“Aaaaahhh! My God, help me! It hurts so much! Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!”
We walked back and forth inside the delivery room. While my wife screamed in pain, I cried on the inside, pleading with God for her life and for the life of our unborn baby. I had never witnessed such suffering in her, and the worst part was that I could do nothing. She was in labor.
I remembered the words of a great missionary, a close friend of mine, who messaged me right when we entered the hospital:
“Any time the lives of a (mature) man’s wife or children are in danger, it stirs up the warrior in his soul, and he wants to rise to the occasion and defend them, even at the risk of his own life. But when the child is still in its mother’s womb, what can the man do? He can’t fight or call his friends to help him fight. So he reaches out to his Father and asks his friends to do the same.”
After 12 years of marriage, we received one of the greatest blessings of our lives: Daniele was pregnant with a baby girl. Choosing her name was not easy. We prayed a lot, and for almost seven months, we asked God for a name that would glorify Him, because she would be dedicated to Him. That is when we received the name Ariella (from Ariel, “Lion of God”—a name used in Isaiah to refer to Jerusalem).
We had everything planned—from prenatal care to the birth. We studied a lot. We wanted a humanized birth in a safe and welcoming place. It would be a natural delivery, at the scheduled time—no incisions, no C-section. I would catch the baby at birth and place her in her mother’s arms. I would cut the umbilical cord at the right time. Ariella would receive her first breast milk. And we would go home the next day.
But things did not happen exactly as we had planned.
“Love, I had a dream last night,” Daniele said. “Our daughter was born early. She was so tiny. I think we should prepare.”
“But there are still eight weeks left!” I said, worried. Still, we packed what we could and prepared the baby’s clothes.
Daniele was 32 weeks pregnant, and our baby was due in the second half of February. We were in Brazil at the time as part of our furlough.
In the early hours of December 31, 2025, Daniele woke up—her water had broken, and contractions began. We grabbed everything and rushed to the nearest maternity hospital. It was an emergency; it was far too early. The doctor immediately transferred us to a high-risk hospital. There, Daniele received medication to stop the labor and antibiotics to prevent infection. They needed time to help the baby’s lungs mature and to administer the necessary medication.
When they stopped the medication to prevent labor, there was no holding back the momentum. The intense pain began and lasted all night, finally ending at 5:09 a.m.—the moment our Ariella was born.
I was holding the IV pole and walking with Daniele when she suddenly bent down and let out one final, powerful cry. That was when our baby came. Daniele grabbed her quickly, and I helped steady Daniele. The doctor arrived moments later—the labor progressed so fast that they did not expect the baby to be born at that moment.
Ariella was born at the very end of the 33rd week. She spent four days in the NICU and 17 days hospitalized. It was not easy. She is still under medical follow-up and needs to gain weight. She will be fully discharged when she reaches 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs).
Despite everything, God was good to us and took care of every detail. We were able to have a natural birth. Daniele and I held her the moment she was born. I cut the umbilical cord. And although we could not stay with her all the time during the first four days (which was extremely painful), she was soon released from the NICU. After that, Daniele was able to stay hospitalized with her, and now we care for her at home, returning to the hospital every two days only for weight checks and follow-ups.
In the moment, it was terrifying to see them suffer and be unable to do anything. But the Lord was faithful. Today, our little lioness is with us—and she is already a missionary. On the day she was released to continue her care at home, we gave copies of The Great Controversy to all the nurses and doctors who had cared for her.
Please, pray for our little Ariella.
