Noah's Outreach
Offering Life, Abundant Love, Hope for the Future
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Our Story
Noah Matthew Andes
August 4, 2007
Life is a blessing! On December 16, 2006, Phil and I found out that we had been blessed. I took a pregnancy test that day and discovered we had a new beginning in our lives. We were PREGNANT! Phil and I were so excited and full of joy.
On January 3, 2007 we went to the doctor and heard that precious little heartbeat for the first time. thump-thump-thump
We continued our pregnancy with no problems. Noah continued to grow and grow and so did Mommy. We had many doctors appointments and many pictures taken of Noah. We anxiously waited for the arrival of Noah Matthew.
On August 3, 2007 we went for our last doctor's appointment (37 weeks), which was 8 days before we were scheduled to be induced. We went to have our last ultrasound and the doctor could not find Noah's heartbeat. They continued to try and find a heartbeat, but could not detect one. This was devastating! I was immediately taken to the hospital for delivery. I went through the night and early the next morning in labor.
Noah Matthew Andes was born on Saturday, August 4th at 6:39 a.m. He was 6 lbs 14.2 oz and 21 inches long. So precious! So perfect! Every inch of him was just so beautiful!
We spent all day and night Saturday with Noah, holding him, rocking him, singing to him and cherishing his precious little face. On Sunday morning we prayed with him and said our last goodbyes.
During the evening Saturday, after our family and our pastor had left, we sat alone in the room with Noah, trying to find words of hope. We started trying to plan Noah's funeral service. We searched our hospital room and throughout the hospital lobby and other areas looking for a Bible. It is hard to believe, but there was not one Bible to be found. We needed those words of hope so much. We could not believe they didn't have Bibles in the hospital.
We continued to discuss things and we talked about starting a Memorial Fund in memory of Noah. We wanted to be able to do something special in memory of Noah. We talked about maybe giving Bibles to those that experience a loss just like us, as words of comfort and hope.
Also while we were in the hospital, we did not have anything with us. My suitcase was at home and I didn't want Phil to leave me. The hospital told us about a SHARE program that offers baby blankets and baby clothes for those that experience a loss just as ours. They let us pick out a beautiful white gown (like a christening gown) for Noah, and also a beautiful blanket to wrap him in. This meant so much to us. We held Noah in that blanket the entire time. We brought the blanket home with us and we cherish it so much.
A couple days after we were home, I told Phil that I wanted to have blankets made in memory of Noah and take them to the hospitals in our area. I wanted people to have the comfort that we had.
After about a week or so, Phil and I committed that we would reach out to others that have lost infants and/or children by sending them Bibles. The Bibles would be a means of comfort to the family in memory of our precious Noah. We also committed to having hand-knitted blankets made that we would take to the local hospitals for those that have experienced a loss just like ours. This is how Noah's Outreach began.
Phil and I came up with the name of Noah's Outreach together. We wanted to make sure that it always had Noah's name on it. If you look at the logo, you can see that it spells his name: N=Noah's Outreach, O=Offering Life, A=Abundant Love, H=Hope for the Future.
We truly know that God has his hand in this! We are just so amazed at the blessings that we have been given with this ministry. We have reached out to so many people, people that we would have never met otherwise. Noah's Outreach is a ministry that will continue to grow and continue to give comfort and hope to many families.