Christian Missionary Couple Testifies of God's Grace After Succesful Birth of Quintuplets
A Christian missionary couple has become one of the first to successfully birth quintuplets in the U.S. in 2012, and they have testified that their experience is a part of God's perfect plan.
"God is always sovereign. His plans are perfect, even when I don't understand them," Carrie and Gavin Jones, 35, wrote in their blog shortly after Carrie gave birth to five children on Aug. 9 at Dallas' UT Southwestern Medical Center.
At 27 weeks and five days gestation, Jones gave birth to Will Edward, David Stephen, Marcie Jane, Seth Jared, and Grace Elise in a four minute emergency C-section performed by Dr. Patricia Santiago.
The couple named their children after family and Christian references.
"Will is named for God's Will," Mrs. Jones has said, according to The Daily Mail.
"Marcie Jane is named after her two grandmothers, David was given his name by his older brother Isaac, who loves the story of David and Goliath, and Gavin chose the moniker Seth after Adam and Eve's son," she added.
Lastly, Jones explained that the couple named the last and smallest child Grace "because God has been gracious in giving us the children."
The babies weighed between 1lb, 12oz and 2lbs, 11oz, according to The Daily Mail.
The couple chose to have the birth of their children in Dallas, travelling from their home in Papua New Guinea where they have worked as a pilot/mechanic and public health worker for Wycliffe Bible Translators since 2007.
On their blog, which tracked Mrs. Jones's pregnancy, the couple wrote of their stressful experience leading up to the birth of their children, as well as their continued prayers afterwards for the children to remain in good health.
"We are confident in the abilities of the doctors and nurses watching after them, especially since these issues are things they have seen and taken care of many times before," the couple wrote on Aug. 11, asking for prayers for one of the children, Seth, who was having trouble breathing due to an underdeveloped lung.
"We are more confident in our Lord and His ability to care for each of these little ones in ways we humans would never imagine!" the blog concluded.
The two missionaries found out Carrie was pregnant with quintuplets in February 2012. Mrs. Jones had previously had trouble conceiving, and had found the news of her multiple pregnancies to be a surprising gift from God.
"Children are always a blessing from the Lord, and as my cousin's blog reminds me, don't take a single one for granted. Each one is precious and unique, even if I am getting more than I 'wanted' originally," Mrs. Jones wrote in her April 24 blog post.
"God's plans are way better than mine! Which is probably why the first thing that went through my mind on the ultrasound table when we discovered we were having multiple multiples was the verse 'Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,'" she added.
The couple hopes to return to Papua New Guinea with their five children and older son Isaac, 8, before the start of the 2013 school year.