There are some stories you don't simply hear. You feel them.
As I listened to Erna in the small back room of a church in Manila, pouring rain outside, my heart broke.
There were tears in her eyes as she talked about Jesus, about her children, about the people who showed up when life became too heavy to carry. Her story has been filled with decisions and struggles that she didn't choose but has had to find the strength to carry.
I couldn't understand the words she spoke in her native tongue. But I understood her heart—and that was enough. Because some things need no translation. And for Erna, sharing her story in a safe space, with listening ears, felt like witnessing a profound form of healing.
The baby who fought for every breath
Erna is the mum of four children. John Michael is nine. Christina is seven. Tyler is four. Ethan is four months old. And Ethan's short life has already been marked by suffering.
Then came another devastating complication.
Ethan needed surgery when he was only two weeks old. He had fluid in his brain, and after the operation, another emergency came.
"Ethan caught pneumonia. He was gasping for air and had to go to the hospital for another six days. I stayed with him; the other children were with their grandmother. Two of the centre staff came too," says Erna.
Yet even in those frightening hospital moments, Erna was not alone.
Her local church showed up. Not because it was convenient. Not because this health crisis was expected. But because love shows up, and Compasson's Mums and Babies project is full of staff members like Christay, who deeply care for the mums in their community.
A village around a mother
Compassion's Mums and Babies is a ministry that surrounds vulnerable mothers and babies with practical, emotional and spiritual support from pregnancy through to a child's first birthday.
"In the Mums and Babies program, we take care of the mums. It starts with pregnancy: we check in with the mums to see how the babies are as they grow inside the womb. Then after they are born, we help take care of them and teach them how to raise their children," shares Christay.
The support is practical, thoughtful, and often it arrives exactly when it is needed most.
"The mums receive a baby hygiene kit, and baby gifts, like baby thermometers and baby clothes and a bath. The mums don't have to worry about finding the money to buy all of these things. The centre makes it affordable."
Every month, the care continues, as centre staff carefully monitor each baby's health, height and weight. The mums receive support, too, from group activities and food packs, all the way through to reimbursement for medical expenses.
When Ethan's medical emergencies placed enormous pressure on Erna's family, this support became a lifeline. Especially as Erna battled her own health challenges.
"I was bleeding for four months after I gave birth, so it was very hard," says Erna.
Her words hang heavily in the air. A sick baby. Hospital visits. Four children. Ongoing complications after birth.
Yet somehow, she kept going. And it was her community, rallying around her, that made that possible.
The road to Erna's house
The journey to Erna's home takes thirty minutes by foot. The path winds through a mountainous area, where rain turns the ground into thick mud and carrying a baby becomes exhausting and dangerous.
Christay, who walks faithfully beside Erna, says:
"Sometimes we go to visit Erna, so she does not have to walk to the centre in the rain. It's heavy with her baby and walking together with her kids."
As the centre staff walk the muddy roads, sit in Erna's humble home and ask her questions, it tells Erna something: she is valued, loved and worth listening to.
For some mothers, practical support changes a life. For others, being asked, 'How are you?' is exactly what they need—and Erna knows what it means to long for that kind of emotional care.
The family she found
Years before she became a mother, Erna was a young woman searching for belonging.
"When I was young, I grew up in a broken family. My father decided to go to another province so he could provide food, so I went to live with my aunty. I was supported in education, but not emotionally," says Erna.
There is a particular ache that comes from feeling unseen. Fed, perhaps. Clothed. But not truly known.
Then something changed for Erna.
"That's when I found the church, and the church embraced me with support I did not find in my aunty. This was the start of knowing God," says Erna.
She pauses for a moment before describing what that community meant to her.
A grateful heart
What strikes me most about Erna's story is that hardship has not made her heart smaller; somehow, it's enlarged it.
Despite the demands of caring for four children, she spends her Saturdays serving other children at her church.
"Erna is a teacher every Saturday,” says Christay, with clear pride in her voice. “She shares the message of God. Despite having four children, she finds the time to teach other kids the message of God."
I asked Erna why she does it and her answer is immediate: "I love kids. I love sharing the words of God to the kids. They are adorable, despite their struggles in life."
As we spoke, I kept noticing Erna's eyes. They shone.
Not because life was easy. Not because every prayer had been answered.
They shone because she knew she was not carrying her burdens alone.
When asked what the Mums and Babies project means to her family, Erna's response was simple: "I feel grateful to God because of the Mums and Babies program. Very grateful."
Then she speaks about the faith that has sustained her.
Perhaps that is the true beauty of Erna's story. Through the support of the Mums and Babies project, she received practical help when she needed it most. But she also experienced something deeper: the care of a community that refused to let her walk alone.
Christay and the centre staff stood beside her during some of her hardest days, offering encouragement, support and hope. Their presence echoed the love Erna first experienced as a young girl searching for belonging, and the faith that continues to sustain her today.
Because people chose to show up, to listen, to care and to stay, one mother found the strength she needed to keep going. And that's often how God works: through ordinary people willing to love others faithfully, one small act at a time.
For Erna and Ethan, that support has made all the difference.
There are other mothers like Erna who are doing everything they can to care for their children while facing immense hardship. Discover how you can help protect and nurture other vulnerable mums and babies: compassion.com.au/nurturers
