Babies!

Over a month ago we found out that Domingo's wife was having some complications with her pregnancy (a subject very near to our own hearts.) He had asked for prayer for his wife and unborn child. We thought it sounded pretty serious but they were just going to stay at home and wait it out. We didn't want to pray and let it go if God was wanting us to act. I remember several significant times in our own lives when we had been praying about something and God brought people into our lives who were willing to meet a need or help us through certain times. God has really been dealing with us lately on praying and acting and we want to be sensitive to His leading. So we insisted that he bring his wife into Santa Elena to see a better doctor and where there were better facilities for the baby than in the town where they lived. We told him that we would pay for everything.

Candelaria was 2 weeks overdue when he and his wife set out for Santa Elena. Well they only made it 3 hours before she went into labor. It was still really good though because they made it as far as Sayaxché, the closest hospital to their house. She absolutely needed to be in a hospital for this birth. The baby was having a hard time breathing and was in the NICU for 5 days (well as close as you can get to a NICU in Sayaxché). It was in a little isolette which really frightened them, but we remember the same feeling. We got to share our NICU experience with Domingo and his wife who were going through something similar.

There were so many nurses and mothers of preemies who were calming and encouraging to us. They worried about the baby losing a little weight at first and were worried it may never learn to nurse, but everything worked out just like it did with our boys. It's a beautiful thing when life gives you the opportunity to return a favor.

They had a beautiful baby girl and named her Candelaria, after her mommy!

José had a baby recently too... only his was a grandbaby!
It was a boy and guess what they named it? Jimmy! We thought that was really sweet. José's friendship means a lot to us.

{Baby Jimmy with his grandma, Candelaria}

Prayer Request: Candelaria, Domingo's wife, is having a problem with her right index finger. No one knows what caused it, but it is very infected and there is concern that she might lose it. Please pray that God would heal her finger. She is seeing a doctor, but it looks very bad and they are not sure what more to do to help her. She is in a lot of pain. Jimmy saw her today and told her "My wife and I are praying for you"... in Kekchi! She only speaks Kekchi, so this is the first time we have been able to communicate to her without Domingo's help.