Michelle, the one who remembers

Something about her stayed with me.  Maybe it's that she was a Filipina with some of the longest dreads ever and they were a messy mass, maybe it was the tattoos on her arms and legs, maybe it was the myriad of bracelets and anklets.  Maybe, it was that she told me she would bring me a bracelet when she came back.  Or maybe the LORD just allowed her to remain in my mind.

Everything about her is very counter her culture.  I don' know how she found out about Mercy, but probably the way most of the patients do: word of mouth or they just see the sign.  She is always the last prenatal on her day and she's actively seeking something spiritual to fill her void.  To this end, I did pray for her at the end of her prenatal.  Especially as she said that she would be going to another island (Cebu) for some festival and she and her bana would be selling bracelets, anklets and necklaces.

This prenatal was in December, so through all of January she was on my mind.  What was she doing?  Had she seen the One for who she really searched?  The cough she had that was probably from smoking before she was pregnant, was it a sign of other lung problems?  Would I ever see her again?

The clinic here runs such that there are a team of midwives assigned a particular prenatal day, so we might see patients only once, then again we might see them lots, it just depends.  And, when they come to the birth room they are served by the current shift (unless the woman has become a continuity patient, but that's a different story.)

This past Tuesday I was working on prenatals.  We started just after 9:00am.  There were lots of patients and one by one they were all seen.  Occassionaly I wondered if I would see her...and if I would recognize her (there was one other gal with dreads, which are certainly a defining factor).  We were almost done and i was cleaning up my bed when I hear a teammate behind me say, "Kelly..."  I turn around to Michelle!  She came.  Her dreads, her inked skin and charms galore, she was here! She smiled and said, "Hi Kelly."  What joy flooded me heart.  And she said, "I brought this for you from Cebu."  

This just amazed me.  I don't really know her, she doesn't really know me and why she would remember me when she was on a 3 week vacation is beyond me, but she did and she was true to her word.  Just as she said, she brought back a bracelet.  As she left and said good bye, by name to me and the midwife who had done her prenatal, she promised the other girl a bracelet too.  

Now the bracelet reminds me to pray for her and her searching heart.  She's very dear and had such a bright personality, but there's no doubt of her need for a Savior.  What a joy it is to speak to the King on her behalf that she would know Him.  She's not due for a few more months, so hopefully we run into each other again during prenatals...maybe even her birth!