Mass Comm Major Learns to Cut Umbilical Cord

God has a sense of humor!

On April 27th, around 4:30pm an incredible team from Greenhouse Church in Athens, TN arrived to serve with us.
We had no idea how quickly the Lord would move.

4:30am

Just 12 hours later, on April 28th, we got a call from our women’s ministry director, Madeline: "Lovelie, one of the women we serve, has gone into labor". 

By God’s perfect timing, one of the team members, Cecilia, was a pediatric nurse—and they had brought birthing kits, not knowing they’d be used so soon! JJ and I rushed to the team’s Airbnb. At first, we weren’t sure if Cecilia could come, but thankfully, she was more than willing. We grabbed a birthing kit and we headed to Lovelie.

Moments the Lord stretches you

On the way to the community, Cecilia taught me how to cut and tie the umbilical cord with a razor and string. That was going to be my job when the baby entered the world! I was ready—or as ready as I could be.😂

Jennifer Hand also tagged along. She is a trauma counselor and I think she supported me more than anybody else there during the process😂

5:15am

When we arrived, Lovelie was in active labor and a few centimeters dilated. As time passed, it became clear the baby wasn’t in the right position to push.

Lovelie expressed a desire to go back to Haiti for hospital care, but it’s a 3.5 to 4-hour drive from Santiago, and we didn’t think she’d make it.

Thankfully, the women in the community knew of a private Haitian doctor nearby. It was expensive, but Cecilia spoke up and said they would cover the cost (HUGE thank you to Greenhouse Church!).

11:30am

After six hours of helping Lovelie breathe, walk, pray, worship, and laugh, we took her to the private hospital.

During that time I saw something so beautiful happen.

A whole community of Haitian women (the same women we do life with and serve every Friday!) surrounded Lovelie like family. They made her soup from bush leaves, fanned her, prayed with her, worshipped beside her, helped her walk around and fed her. None of them were related by blood, yet they supported her more deeply than many families do. It still brings me to tears.

You may be thinking, why didn’t we just take Lovelie to the hospital?
Well, immigration has become so intense that they have officers and cattle trucks waiting outside hospitals to specifically take Haitians back to Haiti once they receive their treatment. One woman gave birth and was immediately placed on the truck without being able to go home and get her belongings or nothing. She had to go back to Haiti with nothing except what she had brought to the hospital.

2:30pm

Lovelie had a difficult but safe delivery. Her baby girl, Leah Jemima, arrived into the world. Due to medical needs, both stayed in the hospital overnight—something not usually allowed for Haitians. But by God’s grace, immigration never came. The next day, they returned home safely.

The cherry on top?

When we visited Lovelie afterward, she asked JJ and me to be Leah’s godparents—a huge honor in Haitian culture. I still can’t fully grasp everything that happened that day, but what a faithful God we serve.

We've visited Lovelie several times since. She and Leah are doing well and staying healthy!

Please pray for Lovelie and Leah

Pray for Lovelie as she steps into motherhood—that she would see Leah as the blessing she is and walk in her calling as a Godly mother. Pray that Leah grows up knowing Jesus and that her life is not shaped by the darkness so present in parts of this world.

Life is such a gift that comes from above!