Friends-my neice and her husband have been working under a teaching contract in Ethiopia, and are expecting a child. They sent me this note, and it was so touching, I had to repeat it for you. They refer to the 500,000 children who die each year in that country from preventable causes, because the health care is so limited, and the country so poor..... ....the Ethiopians are constantly asking us about the pregnancy. "Are you strong?" they ask her and rub their stomachs. Strangers in stores will insist on carrying any items she may have in her hands; a bar of laundry soap, rolls of toilet paper, a kilo of mangoes. They smile when they see her. They tell her she is small yet, that she is beautiful. We are constantly watched, often helped. The kindness of the people is boundless, and our contacts with them often leave us feeling blessed. There is a benediction taking place here, a hundred hands touching our heads, telling us to be well, to be at peace. Ethiopians revere pregnancy; they adore it. The miracle of a new life seems to give them the greatest joy. Her pregnancy makes them happy, friends and strangers alike, and they reach out to express that happiness, in the same way they will reach out to touch a child, any child, as if that tender contact can bring them peace. And perhaps it does. Perhaps, even within the enormous sorrow which hangs over the five-hundred-thousand deaths, they find peace and joy in children, any children, all children, no matter what color their skin or hair. They love children. They love life and the promise of life. Look at a baby's smile. Feel it take your finger in its tiny hand. Is such love really any wonder at all? Denise