Every day in Korah is filled with the unknown. In the evening you plan what you ‘think’ you will be doing the next day, set your alarm, go to bed, wake up and head out to try and accomplish everything you had planned the night before. It never takes too long before your plans are changed and God shows you what He wants you to do that day. This morning was no different. We had three hospital runs to do. Alert Hospital, African Clinic and Korean Hospital. We had the boy who was diagnosed with Hepatitis B headed to Alert. A boy who was brought home from Shashamane headed to the African Clinic, and the man who had abscessed fungal infection surgery 4 days earlier at the Korean Hospital to check in on. Just as we started walking to Alert, pastor asked me to come with him to a house just behind the church. He was saying something about a woman, with stomach pains, or so I thought. As we entered the threshold to the house, there sat three women, two older and one younger. The younger woman stood and pulled back the curtain from the bed and pointed… I didn’t see anything at first and then got closer and as I pulled back some of the covers there lay the two of the tiniest babies I had ever seen. Only their little brown faces showing, eyes closed. Guessing they weighed no more than 4 pounds each. Fraternal twins. I gently stroked the cheek of the first baby and he turned his head a bit, then stroked the cheek of the second baby, and got no response, gently massaged the chest of the baby and still got no response, quickly unwrapped the baby and finally got a response with a jerk of an arm after what seemed like an eternity. The second baby was so cold to the touch, arms legs, head, entire body was cold. I unzipped my sweatshirt, and zipped the baby inside. Picked up the first baby and he too was cold, but not as bad. Both babies were lying in a pile of urine soaked blankets. When I asked Sammy if any babies ever wear diapers, he just chuckled and said, ‘no, no baby ever wears diapers’. We wrapped the babies in dry scarves, and pastor and Berhanu went to the church storage to get dry baby clothes and blankets as mom and I held the babies trying to warm them. Pastor and Berhanu arrived with the dry clothes and blankets; we wrapped the babies, told the women to hold them until we came back. Headed to Mackenesa to get diapers, about a 20 minute trip. Drove back to the house, got the babies in diapers, and again dry blankets. Berhanu snuggled one baby in his arms and Goshu held the other baby, while I talked to mom. Discovered that she had been feeding the babies’ cow milk, because her milk never came in. After some discussion between Pastor and mom, came to the conclusion that they were somewhere between 10-15 days old. The babies began to warm up, and opened their big brown eyes... Oh my goodness, Joy indescribable when they opened their eyes. Spent some time talking to mom and two other ladies about how important it would be to hold the babies and keep them dry until we returned the next morning. Showed them how to put on the diaper and how to mix the formula we purchased. Will head back tomorrow to see how they are doing, and get mom and babies into mother newborn clinic. Prayer warriors needed
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