(photo: Grace trying on Daddy's teaching shoes)
We just got back from our second ultrasound. It’s a boy! An island friend told me yesterday that we would have a son because Tom eats the hot peppers, guess they were right.
All our islander friends have been hoping that we have a boy. It is said like a blessing, “May it be a boy.” But some have said it almost like a prediction, “It will be a boy.” Everyone assumes that we are hoping for a boy. But this is not because island culture values baby boys so much more than baby girls. It is because we already have a girl and everyone wants both. Our neighbor (who just gave birth this week!) was given the same blessings/predictions for a girl because she has a little boy already. She had a girl (much to everyone’s delight). Our team leaders are often pitied because they have four boys and no daughters. This is seen as especially hard on Beka because girls are such good helpers around the house.
In this matrilineal society, daughters are important because it is through them that property and houses are passed down. Daughters are generally kept near the home for the dual purpose of helping their mothers and protecting their purity. Sons are given a much longer leash and often have the freedom to go and do whatever they want. Sons are valued partially because their religion values them. We were told this week by a young man that one man equals two women in value or worth. There are also certain rites (burial for example) that only men can perform, which makes having sons important.
We are happy to be having a boy, knowing that this baby is another gift from God. We’d appreciate your prayers as we continue through the pregnancy and prepare to welcome this little one into our family.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Mama Ababu had her baby girl. Both are healthy and home for the obligatory 40-day home confinement after childbirth. Tom’s initial meeting with the English teachers went well, they seem committed and will start their curriculum (that Tom is creating) to help them teach better next week. There was a huge answer to prayer in the new monthly leadership seminar. It was a big success. They had about 20 men there and great fellowship!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for Megan and the baby as the pregnancy continues. An expatriate family that just arrived on the island a few weeks ago (not with out group) just had all the wheels on their car stolen after a week where they all had malaria (parents and two kids under 2 yrs). Pray that they would not become discouraged and for their transition. Pray that the leadership seminars would continue to go well and that the people who came would be committed and complete the assignments they were given. Theft is on the rise on the island, pray that as a team and individuals we would be wise.
