On March 8, my family and I woke up with a message from my sister Sarah saying she was pretty sure her water had broke. It was 2 and a half weeks before the due date and the most exciting surprise.
About an hour later, it was confirmed that baby Sophie would be coming later that day. My mom had a ticket to come the following week and so she asked Brett and me if we could go that day to be with them.
The excitement that ran through my bones was crazy. I kept breaking into random dance. (Ask our team here in Juquila, they definitely got to see a special side of me!) Our team was amazing, they encouraged us to go right away and so we gave them our lesson plans and started the journey to Huachinango.
We started with a bus to Rio Grande, then a bus to Puerto Escondido followed by a flight to Mexico City, a subway to the bus terminal and then a 2.5-hour bus to Huachinango. I think the leg that felt the longest of all of them was the 10-minute taxi ride to the hospital once we had arrived in Huachinango.
Right before we got on our flight in Puerto, we received news that Sarah hadn’t progressed in labor since her water had broke. They knew that Sophie’s umbilical cord had been double wrapped so assuming that was what was keeping Soph from dropping, they made a decision to do a c-section. Our flight to Mexico City was filled with emotion. We knew that whole time that Sophie was being brought into the world in those very moments. The fact that my very own sister and best friend was experiencing something so precious and so holy was so overwhelming to me. A life entering this world is completely a miracle and it is so beautiful. God’s design is wonderful.
The moment we landed in Mexico City, we switched off airplane mode on our phones with such anticipation. And in flooded so many messages, photos, videos, and many tears. Brett and I sat on the plane crying in joy, awe, and wonder of this perfect babe.
When we finally arrived at the hospital we were led to my sister’s room. It did not feel real to see my sister with a tiny little baby sleeping on her chest, who earlier that day had been INSIDE of her! She literally grew and carried this baby in her for the last almost 9 months. A few months prior I had kissed Sarah’s belly so eager to meet the little baby growing inside and now here she was so perfect and so precious.
March 8 was a day I will always remember. A day full of excitement, awe, and thankfulness.
-Annie Balsley, GEM Missionary
If you’d like to support Brett and Annie as they serve with GEM in Juquila to share the gospel with this unreached town, you can do so HERE. You can also contact them directly to talk further about what it means to be on their support team and find out how you can be praying for them!