People are always asking me how I can handle being pregnant in Haiti with the thought of then raising a baby in Haiti. To be honest, the fact that we live in Haiti didn’t cross my mind Pregnant in Haitiwhen we first found out we were going to have a baby. It may have crossed my mind later on, but not at first. :) We knew we wanted to start our family early, so with that, we knew that we would be raising little ones in Haiti. We have missionary friends who have little ones here and we watch how they live and how rich and full their lives are.

Yes, there are difficult questions you wonder like “How do I clean a baby bottle here?”, “What about malaria and typhoid ?”, “How do I ship a crib to Haiti?” and “Will my child be healthy and safe?, or “Will my child have difficulty if we ever return to the states?” These questions, amongst many more crossed my mind after my first 6 weeks of being pregnant. Then I realized that my questions aren’t that far off from the questions ANY mom asks herself when pregnant. Moms are designed to think and prepare for their little one, regardless of living in Haiti or not. It is natural! We will adjust, we will learn, and we will make mistakes, just like any parent!

Yes, we have decided to deliver the baby in the states, mostly because family is there and this is our first baby, however, we have said, if God were to have us stay in Haiti
for the delivery of our next child, we could do it! Why? Because HE is faithful and always gives us strength when we don’t think we can do something. God called our family to Haiti to serve…that means ALL of us! We are thrilled to raise our child in a country where there are limited “things” and where she will be challenged to “give” and to “serve” the way that Christ did. We are thrilled she will have the opportunity to be bilingual and speak cross culturally to so many! God has been so faithful to us throughout this whole pregnancy, from the humbling early days where I was getting very basic prenatal care – the care that any typical Haitian woman would have received, to where we are now – at a private practice who excels in their prenatal care and where you would NEVER find a typical Haitian woman because of the cost. I have experienced both sides. I am thankful for that. He has given me relatively good health this entire pregnancy and our little one is healthy as can be!

When God calls you to something, He equips you to do so. This is something we have seen in our marriage, our ministry, and now in our family decisions!

Amanda and her husband, Jordan Damon serve on the ground in Haiti with CPR-3. You can follow more from their ministry at respirelavi.wordpress.com.