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As I sit on the deck of my new home in Davao, Philippines I am surrounded by the sights and sounds of a culture that I have already grown to love; I can see tin shacks crowding the street, each patterned with an array of palm tree shadows cast by the yellow glow of the streetlights; I can hear the honking of jeepnies, the voices of children playing in the street, the clang of an iron gate and the sputtering rumble of a tricicab as it labors home; I can smell the neighbors frying rice and the thick, sweaty air as I breath it in; I can close my eyes and feel that God is near...very near. I have only been here two weeks and I already feel absolute peace calling this place home. It is such an incredible feeling to be in God’s perfect plan for your life.
Thank you to all of you who have guided me over the years to this place with God.
The adventure began as I boarded a plane on August 9th 2008 and flew aw
ay from everything I had ever known and everyone I had ever loved to begin a new chapter of my life in the Philippines. All of the Americans and Canadians mission-students met in Portland, Oregon and we spent a few days with a couple who had recently served with Newlife for 7.5 years. It is an incredible experience to learn the life stories of girls who were my strangers yesterday and who I know will become my sisters, partners in ministry, roommates, classmates, fellow midwives and best friends tomorrow and for the next two years.
The adventure began as I boarded a plane on August 9th 2008 and flew aw
ay from everything I had ever known and everyone I had ever loved to begin a new chapter of my life in the Philippines. All of the Americans and Canadians mission-students met in Portland, Oregon and we spent a few days with a couple who had recently served with Newlife for 7.5 years. It is an incredible experience to learn the life stories of girls who were my strangers yesterday and who I know will become my sisters, partners in ministry, roommates, classmates, fellow midwives and best friends tomorrow and for the next two years.After 31 hours of international travel and crazy time changes we arrived on the other side of the world...........................................................................................Davao, Philippines.
I live in an orange house filled with girls, which is right next to a green house filled with girls, which is right next to Mercy Maternity Clinic filled with girls…and some newborn baby boys! It is such a blessing to be surrounded by 40 plus sisters who all love the Lord and whose hearts beat on the same rhythm as mine...Praise God. My first night I fell asleep on my precariously wobbly top bunk sweating and woke up to the rooster crowing, dog barking and jeepney honking, still sweating. Originally I wondered if I would ever acclimatize to the muggy, stifling hot weather but thankfully I have found myself already used to it. I share a room with three amazing girls, 19, 20, and 25 yrs old, and all three of them are from families of 14! The next morning as we toured Mercy Maternity Center, I heard my very first cry of a brand new Filipino baby. I will remember it forever. 
The first week we were given our “welcome to the mission field” orientation by founders and directors of Newlife, Matt and Krys McNeil, which included:
....................... two days of culture and information sessions on Paradise Island......
...............a teambuilding day at Outland Adventure, their outreach ropes course..................
..........a tour of the local hospital where we have to transport the high risk labours and lots of Visayan (language) lessons. One of my highlights of the week was, Saturday, when the Filipino midwives and staff who serve at Mercy Maternity Center took us out to see and experience as much of the Philippines as they could cram in to one day. I spent the entire day bouncing around in a jeepney to a museum, a cultural monument, an elaborate festival..................
....................and surviving their favourite cultural foods to feed foreigners:
Hola Hola- crushed ice with beans, jello, a weird, white, stringy fruit and condensed milk.
Durian- a potent
yellow, gooey fruit that has a stench like none other and a very strong “gaseous” taste. I actually liked durian and ate more than my share!
Balut- a boiled duck egg with a 16 day old fetus inside. And, yes, I did eat the ENTIRE thing and, yes, it really grossed me out!
Hola Hola- crushed ice with beans, jello, a weird, white, stringy fruit and condensed milk.
Durian- a potent
yellow, gooey fruit that has a stench like none other and a very strong “gaseous” taste. I actually liked durian and ate more than my share!Balut- a boiled duck egg with a 16 day old fetus inside. And, yes, I did eat the ENTIRE thing and, yes, it really grossed me out!
One week after our arrival in Davao I awoke at 5:00am and walked down the street to Mercy Maternity Center for my very first shift in the birth room. I was so excited! Little did I know that God was about to answer one of my wildest dreams and implant a calling of immense strength into my heart. By the grace of God I was given the privilege to witness three babies enter this world on my very first shift! The first birth was absolutely radiant because the mother was a calm, expert labourer and beamed when here baby boy scooted out without any complications. The next two babies had to struggle a bit harder before their eyes were brought, blinking into the light and their lungs let out their first shaky cry. Even so, each one of them were absolutely miraculous and left me overwhelmed with an unworthy sense of gratefulness. “Who am I”, I continually think, “that I have the opportunity to love women during one of the most vulnerable and fulfilling times in their lives. Who am I?”
I was also very impacted by the huge influence Mercy has on the women during their months of pregnancy. Every day, 50-60 pregnant women come to Mercy and participate in a worship time, devotional and health teaching before their check up. After watching two or three prenatal exams I had the opportunity to give one to a 15 year old girl. She was terrified and her wide eyes and kicking baby broke my heart. The mission field here is vast and yet the workers are few. I am so incompetent and without the constant reminder that it is “not by might, not by power but by my Spirit says the Lord”, the burden for the poor can be overwhelming.
Yesterday, another miracle was born right in front of my eyes! We were behind the next curtain with a new pregnant patient when we heard the labouring Filipina’s “bana” (husband) urgently say, “The baby is almost out!” I tore around the corner just in time to see the baby come shooting out on a waterslide of amniotic fluid followed by nearly a litre of blood! Then the stress grew as there were some complications in delivering the placenta but Praise God He watches over us and both mother and baby were healthy. I cannot even begin to describe the intense electric feeling that whooshes over my body as each baby is placed, safe and sound, on mom’s tummy for the first time. It is such a blessing to be the hands to receive such a gift from God and He has been teaching me to receive each baby with as much love and sanctity as possible.
My desire for this next year is to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I no longer need to rely on my own human strength, but instead be a vessel for the fruits of the Spirit to flow through me and sustain me. Since living here, God has amplified my longing to love, serve and share the story of Jesus Christ with one face, one baby, one mother, one family at a time. I would like to ask, (plead) that you would hold me up with your prayers and pray specifically that I would grow in love. I know it sounds very elementary but, without love I am nothing.
I was also very impacted by the huge influence Mercy has on the women during their months of pregnancy. Every day, 50-60 pregnant women come to Mercy and participate in a worship time, devotional and health teaching before their check up. After watching two or three prenatal exams I had the opportunity to give one to a 15 year old girl. She was terrified and her wide eyes and kicking baby broke my heart. The mission field here is vast and yet the workers are few. I am so incompetent and without the constant reminder that it is “not by might, not by power but by my Spirit says the Lord”, the burden for the poor can be overwhelming.
Yesterday, another miracle was born right in front of my eyes! We were behind the next curtain with a new pregnant patient when we heard the labouring Filipina’s “bana” (husband) urgently say, “The baby is almost out!” I tore around the corner just in time to see the baby come shooting out on a waterslide of amniotic fluid followed by nearly a litre of blood! Then the stress grew as there were some complications in delivering the placenta but Praise God He watches over us and both mother and baby were healthy. I cannot even begin to describe the intense electric feeling that whooshes over my body as each baby is placed, safe and sound, on mom’s tummy for the first time. It is such a blessing to be the hands to receive such a gift from God and He has been teaching me to receive each baby with as much love and sanctity as possible.
My desire for this next year is to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I no longer need to rely on my own human strength, but instead be a vessel for the fruits of the Spirit to flow through me and sustain me. Since living here, God has amplified my longing to love, serve and share the story of Jesus Christ with one face, one baby, one mother, one family at a time. I would like to ask, (plead) that you would hold me up with your prayers and pray specifically that I would grow in love. I know it sounds very elementary but, without love I am nothing.
LoVe YoU AlL vErY mUcH!!!!!!
