Welcoming Life and Welcoming Jesus…
A woman’s body undergoes extraordinary preparation for birth, both physically and emotionally. Physiologically, a woman’s body expands to sustain new life. Her blood volume nearly doubles so that oxygen and nutrients can support both her and her growing baby. Her heart works harder, her organs shift, and her entire system reorganizes itself around the life growing within her womb. Emotionally, pregnancy prepares a woman through heightened vulnerability and anticipation. Joy, hope, fear, and anxiety often intermingle—the expectancy of new life and deep love alongside the apprehension of responsibility and the unknown.
These physical and emotional changes are not sudden or shallow; they are deep, costly, and purposeful.
In a similar way, as God’s precious children, we are called to prepare our hearts to welcome the birth of Christ into our weary world—a world marked by unimaginable grief, injustice, and brokenness, and one desperately in need of a Savior. Just as the body must change to carry life, so too must the heart change to receive and make room for Christ. In doing so, we stretch beyond our comfort through generosity, patience, forgiveness, gentleness, and compassion, entering into a deeper relationship with Him.
Both forms of preparation—welcoming new life and welcoming Christ—require expansion, sacrifice, vulnerability, hope, and surrender. A woman cannot control every aspect of pregnancy or birth; she must trust the process and endure discomfort for the sake of love. In the same way, preparing for Christ requires surrender—letting go of our pride, our busyness, and our self-sufficiency.
Mary herself embodied this parallel. Her physical pregnancy and her spiritual obedience were inseparable. Her “yes” to God was both bodily and soulful.
Finally, both preparations culminate in new life. After months of hidden growth, a baby enters the world. At Christmas, after seasons of waiting and preparation, Christ is welcomed anew into our human hearts.
In both birth and Christmas, preparation is not passive. It is active, costly, and transformative. Whether through the miraculous changes of a woman’s body or the quiet reshaping of a faithful heart, new life requires space, sacrifice, and trust. And in both, the result is the same: love entering the world in its most vulnerable and powerful form.
Every day at the Sarobidy Maternity Center, we have the privilege of witnessing glimpses of that preparation and promise all around us. Last week, just hours before our scheduled prenatal Christmas celebration, a beautiful young first-time mother delivered a healthy baby girl in the quiet stillness of the morning.
Later that day, we gathered to celebrate Jesus’ birth with all the pregnant mothers in our prenatal program.
Toward the end of the week, we celebrated again, this time with the postpartum mothers holding their precious babies.
Genotine (pictured on the right) has welcomed all four of her daughters at the Sarobidy Maternity Center.
These moments are not just celebrations; they are living testimonies of Christ’s incarnate love unfolding through gentle, respectful, and relational medical care.
This sacred work of preparation and presence is one of the pieces of fabric of the Sarobidy Maternity Center. By offering compassionate prenatal, labor, and postpartum care, our team of midwives walks alongside mothers as they make room for new life in the midst of extreme poverty, hardship, and uncertainty. As we celebrate Christ’s birth, we invite you to prayerfully consider making a regular or special year-end gift. This vital ministry cannot happen without the partnership of others. Your generosity helps make room for life, dignity, and hope—allowing Christ’s love to be made present in tangible and life-giving ways.
Where God Restores…
Flying out of Mahajanga, we passed over our city before soaring above a vast mangrove estuary—an area where we have worked tirelessly to restore the majestic forest that once stood where only degraded mudflats remained.
As I looked down at the expanding city, memories of my childhood flooded back. I could see the footpaths I once ran along with my Malagasy friends, weaving between mango trees as we went from house to house in our village. Joy-filled days of playing soccer, fishing in rice paddies, and laughing with family and friends blended with harder memories of death, sickness, and deep loss.
These are the realities of growing up in, and continuing to work in, one of the poorest countries in the world: a place that often feels forgotten. At times, progress can seem impossible. Yet when we have eyes to see that God is continually pouring out His love, even on those who have not chosen Him, there is always hope.
I was reminded of this on that flight, as we left the city behind and followed the winding mangrove channels below. It’s rare to witness the visible impact of a lifetime of effort, but when you do, it’s a powerful reminder that God is always at work, using our lives for His glory.
What I saw below was no longer the mudflats of the past, but a thriving, restored forest—the result of nearly 15 years of planting and protecting tens of millions of seedlings in partnership with the Malagasy people, Accelerated Restoration Collaborative and with supporters like you. The growth has been so significant, planted by hand, guarded by people, and fueled by natural regeneration, that it is now visible even from space in Google Earth images.
Aranta-Sotema, 2007
Aranta-Sotema, 2025 (Note the dark green of the mangroves where once was only brown mudflats)
We thank God for this timely reminder that our service to Him is never in vain. All great things begin with small, faithful efforts. As we reflect on Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we remember that the greatest restoration project of all began with a baby born in a manger.
God loves to restore what is broken—whether mangrove estuaries in Madagascar or our relationship with Him and His creation.
See The Impact…
Your prayers and support make stories like these possible! Please take a moment to see the impact of your partnership in this short ministry video!
We’d also love for you to share the video with your friends, family, church community and on your social media channels, to help spread the word about what God is doing in Madagascar and Kenya!
As mentioned at the end of our ministry video, we remain persistently underfunded. Yet, thanks to generous supporters like you, the needle has moved from 84% to 89% funded!!
We would be deeply grateful if you prayerfully considered joining our monthly partnership team. Every gift– whether $25, $50, or $100– makes a real difference in sustaining these life-changing ministries and keeping our family on the mission field.
To make a tax-deductible gift, click here to be directed to our sending agency, WorldVenture.
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As we reflect on Christ’s birth and step into a new year, thank you for walking with us— your prayers and partnership continue to bring hope, restoration, and new life!!
With joy and gratitude,
Jamie, Alissa, Isabella, Eliana and Gavin
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