This week in my fourth pregnancy my fifth child has been vigorously kicking and I am vividly aware that it was at this time in my first pregnancy five years ago that our twins, Marylou Janice and P- entered the world. I’ve written alot about how God has met our family at that point in our lives (and the grief that followed) but the 32nd week in my pregnancies always bring with them a fresh flood of memories as I think about how unexpectedly we welcomed our first children into the world. You may be wondering what this has to do with the Mabaan and twins and our ministry in South Sudan in general so I thought I would elaborate.
We have been researching the Mabaan people group to try and learn more about our soon to be neighbors. This week I was struck by the Joshua Project’s report that unlike many of their neighbors the Mabaan have a distinct view regarding twins. Many of the neighboring population view twins as a curse not a blessing, but the Mabaan believe them to be a gift from God.
I was struck by the all-knowingness of God that He not only blessed us with twins, but is bringing us to a group of people that feel the same way about them. This small piece to the puzzle means so much to us as we prepare to move. Often people have asked if we, knowing what we do now, would have wished for an uncomplicated single pregnancy and not a twin pregnancy since it caused some health issues for P-, and the grief that we experienced losing a daughter. Our answer is always that we would choose to carry both our children all over again, even knowing one of them would die. This is based not only on our common belief with the Mabaan that twins, and children, are a blessing but because of the work God has done in our lives through the life of our twins, and especially our oldest Marylou. We are excited about opportunities ahead as we connect with a group that also has experienced deep grief, many neonatal fatalities, and loves twins as we do, what a thrill to live life alongside others and see how God orchestrates all our experiences together to unite us as we live alongside others.