A few years ago, after Ariela’s birth, top medical doctors told Claudia she couldn’t have a natural birth. They reported the cause – Claudia’s physical body and other disorders. That would stop us from having kids at all. Yet, we knew the Holy Spirit’s promise to our family. The Lord wanted an easy childbirth for us. God can do the impossible, even with pregnancy.

In 2019, Claudia became pregnant with Faith. They informed us once again that the baby might not make it. Faith came a month after our second miscarriage in the Philippines. However, God’s word carried through. Christmas morning at 3 am, Claudia started having her heavy labor contractions.

Birth pangs are always unexpected. This time, they came on Christmas. Ariela told us every day how excited she was for Christmas morning to open up all her gifts as a family. Claudia and I looked at each other and decided that we would let Ariela get her Christmas dream as she planned. 30 minutes later, Claudia’s contractions became shorter apart and stronger each time.

Manila is 3-4 hours away with traffic. With few cars on the road, Claudia began gripping my arm the same way she did with Ariela’s birth. If we bumped into any traffic incident, then Claudia would have given birth in the car! That Christmas morning, we arrived in our hospital in 1.5 hours.

God cleared the path of any obstacles for Faith to arrive. With a new medical team assisting us, worship music playing, and a calm and peaceful atmosphere, the set-up was everything Claudia prayed for.

During labor, I started seeing the same signs Claudia had last time. Every time she pushed her entire belly turned blue. Nothing happened. Our Doctor coached her through the whole process and taught her different techniques and pushing the baby through.

Afterward, Claudia pushed, and I saw the baby drop an inch down in her stomach. After 2-3 more contractions, Faith came out and took her first breath. The whole process took less than 45 minutes!

Claudia’s tears filled the room with overwhelming joy and contentment when she held her baby close to her right after birth. As I looked at both of them and stared in Faith’s eyes, the goodness of God overtook me. Like always, God was faithful to His word.

Baby Faith entered into the world healthy and natural.

What God Taught Us

Prayer Comes First

We gained a deeper understanding that prayer always comes first. Despite what experts and other people told us, we listened to God and committed to His promise. We found a medical team that believed in the same promise God gave us. With all of us united in one Spirit, we fulfilled the plans God gave us.

God’s Process

We have a greater appreciation for the natural process God has for a family. Despite us living in a fallen world, with Satan raging against the children of God, we are still called to war in faith, prayer, and hope for God’s will. By doing so, we can still see his ultimate desire to manifest in our life.

The Most Joyful Place Is Fully Committed to Jesus

We could only prepare for baby Faith as much as possible until we hit our natural limitations. The most important preparation is trusting in God’s supernatural wisdom and ways. We had to lean on God throughout the entire process.

The best place to be in raising a family is fully surrendered to Jesus. Our greatest joy, peace, and fulfillment was found when we had all of our rights and expectations surrendered to God. The center of God’s will is the best place to be during growing responsibilities in missions, family, and leadership.

We appreciate you for being with us throughout the entire process! Despite the conflicts and opposition, God’s faithfulness conquered all! We look forward to sharing more with you on what God is doing in our family and on the mission field!