For those following along on our Facebook page you’ve no doubt seen the surge of refugee babies coming these past weeks.

We’ve been pretty busy with that, and thankful that three more beautiful, healthy refugee babies came yesterday (all three Syrian women went into labor at almost the same time, it was intense). But in the midst of these babies coming, we’ve been thankful to have a U.S. midwife out here with us the past week helping as well.

She brings over thirty years of experience from delivering over 1,000 babies, and is quite at home in the midst of the many deliveries this month! We are glad for her help, as it’s meant we were able to do long overdue visits to many pregnant and post-partum women, as well as have classes most days this past week focusing on specific women’s health issues.

But before we had all the classes, we had a big baby shower for over 30 babies born since last October. Aside from the food and cakes specially made by our American volunteers out here, each mother was also given a chance to get their picture professionally taken with their baby.

The Syrian mothers loved it and couldn’t wait to get the prints made of them and their baby! We very much want them to see the value of each of these little lives, to know that these babies are precious in God’s sight as well as ours, and further encourage them to care for these little bundles entrusted to them.

Following the big baby shower, we’ve had classes most days this week for the women. We’ve covered basic care for their newborns, helps for how best to breastfeed, ways to identify signs of serious sickness in their baby, other women’s health issues including breast self exams, and had an L&D class for expectant mothers.

The visual demonstration that the midwife did of a babies head passing through the birth canal was classic. The Syrian women had looks of shock mingled with slight horror at realizing what their body had to do to expand and make room for those baby’s heads, but it was a great reminder to them that God made each of them more than able to deliver these babies naturally and healthy!

We are continuing to see pre/post natal care as a large unmet need and open door to show compassion in the name of Christ to the displaced Syrian refugee families out here in the Middle East. In a way that is unique to birth, more than most other medical needs we face out here, we find that walking with them through this entire season of child birth is building lasting bonds and burgeoning friendships.

We continue to get women coming to us in desperation as well. Just last week a family came to our house around midnight, with the woman in active labor. We’d never seen them before in our life, but they knew of us from another refugee we helped. They said it was midnight, she was in advanced labor (which she was, when checked she was 8cm already!), they had almost no money, no doctor or hospital would help them and they didn’t know where to go. What can we say but yes? To turn them away would have been heartbreaking. We are thankful God continues to provide what is needed to allow us to keep saying yes, and we thank those reading this that continue to help care for these refugees. Please keep praying!

Thank you again for your prayers and support. This is a work bigger than any of us, but not bigger then God or His church! If you wish to be involved in any way, you can support TGI via our site, sign up for our relief updates e-mail newsletter to better know how to pray, or contact us if you are interested in knowing more about how to be personally involved.