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 cannot 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 were 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 pulled 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 cannot
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.