Never Alone

A peek into the personal life of a young woman during the medical brigade.

Erika* sat in the hallway of the rural missionary clinic in Rus Rus surrounded by fellow Miskito ladies with swollen bellies, all at different stages of pregnancy. Some were chattering in their native language, and some were silently shifting back and forth on the bench trying to find a comfortable sitting position. They were all waiting their turn with the OBGYN who would use his ultrasound machine to show them the little life growing inside. Some mothers would get to find out the sex of their baby and most would hear its heartbeat for the first time. At barely thirteen years of age, Erika’s mind was racing. The nurse had just confirmed her suspicions by announcing that her pregnancy test was positive.

Other than her cousin waiting for her outside, she had made the long journey to Rus Rus alone.  Here she was again, waiting on the doctor, alone. Then again, what better word to describe her  life up until this point than “alone?” 

Emotions began to bubble to the surface as they called her name. By the time the doctor began asking her medical history, Erika was in tears sharing her life’s story. On two separate occasions as a young child she had run away from home, fleeing abuse by her stepdad and her grandfather. She then ended up orphaned and living on the street. She met teenager Arturo who became her boyfriend when she moved in with him at the age of only eleven. Arturo recently left their village for the city to look for work. Erika was waiting for him to send for her. Now she’d have to share the news of the baby she was expecting.

Erika was still wiping away tears as the doctor squirted cold gel on her abdomen and pointed to  a fuzzy black and white screen. It was hard to comprehend that the little wiggly blob that  appeared was a baby. Erika’s child. It was too early to tell the gender, but the doctor confirmed  that everything looked healthy. It was a lot to process. 

Before leaving, Erika was referred to the lab to perform a few more tests and to a couple female team members for prenatal care instructions and prayer/counseling. Once she was told about vitamins and how to care for herself during pregnancy, she sat down with the missionary volunteers. Although they asked her a few different ways how she felt about the news, she was not capable of verbalizing the emotions she was experiencing. In many ways it was a survival technique to be able to shut off feeling anything at all. The volunteers seemed kind, but life had taught Erika to stay on alert. She wasn’t sure whom she could trust.

The team members spoke of God’s unconditional love for her and described how He is a good Father. When Erika was asked what she knew about God, she recalled with a bit of sadness how during the time she was living with her mother she was forbidden from attending church. “That’s why I never had the chance to learn anything about God.”

“Well, do you want to hear now?” She nodded her head yes.

The missionaries began to share the salvation story of Jesus Christ and how he came to make all things new. One of the volunteers read John 3:16 in Erika’s native language, Miskito. They prayed that the Holy Spirit would comfort and guide her and that she would realize that she is never alone. Erika took it all in but was not ready to respond. One team member assured her that she can boldly approach Father God at any time and in any place, without protocol or formalities.

We continue to pray for Erika, that the seeds planted would begin to grow and that she would  come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Written by Kristin Martines

*Name changed for privacy