Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Anywhere but Africa...

When Will and I first started telling people we were pregnant, the first question they would ask right after, "When are you due?" was, "Where will you have the baby?"

At first, we were considering having the baby in Spain or Ireland. We were already going to be in Europe when I was 34 weeks pregnant for a Company Conference, so it made sense to stay put and give birth there. We have friends in Ireland and thought our connections there might be helpful. We then talked to other friends who delivered in Spain, so we thought staying in Spain after the conference might be even more ideal. We knew we probably wouldn't give birth in the US since we had just spent 5 unexpected months there after we evacuated and the cost of delivering in the States verses anywhere else is much higher.

While we were considering all of these options, I would explain this to the people who asked where we were going to deliver. To one friend I even said, "We're still deciding which continent to deliver on, but definitely NOT Africa..."

In the future, if I ever say a "definitely NOT" statement to you when you ask me a question, will you please roll your eyes at me and give me a light slap on the hand?

I love how gentle the Lord is to me when I tell Him what I will and will not do. I believe He simply grins and thinks, "Yes, my daughter, just you wait and see how I am going to change your heart in this area."

After looking into our options for delivering in Spain or Ireland and getting advice from friends there, we finally realized these were not our best options. It would have been expensive, lonely and the medical care may not have been what we were hoping for. We thought again about delivering in the States, but it was too much travel, and would have created even more transitions in our already complicated and "up in the air" life.

So then our hearts were finally ready to consider options in Africa. The only reason I had been against it in the past was because I didn't know about about the healthcare options and I was very concerned about delivering in a place so far away from family. I figured it would have ruled out the option of family being there completely.

After talking to several friends who had delivered in Nairobi, Kenya, we soon realized this was actually a very good and safe place to deliver. We learned of a wonderful doctor who had delivered babies for two of our co-workers and worked very closely with another co-worker for a couple years. We learned that the hospital was clean and run very similar to hospitals in the States.

The very first day we started considering in Nairobi, we decided to write missionary friends of ours who lived there to see if we could stay in their guest quarters while we were there to give birth. I remember going to church write after I wrote the e-mail and praying, "Lord, if you want us to deliver in Nairobi, please have this family right back right away so we know if we would even have a housing option. Allow this to be a sign of if we should even consider this or not." The moment we got home from church, we had an e-mail response from these friends and they told us that we were welcome to stay in their house, not just the guest quarters, because they were going to be away for the same time-frame that we needed a place to stay!! They said we could use their cars, guards, workers, etc. for the duration of our time there. Talk about confirmation!

After receiving this news, we started to get excited about the option of delivering in Nairobi. However, I was still very worried that my family, who were very willing to visit us when we thought we would be delivering in Europe, would not be able to or want to come if we gave birth in Kenya instead. However, we serve a God who hears our cries and listens to our desires! I called my parents that day and mentioned the possible change to them. I was bracing myself for the possibility that they would not be able to come. Do you know what my sweet parents responded with? They said, "Well, We'll start looking up tickets to Kenya when we get off the phone!" More confirmation. More praise. More gratitude. Will's family also told us that they wanted to come and would come to Africa after we move from Kenya to Uganda when the baby is born. This will give them the opportunity to see their grandchild, but also see our new home in Fort Portal.

We have been so amazed by the medical care here. Our doctor is wonderful and very professional. We have hired a midwife (common here, even if you are delivering in a hospital as we are) and she has amazed us with the birthing classes she offers and the fact that she will come to the house when we first go into labor and help us know when to go to the hospital. She will there be with us throughout the entire delivery process. She will visit us the next day in the hospital and come to the house two times in the two weeks following the birth to ensure that we are getting the hang of nursing and answer any questions we have about "post birth". What a blessing!

Delivering in Kenya has also allowed us the space to spend a few weeks preparing for the baby before her big arrival. It has given us time to talk to our counselor and continue to heal from this past year. It has allowed us to pray, journey and process as we close out of being missionaries to South Sudan and prepare to be team leaders in Uganda. We are also grateful that after the baby is born, delivering here will allow for a much easier transition since we are already within Africa. We will have a very short flight to Uganda, rather than one or two very long international flights had our other plans worked out.

So, next time one of you hears me say, "Anywhere but..." or "I definitely won't", please just smile at me and say, "Or at least that is what you think now." Let us remind each other that even in our "Yes, but's"... God is at work. He is working all things for His good and changing our hearts in big and small ways to prepare us for what is to come. Let us remember that His plans are so much greater than ours and we can't see the whole picture yet.

1 comment:

  1. I love this... I find this idea of "Definitely not... (fill in the blank)" has proven true with my parenting... keep this mindset that the Lord is always working and there is more gray than we could ever think within the Lord's Truth and Light precepts. This mindset will go far in humility! Love you both.

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