December 19, 2008

I've been following the updates sent on by some friends of ours who are business owners in Northwest China- they are tentmakers, working among a minority people group there. Some people on their team there had a baby 5 weeks ago, and before the baby was born they did what most expats do who live in rural areas- they flew to a more modern city to have the baby. This week they flew back to their home in northwest China with their 5 week old baby, and unfortunately the baby has developed some dire health problems. Baby C nearly died twice, but was resuscitated by my friend and the baby's dad, and after a lot of problems, including discovering that baby C had a severe lung infection that made him too weak to be flown anywhere, they managed to get the baby flown to a modern hospital with a neonatal unit. Unfortunately the doctors at the neonatal hospital have told the father some very bad news- the antibiotics that baby C was given for his serious lung infection were not strong enough, and he is now in very critical condition. The doctors have told the father, who is there alone because there was only room for 1 in the medical flight, to expect the worst. The mother and their little girl had to fly commercially to the new city.

I don't think I need to ask you to pr for this family- you can see for yourself what hardship they are experiencing. Anyone who wants to be a tentmaker in a rural city knows that these sort of medical issues are a reality, and they are willing to take the risk to enable them to reach people with the good news about JC. In fact our friends who are relaying this information are having a baby themselves in March. Please pr that Gd would be merciful to this family who are serving him in such a far away place. Besides pring for baby C, also pr for the father who is alone in this city facing the prospect of baby C's death, and for the mother and little sister who are on their way there and might possibly not make it there in time. Pr for our friends who are expecting their first baby in March, that they would be able to provide comfort for these friends, and that they would persevere in their work knowing the cost.

It's not unlikely that we too may find ourselves someday having a baby overseas, although we may not be in as remote a location. But we fully trust in Gd, knowing that his plan is perfect, despite our living in an imperfect world. We are not afraid to accept the calling Gd has given us to tell others in far corners of the world about the hope that we have in JC, although we know that the cost in some cases is high despite all the measures that we can take to reduce the risks.

Thanks for pring for this family, and I'll update as soon as I hear more.