On
this thread in the Town Hall forum, we've been dsicussing Baptist missioners who are evangelizing and seeking to convert the faithful in typically Carpatho-Rus and Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox villages. Needless to say, our reactions to this activity have been less than favorable.
However, in reading some of the linked sites relating to the group, I came across
the message quoted below, made by Joshua Steele, one of its leaders:
Email, May 8, 2012
Today Kelsie and I went for a routine ultrasound to our clinic here in L’viv, hoping to find out the gender of our baby. Instead, we were shocked to learn that the baby has cystic hygroma (also known as lymphatic malformation), a severe genetic disorder which, depending on the cause, is often fatal. In our case, it is probable that this condition resulted from chromosomal abnormalities which were in motion from the start of the pregnancy.
We saw two different sonographers today, and then went to a consultation with a genetic specialist who explained the situation more fully and gave us an official diagnosis. Outside of a direct miracle from God, there is no chance that our baby will live to term. Right now, the geneticist’s best guess was that we have about a month. The swelling and deformity of the body is extensive, and already vital signs are weakening.
Regardless of how we view their proselytizing, I seriously doubt that anyone here, particularly those of us who are ourselves parents, would disagree that we should pray for this young couple, their unborn child who seemingly will soon be with God, and their other family members, especially their three young daughters who are unlikely to know their sibling in this life.
Prayers that, if He sees fit, God give miraculous recovery to this unborn child. And, if it be His will that He take the baby peacefully to Himself, that He give life eternal to him in that better place that He has prepared for us. Prayers also for the safety of the baby's mother, Kelsie, in these trying circumstances.
Prayers for the parents, Joshua and Kelsie, their little girls, and all their family, that they be comforted by God, regardless of the outcome, in the knowledge that their unborn child is loved by Him as well as them. May the Theotokos, Mother of He Who died for us, extend her veil of protection over them and give comfort to them also.
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