Launched at the start of 2023, Mama Care Ministries has taken flight. South African MAF missionary and founder of the Mama Care team, Michelle Venter, shares the programme's progress.
We have now been visiting with Mothers in the Hospital every Thursday for the past six months! We have seen on average 30 new mothers each month – some staying for as short as one night and others for as long as three months! Every Thursday we bring a flask of Milo and eats to share with the mothers while we lead a devotion and pray with the mothers. We have had the joy of celebrating with mothers whose babies were born below 1kg – watching them grow until they were discharged, and we’ve also had the sorrow of crying when a precious baby has died.
Through generous donations we have been able to bless these mothers with much needed hygiene kits, stationery, blankets, baby clothes, washing powder, snacks, wool and most importantly Bibles!
I knew it was something that the Lord had placed on my heart, but I really did not know where to start or how our time with the ladies would even look?
For many of the mothers receiving a bible brings great joy to them! One lady exclaimed: “I am so happy; we don’t have a bible in our house! This is the first bible I have owned.”
We now see the ladies reading their bibles and they are often out on their beds or on their side tables when we come to visit. Just this past week we received a donation of two audio bibles for the Mama Care Ministry. When we gave them to the ladies in the ward, they were so excited – just that morning they had been talking about starting a daily group devotion time, and by giving them the audio bible we made it easier for them to listen to God’s word together and enjoy the devotionals and songs on the audio bible too!
We have also started a little library box in the ward. I found stories about missionaries like Jim Elliot, Corrie ten Boom and others in the Christian Book Shop and written in Tok Pisin! I bought as many as I could and left them in the ward for the mothers to read. We have challenged them to fill their minds with good things: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” Phil 4:8.
A few weeks ago we gave wool to the mothers so that they can make Bilums (wool bags). Many of the ladies said that they did not know how to make a bilum. This week when we arrived three ladies who previously did not know how to make a bilum were sitting making one – one of the ladies in the ward had been teaching them! I just love to see how they are able to teach and encourage one another to build their relationships with one another!
It has been great to involve our children in this ministry as well. During the holidays our girls have accompanied us to visit the mothers. They bring games like Jenga and pick-up sticks along to play with the ladies. There is much laughter and fun. The girls also love to cuddle whichever babies are around.
In April we had the privilege of helping to look after a baby that had been abandoned in the Special Care Baby Ward. Three of us ladies took turns coming to the hospital every day during lunch to hold her and feed her and just love her. During this time, I was able to reach out to people in the adoption group that I am part of in PNG and she is now united with her “forever family” who is working on her official adoption!
Michelle Venter and her family have served in Papua New Guinea as missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship for the past 12 years. Brad is a pilot and Michelle looks after their family and their four children. They are based at Goroka.
Michelle shares that the story of her hospital ministry started three years ago when her family adopted their fourth child, Emma.
We first met Emma in the Special Care Nursery (NICU) at the Goroka Hospital. Here in this nursery, I met many other mothers who had premature or sick babies. It was at this time that I feel the Lord laid it on my heart to minister to these mothers. Soon after this, Covid became a reality for us all and so any idea to go to the hospital was put on the backburner. Towards the end of 2022 a friend and I talked about starting up this ministry together.
I knew it was something that the Lord had placed on my heart, but I really did not know where to start or how our time with the ladies would even look? I worried about what I would say and what they would think or if we would connect? But the Lord was bigger than these unknowns and just as we had to do when following our call to MAF, to moving to PNG or on our journey to adoption, I knew that the only thing I could do was to be obedient!
In the middle of January 2023 on a Thursday morning we arrived at the local hospital. Nervous and armed with Milo and cookies we made our way to the mother’s ward (Susu Mamas). This is the ward where all the mothers of the babies in the Special Care Ward stay. The hospital provides them with a bed and 2 meals a day. At certain times they walk to the Nursery (NICU) to feed their babies - here they sit on the floor and express milk into cups so that their babies can be tube-fed. Once babies are able to suck independently and are gaining weight, they join their mothers in the mother’s ward.
Our goal is not to just bring gifts to these precious ladies but most importantly to share the word of God with them! Where we see needs, we do try to meet them as and when we can.