November Update

Hello all!

I have been trying to get this letter sent for the past month...it's been in the back of my mind, but then other distractions keep coming up! =)

It seems like time has sped up these last few months, and I can hardly believe that it's November already! I know you are all busy...so I just want to give you a snapshot of what the last few months have held, and especially the last week or so.

I'm back in the Philippines now. I was home, visiting family and friends for almost four weeks in the end of September and early October. It was such a great time! It was really great to see each of you that I saw during my time there! And if I didn't see you... I'll be back in February, so hopefully I can see you then. =) Thanks also to New Song Church, for all of your prayers and support.
My trip home was busy, but full of good times, and lots of travel.

In the middle of September, the Kayla, Alex, and Mia, completed all of the clinical numbers they needed, and headed back home. So then it was time for a transition me also. We have students working at the clinic in Antipolo still, and they are being supervised by Imelda, one of our Filipino midwives. When I came back from the States I went right to Puerto Galera....back where I started last October. Our clinic here has been open for about a year now, and it is neat to see people that I know, and who know us. We have also been getting busier, little by little.....part of that I think is because people see that we are here to stay, and that we really do know what we are doing. =) And another reason is the one of the main local midwives, Grace, who we are friends with, retired from midwifery and is now on the city council. And she's referring all of her patients to us now!

The week I got back to the Philippines was actually very busy....for us! We had a midwifery intensive starting that week. This was offered to anyone interested in midwifery, or hoping to get some more experience for midwifery certification. The two ladies, Trish and Ruth, that came, are both interested in pursing midwifery in their futures. They were so great to have here, and were eager to learn, with great attitudes. I had a whole week of teaching laid out....but other things came up and we ended up spending most of our time in the birth room....very hands on learning! We had 5 births that week, and two more over the weekend. They all went really well....each had their dramatic moments, but they were fun, and each one was safe and good. There is something sacred in it; when you see a mom as she labors, and then she is able to deliver her baby....all on her own...into a safe, warm, loving environment. She is able to see that her body works as God intended....and that she is so strong! I am constantly amazed at the strength of these women...how they hardly ever make noise...and though they have their doubts at times...they know they have to have this baby! A very common part of the culture here is for local midwives, and even doctors in the hospitals, to help to push the baby out by putting pressure, pushing down, on the top of the mother's belly as she is pushing. Yes, this may make the baby come a little faster, but it can cause damage to both mother and baby. So we tell family members not to do that...and sometimes the mothers themselves ask for it, but I love to tell them....no, we don't need to do that, your body can get this baby out on it's own...you will be the one to get this baby out, not me! I don't know if they always enjoy hearing this at the time....but after they get that baby out on their own...they will believe it even more. =)

I've included some pictures of the births that we had. The first is right after birth, we are clamping and cutting the baby's cord...this is her first baby...a boy, and they named him after her father. The next picture is of their new little family.
We did a home visit three days after the birth to the next mom and her little girl...they are doing well. Her and her husband and the baby live in that little room, in a house they share with another family.
The next two are of a mom who had her fourth baby. Her husband is away until December, fishing off an island in the south. He will come home to a new little surprise! She let her eldest daughter name the baby...her new sister. The last picture is of her and her children during the home visit we did.

Well, there is a brief update for you!

I will be staying in Puerto Galera until mid January, and then I will go to Manila for a few weeks for another hospital rotation, and then in mid February I will be returning to Oregon for the time being. And then we will see what is next after that!


May the Prince of Peace be with you!
Becka

New Zealand

For the past two weeks I've been in New Zealand. It's been lovely. So much to love. The accents, the scenery, the friendly people. I'm still here and will be for 6 more days. I just traveled down to the south of the South Island to Queenstown, and I'll play tourist here for a few days. Very fun. It's a mountain town, mostly here for tourists, so lots of little shops and very pretty mountains.
I will post some pictures when I get back to the Philippines.
We had a lovely birth last Thursday. It was an incredibly long labor, that I may write about later, but it ended amazingly well with a beautiful baby girl. She's just getting cuter and cuter.
I'm glad I'm here. I'm not enjoying feeling cold, but I am enjoying crawling into bed with lots of covers and liking the feeling of being warm. I'll miss that.
I'll post pictures later!

Ryan and Amanda

Ryan and Amanda are a couple who went through the school last summer in Boise. They have been working in a rural mountain community in India for a number of years. They have a passion and drive that I admire and want more of! Ryan writes the best update letters I've ever read.

Anyways, they sent out their most recent one this week, and it is a heart wrencher. I see poverty daily here, but they live it and make a difference in it in such a personal way. They are starting up a feeding type program for their village to stave off famine and the further breaking up of families, and grinding down of the human-ness of the people there.

Go to their blog....www.smoothpath.org to read more about it. And donate if you are able! Also please pray for them, they are in the heat of it daily. thanks.

random

"I want a human jacket"...spoken by a Filipina girl last night as the rain poured down, and it was getting cooler...she was talking about a boyfriend.

I am very much enjoying what I think of as a traditional Filipino snack...pan de sal, which are small rolls that bakeries sell fresh and hot for one peso each. They are so good. Pandesal and coffee...I had that for dinner last night. Well, and then a little later I had some dried fish and rice, and some veggies...because the ladies at the clinic cooked and wanted me to join in.

I liked these lyrics from an Amos Lee song I was listening to today...it made me think about how as you grow up, you leave so many of those things that built you into who you are...for good or bad...and sometimes it is good to be reminded of them...I thought they were good....

But sometimes,
We forget what we got,
Who we are.
Oh who are are not.
I think we gotta chance,
To make it right.
Keep it loose,
Keep it tight.
Keep it tight.

Sometimes we forget who we got,
Who they are.
Oh, who they are not.
There is so much more in love,
Than black and white.
Keep it loose child,
Gotta keep it tight.
Keep it loose child,
Keep it tight.

I'm reading "Be A Hero", by Campbell and oh dear I can't remember the other author right now...Wesley? Really good. Talking about poverty, and the poor, and heroes of God's army doing things to change the faces of poverty. Sunday's message at church was on God's Heart for the Poor. So good. God is reminding me again of his passion for the poor. It's interesting, because I hear more about the poor, and providing for them, or helping them, from the secular media here...newspapers and tv, and even politicians who have been campaigning, than from the church....

Here are a few pictures of what a typical prenatal day looks like at the clinic in Antipolo.

There is a seminar each week for the women to attend. Once they have gone through a full 10 week cycle, they are "graduates" and they don't need to attend any more, even if they come back to have another baby. The topics covered include breastfeeding, nutrition, child care and of course labor and birth. The women listen to part of the teaching, and then they have discussion around each table where they ask questions and talk about the subject.

Here are some of them waiting for their prenatal check up. Once the seminar is over, all of the women stream in at once, get their blood pressure and weight checked, and then wait in line for their check up.
Here is Lindsey talking to one of the moms, finishing her check up.
Alex looks at the woman's chart....
Here are some of the midwives...Beth, Lornie and Dina, as they make some "merienda" of pansit, a noodle dish. They are so great!

June

Well, June has flown by. I can't believe Sunday is July already.

We moved completely out of the house that we have been living in in Mandaluyong yesterday. It was a big job, but really it went well, and it was fairly quick. My camera batteries have been dead for a while, and I haven't taken the time to charge them. So I bought some new ones, but couldn't find them, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of the process and excitement. We had most of the neighbors stop by to say goodbye as we packed things up. We recruited one of our neighbor guys to help Jhun take apart the swing on the roof that Eric had built. Jhun kept saying...It's very strong! So it did take two of them to take it apart. But they did it.

Djohanna, Sarah Ann's friend came and went through all of the stuff that we didn't need. Her family lost most of their belongings in a fire a couple of months ago, so I was glad we could give her the extra stuff. There was a lot of kitchen supplies left, and you can always use those. =)

We had a truck come at 6pm, and they loaded everything up. The truck was going to go to Tandang Sora, where Sarah Ann and the girls live, and then out to Antipolo. It ended up overheating on the way to Sarah's place, so they didn't get out to our place in Antipolo until 10:30....but they got there, and we unloaded it really quickly, and then fell into bed.

After we had packed everything onto the truck, and were leaving the house....it was a weird feeling. Very monumental, and very final. It's been a good house. Eric and Linsey first rented it two years ago, and it's been faithful every since. We said bye to everyone, and got into a tricy and waved goodbye, and drove away. It felt weird.

It also feels really really good to have it done. Now I have all of my belongings in one place, instead of haphazardly at three. Life will get a little more compact...there will be less traveling to that side of town...unless I want to go.

I traveled to Puerto Galera last week, to work on some transcripts that needed to be completed...and timed it just perfectly to get sick there. It was not too fun, but if I'm going to get sick it was good to be there, because Vicki took good care of me. =) I had a bad sore throat...so started on antibiotics, and then it moved into my ear...which was incredibly incredibly painful. I haven't had an ear infection since I was 15, and this one was not fun. I'm mostly better now. I haven't taken any Ibuprofen today, which is a good thing. I lived on it for a number of days.

Dear friends,

Well, just as many of you have family and friends who are starting their summer vacation, all of the students in the Philippines have just finished their summer break and are heading back to school. June marks the end of school vacations here, and the beginning of rainy season. Rainy season has come, but it is still very hot! The other day in my room, the thermometer I have, said 99.5 degrees. And I have adjusted so much that when it gets close to 80 degrees, I feel cold. =)

The last couple of months have brought lots of changes, of course, and many eventful days. Most days here are eventful, as simple things of life turn into an adventure. I have grown to love the Philippines more and more these last few months. The other day I was struck by the words, “The Philippines”, as I read it on the spine of a book. I looked at it, and thought about how I would never have imagined how that name could become a place that I love, with familiar sights, sounds, and smells that have become a part of me, and have so many people whom I love. I have been blessed to make Filipino friends in, it seems like, many different places here. They have blessed me in different ways, and some of them I know only a little, but I love the interactions.

There’s a lady at the bottom of the hill from the birth center, who has a little shop selling fruits and vegetables. I started out just buying some of those from her, and then one day she started talking, asking me questions about what I am doing here, where I’ve come from, etc. That’s a pretty common theme of conversation here, but she kept going, and shared about herself, and her family, and other missionaries she’s met. I stood in front of her shop one day and listened. It was just what I needed that day. Later, I stopped by again, and she offered me some of her fruit, and we shared it on a nearby bench and chatted some more. That day she walked me up the hill to the birth center. A couple of days ago I bought a few veggies, and we talked some more…rather, she told me how I’ve gotten tanner and taller =), and she asked me questions about the US. She offered me a soda, and we sat on the bench again. She wants to meet my mom when she comes for a visit. =)

My friend Gigie, I meet, somewhat randomly, through a friend at a YWAM base that I visited a couple of years ago. We hit it off then, as she shared about what God has done in her heart, and provided for her…little things that she needed, like shampoo and toothpaste when she didn’t have any. I was touched to meet a Filipina who is ministering to her own people here and with so much passion for it. From that one meeting, we texted some more, and after I went back to the States I started to support her. About a year later I was able to visit her again and stay the night at the base with her. We got to get together again in April when she came through Manila, and again it was such a sweet time, of being able to share about what God is doing, and the struggles and challenges of being in ministry and leadership. She’s been a blessing to my heart every time I’ve talked to her. Her passion for God has encouraged me, time and again. Her dad passed away last month, so you can keep her in your prayers.

Helen is a midwife that I met when we did our rotation at Fabella Hospital in February. She has 5 kids, is about my mom’s age, and she started talking to me one day when we were both in the delivery room. One of her sons is my age, working in Australia, and I think she had some hopes of getting us together. =) She got my text number at the end of the rotation, and invited me to her house for dinner. So I went, and had a great time. She made a feast of traditional Filipino foods: lumpia, fried chicken, pancit, rice, and maiz con hielo for dessert. She talked about her kids, three of them whom I met and like a lot, and about her family. She invited me over again, about a month later, to celebrate one of her son’s birthday who is in Australia. She says that even though her kids are far away, she still has a party for them every birthday. Again she made some great food…some of the best Filipino food I’ve eaten. We sat and talked, about places in the Philippines and traveling around here, and friends and family again.

My friend Benitz is another person whom I don’t see very often, but I so enjoy sitting and talking with her. She runs a souvenir shop on White Beach, selling sarongs and t-shirts and bags and shorts to the tourists who come through. I met her couple of years ago for the first time, when I was a student here. I had gone to White Beach for a short vacation from Manila. During that time, somehow, we started talking, I found out about her family, and her sister who trained as a midwife. She was outgoing and cheerful. When I moved to White Beach in the fall, I went by where her shop was, not sure if she would still be there, or would remember me. She did, saying, “Hey! I remember you!” We talked again, catching up on things and life. She’s Catholic, so we talk a little about God each time. On Christmas day I went to her house, and had some spaghetti…a traditional celebration food for Filipinos, and Coke. I brought her some cookies I’d made, and she showed me her drawings and paintings. We’re the same age, but she hadn’t been to college, since her older sisters had gone, and there wasn’t enough money for her to attend yet. She talked about that, and how she wanted to go so badly, and that her older sister had said that she would help her this coming school year, if all went well. Plans did go through for that, and she had to take entrance exams, which she was nervous for since it had been so long since she’d attended school. Two months ago, when she took those, she sent me a text that said she had gotten a full scholarship for this semester, because of her good grades in high school! In her text she said, “Praise God! He is so good!” I agree. I am so excited for her. She’s starting college this week.

I wish I had pictures of all these friends to include here. It just hasn’t worked out. =) But they have touched my life in many ways, big and small, and I am so grateful for them. The Philippines wouldn’t be the same without them. There are many other people whom I see, and know, some better than others, some Filipino and some Westerners, who have made this life here what it is. I am grateful for that.

Transition is constant here…we have had some significant chunks of it in the last few weeks, but in a good way. Two more students came to work at the birth center in Antipolo in the beginning of May. Last week four midwifery students who have been waiting to come finally arrived! They are excited to be here. Also, we moved/are in the process of moving up to Antipolo….thus cutting our commute time to the birth center from one hour, to 20 minutes. We’ve had a lot of people come and go, some finishing their time here, and some for a visit. Vicki and Scott returned from the US, and it is great to have them back. I also turned 25 at the beginning of the month. =)

Please pray for me for leadership challenges, I want to step up to them, and grow as a leader and a missionary. Please pray for the new girls who just arrived, as well as the ones who have been here for a few months now…that they will keep their passion and purpose, and learn as much as they can! Please also pray for the birth center we are working at, and the baby home connected to it, and the Gunderson Family, as Dennis, who founded this ministry with his wife, passed away suddenly last month.

Babies are born, midwives work hard, we have adventures with spiders and cockroaches, and life goes on. It’s challenging, but good.

In the end of July, beginning of August, I will be going to New Zealand, to be at the birth of one of my classmates and good friends, who recently got married and will be having a baby! I am SO excited for that. In the middle of September I will be going home to Medford for a visit, and in February I am planning to wrap up my commitment here and head home for a while, and on into the next season of life.

This letter is long again. =) I try to keep things concise, but they just won’t stay that way.

I hope all is well with you and your families. Many blessings, love,

Becka

Gigie and I, April 2007

A mama who's birth I was at, and her baby

The way to get around