March GAP newsletter

By Nathan Stob

MONROVIA, LIBERIA—My ears perked up when nurse Denise Maxwell, Luke Society ministry director in Monrovia, Liberia said that there had been a number of triplet births over the past few years.

My wife and I know some of the joys and challenges of having triplets as ours are now 12 years old. Yet, what we experienced was nothing like the stories Denise was telling.

Mothers in Liberia often do not have the ability to provide good prenatal care, so oftentimes one or more of the babies will not survive the birth. In addition, many of the mothers are teenagers whose families shame them for having sex before marriage, causing the young mothers-to-be to avoid quality care.

Challenges continue after birth. Living below the poverty line means that the infants and mothers sometimes starve from lack of basic food, not to mention that there is not a support system in place to help care for the infants with family members working.

These stories make the quality work of Denise and her staff all the more important. They tenderly care for mothers throughout their pregnancy. Let us pray for Denise and her team at New Community Clinic as they teach sexual education to teenagers as well as deliver around 60 babies per month.

Denise and her team are often overwhelmed with the number of people seeking their help. Lord, give them wisdom, skill and stamina. Allow them to save physical lives as well as pass on words which lead towards new life in Christ.