who needs help now?
So what can I do? I’m just beginning my journey into answering this question, but I do know the most important thing I can do. I know you all know what I’m going to say, but pretend you don’t for a moment. Pretend this is a crazy new concept and that you haven’t heard it a thousand times before. Ask yourself if you really believe it matters if you do this or not.
PRAY.
As I read Psalm 9 and 10 this morning I read the following verses:
“You do not forget the cry of the afflicted… Let the nations know that they are but men. Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer…O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. ”
If I truly believe God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do, then I can also pray in confidence that I am praying in His will and that He hears me and will answer. So where do I begin in such a battle? The only logical place to start . . . the throne of God.
Remember Hope
Adam posted about baby Hope on our other blog but I wanted to also post about her here. On Thursday we received a call from the foster care program here in Guiyang asking if we would be willing to take a newborn baby girl with a condition known as gastroschisis. This is when the abdominal wall never properly closed and the intestines lie outside the body. It has a very good prognosis in the U.S. when surgery is performed promptly. The baby would have never left the hospital before the surgery. However, for orphans in China, things aren’t quite so easy. This baby was left at the door of an orphanage in a city about 3 hours from here. Most likely, the mother desperately loved her baby, but simply had no money to care for her and knew her only chance would be if she was left at an orphanage. She was seen at the hospital in that city and they sent her to Guiyang so she could have surgery. In the meantime, they needed someone to care for her. We agreed.
I immediately felt great compassion for her and we got everything ready for her arrival. On Friday she arrived at our home. She was much smaller than I expected, only four days old and couldn’t be over five pounds. We also found out that she was having difficulty eating. After about ten minutes, the people who brought her to our home left. I could hardly believe it. I could hardly believe a baby in this condition was not in the hospital. I could hardly believe there was not more opportunities for her to be seen immediately.
Thankfully, Hope, as we named her, was quite content. She was sleeping well and did not seem to be in pain. It quickly became evident that feeding was a problem. She wasn’t able to keep anything down and I could tell she was becoming dehydrated. We called one of the foster care workers and I explained I wasn’t comfortable with keeping her in this condition and asked if we could take her to the hospital. She said next week we could go… and then she said she could also accompany us in the morning if I preferred. So we arranged to meet at the hospital the following morning. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it through the night. Sometime around 5:00 she began vomiting and stopped breathing. Rescue breathing and CPR were unsuccessful. Saturday was a very difficult day for us. After just 12 hours with her we felt incredible grief.
I’ve been thinking often of her mother who is haunted today and will be for the rest of her life with not knowing what happened to her little girl. I grieve for her mother whose grief surpasses mine and will never have closure.
Today I spoke with a foreigner who is more closely involved with the foster care program here. She said the tragedy is that mothers who give birth to babies with expensive medical needs have no choice but to abandon them in hopes they will be found and cared for by an orphanage or someone with money. There are no government programs, no NGOs that offer financial help to babies with medical problems who have parents. Even NGOs require that there be documentation to prove the baby is an orphan. So a mother who abandons her baby often does so with their best interest in mind. How can these NGOs be ignorant of this situation? This is a huge tragedy. I will never forget Hope, but her mother will live with a far deeper pain than I can even imagine. And there are many many more Hopes out there with mothers who must live everyday with the same pain. They need a voice and they need someone to act on their behalf. Here am I Lord. Send me.
© 2008 Waiguorens - Powered by Wordpress.