Virginia Holmstrom - White Cross

American Baptist Women, you have done it again! I’ve seen strong evidence of your White Cross projects in Congo. The mission hospitals I’ve visited depend on the linens, bandages, and material goods you prepare. In Kikongo, Rita Chapman invited me to deliver a baby layette to a family related to the pastors’ institute there. The pastoral student’s wife had had her second child two weeks ago. We hand carried a layette package to their small, humble home on the campus. Some dear woman in the Pacific Northwest had crocheted a hat and sweater from soft, green yarn. Also in the gift package were 2 diapers and a baby blanket.

The family was waiting for our visit with open door. Rita introduced the pastor, his wife, a three year old child, and the newborn baby daughter (see photo above). How precious she was! I cradled her in my arms. The pastor accepted the layette package on behalf of his family. We prayed for his baby. For a family with nothing, for a family who had traveled to Kikongo so that the husband could train to be a pastor, for a family that had left their village and now had no extended family support, for a family who lives in two small rooms with no electricity or running water, or mosquito nets to sleep under, this gift is treasured. Thank you, American Baptist Women, for making a difference for this family.

Later in the morning, I passed by the family’s hut and the father held his newborn daughter by the window---her tiny head was cradled in a soft, green, crocheted hat.