My phone rings. It's 1:45 am and I'm awakened from a sound sleep. I hate phone calls in the middle of the night. It's usually not good news. This time is different and I have been expecting this call for several weeks. A friend of ours is having a baby and she needs my help. Her contractions are becoming more and more frequent, the time is near.
I throw on my clothes, grab the pickup keys and race out the door. As I leave the driveway I look down at the fuel gauge. It reads nearly empty. I cross my fingers, utter a prayer and head out. Nothing is open in Siguatepeque at this hour of the night and I certainly don't want to run out of gas where I am headed or on this particular occasion. The town is quiet and empty. The only person I encounter is a man weaving along the side of the road, obviously a little on the tipsy side. Dogs bark and chase the pickup as I rattle down the dirt streets.
Where I am headed is a mountain village on the far outskirts of Sigua. I have been there many times as we have a water purification site set up there, and although the moon is nearly full, everything looks different in the dark. I drive in and out of patches of fog. Is this the turn? I think so...yes, I'm sure it is...maybe.
I arrive at the house, the lights are on. Eva, the midwife, hurries out of the house and jumps into the pickup with me. Fortunately, the only help my friend needs from me is to bring the midwife to her. Thank God!
We hurry back into town and out the other side, climbing back into the mountains, bumping along more dirt roads, the fuel gauge now reading "E". We arrive at the house, Eva hurries in. She has been doing this for over 20 years now and has delivered countless babies. She is sure and confident and waste no time. The husband comes to meet me and shakes my hand. He thanks me for my help, apologizes for having wakened me. Don't worry about it, I am glad to help. Do you need me to stay? He answers no...thank God! I climb back into the pickup and head back.
An hour and a half later I am back at home and in my bed. I snuggle up to my wife and offer up a prayer for the safe delivery of this new child and drift off to sleep. My part in this new little one's life is done, at least for the moment.
Where I am headed is a mountain village on the far outskirts of Sigua. I have been there many times as we have a water purification site set up there, and although the moon is nearly full, everything looks different in the dark. I drive in and out of patches of fog. Is this the turn? I think so...yes, I'm sure it is...maybe.
I arrive at the house, the lights are on. Eva, the midwife, hurries out of the house and jumps into the pickup with me. Fortunately, the only help my friend needs from me is to bring the midwife to her. Thank God!
We hurry back into town and out the other side, climbing back into the mountains, bumping along more dirt roads, the fuel gauge now reading "E". We arrive at the house, Eva hurries in. She has been doing this for over 20 years now and has delivered countless babies. She is sure and confident and waste no time. The husband comes to meet me and shakes my hand. He thanks me for my help, apologizes for having wakened me. Don't worry about it, I am glad to help. Do you need me to stay? He answers no...thank God! I climb back into the pickup and head back.
An hour and a half later I am back at home and in my bed. I snuggle up to my wife and offer up a prayer for the safe delivery of this new child and drift off to sleep. My part in this new little one's life is done, at least for the moment.
Life is never dull here in Honduras and for that I am thankful!
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