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

well

I'm still here! =)

It has been a very busy few weeks...some happenings have included...

...turning 25. yay!
...traveling to Puerto Galera
...Scott and Vicki returning to the Philippines after 3 months of travel
...paperwork
...four of our students finally arriving in the Philippines!
...doing some orientation for them in Puerto Galera
...moving into a new house...temporarily house sitting it for now, but the plan is that we will continue to stay even after the family comes back
...Alex's family coming for a jam packed visit
...the sudden switch into rainy season, but it's still HOT, now it's just more humid
...a visit to the Philippines from Dr. Tim and his family
...Neonatal Resuscitation Course, and a birth in the middle of it!
...Sunday small group with Filipino friends
...Mike and Leigh Ann and Toby coming to Manila for a while
...lots of emotions
=)

I will update with some pictures I hope, later.

Passings

This is a sad post.

If you all can be in prayer for my friend Gigie, that would be good. Her dad passed away quite suddenly from a stroke on Tuesday. She was able to go down to her family's place and be there for the funeral and lead worship one of the nights.

And also pray for the Gunderson family. Dennis and Jeri started the ministry of running the baby home and birth clinic we have been working at in Antipolo. Dennis passed away, also very suddenly, from complications from pneumonia on Wednesday night. He had been sick since Friday with some flu like symptoms, and by Sunday he was feeling a bit better, but Wednesday he still wasn't better so they went in to see the doctor, and he was admitted to the hospital very shortly after that. His son-in-law, Darrin, wrote this in an email that was sent out..."At 8:21 last night (Wednesday, May 16, 2007) Dennis Gunderson joined the object of his trust in glory. I do not know a man who has more thoroughly 'made the Lord his trust,' and I am confident of his reward."

I didn't know Dennis too well, I mostly saw him in passing for a few minutes, and I had a few conversations with him. Katie knew him a bit better, as she spent time working with him and the baby home last October. She said that she's known very few people in her life with a passion like his, and it is sad to lose that passion for the Kingdom here on earth. We know Dennis is rejoicing where he is at, and I think that there is also a call to those of us who knew him, to pick up a piece of that passion, that banner he was carrying, and to carry it on ourselves.

Please pray for his family, his wife and daughters living here in the Philippines and his sons living in the US. And pray for the ministry to continue with strength and vision!

98 degrees

Okay, well not quite...but right now it is 91 degrees Fahrenheit in my room, with the air conditioning going, and it feels cool. =) Wonder how hot it is outside. I wonder also about how I've adjusted to the heat. And about how I will adjust when I'm not in it any longer. =)

Well, on Monday night, I tried balut for the first time. Balut is a Filipino delicacy, that is made up of a fertilized duck egg, that is boiled and eaten at different stages of development. Kind of crazy that I've been in the Philippines for over a year and a half and haven't eaten it yet. I've watched people eat it, but was waiting for the time when someone would insist that I eat it, and there was no getting around it. This was one of those times. It was in the kitchen of the Antipolo clinic, and a friend named Thyra, who is helping out for a month, had an extra balut that she pulled out and insisted that I eat. So I figured I'd better....I couldn't look at it though. I thought if I did I might gag and not make it much farther. So that taste is not too bad...a little like chicken soup. You eat it with salt and vinegar. I didn't experience any cruncy bones...so I'm thinking it was an earlier egg. I didn't get a picture of the occasion, but I did find a couple of old pictures of friends eating it.
I felt pretty good once I had finished it. And Thyra called me a "true missionary". =)

Mike contemplates the balut egg...
Putting on the salt....
I'd say it's an experience that is not forgotten....

Oh yes, and they only sell balut at night...usually after about 10pm. And there are Filipinos who love it, and some who won't eat it.

" I get this feeling sometimes that after the world ends, when God destroys all our buildings and our flags, we will wish we had seen everybody as equals, that we had eaten dinner with prostitutes, held them in our arms, opened spare rooms for them and loved them and learned from them. I was just another stupid child in the flow, you know; I didn't know any of these things. I didn't know it didn't matter what a person looked like, how much money they made or whether or not they were cool. I didn't know cool was just a myth and that one person was just a beautiful and meaningful as another." from Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller.

That's a challenge to me...even as I live the life of a missionary, in another culture and country...a reminder to keep loving the unlovable, no matter what they look like, or smell like, or what they might want from you. Do as Jesus did, and love them for how God sees them, not how the world sees them.

Spidey

Here is a picture of us in our Spiderman T-shirts...we also tried to take some coming up the escalator...but they were a bit blurry and didn't turn out so well. We did entertain the people sitting in the nearby restaurants as we went up and down the escalators multiple times. =) Thanks to Kim for taking the picture!

Records

On Wednesday, there was an event in the Philippines, to gather the most breastfeeding mothers, breastfeeding simultaneously in one place, and set a Guinness World Record....the unofficial count was that at least 3,608 mothers took part in it, in hundreds of locations all over the country. They beat a previous record set by mothers in Berkley, CA, in 2002.
Breastfeeding is quite an issue in a country where many mothers cannot afford to give their babies artificial milk, but many still do, because it is often linked to status. So many of the formula adds show fat western babies...and that is appealing to people here.
There are plenty of studies, and reasons that show breastfeeding is the best for babies, but so many people here are not aware of those studies, and only see the advertisements from the media.
According to the World Health Organization, children fed with infant formula are 25 times more likely to die of diarrhea than those who are breast-fed.
In 2003, WHO estimated that 16,000 children under the age of 5 died in the Philippines as a result of improper feeding practices, including infant formula.
Today, only 16 percent of Filipino children between 4 and 5 months old are exclusively breast-fed and 13 percent of mothers do not breast-feed at all, believing they do not have enough milk, according to UNICEF.

To read the full article, click here...
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=63829


In other news...all of us girls went to go see Spiderman 3 on Wednesday...good times! They went all out, and we all had matching Spiderman T-shirts....maybe I'll be able to get a picture up in a couple of days...=) The theater was pretty much full, and it a great time.

Dentist

So....I went to the dentist about a week and a half ago...I hadn't been to see a dentist for, well, I was 18 the last time I went...and I'll be 25 in a month, so almost 7 years. I was a little nervous.
But! Everything went well...she cleaned my teeth, which hurt, but she said that I have no cavities. I was a bit shocked. Brushing, I do regularly, but my flossing habits are sadly hit and miss...so I was expecting a flood of cavity problems. Thankfully, there are none. =)

Tidbits

Well, it's been a while since I've posted...so I figured I should write something new...the thing is...I can't think of much to say. =)
So, here are a few tidbits of what has been happening here...
This last week I went to Puerto Galera for 6 days. It was great...to have a change of scenery, see the beautiful ocean, smell the fresh air, and have a little time to relax. One of the things I really wanted to do while I was there was bake some cinnamon rolls...since baking is a form of relaxation for me. =) Well, things came between me, and making cinnamon rolls, so I didn't get a chance to...but I did get to bake some cookies, and some green mango bread. I also got to meet friends for dinner, sit on the beach for a bit, help with prenatal day, and have half a day in Sabang with the midwives. =)

I was glad to come back to Manila though, when it was time to...it's nice to feel like I have a home here that I look forward to coming back to. However, I traveled back into Manila on Friday night....a word to the wise...try to avoid traveling anywhere that is any significant distance in Manila, on a Friday night. I got to Mega Mall, where I was going to catch an FX to take me to Antipolo at about 7:15pm. I walked up to the place where you catch the FX, and stopped...because the line was enormous...and my guess is that it would take me two hours to get up to Antipolo. So I got some dinner first, and then went to wait in line....and yep, two hours later, 10pm, I was in Antipolo...on a good day you can make it in 30 minutes. But that's of course if there is no traffic. I felt a little dazed when I arrived...but I was glad to have at least arrived. We had a birth a couple of hours after that, and I was reminded, and shocked once again, at the beauty of birth, and the beginning of a new life. She was a beautiful little baby girl!

Yesterday I took it really easy...sat and read a book for a few hours...and then went to see the movie Pan's Labyrinth. I don't know how I felt about it...it was really good, and very sad at the same time.

It has been so so hot these last few weeks. In the high 90's, with at least that much humidity. So on my days off...there's not much else you want to do but be inside where there is airconditioning....and that usually means a mall...which are all very busy at this time of year, because everyone else wants to be inside also. Thankfully I have airconditioning in my room...or it would be very hard to sleep at night.

My life has settled somewhat into a routine, with minor and major variations happening almost everyday. =) Alex and Mia have moved in to our house, which is so great! Even though I haven't seen Mia yet...she's traveling and I was traveling. Jen and Melinda are traveling, and very soon they will be flying back home...we will miss you!


Great produce pickers, and GREAT midwives!

On Saturday I was able to meet up with my friend Gigie, who is a missionary with YWAM, in a city a few hours north of Manila. It was such a great time. I've probably seen her face to face, three times in 2 1/2 years, but each time we see each other it there is a great connection. She's been on staff with YWAM for almost 5 years now, and has lead outreach teams, and Bible studies in the squatter community near the base, and all around really loves Jesus. It was so encouraging to just sit and talk with her, and hear about the ministry things she is doing, and what God's been teaching her. She was on her way down to the southern island of Mindanao, to visit her family, and then go the the national YWAM conference.
We met at Mall of Asia...which is very new, and the biggest in the Philippines, and one of the biggest in Asia. It was my first time there, and I enjoyed it...it has a more open feel than a lot of the other malls I've been to here, and it is right next to the bay, so you can walk out and look at the water.

random observations

so. I love the city at night. this city...as crazy as it is, as smog filled as it can be...i still love it. i love to walk outside and see the lights, the buildings that rise above everything, all light up...
it rained tonight...everything is damp and a little cleaner...

it feels strange to walk into a room and feel tall. i'm 5 feet, 1 inch. that's pretty short at home.... sometimes i can walk into a room and i'm eye level, or above eye level to all these ladies standing around...it usually happens on prenatal days when all the moms are lined up waiting their turn to be checked...listen to their baby's heartbeat, etc. i remember the first time i could look down on the top of somebody's head...an amazing experience...and this lady was older than me, the mother of four kids....strange to think...she was 25 i think, and now i'm almost 25...can't imagine having 4 kids, let alone one.

Here are a few more pictures of the process, and final product.....

So, there is a brief update of what has been happening here. Babies are being born safely, and students are learning so much. The months are flying by. April begins the dry, hot, summer season in the Philippines. The kids are out of school, and temperatures will get into the high 90’s, plus humidity, so much of the season is spent trying to stay cool. This is when we are so thankful for air-conditioned malls and stores, and I relish any time I feel cold, which is once in a while….

Thanks for your prayers! Please continue to pray for strength and vision and wisdom! We have put off moving for a couple of months, so that is nice to not have to think about it for a while yet. I’m pretty tired this week, and that makes everything seem a little more overwhelming, so you can pray for good rest when I can get it, and kind responses when I can’t!

Thanks, and many blessings to you this Easter season,

Love, Becka

John 10:10 “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

It is Good Friday here today…which is an interesting day in this country…many people focus their energy on Good Friday, and the Black Saturday which follows, but the Resurrection Sunday is almost just like any other day. The malls are closed today and tomorrow, but open again on Sunday.

Last night we walked down to the bottom of the hill that the birth center in Antipolo sits on, to watch a march that happens every year. Millions of people walk from a church in Quiapo, which is far on the other side of Manila, up to a shrine in Antipolo where there is a statue of Mary, who represents health and safe travel. So if the people make this pilgrimage, they are supposed to have health and safe travel for the rest of the year.

Last night the street was filled with people…and the crowd was surprisingly calm and orderly. There were many young people and families; dads riding on bikes with their kids on the front and back, groups of teenagers with their friends. The Nazarene Seminary just down the street from us was showing the Jesus Movie, and handing out free water to marchers. We watched for a while, and then walked against the flow to try to get a better look at another part of the street. We couldn’t see much, but we walked back with the crowd, just a short ways, and it was a really neat experience, just that short walk. A fellow missionary was talking about how her family usually walks part of the way each year, in order to mark this time, and to remember that Jesus did have to walk and carry the cross, and it was a hard journey, and as I walked the small distance, I was reminded of that again, and it was really very powerful. If we hadn’t had a woman in labor back at the clinic, I think I would have walked the rest of the way up the hill to Antipolo….

Many people here will beat themselves as they walk through the streets today, some will nail themselves to crosses, all in order to try to gain forgiveness for sins, and to pay penance for those sins and get closer to God. I hope that for you this is a time you can remember the reason Jesus died on that cross, took our sin and conquered death- all so that we wouldn’t have to…and that because of Jesus we can be reconciled to God and clean before Him! I pray also that you can use this season to tell others the truth and significance of the event we remember and celebrate…beyond the commercialism and payment of penance.

In other news….

A couple of weeks ago we had a great opportunity to bless the Filipina midwives that we work with here at the birth home….they were able to take a little vacation and go for a weekend down to Puerto Galera, and we took the opportunity to renovate the room that they stay in while they’re on duty. It was so great! We didn’t tell them we were doing it, so it was a surprise to them…

We spend four days on it…one pre-cleaning, two painting, and one getting everything back and organized. We cleaned, scrubbed, sanded, painted and organized. It was a blast. In-between everything we had a couple of births. Here are some pictures of the before and after and during…

On another note, it was fun last night, after we'd been down the hill for about 45 minutes, to have to run, literally back up the hill, to get to the clinic in time to be there for the birth. Lindsey and I ran up probably 8 flights of stairs, and then a bit more up the hill, and arrived totally out of breath...but in time for the birth.

It's been a very eventful few weeks here...but really, when has it not been? I was almost at meltdown point a few days ago...I just didn't want to move, didn't want to talk to anybody, didn't want to do anything...so I had one day off...so I decided I would take the whole day and pamper myself...just do the things I wanted to. So I went out to breakfast, had a massage, saw a movie, went to church, and then out to dinner. =) It was nice, and by the end of the day I was feeling much much more like myself again...plus church was amazing, and just what I needed, and it put everything back into perspective for me...and I was able to take my eyes off myself again.
It started with this gorgeous pastor getting up, and saying that God had laid on his heart the verse John 10:10, which says that "the Thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly." He emphasized the "I have come to give life, and Life more abundantly", and I realized...oh yea, satan's trying to take my joy, and take away my realization that I am sharing in, taking part in, enabling, that LIFE! everyday. I realized anew that Jesus is the giver of Life, and I get to see new life practically everyday. It gets covered up for me in the daily grind, the heat, the language barrier, the small uncertainties of my role, the challenges of teaching and communicating important, crucial information, when you are so tired. =) So it turned out to be incredibly good, and refreshing.

I am so blessed here...and yet I still find reason to complain about the small things. =) Alas, human nature.

transit

My life is extrordinarily transient.
This last week I traveled from here....our house in Metro Manila


To here....
beautiful Puerto Galera

And then finally back to here...the Antipolo clinic, on the outskirts of Manila

The group, at Fabella, on our first day of rotations.
An inside shot of our house.
The five of us who went to Sagada.
The official ribbon cutting! Vicki and Dr. Francis in Puerto Galera.
The hanging coffins in Sagada.

Hello!
Well....I almost don't know how to begin this email, or how much to put in. =)
Again...I'm sorry for the length of time between this update and the last! It has been an incredibly busy two months, full of new happenings, moving, traveling, and good friends going and coming.

Here are some of the highlights of the last two months
-New midwife students arriving, and beginning their training!
-Moving to Manila
-Doing a 10 observational rotation at the busiest maternity hospital in the Philippines, and possibly in Asia
-A four day holiday to the beautiful Northern Philippines
-The official grand opening of the birth rooms in Puerto Galera
-Beginning shifts at birth center run by fellow missionaries and Filipina midwives


New Midwives!

The third week of January brought the arrival of the midwife students who had begun their training in Boise last summer. There are 6 of them, and most of them will stay 9-12 months here, spending most of their time in Manila, working with a few different birth centers here. It is exciting to have them finally here, and to see them gain confidence and experience as they learn so many new things! They are all brave, awesome ladies, and I am so glad I get to help the train them.

Moving to Manila

We made some adjustments as we got to know the area of Puerto Galera, and seeing how the pace of births are much slower there, it was decided to have these new students get most of their training in Manila, where the number of birth experience they can get is much higher. We made the move up here after they all spent about 10 days in Puerto Galera, having orientation, and enjoying the beautiful beach. Right now we are in two houses...one near where our previous clinic was in Manila, and one farther north in Manila, in a new area for us. Three of the students are living with me in this house, and we will be working together for the next three months. The house we live in is one that has been lived in by people from Mercy in Action for a year and a half, and so it is lovely, and set up already, and has a great rooftop that we can sit on, with a view, and cool breezes. Of course it was hard to say goodbye to the incredible beauty of Puerto Galera...but I will be back for more stays though

Rotation at Fabella Hospital

Fabella Hospital is a government run hospital, that gives all maternity care, and some newborn and pediatric. It is incredibly busy, and averages 80-100 births every 24 hours. It caters to the poorest of the poor women, and many who came, you could tell had had hard lives. While we were there it was a bit "slower" being the "off season", and there were usually about 60-65 births a day. We were all split up into teams, and everyone did rotations throughout most of the wards. Since I was the only preceptor, I was in the delivery room every day, so that all of the births the girls saw, would count for the clinical experience they need. It was an observational rotation, so we didn't have any part in giving care to the women, but very frequently I would stand at the mother's head as she was pushing, and help her hold it up, and try to tell her she was doing a good job.

Fabella was an incredible experience. While I was there I saw 67 births total...some caesarean, some breech, and some stillborn. To put that into perspective...when I left the Philippines the first time as a student I had seen 84 births in my 11 months here. =) It was again, incredible, and it made me believe even more in normal birth, and that most of those births should be attended by midwives with skills in normal birth, and emergencies.

I could give a whole update just about Fabella, but I don't have time. =) It was also very hard in some ways...as the care the mothers receive is so very different from what we are trained to give. The staff at the hospital works very hard, and very well with what resources they do have, though those are very limited. Our Filipina preceptors were really a highlight for me, and they made the whole experience what it was. All of them were midwives and had very kind hearts towards the women.

Trip to Sagada
After our rotation at Fabella, five of us were able to take a little holiday to the Northern Philippines, to see the ancient rice terraces, go through a cave, and see the tribal hanging coffins. It was a great trip, and we packed a lot into four days and three nights of travel. Much of your travel time, when you head up north, is taken up by bus travel. The road winds through the mountains, at times it's barely more than a cut into the side of a mountain. The views are incredible, and people have spent thousands of years creating incredible rice terraces that cover the whole side of a mountain. We also got to go through an ancient cave, where we saw fossils of seashells, have amazing yogurt at a little restaurant, pick fresh strawberries from the field, and see the hanging coffins, which are the ancient tribal way of honoring the dead.

Official Grand Opening of Birth Rooms in Puerto Galera

On Feb. 24 we had the grand opening for the birth rooms in Puerto Galera. The pace there has been slow, and we have probably had about 10 births there in the last three months. I traveled down there just for the day, and I was so glad I did. The local department of health officials came, the pastors we have been working with there came, as well at Pastor Renchi from the Vineyard Manila, and most of our neighbors came, and it was a good celebration. They had a dedication prayer, and explained the services we will offer there, and then had a ribbon cutting, declaring the clinic officially open. Hopefully now, the word will get out, and more women will start to come to give birth there!

Beginning at Antipolo

For the next few months, Kayla, Lindsey and Sharon will spend their time doing shifts at the Shiphrah Birthing Home that is run by some fellow missionaries. There are 5 Filipina midwives who do all of the deliveries there, and they also offer care to poor women. They have been there for many years, and we are blessed with having a relationship with them, and their willingness to have our students come and observe, and catch babies. I will be spending a lot of time there as a preceptor the next few months also...so you can pray for me, for good time management, and wisdom!


So, this is just a brief overview of the adventures that have been happening. It's been a great time, packed with many new things, and good times. I can hardly believe I have been here for 5 months now, and the weeks just continue to fly by.
I have uploaded some more pictures on my blog, so if you go there, you will be able to see some more. And of course I will try to update more often! www.adventure-afar.blogspot.com

Thanks for your prayers!! They are much needed and much appreciated. Please pray for wisdom in leadership and good communication for me, as Vicki and Scott will be traveling around the USA for the next few months, and we'll all be working to keep things going smoothly here, and let them know how things are going.

Thank you!
Much Love,

Becka

Oh, and once again...you should also look at Kayla and Lindsey's blogs...because they have better pictures than me...and tell some creative stories. =)

Travel!

Here's the group of us who traveled up to Sagada. Myself, Lindsey, Melinda, Kayla and Sharon. These are the awesome ladies I will be mostly working with the next few months.





This is in Banaue, where the huge rice terraces are. These terraces are about 2,000 years old, and they have all been made by hand, by the tribal people who have lived in these mountains for years. They have been called the 8th Wonder of the World.

We drove to Banaue in a big bus,overnight from Manila, and then took a jeepney from there to Sagada...about a 3 hour trip. The jeepney is the way to travel up there, because you can really appreciate the incredible views.
Here's my Gatorade advertisement...=) I didn't do it on purpose, but I pulled it out to take a drink, and it just fit.

Hanging coffins

This is in the cave in Sagada. It's about an hour trip through the cave, and you go through water, and through a few small spaces, and then some bigger ones...it's beautiful. You hire a guide to take you through, and they have their oil latern and a rope, and they take you through it. Our guide has been doing this for 12 years, and you can tell he likes it. Most of the rock in the cave is sandstone I believe...so it is not slippery, and as you walk your feet can grasp it really well. We had our shoes on for the descent into the cave, and then you take them off for the next part where you go through water and get very wet. There is also a pool you can jump into and swim in, and we did that also.
I had gone through the cave a couple of years ago, when I was here before, so I knew what to expect, and I think I was able to enjoy it a bit more also. =)

Sagada is a beautiful little mountain town, that has a lot of tourists come through, but it is not very commercialized, and it's really peaceful and green.
We stayed one night in Baguio City on the way bag, and were able to pick fresh strawberries right from the field. That northern region of the Philippines is where most of the produce in the country comes from, and this is the season for strawberries! They were really wonderful, and it was so much fun.
Here's a shot of the jeepney that we rode to Sagada in. We had stopped on the side of the road to take some pictures of the view.
And these are the hanging coffins. Some of them are very old, and some more recent. It's a tribal tradition for the old people who die to be put up this way.