On July 20, Kelli and I had our fourth child. Micah David Creel was born at about 6 PM and he weighed about eight pounds (3.6 kilos). He is the second child that we have had here in Israel. It's a very different experience having a child here.
The hospitals are good and the quality of labor and delivery care is comparable to America, but from that point on it gets different. The first thing is that there are no private rooms here. Kelli was lucky this time. There was only one other lady in the room with her. Some rooms have as many as six women and on particularly busy days, some women just have a bed in the hall.
Micah was the first son that we have had here and that led to another interesting situation. In Israel circumcision is not just a medical procedure done for hygienic purposes. It is a religious act. Here it is done according to the Bible, on the eighth day by a special rabbi called a "mohel". About twenty of them came by and gave us their card and offered to do the deed. We eventually found a doctor that would do the procedure without the religious ceremony.
Americans don't like to see unpleasant things. We pay people to prepare dead bodies for us. We don't see them until they are clean and dressed in a big cushy coffin. We don't ever see an animal slaughtered. We just pick up vacuum sealed meat from Wal-Mart. We also send our baby boys off for circumcision and get them back hours later when they are bandaged up and through screaming. I had to hold Micah down while the doctor cut away. Micah is over the whole thing. I, however, am still disturbed.
Now, we are four weeks into having the little guy at home and the other reality of missionary life is setting in. We are separated from our families. Micah has been a very demanding baby up until this point. He eats constantly and cries a lot. If we were at home we would have grand-parents and relatives to lean on. Here we don't. Kelli and I take turns with the kids. We call it tagging in and out. We're learning to live with chronic fatigue and yearning for the day when Micah starts sleeping on a regular schedule.
The hospitals are good and the quality of labor and delivery care is comparable to America, but from that point on it gets different. The first thing is that there are no private rooms here. Kelli was lucky this time. There was only one other lady in the room with her. Some rooms have as many as six women and on particularly busy days, some women just have a bed in the hall.
Micah was the first son that we have had here and that led to another interesting situation. In Israel circumcision is not just a medical procedure done for hygienic purposes. It is a religious act. Here it is done according to the Bible, on the eighth day by a special rabbi called a "mohel". About twenty of them came by and gave us their card and offered to do the deed. We eventually found a doctor that would do the procedure without the religious ceremony.
Americans don't like to see unpleasant things. We pay people to prepare dead bodies for us. We don't see them until they are clean and dressed in a big cushy coffin. We don't ever see an animal slaughtered. We just pick up vacuum sealed meat from Wal-Mart. We also send our baby boys off for circumcision and get them back hours later when they are bandaged up and through screaming. I had to hold Micah down while the doctor cut away. Micah is over the whole thing. I, however, am still disturbed.
Now, we are four weeks into having the little guy at home and the other reality of missionary life is setting in. We are separated from our families. Micah has been a very demanding baby up until this point. He eats constantly and cries a lot. If we were at home we would have grand-parents and relatives to lean on. Here we don't. Kelli and I take turns with the kids. We call it tagging in and out. We're learning to live with chronic fatigue and yearning for the day when Micah starts sleeping on a regular schedule.
Honestly, the process has been hard, but we thank God for getting us through so far and we know that He will sustain us. We are most thankful for the fact that Micah is healthy and growing.
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