One of the benefits of my Bible study class is that I get more insight into the ladies’ lives. They are generally more guarded than I am, but when I ask what they would like me to pray for, they sometimes share their problems or concerns with me. 

One of the ladies (we will call her Sonny), was pregnant when my class began and shared that “she is having a problem and is afraid that she will die during labor." Her pregnancy was due to an adulterous relationship (which was public knowledge). 

This was a great opportunity for me to pray for her. I prayed that she would trust in Jesus for salvation, that she would deliver the baby without issue, and that we would all recognize that every baby is a gift, though the circumstances of her conception were wrong. 

Sonny did deliver and came to no harm. We thanked God for that! 

A week or so later, another lady from the class said that she is worried about ladies who are currently pregnant because two different young mothers recently died in childbirth in some nearby villages. “But you prayed for Sonny and she is fine.”

Then last week, Manu came to see us. Manu is not a close friend or an enemy. He doesn’t attend Zach’s Bible study, but (as far as we know) hasn’t spoken against us either. His new wife was in the last stages of pregnancy and this baby wasn’t coming. 

Though this baby was Manu’s first child, his wife is a widow and has 6 children from her previous marriage. Over the last few weeks as I have seen Manu, I have asked about his wife and if she had the baby yet; He was excited that she was starting to have pains so it would be soon. But after a couple weeks of the same, he came to ask for prayer. 

Actually, he came to ask us for an egg. There is an ancestral practice here of praying over an egg and having the sick person eat it. We told him that the Bible doesn’t tell us to do that, but we would come to his house to pray for her. He eagerly accepted. I don’t doubt that there is word around town that my prayers have helped other pregnant women!

So here we are, in Manu’s hut with his new wife who we don’t know well. There is so little physically I can do to help her. There is little temporal hope I can offer. Did she just count the weeks wrong? Is the baby actually facing the wrong way? Is there some serious problem? We prayed for them and shared the gospel with them and she was thankful but clearly not at ease about the whole situation. 

We were so thankful to hear that she gave birth to a healthy boy soon after. So, I suppose my reputation will stand as the patron saint of pregnant ladies. 

Just kidding :) 

I just wanted to share this anecdote because these situations are so typical here - the interactions, the needs, the misunderstandings, the cultural differences. Just another little taste of life as a missionary in remote PNG.