Braggin' on Katie

As most of you know, we live in a fairly remote place which we often refer to as "the end of the earth". 9 months ago when we moved here, our teammates found out they were pregnant. Everyone assumed that once the time came, they would travel 8 hours north to the capital to have their baby. But almost immediately, they made the decision to have the baby here. Katie asked her local friends for a doctor's recommendation and she began going to Dr. J who has to be at least 65 years old. I accompanied her on her visits and we usually waited for 3-4 hours, sitting in the "women's room" where 20 miserable, covered women sat waiting with us. To say this was a "no-frills" deal would be the understatement of the century! Some of the situations she found herself in would have sent anyone running elsewhere. Like the time she laid down on the bed to have an ultrasound and found it difficult to relax because she was laying on a wet sheet! When Dan went with us, he had to sit in the "men's room" and they would communicate by texting one another. The only reason Katie continued was because we really liked the doctor and he seemed to like us. The twinkle in his eye endeared him to us every time:) As the due date drew near, we asked if we could "tour" the labor & delivery room. They had never had such a request but obliged us. It was a very basic room, sheets from the last patient still on the delivery bed, no bathroom, but we were assured that everything was there that would be needed in any situation. Sweet Katie just smiled and rolled her eyes and kept on going with the plan. Well, the long-awaited day finally came yesterday! There was a host of people all over the world praying for this delivery. The doctor had given us his personal cell phone number and told us not to go to the hospital until we called him. What doctor gives you his personal number? I called him early in the morning and he said to go on in. An hour later, he called me back and said "where are you? the whole hospital is waiting for you". When we arrived 5 minutes later, there was a line-up of nurses waiting for us in the lobby. There was a flurry of activity as they ushered us down the hallway to the delivery room. We were treated like royalty! The doctor arrived very quickly and within one hour, Moriah was born! It was such a beautiful delivery. The pediatrician came right on time and was awesome. Dan was able to sneak into the room just as Moriah was born (the doc said no man had EVER come in there), there were cameras flashing and videos and great excitement. The staff couldn't have been more accommodating to these crazy Americans. They told us we were the first to ever be in that hospital. The midwife was so kind and refrained from doing things we didn't like. (they love to climb up and push on the woman's stomach to help the baby out faster! we said NO) (they like to give the woman a shot to knock her out after the head is delivered. we said NO) They complied with everything and were amused and impressed with the way Katie breathed and stayed in control through the whole thing. Total strangers were stopping by the room to see this wonder child with blue eyes and light hair. 9 hours after Moriah was born, we were all home! There was no doubt that God intervened and had mercy on Katie. I couldn't have been more proud of her if she was my own daughter! She took a huge risk in my eyes by deciding to have her baby here but God rewarded her. Last night their phone rang non-stop and most of the conversations were in Arabic. They bonded with the culture and with the people by staying here and having their baby among the people God has called them to. I am so very proud of Katie!