A Little Girl's Prayer - Helen Roseveare

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with  a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter.  We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator.  (We had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities. 

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.  One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in.  Another went to stoke up the fire and to fill a hot water bottle.

© The Awakening Ray, Jul/Aug. 2001.  Reprinted with permission

Helen Roseveare is a medical missionary and author from England who served for years in the former Belgian Congo.

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