Forgotten Islands Team leader:
“He’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole wide world in his hands…”

One week ago I stood outside a medical clinic singing this to my 14 month-old son. My wife and I just went for an ultrasound because my wife was 10 weeks pregnant. The ultrasound was quiet. We don’t speak any French and the doc didn’t speak any English. Our island friend came with us to translate. The appt was 5-10 minutes but it seemed like an eternity. The doc just sat there shaking his head but not saying anything. At first we were fine, but with each passing minute of silence and each shake of the head our stress rose. Then finally he put away his machine and talked to our friend for a minute or two. The only words I picked up were “grande problem.” Our sweet friend turned and told us there was a problem but she didn’t fully understand what it was. After a bit of prodding on our part, we discovered the heart had stopped beating and that in the last day or so our little baby had died.

A few minutes later we left the examination room and went to the waiting area. My wife sat stunned with our island friend as we waited for paperwork. Our friend didn’t know what to think. This was the first time she had seen an ultrasound. She thought the doc must be wrong because she could see the baby so clearly on the screen. In fact, she was sure we were having twins because she thought she saw two babies. I stood outside, equally as stunned, with our little boy trying to keep him entertained. The ultrasound result was a shock. We never saw it coming. The test had to be wrong. The medical care on the island must not be good enough for a simple ultrasound.

But in the seconds that followed, I found myself singing the next line of the kid’s song, “He’s got the tiny little baby in his hands, he’s got the tiny little baby in his hands, he’s got the tiny little baby in his hands, he’s got the whole world in his hands.” That day, and for the past week, Jesus has used this simple little kids song to help my wife and I mourn and grieve over the loss of this little baby. The simple truth in this song helps us remember who is control and who is with us at all times. We don’t know why this happened and perhaps we never will, but we know that God has our little baby (his little baby) in his hands. God is good! We know it, we believe it and our trust is in Him.

Please pray for our ability to grieve well. Pray for my wife as she is still going through some medical difficulties. Pray for complete healing (physically and emotionally) for our family. Pray with us that we would continue to be satisfied completely in Jesus.