Ibu Engge has been a great friend to our family over the past 4 1/2 years. She loves my kids like they are her own. She was so excited when we returned with Allie. Even though she's at my house to work and earn a wage for her family, she always begins the day sitting down and playing with the girls. Nine months ago she took some time off because she was sick. She went to the hospital where they prescribed her medicine for "something" and she was back less than a week later to check for malaria. Instead the nurses came back and told her she was pregnant. This opened up a new world of learning and observing for me. The first three months she stayed home, too sick to go anywhere. As the baby (and her belly) grew, our excitement grew as well! The girls and I took her to get an ultrasound. It was the first of her 4 babies she has ever seen while still in the womb. This momma never gets tired of seeing life in the womb or hearing the unique rhythm of a baby's heartbeat- amazing!!
Her due date was still a few weeks off, but she was well into the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy. Those last few weeks of knowing there's not much room left on the inside, so the baby will be making their appearance sooner than later. So I suggested she stay home and rest, not to worry about work any more, but prepare for the baby's arrival.
Six days later she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. I went to visit the day after she was born.
Ibu Engge shared a room with three other women. One had just gone home shortly before I arrived. The other momma had only given birth a few hours before, and was already up walking around! All natural deliveries, no epidurals and no pain meds... wow! Her baby looked like a doll, peacefully asleep on the bed. Ibu Engge's baby was stretched out on a blanket. I forgot how skinny newborn legs are! I spoke to the baby in English and told her how happy I was that she was finally here and reminded her of the blessing she is to her family.
She opened her eyes and looked for this voice. I was there for about an hour and held this little one for 45 minutes. She was wrapped up in a warm blanket, which made me sweat even more than I already was- but I didn't care! I would have held her all day if I didn't have to get back to my own two!
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| Dortea with Big sister, Leta Kristina |
I asked what the baby's name was. It's not uncommon in this culture to delay naming the baby, so I wasn't sure their thoughts. Ibu Engge said her sister-in-law chose the name Dortea (Door-tay-ah), which sounds like Dorthy to my ear and helps me to remember how to pronounce her name. Without skipping a beat, my friend asked me to give this little one a name. ME?! I was so overcome with emotion that I told her I would love to and must think about it.
ME?! The Lord was flooding my heart with reminders of His love for me. I have several friends and colleagues who have handfuls of kids named after them or have given names to several kids in Papua. They are the Bible translators. They are the pilots. They are not me. They are not the momma who doesn't get out of her house much. They aren't the momma who can't communicate very clearly in Indonesian. This was an incredible reminder of WHO the Lord has called ME to love.
Love those in my circle.
Love hard those who are in my house often.
Love the few I interact with frequently.
I may not love a tribe, but the ripples of the people I interact with make an impact.
So I gave the name Grace to Dortea. The Lord gave me the opportunity to explain what grace is- when we deserved the consequences of our bad actions, God chose to give us love and grace instead. Grace is undeserved. Grace is a gift.
I pray that Dortea Grace know Jesus from an early age, that her life may be a picture of grace that constantly points others to Christ, and that she never doubt the love that so many have for her.
When I announced that I had to go pick up my girls from my friend's house, I returned Dortea Grace to her momma and big sister. As a sign of our special bond, she cried her newborn cry when I handed her to her mom. Such a sweet sound during waking hours! :)
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