Owen Timothy and Cooper James Feldman

Last April, while in Uganda, I received news that my friend Ali & her husband had given birth to their first child, Emmalee Ann Pearl Feldman. She had already been diagnosed in the womb with a certain heart defect that would require surgery soon after her birth & so we were all ready for a long haul of health needs surrounding this little one. Unfortunately - understatement of the year - she developed some blood clots during a surgery and passed on after 13 days here. Her story and the journey Jon & Ali have been on since can be read about here. They are strong, courageous, and faith-full people.

When I heard this past fall that they were expecting again, this time twins, I was again thrilled for them. Because of the complications with Emmalee, they were visiting their hospital weekly for awhile and all was looking so healthy and great for the babies. But at 21 weeks, Ali went into labor and after breathing air for 19 minutes each, they passed on as well.

My heart is grieving deeply for my friends. A line from this popular song on the radio keeps coming into my head: "How many times can I break til I'm shattered..." I don't know if I could do it, I don't know that I could handle that much loss. And yet, the everlasting arms of our Father are beneath us, carrying us through the loneliest of all places, the darkest of all valleys, the most sorrow-filled experiences. That is my friend Ali's testimony and I wanted to honor these beautiful boys and their amazing parents by sharing this with you. Here is the story, and Ali will continue to update as she has for Emmalee's blog as well. There is beauty from ashes in these stories...even though we may not always recognize it at the time, I believe it.

Please pray with me for my friends as they grieve their children's loss and seek daily the way forward.