Indian couple Damian and Vijaya Fernandes chose to trust God rather than their doctor, and the result was an astounding miracle that further strengthened their faith in God.
In a recent Olive Dose interview, Damian said when they went to visit her pregnant wife's gynaecologist at a hospital in Mumbai, India, sometime in July 2014, the doctor subjected Vijaya to a sonography test to check on the condition of the baby she was carrying.
The gynaecologist then told them that the sonography result showed that they will have a baby with Down's Syndrome. He then suggested that the pregnancy be terminated and warned them about the consequences if they chose to keep the baby.
Damian said his wife, whom he described as "a real woman of faith," promptly answered without hesitation, "Doctor, we will go ahead with the pregnancy."
"At that point that seemed like the voice of God. There was no further discussion after that," Damian said.
Damian said his wife had a difficult time during her pregnancy, recalling that she threw up everything she ate and drank. He said they called the Andrew Wommack prayer line and the prayer representative prayed with the family for the baby's life.
After this, Damian recounted how the Holy Spirit began leading them through an "amazing journey in their lives."
He said his wife listened to teachings of healing for more than three hours every day, adding that the testimonies of healing helped them believe that there is nothing too hard for God to do.
Subsequent visits to the doctor only made their faith stronger even if he kept stating the same medical facts about Vijaya's condition, Damian said.
They were asked to do a test called Karyotyping to identify genetic problems, but they refused, saying they entrusted their baby's healing to God.
At the beginning of the ninth month of Vijaya's pregnancy, Damian said their church members held a surprise baby shower for his wife. He said he found it amazing that every single person spoke on what God wanted their child to be even if they knew nothing about his wife's condition.
The next day they visited their doctor who, after examining Vijaya, told them that the baby's weight was very low. "That night Vijaya was unable to sleep, so she woke me up at 3 a.m. She felt something unusual happening and after some time her water bag broke," Damian said.
He said he immediately rushed her to the hospital where she was taken immediately to the labour room. "Within 10 minutes Vijaya had delivered our third princess! She weighed only 1.2 kg at birth," Damian said.
The doctor then told them that the baby was very weak and there were too many complications. He said she might survive at the most for only a week.
"The doctor looked at me and said, 'I had already told you both what was going to happen.' I looked at him and said we were trusting God," Damian said. "I'm sure he must have thought that we were acting like fools. But God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise."
Damian said their baby stayed in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for about 28 days and "every single day God showed us His faithfulness."
He then noticed that their baby was gradually gaining weight. The doctors then took blood sample from their baby to check on her condition, saying the report would come after 15 days.
"We knew in our hearts that no matter what the report says, we were trusting God," Damian said. "When we received the report, everything was normal! No Down syndrome! Hallelujah! We serve an amazing God! We named our third princess Hope Miracle Fernandes."
The Olive Dose article on the birth of Hope Miracle concluded with an exhortation for readers to hold on to God's unfailing Word. "Remember Jesus paid the price for EVERY sickness on the cross," the article said. "There is nothing too difficult for Him!"
