LifeDate Fall 2025 – Life … as We Age
by Kalia Lo
In November of 2023, we traveled in Southeast Asia and visited a Hmong village, going from house to house. When we came upon a rice paddy village, a young mother, who was 18 years old, came to us and told us that she was leaking fluid throughout the day, even though she was only seven months pregnant.
We immediately took her to the local clinic. The nurse told us that there was no more amniotic fluid left and that we needed to take the young mother to the hospital right away. We took the young mother to the children and pregnant women’s hospital. After the doctor looked her over, the doctor told us that the baby needed to be delivered right away, either by inducing her labor through medication or by C-section. The young mother was very scared, and we prayed for her and her baby.
The doctor induced her labor with medication, and within four hours, a baby girl was born. The baby was so small, at 28 weeks, that her grandfather held her in the palms of his hands. We prayed for the baby to survive and for the neonatal doctors and nurses to be diligent in their care of her. After three days, the young mother was released from the hospital, but the baby girl had to stay in the neonatal section of the hospital for one month. At the end of the month, the baby girl was able to drink from a bottle on her own and weighed about four pounds. Her parents brought her home and named her Lydia. We prayed for her and baptized her.
In February of 2025, we had a celebration at the rice field village. The women of the village made 40 baby blankets to be given to the neonatal section of the hospital as a gift to all future premature babies. Lydia, now two years old, was able to walk down the halls of the hospital and present the 40 baby blankets to the doctor and nurses who took care of her two years before. We rejoice for this life.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful” (Psalm 139:13-14).
Every life is wonderfully made by God whose love is everlasting. We give thanks to God for knitting Lydia together and giving her life. We praise God for His grace that sustains all of us. Each life is wonderfully made by God.
Kalia Lo and her family are a part of the Mission of Christ Network (missionofchrist.org/lo). The Lo family has been working out of Thailand for many years. They engage the Hmong with the Gospel in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Members of the LFL team met Kalia at the 2025 Minnesota District LCMS Convention, where Kalia first shared this story.