In a small hut down the mountainside, a wailing cry drifted into the crisp evening air. In the shadows of an adobe hut, where inside the doorway pork loins dried over a clothesline and chickens curiously peeked through crumbled holes of adobe, a precious package was delivered into the arms of an overjoyed mother! Martha, a girl that has been held close to our hearts, birthed a healthy baby girl last night!

With baby clothes and vitamins at hand, a group of us marched down a trail in our usually disorderly fashion to congratulate her on her new child.

After our eyes adjusted to the dark wooden cot where she lay, the glow from Martha’s face quickly directed us to the tightly wrapped bundle next to her. Wrapped in household rags, they struggled to keep the bitter cold of night from getting to her. Though the tiniest newborn clothes we had brought seemed to swallow her whole, she lay on the wooden cot like a sleeping angel the world had come to marvel at. The baby, seemingly exhausted from her travels into this world, peacefully rested in the crook of her mother’s arms. The baby smacked her lips from time to time in a satisfied fashion. Being love at first sight between mother and daughter, Martha has decided to keep the child instead of giving it up for adoption. This decision made by a confident mother gazing at her child with nothing but love left us all with a confident peace in her choice.

The silently spoken language between a mother and daughter translated once more the universal fact that we are a people created to love and be loved. This thirst burning within our souls will only be quenched fully when we unleash the floodgates of Gods love into our lives by acknowledging Him as our Creator and our All.