Babies, Babies and More Babies!

Nazareth Hospital, or The English Hospital which is what everyone in town seems to call it, is privately owned by Nazareth Trust (NT). The SERVE Nazareth program that we are volunteering with, is part of NT also. It is a privately owned hospital that began as a missionary society. In 1981, Israeli Healthcare Reform named the Nazareth Hospital as the official district hospital for the Nazareth area. Although it remains Christian in principle, the hospital neither hires nor treats patients preferentially.

My wee charges

On Wednesdays & Thursdays, I volunteer in the nursery on the maternity ward of the hospital. I cannot begin to say how much I enjoy working with the staff, but even more so with the babies. At 7:15am (yes folks, that's right, I'm at work at 7:15am!), when the day shift begins, we start the morning routine. Each baby is weighed and has blood work done by a nurse. Usually, another nurse then baths them in the sink, and I dry and dress them. Sometimes I do the bathing also, depending on how many babies are there that day.

When I first started, I felt the nurses were 'rough' with the babies, quickly undressing them, quickly bathing them, and then 'dumping' them unceremoniously, naked and screaming, on a towel in front of me to dress. After a couple days, I realized that when you have 20 babies to do this with, you have to do it quickly! It really is best for the baby to get it over with, and then get them all snug back in their beds. I'm a little more gentle in my approach, but I can do that because it isn't my 'job'. I'm just a volunteer!

Twins!

As I coo to them, wrap them in the towel, carefully drying not only their heads of voluminous black hair, but every little crease in their tiny, perfectly formed bodies (as my mother taught me to do), I whisper a prayer for them...that they would continue to grow strong and healthy, to be good and kind people, and most important, that God would place people in their lives who would show them Jesus love, and that they in turn, would follow Him. I LOVE them all! Each one is a miracle from God. When I see their fathers come in, the huge, huge grins of pride and joy on their faces with the amazement and wonder of holding their child, I'm many times brought to tears, as you can all imagine I'm sure!

Then, about 9:30am, the doctors come to do their examinations. So, we undress them all again, making sure their diapers are clean, the doc looks at them...and makes them scream again...and then we redress them and soothe them back to sleep or they are taken to their moms to feed.

Made in His image

Often, a mother is not feeling well enough, or the baby is having trouble nursing, or the mother doesn't have enough milk yet for her baby, so I feed them with a syringe. Golly...they are so adorable with that milk running down their chin, and there eyes all droopy and sweet. I LOVE them! (did I say that before??) Then there is also the laundry to be folded and put away, beds to be changed, gurneys to take to the theatre (operating room), picking up things from the lab and pharmacy,new baby packets to make up, and paper towels to cut up for wipes.

Language is definitely a barrier communicating with the nurses, but they have been very kind, and we have had some good laughs about my interpretation of their instructions. You have to have a fairly tough skin or you could get the feeling that they are talking about you often, which, as I found out, is often the case! Oh well, I do my best, and the babies don't laugh at me, so I'm OK!

I have felt a certain pride, and definitely relief, when a few times I have been the one to notice a baby in distress...puking an excessive amount of brown fluid out of their nose and mouth, or having serious trouble breathing...called a nurse, and they have had to respond quickly with medical aid.

In my element

I believe God has guided me in these circumstances, and yet again, I feel that this awe-inspiring, amazing experience, totally out of character for Lloyd and I, has been ordained by the Lord, and we are simply an instrument in His hands.

Love and miss you all!
Margaret