An alleluia baby

We all model our lives on stories we’ve heard and the people who exist in those stories. There are, of course, the biblical accounts of God’s people and Jesus. But there are also stories closer to home. The stories of our parents, grandparents, or people we hear about often make a profound impact on who we are and what we work at becoming.

This series looks at some of those stories as told by people within our Canadian Mennonite Brethren church family.

Mary Anne and her son Peter

Mary Anne and Jon Isaak were short-term service workers with MBMS International in the Congo some 17 years ago.

Mary Anne was pregnant and the birth of their firstborn was five weeks away. Meanwhile, Jon had joined the local Mennonite Brethren church choir and was away for the day, having left by dugout canoe on a choir exchange with an MB congregation down river.

It was then that Mary Anne realized she was going into labour.

The local church women were busy preparing lunch for the choir from the visiting congregation. Not wishing to bother them, Mary Anne decided to walk on her own to the local doctor. It was a distance away and she had no access to a vehicle.

After some time, she realized she was in trouble. She couldn’t go on and she couldn’t go back. She sat down beside the road, a white woman in serious need.

Then a passerby came to her rescue. The woman helped Mary Anne walk to the doctor, and from there, they rode in the doctor’s car to the clinic.

The doctor’s driver was sent to the Isaak home to leave a message for Jon, so he would know what was happening when he returned. This, in turn, alerted the neighbours who hurried to the clinic to sit with Mary Anne during the day.

That evening, a midwife was called. Early the next morning, Peter was born.

Within the hour, the neighbourhood women returned to visit Mary Anne instead of going to the market to buy their daily food. They entered Mary Anne’s room, surrounded her bed, dropped to their knees, and with hands held high, loudly whispered, “Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!” The new mother felt wonderfully comforted and blessed.

Mama Thumbu and Peter Isaak

The next few weeks carried tension as Mary Anne and Jon learned to care for a baby in a foreign culture. Being premature, Peter had some health difficulties.

At a point of crisis, one of the neighbours, a wonderful woman by the name of Mama Thumbu came to the rescue. A former nurse, she provided medical advice to help Mary Anne care for little Peter. It was the assistance of Mama Thumbu, and other dear friends, that helped the family through a rough situation.

It was then that real relationships began to develop and the Isaaks felt a sense of belonging in the local community.

Mary Anne and Jon had gone to the Congo with a clear goal to teach. However, this experience taught them that in life’s ordinary situations, such as childbirth, the Congolese people were the experts. Instead of being teachers, Mary Anne and Jon were the ones being taught.

The couple had gone to give, but left learning to receive. It’s a lesson they’ve never forgotten.

Ken Reddig is director of the Centre for MB Studies, Winnipeg.