Baby Delivery...

Dear Family and Friends,

I don't have too much time to email today sorry! So I'll tell you this crazy story about the baby delivery. My camera charger hasn't been working on my camera, which is way depressing. I can't find another charger in the downtown area. Gosh darn it. Anyways, here's the story:

My First Delivery (Real Baby)

President Jacquot's house--a welcoming pink gate that opens up to a lil' quaint garden with an actual lawn (does not exist in Madagascar). President Jacquot's teenage sons are so diligent, they go out and teach our investigators when we don't have time to teach them twice a week. 

Every Wednesday at 3:30pm, we pop in to a teach a referral, Lova. But as approached the pink gate, we heard woman shrieking inside, which is usually a bad sign ya know? We knocked loudly, and President Jacquot's son, Tony, swung the door open, eyes wide-open. I asked him, "What's wrong? Out of breath, he replied, "I don't how to deliver a baby!"

So, the midwife (Tony's mom) wasn't in--out doing her Visiting Teaching, haha. As this strong Malagasy lady was in her last stage of contractions, I was thinking to myself, "I kinda know how to deliver a baby since I took a Human Development class at BYU as a freshman..." Tony and I got the bed all prepared while the mom sat in the corner, zoned out.

Ready and shaking with our gloves on, the lady screamed as the baby started to crown. So, Tony and I timidly reached to grab its head. Then, like it decided it wasn't ready to get out of bed, it shlunked back inside. Hey, what the heck! Tricky baby! We told the lady to push harder, and right as it showed itself again, Tony and I snatched its head, quickly popping out with a gentle pull. It came out blue. We had no idea what to do next. I almost spanked the baby upside down like in the movies, but we decided to wipe its nose and rub it with a towel; audibly, the little baby girl took her first breath. Within a few seconds, we witnessed the wonderful experience to see the baby turning from blue to pink in seconds; we all celebrated like it was done! 

With a lump in my throat, I realized, "Oh, the mom has to be given some type of shot. What was the dang name of that stuff?" The word 'oxytocin' popped into my head, and for some reason, I was 100% that was it. We sprinted into the doctor's office, opening all the drawers, looking desperately. "Here it is!" yelled Tony in relief. We promptly gave her the shot right in the chubby part of the hip/bum. We clamped the umbilical cord with the weird s-clamp, and lastly, the placenta was removed, all complete, phew! Can't believe I remembered that stuff from my Human Development class at BYU. I love babies.

The midwife (Tony's mom) finally arrived in the falling action. She professionally closed the doors and the curtains and got to fixing what we had done. Tony laughed way hard while we washed our hands after.

Love you all!

Elder Soper

Since my camera's not working, here a couple of random Madagascar pictures from other missionaries: