“Would you like to come and see my grandchild’s birth?” a man from the village asked me. We live about 200 feet from the May River clinic. Usually we can see and hear what is going on there from our house.

“Of course!” I said and grabbed my camera before going to meet the 16-year-old mother-to-be.

At the clinic, I was surprised when the man asked me to deliver his daughter’s baby! The mother had been having contractions for quite some time, and the top of the baby’s head was visible, but there was no further progress. There was only one nurse working at the clinic that day, a young man named Gerald. The father didn’t want a man to help with his daughter’s delivery. I told the father that I was a nurse in the States, but I did not have my license in PNG yet, and I had never delivered a baby before. Finally he agreed that Gerald could do his work, and I could assist.

The young lady was lying on a mattress covered with plastic for easy cleaning. The bed was so low to the floor that Gerald and I had to bend low to examine her. We used a pile of medication boxes for a table to hold our equipment. The room was next to the clinic porch where people were waiting to be seen, so the windows were closed for privacy, and it was very hot. The clinic has no electricity, so fans and air conditioners are out of the question. Sweat trickled down my face, and my T-shirt was glued to my back. Despite the heat, the young mother had a blanket over her abdomen and legs.

Gerald asked me to count the contractions, which was a bit hard to do. The blanket hid the young mother’s abdomen, and her face gave no indication of pain with each contraction. Gerald told her he needed to remove the blanket to see how the baby was positioned. At first she resisted, but after he explained to her that we could not help her unless we could check her, she agreed to remove the blanket. Gerald checked her abdomen and told me the baby was in the right position to be born. I put on two sets of gloves and got ready to help in any way I could. Gerald put an IV in the mother’s right arm and attached the bottle to the window frame. Then he told me, “I need to go out to check something, but I’ll be right back. You stay here.” I agreed but asked him to hurry back.

I tried to talk with the patient using the little Tok Pisin I had learned. I told her I was praying for her, and we would do everything we could to help her and the baby.

A few minutes after Gerald left, the mother had another contraction—a strong one—and I heard her start to groan. Suddenly the baby slid out and landed on the bed in front of me! I quickly picked up the little girl and removed the umbilical cord from around her neck. “Gerald, come back!” I shouted. The little girl started crying loudly—a good sign. The grandmother handed me a piece of cloth, and I wrapped the baby in it. “Welcome to the world, little one!” I said. A minute later Gerald was at the door, and I was relieved to have him there to help me take care of the newborn and the mother.

After we weighed and measured the baby, the grandmother took her to the porch to show her to the family members waiting outside. Since there were sick people seated on the porch waiting to be seen by the nurse, we told the family that the baby should be brought back in to the mother. The grandmother happily brought the baby back, and the child was able to start nursing right away. Gerald checked the mother’s placenta, and everything looked healthy. Mother and baby were well.

After removing my gloves and washing my hands, I walked back to our house thanking the Lord for the opportunity to help a baby be born here at May River. My hope is not only for babies to be born and grow up healthy here, but for the gospel of the Lord to be born in people’s hearts, and that they will grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus until He returns.

• Twitter