Abandoned Baby Rescued from 30-foot Hole
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
August 5, 2007
CWN.com - Unwanted babies in Haiti are not uncommon, but the latest rescue of newborn Cristela Belle is nothing short of a miracle from God.
On July 8, a teenage boy named Toussaint watched a 15-year-old girl, who was earlier noticeably pregnant, on school grounds in Jacmel, Haiti. She was walking by with a smaller stomach and blood on her legs.
Toussaint, aware that that the mother always denied being pregnant, followed her blood trail to outhouses behind the school and found a newborn baby stuck 28 feet deep inside a hole for the commode.
Hearing the baby's cry, he called the police and used a rope as a lasso, but was unable to pull the newborn out of the hole.
When police and U.N. soldier Darry Williams got to the outhouse, Toussaint was feverishly chipping away the concrete from the toilet.
"Toussaint told me that the mother had dropped the newborn in the pit because she didn't want it," said Williams. "I could see that the baby was moving and knew the time was of the essence."
The Sri Lankan Army was called upon by Williams to assist in the rescue. The concrete was soon broken up, and a soldier was able to secure the infant to a rope before she was pulled up.
After racing the baby with an intact placenta and umbilical cord in an ambulance to a poorly staffed hospital, Williams made a call to an American friend, Hands & Feet Project's Drex Stuart.
"I told the medics to follow me to a private hospital near my house, and I called Drex who operates the Hands & Feet Project," Williams said. "I know that he recently had a set of twins in the private hospital and I asked him to call and notify them of our situation."
Once Stuart and co-worker Michelle Meece arrived at the hospital with a doctor, they offered to pay for the baby's medical expenses and to care for her at the Hands & Feet Project.
Examining the baby, the doctor verified that no scrapes, bruises or broken bones were present.
"I knew this child would be fine," commented Williams. "After being dropped 30 feet into a pit and left for dead, and there were no bruises, no signs of trauma, and she was resting?"
This event strengthened Williams' faith.
"I knew I had witnessed a miracle," he continued. "Everyone involved knew it."
Full rights to the baby were given to Hands & Feet by a policeman from the Justice of the Peace.
"She is now ours," Stuart exclaimed. "A policeman from the station, no doubt a believer, gave us the baby's first name. He said that Christ must have been there for her, so the three words for 'Christ was there' (in Creole) would be Christela."
Stuart continued, "Her last name is in honor of Audio Adrenaline's song 'Beautiful.' This word translates to Belle."
Williams was elated to see God's work firsthand.
"Christela is definitely a miracle child and was God's chosen vessel to bridge the gap between the U.N., police and the community," Williams shared. "I am honored to have been a witness to this miracle. I am also humbled to have been asked by Drex to be her godfather."
Mark Stuart, the lead for the famous Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline, was also encouraged by the rescue and how God used the Hands & Feet Program.
"I am so amazed by the story of these rescuers," he said. "In Haiti, children are often abandoned and orphaned, and to see the teamwork between the police and the U.N. soldiers on behalf of this one baby, it is a would-be-tragedy turned to joy."
Mark's dad, Drex, asked believers to "Keep praying that we will be here and ready to take children that no one wants or can take care of. Don't forget to pray for the mother, too."
The biological mother is in good health and was given a prison sentence. She moved to Jacmel after he parents kicked her out of their home once they discovered she was pregnant.
Sources: Hands and Feet Project, Christian Newswire, Soul Shine News
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
