a change in plans

On September 16, the Phillips family found out it was about to go from 2 to 3! That's right, we're pregnant! We had tried to plan this pregnancy as best we could. We hoped the baby would be born sometime around April or May. "Why?" you may ask. Well, April and May are hot season and since there is limited medical care here in Niger, our board will send the expectant mother to Senegal to deliver. So, if we had the baby in either of those months, we'd be a little cooler! Selfish, aren't we?

Things were going very well with the pregnancy besides some major morning sickness (which is more like "all day" sickness). On October 1, we even had an ultrasound and heard the baby's heartbeat (he/she is an active one)! Unfortunately, a couple of days later a problem arose. I began bleeding a little. Hoping it to be normal (as it sometimes can be), we decided to wait it out and get it checked in Niamey a few days later.

To make a very long story short, after much poking and prodding, we discovered that I have a "hematoma decidual." Basically that means that there is a pocket of blood or a bruise that is stuck between my placenta and my uterine wall. The hematoma can cause the placenta to break free and, thereby, cause a spontaneous abortion. This could happen in the next minute or 5 months from now. After talking to doctors here and in the States, they determined that at this point I am not in a high risk category if this separation were to occur. As the pregnancy progresses and if the hematoma does not dissolve or continues to grow, then I will become a high risk pregnancy and it will pose a threat to mine and the baby's life.

With all of this information gathered, the board decided that I needed to be around medical care until we go home to the States for vacation in 3 weeks. What that means is that I must stay in Niamey and Mark has to return to Ayorou to continue ministry. I have been instructed to abstain from physical activity and to have routine ultrasounds to monitor the size of the hematoma.

When we began to make plans to add to our family, we never planned this. When we found out that the pregnancy had taken a more serious turn, we never planned to be separated from each other. There are many other things that have happened in our life over the last year that we would've never planned. But what God has shown us over and over is that He is sovereign, that He is in control and that we must trust that He has a bigger plan at work in our lives - far past what we can see in front of us. And that's where we are at - trusting God, relying completely on Him and putting this in His hands.

As for you, our faithful prayer partners, we would like for you to rejoice with us as the Lord is forming another life. We also ask that you would pray that the hematoma would dissolve and I would go on to a normal, full-term pregnancy. Please also pray for these next 3 weeks as Mark and I are separated. Pray for Mark and those he will minister to in Ayorou and that he'll be able to stay focused. Pray for me as I have to "sit with my feet up" for 3 weeks - that God would show me how I would bring the most glory to His name. Pray for my ladies (Madame Abduli, Mariama & Hamsatou) that I won't see for 2 months - that God would continue to reveal Himself to them & draw them closer.


a picture of Baby Phillips at 8 weeks; the due date is May 20


the bulge on the left is the hematoma