When I gave birth to our third child, Oliver, it was four weeks prematurely, and he developed severe jaundice. Twelve days later, he came down with pneumonia. My baby and I had to be admitted to the mother and children’s hospital in Ulaanbaatar, and were there for ten days. Ten long days.
In the hospital, there were more than seventy moms with sick children under the age of one, and only six nurses. Four beds with eight humans were crowded into my small room, with barely enough space to walk through to the bathrooms in the hallway. No visitors were allowed; family members delivered food through a crack in the door at the end of the ward.
It was a frightening time, and I watched as some mothers, driven by fear, performed superstitious rites to heal their children. One woman called her family daily, telling them to go to see a Shaman or Buddhist Lama and to burn incense 24/7. Another, desperate at her child’s constant crying, swept up some of the dirt from the floor and put it in a cup of water. Praying for the evil spirit to be trapped in this dirt, she climbed up and threw the cup of water out the window. I had always known about the many bondages under which we Mongolians live, but seeing it myself was eye-opening. It made me thankful that I don’t live in that fear or darkness any more.
It was hard to be alone with our sick baby, but God carried my weak heart and faith to trust in him. He also taught me something important. I realized how often I default to depending on my husband, family, Canadian parents, or best friend to support me. There, in the hospital, God removed the people that I look to in place of him, and helped me to look to him only.
I know many people were praying for Oliver and me over those ten, long days, and now I can see how God used this time in the hospital to grow my faith. During our time at the hospital, I was even able to share about Jesus with some of the women in my room. Please pray with me that the seeds that I was able to sow in their hearts will take root, and bloom into flowers of faith.
