In 2019, when I was 15 years old, we discovered that my mom was pregnant with a girl. Growing up my mom always said that she wanted a daughter. She had three sons; I’m the second oldest. I thought she had given up on having a daughter. But then suddenly I learned I was going to have a little sister.  My family here and in Brazil felt really happy.  It felt like it was a dream for my mother. We were really happy because since I remember when I was in Brazil my mom always wanted to have a daughter.  My mom chose the name Yelina Maya because she had watched a TV show when she was kid and the protagonist of the show was called Yelina and she thought that was a beautiful name.

Then, some months later, the doctor said to my mom that my sister had some problems with her body and her organs and the doctor said that maybe Yelina would not survive. The first person that my mom told was my grandma and when she went home she called me, my older brother and my dad to talk and she told us and my first thought was that maybe I would not have a sister anymore and I felt really sad about that news. Together we held each other's hands and we formed a circle and prayed. The doctor gave  my mom the option of having an abortion if she wanted, but my mom said, with tears in her eyes, ”Even if she is born with problems I will take care of her with all the love that I have.”

After I learned of the news, I was really worried, particularly, when I was in school because my mom was alone at home. She had nobody to talk to. I am sure that my older brother and my dad were worried about her too when they were at work. Me and my older brother went to church every Thursday and Sunday and we asked everyone to pray for God to take care of my mom and my sister.

After a month with my whole family worrying, the doctor called my mom. My mom thought that was bad news and she started to cry but the doctor said “I wanted to call because your case is special, Yelina is going to be ok. Her organs are now healthy and she will be born without complications.” What he said surprised my whole family and my mom cried more, but now it was happiness and not sadness. My happiness was clear in my face. I was smiling for anything after that, even my friends in school asked what happened, because they saw how happy I was.

We and my church kept praying until my sister was born. My church helped my family in many ways during the time my mom was pregnant. They went to our home almost everyday to talk and knew how things were going. When my sister was finally born we were all there with me, my older brother, my dad, and my youngest brother. When I first saw my little sister it was one of the best moments of my life.  When my youngest brother was born I saw him when he arrived home, but for my little sister, I held her in the hospital and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

My sister is now three years old and a healthy toddler. Mostly everyone calls her by her middle name, Maya. I am the only one in my family that calls her Yelina. I don’t know why, but I love her name, and I love her. Now everytime I look at my little sister I remember everything we passed through and I am really grateful to God and I am grateful to my mom for being so strong and believing that everything would be ok.

© Lucas. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.