The book of James talks of the power of life and death in the tongue. We can SPEAK blessings or curses on people, nations and movements. On the field we teach about SPEAKING life to ourselves, our teammates, and the places in which we minister.
The nation of Swaziland has been under the shroud of death as HIV/AIDS rocks upwards of 50% of their population. This week we have the June squad in Swaziland and they have had the unique priveidge of SPEAKING literal life into a little one.
From Tiffany: tiffanyberkowitz.theworldrace.org
I had just sat down on one of the mattresses in the common area of
where we live to watch an episode of “The Office” with some of the
girls. I had never seen it before, and thought a little mid-day bonding
over popcorn and a show sounded pretty good.
Five minutes into the show, William and Matt walked in the room and
asked the question… “Are there any girls who would want to go with
Pastor Gift to deliver a baby?”
I think after the initial shock wore off… I jumped up faster than I
ever had before. I looked at Erin who had also jumped up and started
pumping my fists in the air and screaming with so much excitement.
Within a few moments, six of us girls were piled into White Chocolate
(the old white van we drive around) and ready to go.
We picked the mother up from her home. Her name is Gamane. She was
already in a lot of pain and could barely walk. This is her story: Her
mother was a prostitute, so she is a direct product of that lifestyle.
Her mother was born again and now looks down upon her daughter,
disowning her because of the lifestyle that SHE has now chosen… the
life of a prostitute. Gamane, only 25 years old, is now pregnant with
her 5th child, and has no idea who the father is. She is HIV positive,
and has no money or food for the baby.
So we get her into WC (White Chocolate), and started comforting her.
Erin, Kelly, Hannah, Kimi, Cori, and myself began to ask her questions
to try and take her mind off of the pain. Erin suggested that I sing to
her. So I sing. “You are the source of life, and I can’t be left
behind.. no one else will do.. I will take hold of you. I need you
Jesus to come to my rescue. Tell me where else can I go? There is no
other name by which I am saved, you capture me with grace. I will
follow you.” She was put at ease for a few moments.
The hospital was about 45 minutes away… and we were making good time.
Her contractions were getting closer and closer together. Kel started
to time them, and they were about 1 minute 45 seconds apart. Kimi
checked and said she wasn’t that far along, and literally 30 seconds
later, I look down… and see half of the baby’s head!
Every one screamed “THE BABY IS COMING!” and hardly even 10 seconds later.. the whole baby was out. It happened so fast!
Pastor Gift was yelling to us to shut the windows, and wrap the baby
up. We didn’t have anything! Luckily, Hannah had decided to layer that
day (so fashionable, that girl). So she took off one of her shirts and
we wrapped the baby up.
A girl. A beautiful, beautiful baby girl.
I was crying. Bawling. Harder than the baby. It was the most beautiful… disgusting… thing I had ever seen.
Pastor Gift told us to get the baby to suck on something, so Cori stuck
her finger in the babies mouth, and she began to suck on it. Everything
was normal, the baby was healthy. Then Gamane’s cousin grabbed my hands
and told me to help her push. We had to get everything else out of
her… the umbilical cord, the amniotic sac… (I will spare the gory
details for those that can not handle it).
It was insane.
We asked her what the baby’s name is going to be, and she said that she
didn’t know. Then she told us that we could name it for her. We all got
SO excited. We talked and prayed about it for a few minutes, and then
decided on HOPE… which is Litsimba in Siswati (the language here).
The reason behind it is obvious. We believe that there is hope for
her life. Hope for a NEW life, and that she is going to bring that Hope
to Swaziland. Gamane loved it.
A few minutes later, we pulled over on the side of the road. There was
no buildings around us, no people… just cows. A lot of mountains, and
a lot of cows.
We had a flat tire.
A young woman laying on the back seat of White Chocolate, fluids and
blood everywhere, a baby bundled up on the blanket, six girls who have
no idea what to do, and a flat tire.
And a lot of cows.
Pastor Gift changed the tire… with a tire that was even more flat
than the one that was on it before. We tried to flag a couple cars
down, but no one would stop.. so we did the only thing we could do.. we
drove. Welcome to Africa, friends.
From the moment we puledl out, you could see the lines from the rim of
the tire grinding into the asphalt. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the
hospital and handed them over to some professional care.
She is HIV positive, so she can not breastfeed. We walked to the store
and got some milk. Gamane asked who was singing to her in the car. I
told her that I was. She said that she didn’t know what was going on
around her, and that all she could hear was the song, and that it
helped her through everything. I cried again. We prayed over Gamane and
Hope. We prayed for her little life… for God to invade her heart,
then said our goodbyes. We couldn’t fix the tire, which was shredded at
this point, so we hitched a ride in the back of a truck and headed
home.
I was thinking about the beauty of life. The miracle that it is. And
then I was thinking about the tragedy of her situation. There were so
many thoughts… so many emotions. It was so beautiful, and so sad.
Pastor Gift is looking for a family to take care of the baby. They
may have found a home, but I ask that you all pray for Gamane and baby
Hope. God has a plan for her. And Gamane saw God’s love through us in a
way she never had seen it before. I could see the glow of the spirit
all over her. Pray for redemption in her life.
I don’t really understand it all. Life. Death. Struggles. Victory. Hardships.
But I do know… God… is in the midst of it. Of it ALL.
He was there. He is there. He sees Gamane. He sees Hope. He loves them. He has a plan. A purpose. He does for everyone.
We are blessed.
Because we are alive.
And we have Him.
where we live to watch an episode of “The Office” with some of the
girls. I had never seen it before, and thought a little mid-day bonding
over popcorn and a show sounded pretty good.
Five minutes into the show, William and Matt walked in the room and
asked the question… “Are there any girls who would want to go with
Pastor Gift to deliver a baby?”
I think after the initial shock wore off… I jumped up faster than I
ever had before. I looked at Erin who had also jumped up and started
pumping my fists in the air and screaming with so much excitement.
Within a few moments, six of us girls were piled into White Chocolate
(the old white van we drive around) and ready to go.
We picked the mother up from her home. Her name is Gamane. She was
already in a lot of pain and could barely walk. This is her story: Her
mother was a prostitute, so she is a direct product of that lifestyle.
Her mother was born again and now looks down upon her daughter,
disowning her because of the lifestyle that SHE has now chosen… the
life of a prostitute. Gamane, only 25 years old, is now pregnant with
her 5th child, and has no idea who the father is. She is HIV positive,
and has no money or food for the baby.
So we get her into WC (White Chocolate), and started comforting her.
Erin, Kelly, Hannah, Kimi, Cori, and myself began to ask her questions
to try and take her mind off of the pain. Erin suggested that I sing to
her. So I sing. “You are the source of life, and I can’t be left
behind.. no one else will do.. I will take hold of you. I need you
Jesus to come to my rescue. Tell me where else can I go? There is no
other name by which I am saved, you capture me with grace. I will
follow you.” She was put at ease for a few moments.
The hospital was about 45 minutes away… and we were making good time.
Her contractions were getting closer and closer together. Kel started
to time them, and they were about 1 minute 45 seconds apart. Kimi
checked and said she wasn’t that far along, and literally 30 seconds
later, I look down… and see half of the baby’s head!
Every one screamed “THE BABY IS COMING!” and hardly even 10 seconds later.. the whole baby was out. It happened so fast!
Pastor Gift was yelling to us to shut the windows, and wrap the baby
up. We didn’t have anything! Luckily, Hannah had decided to layer that
day (so fashionable, that girl). So she took off one of her shirts and
we wrapped the baby up.
A girl. A beautiful, beautiful baby girl.
I was crying. Bawling. Harder than the baby. It was the most beautiful… disgusting… thing I had ever seen.
Pastor Gift told us to get the baby to suck on something, so Cori stuck
her finger in the babies mouth, and she began to suck on it. Everything
was normal, the baby was healthy. Then Gamane’s cousin grabbed my hands
and told me to help her push. We had to get everything else out of
her… the umbilical cord, the amniotic sac… (I will spare the gory
details for those that can not handle it).
It was insane.
We asked her what the baby’s name is going to be, and she said that she
didn’t know. Then she told us that we could name it for her. We all got
SO excited. We talked and prayed about it for a few minutes, and then
decided on HOPE… which is Litsimba in Siswati (the language here).
The reason behind it is obvious. We believe that there is hope for
her life. Hope for a NEW life, and that she is going to bring that Hope
to Swaziland. Gamane loved it.
A few minutes later, we pulled over on the side of the road. There was
no buildings around us, no people… just cows. A lot of mountains, and
a lot of cows.
We had a flat tire.
A young woman laying on the back seat of White Chocolate, fluids and
blood everywhere, a baby bundled up on the blanket, six girls who have
no idea what to do, and a flat tire.
And a lot of cows.
Pastor Gift changed the tire… with a tire that was even more flat
than the one that was on it before. We tried to flag a couple cars
down, but no one would stop.. so we did the only thing we could do.. we
drove. Welcome to Africa, friends.
From the moment we puledl out, you could see the lines from the rim of
the tire grinding into the asphalt. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the
hospital and handed them over to some professional care.
She is HIV positive, so she can not breastfeed. We walked to the store
and got some milk. Gamane asked who was singing to her in the car. I
told her that I was. She said that she didn’t know what was going on
around her, and that all she could hear was the song, and that it
helped her through everything. I cried again. We prayed over Gamane and
Hope. We prayed for her little life… for God to invade her heart,
then said our goodbyes. We couldn’t fix the tire, which was shredded at
this point, so we hitched a ride in the back of a truck and headed
home.
I was thinking about the beauty of life. The miracle that it is. And
then I was thinking about the tragedy of her situation. There were so
many thoughts… so many emotions. It was so beautiful, and so sad.
Pastor Gift is looking for a family to take care of the baby. They
may have found a home, but I ask that you all pray for Gamane and baby
Hope. God has a plan for her. And Gamane saw God’s love through us in a
way she never had seen it before. I could see the glow of the spirit
all over her. Pray for redemption in her life.
I don’t really understand it all. Life. Death. Struggles. Victory. Hardships.
But I do know… God… is in the midst of it. Of it ALL.
He was there. He is there. He sees Gamane. He sees Hope. He loves them. He has a plan. A purpose. He does for everyone.
We are blessed.
Because we are alive.
And we have Him.
