On Thursday morning, one of our workers, Clint, told us that his wife had just delivered a baby boy early that morning. They had been planning on just walking home from the hospital later that day, but we offered to give them a ride. That evening after work we went up to the hospital to give them a ride home, but the hospital decided to keep them an extra day because the baby had a rash. Randy had a great idea to make a gift basket of some of their basic needs to give them the next day when we picked them and their new baby up. That night Randy and I picked up a few things in the local market, and Randy began to put it together.
The next morning I was driving the van to the site with Zack and James, and as we passed the hospital we saw Clint standing out front. I pulled over thinking that maybe they were being released now and said, "Good morning Clint, how's it goin'?" His response caught me off guard, "Umm...well sir, my baby has passed away." Wow...I absolutely did not see that coming. My first words to Clint were somewhere along the lines of "I'm so sorry." His response was almost even more shocking, just two words... "It happens." It wasn't as if he didn't care or was emotionally unaffected, but it was that he fully knew that this was a real possibility of how the pregnancy would end. It was almost as if they had accepted it before it happened.
We asked if there was anything we could do. "Yes," he said, "could I borrow a shovel, and perhaps get a ride to the mountain to burry my child?" I went with Clint, his wife, and a few family members to the Children's Cemetery on the side of a small mountain later that morning. It was such a weird feeling…I didn't really know what to say. I helped Clint dig the very small grave, it was very quiet. After finishing, they let me pray.
Those two words... "It happens"...have been following me around ever since. It's hard to imagine how normal it is to them that this happened. Can you imagine living in a place where that is common enough that people aren't surprised by it? Can you imagine having to ask to borrow a shovel, 'cause you don't have one but you want to burry your child? Sorry to have such a depressing entry, but it’s a harsh reality here that I thought I would share.
-Jack
The next morning I was driving the van to the site with Zack and James, and as we passed the hospital we saw Clint standing out front. I pulled over thinking that maybe they were being released now and said, "Good morning Clint, how's it goin'?" His response caught me off guard, "Umm...well sir, my baby has passed away." Wow...I absolutely did not see that coming. My first words to Clint were somewhere along the lines of "I'm so sorry." His response was almost even more shocking, just two words... "It happens." It wasn't as if he didn't care or was emotionally unaffected, but it was that he fully knew that this was a real possibility of how the pregnancy would end. It was almost as if they had accepted it before it happened.
We asked if there was anything we could do. "Yes," he said, "could I borrow a shovel, and perhaps get a ride to the mountain to burry my child?" I went with Clint, his wife, and a few family members to the Children's Cemetery on the side of a small mountain later that morning. It was such a weird feeling…I didn't really know what to say. I helped Clint dig the very small grave, it was very quiet. After finishing, they let me pray.
Those two words... "It happens"...have been following me around ever since. It's hard to imagine how normal it is to them that this happened. Can you imagine living in a place where that is common enough that people aren't surprised by it? Can you imagine having to ask to borrow a shovel, 'cause you don't have one but you want to burry your child? Sorry to have such a depressing entry, but it’s a harsh reality here that I thought I would share.
-Jack
Wow, that's crazy how it's just accepted, as a reality out there. I'm sure it was a real eye opener for you, i know it was for me, and i'm not even there. I hope all is well with you, and we're parying for you. Miss you!
ReplyDeleteHey man, good to hear from ya. i read this story over breakfast. Man, what a world stopping thought - to realize that the little things that i worry so much about dont even matter, and that i/we christians have so much work to do in this world yet! I hope to hear from ya soon man! ps, we're gonna start working on a song for you!
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