Maybe you have experienced that moment? Hearing their heartbeat for the first time. The grip of anxiety on your own heart waiting to see your child on that ultrasound screen. Your ears are pounding with your pulse as you listen for that small sound of life, craning your neck to get just a glimpse…
There is something special about witnessing a mother seeing her child for the first time, something that we at El Nido treasure. El Nido, VidaNet’s Pregnancy Center is spreading its wings from just centers in churches to a mobile unit that travels around Costa Rica and soon the rest of Central America.
El Nido Mobile is on the move, to go further out, to the churches and communities that are not able to have pregnancy centers. Gloria Hoover, director of El Nido, began the program from her passion for discipling and counseling mothers.
What began with just one mother has turned into a passionate ministry that focuses on the connection between a Mother and her baby. With a portable ultrasound machine, El Nido Mobile has been able to go out to women in communities that wouldn’t normally have the access or resources. Through teary smiles mothers are able to behold just how their babies are growing, whether they are the size of a cherry or as big as a melon.
In the public hospitals of Costa Rica, personal care for mothers can be very minimal. There are usually a large number of patients so mothers can feel lost among the crowd and not given a personalized visit for their pregnancy. For many mothers the first time they ever see their baby is when they are born. Husbands who never had the chance to see their children are able to experience it for the first time.
The ultrasound is taken and the mothers are whisked away before they have a chance to even catch a glimpse. Joy and adrenaline race through women as they wait to find out how much their babies are growing, only to not see the screen at all.
Dismayed mothers walk out of the hospitals knowing that nurses and doctors took the ultrasound only for medical purposes, not for the expectant mothers waiting to see their unborn little ones. Heavy footed they walk, not even knowing what their child even looks like or how big they have grown.
Private hospitals provide more personal care but for many women, these are far too expensive to gain access to. El Nido set out to be that change for mothers. We decided to go to them, to the banana fields and the hard to reach communities. With trained staff and volunteers, we are able to help mothers see their babies for the first time ever.
“It’s a sacred moment that we get to witness,” Gloria Hoover stated one afternoon.
During El Nido Mobile’s last trip to La Cuenca in Costa Rica, a husband and wife had the chance to see the ultrasound of their baby, something that was never possible with their other two children.
The family was able to celebrate together and what a sight it was! They were full of laughter and tears to hear the heartbeat of their family’s newest member. Waiting to see movement on that little screen is the most exciting yet terrifying moment for so many mothers.
The road has not always been smooth, there have been bumps and frustrations along the way. The bus that was shipped from the States for El Nido mobile was denied entrance into Costa Rica due to extensive rust underneath the bus. Disappointment would be an understatement as you watch your dreams start to come true and then are suddenly ripped away from you.
However, after months of back and forth with legal issues, the bus was approved and could finally enter the country! El Nido now has its own vehicle and we are so incredibly grateful for God’s provision!
So how can you get involved? We are always looking for volunteers to come down and help organize baby clothes and spaces. Volunteers are always needed for traveling out into the banana fields of Costa Rica to give educational classes. We are currently searching for volunteers to help convert the El Nido bus into a mobile prenatal center.
We want you to be able to get a front row seat in this ministry as your rub shoulders with mothers and hold babies in your arms. Are you not able to travel yourself but still want to help? Our centers in Ecuador are in need of supplies as well as the funds to send these supplies. We are so grateful for your prayers and support as we follow our passion to discipling mothers and walk alongside them during and after their pregnancies.
Check out our Facebook page for more pictures and information of all the exciting activities happening at El Nido!