When Glory's Born

By Hilary Overton

In a country where the maternal mortality rate is 221 per 100,000 live births and the infant mortality rate is 23.20 per 1,000 live births, Hilary, at the age of 22, founded Glory Reborn, a non-profit organization that provides high-quality maternal and newborn care to the poorest of the poor. It seems unimaginable that someone so young would travel 8,000 miles from the comforts of her home in Texas to the Philippines to live in a suburban slum and take on the task of incorporating an organization. But her passion for serving others and bringing the hope of Jesus to the nations inspires a vision like none other.

Ten years and 3,000 babies later, Glory Reborn continues to provide compassionate and holistic care to the marginalized of Cebu. Operating on the financial support of donors alone, this free clinic offers prenatal care, labor and delivery services, postpartum exams, newborn care, and feeding programs. Ultimately, the clinic offers a place to bring little ones safely into the world with compassion and dignity, providing a hope and a future to a nation.

When Glory’s Born invites readers to join in on the journey of bringing hope and displaying God’s glory to the nations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781631923395

Book preview

ISBN: 9781631923395

Dedication

To my loving, inspiring, and passionate grandparents, Fred and Eileen Walker. Thank you for pursuing Jesus with all of your hearts and lives. You certainly paved a way and instilled in your children and grandchildren a passion for the nations by showing us what it means to love and welcome precious lives all around you. Grandma, your poems have been such an encouragement to my heart and I can’t wait to worship with you again in Heaven. I love you both!

To Carson Norris, who expressed so perfectly in his lyrics the desire to see Jesus’ glory among the nations. We love and miss you and know that you are experiencing the fullness of His glory each and every day.

When Glory’s Born

I want to see the nations worship

I want to see new life be born

I want to hear the joy of Heaven

From the brokenhearted ones

I want to see Your kingdom coming

I want to see Your will being done

I want to see new hope arising

When Heaven and Earth become one

Pre-Chorus

When glory’s born

In the heart of a nation

And every tongue

Tells of Christ’s grace and mercy

Chorus

There is new life, new hope, new freedom in the streets

New peace, new love, made perfect from above

New song and dance and rhythms from The Lord

That show His glory’s come

We’re gonna dance and sing

Now in Liberty

We’re gonna dance and sing

To the King¹

¹ Song credit to Luke Walker & Carson Norris, When Glory’s Born album

Philippines Statistics

¹

• Population: 96.71 million

• Land space: 115,831 square miles (approximately the size of Arizona)

• Ranks #48 for maternal mortality

• 221 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

• 23.20 infant deaths per 1,000 live births

• 31.3 under 5-year-old mortality rate per 1,000

• Children malnourished: 6 million

• Persons living below poverty line of $2 per day: 40% of population

• Persons living below $1.25 a day: 28% of population

• Poverty line has remained unchanged since 2006

• Cebu City population: 1 million

• Cebu City public hospitals: 1 (currently deemed unusable due to earthquake damage)

• HIV rate of the Philippines: .04%

• HIV rate growth (2012-2013): 79% increase

¹ Statistics retrieved from http://www.pogsinc.org/v2/index.php/component/content/ article/10/58-philippines-ranks--48-in-maternal-mortality; http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ philippines/mortality-rate-infant-per-1-000-live-births-wb-data.html; National Statistics Office Philippines (NSCB); World Bank; http://www.unicef.org/philippines/hivaids.html#.UnD- 64BEAYSM; and UN report; Hunger Summit

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Glory Reborn’s Mission

Chapter 2 Delivery Care

Chapter 3 Post-Delivery Care and Newborn Vaccines

Chapter 4 Outreach

Chapter 5 Prenatal Care

Chapter 6 Our Team

Chapter 7 Dump-site Outreach

Chapter 8 Social Work Program

Chapter 9 A Jewel in You!

Chapter 10 Feeding Program

Chapter 11 Cambodia Orphanage

Chapter 12 Outreach

Chapter 13 Ten Year Reunion Celebration

Chapter 14 Kindred Spirits

Chapter 15 A New Model of Care

Chapter 16 Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

Chapter 17 Supporters

Chapter 18 Baby Dedications

Chapter 19 Angels in Heaven

Chapter 20 What’s Ahead

Chapter 21 Typhoon

Chapter 22 Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies & Hopeful Hearts

Glory Reborn’s Mission

I want to see the nations worship

CHAPTER 1

I want to see the nations worship

At the tender age of 18, God gave me the vision: Baskets of babies as I far as I could see over what seemed to be a map. There was a net stretched under the baskets, as if suspending them, cradling them, holding them together. Slowly the four corners of the nets began to draw together and the baskets of babies seemed to grow in number from every corner of what appeared to be the world. They were being cradled together, held together by something—by Someone—so much bigger than them. Safely, tenderly, He was drawing them near to this place of perfect safety. Light and life filled every inch of the scene that was unfolding before me.

Life! New lives as far as my eyes could see. Take care of the babies of the nations, the forgotten ones, the ones no one else sees, the ones I see. This was the mission and vision that started it all and instilled the desire to see the practical act of worship through caring for the new lives of this world.

As a teenager, I had no idea what all this meant or where it would lead me. Little did I know it was the conception of Glory Reborn Organization. This is the story of life that we have been ever so privileged to watch unfold before our very eyes each and every day in Cebu, Philippines.

I love these lyrics: "Catch me up, in Your story, all my life, for Your glory.¹" That’s it! It’s His story! This is not my story. This isn’t even the stories of people that I’ve been privileged to meet. It’s all His story. It’s Him working in each heart and life, in MY heart and life, and I want nothing more than to be caught up in Jesus’ life story. When we’re so caught up and captivated by who He is, expressing himself through us, we can’t help but reflect His glory. We can’t help but see His glorious life all around us. The glory of Heaven is reborn every minute of every day in hearts across this world: in babies being born, in giving food to the hungry, in hugging the forgotten ones, and in serving with compassion. I want to be caught up in His story and I want to invite you to join us in His story at Glory Reborn in the Philippines.

1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

¹ Song credit to IHOPKC, One Thing Album by Lisa Gottshall and Laura Hackett

Delivery Care

I want to see new life be born

CHAPTER 2

I want to see new life be born

There is this rush, this flush of nervousness and utter excitement, that comes with every birth. There is so much anticipation that builds up in the final moments of pushing. And 3,000 deliveries later, it is still the same exuberant feeling as we anticipate the appearance of a new life, unique in his/her own genetic make-up, designed perfectly by our loving Father, every system working in a precise miraculous order that culminates in that first sound, that first cry that utters, I’m here! I’ve been born! I’m alive! The joy that fills the room changes everything. There are tears, there are shouts of joy, there are kisses and hugs. The rush of excitement over a new life never gets old, never gets boring, and never is the same. How I wish these moments would just last forever!

As magnificent as these moments are, I’m sure it’s just a small taste of what it’s like when the angels in Heaven rejoice over each life that has been born again! This joyful celebration of a new life with so much potential, surrounded by so much love and cradled in safe and loving arms is a beautiful display of God’s love for his children.

There is nothing that can compare to the moment of seeing the birth of a new baby. These are the moments that we, at Glory Reborn, live for. We live for these miraculous moments of new life shouting to the world that they are alive and ready to live life to its fullest. We treasure each and every one and it is our aim and goal to ensure that each birthing experience is not