Walking to church with Marie

This morning,  I went to church with Marie.  Marie is the midwife who worked with me all last year, at MamaBaby Haiti.   Marie studied to be a midwife with Midwives for Haiti, located in Henche, and then went to work far from home to support her family.  Marie gave so much to the people of Morne Rogue; helping mothers and befriending volunteers.  And yet. we all knew how much she missed her family and worried about her children.  We watched her cry and remain on the phone all night long when they were sick.  We knew how hard it was to come back after a week with them and yet when she was there she was always attentive to her laboring mothers and new babies.

Last spring, the promise of a new baby finally gave her a reason and a way to be home with her family.
Three months ago, Marie gave birth to a baby girl in the hospital where she trained; her mother at her side who gently ( of course ) squeezed those much cherished dimples into the new baby's cheeks.  it must work because that baby has beautiful dimples!

A year ago, I could not have imagined that I would be walking to church with Marie and her  family.  I could not imagine holding her wet baby as she played with the sunlight coming through the holes in the tin roof. I could not imagine that I would be clapping and singing with her smart, lively daughter who is  a picture of joy in a human being.

As I watch their family, I am reminded that every year, all over the world, mothers are forced to leave their children in the care of others to earn money to send home.  In the world we dream of, mothers like Marie, would never have to make such a choice.  But for now and until that world comes to be. I am happy to see her in her own home, walking to church on a Sunday morning with her family.

In church we all thanked God many times and clapped loudly for all his goodness and I gave a special thank for this one small goodness for this one precious family.