20 August 2011

The Mountains, Compadres, and Precious Promises

Cultural Dictionary (Forgive me, I'm really not a expert and phonetic spelling but I tried!)

Ate - [pronounced Ah-tay] It means older sister, but as a sign of respect, you call anyone here who is older than you Ate (insert name) or just plain Ate is fine too. 

Kuya- [koo-yuh] the male version of ate (big brother) We call all the guards at the clinic Kuya, if they are older than us (they are all older than me).

Milo- a sort of energy drink/hot chocolate mix made by Nestle. It is pretty popular in most countries outside the US too. We give it to our patients when they are in labor and after they have had there baby. It is always mixed with milk powder and sugar. 

Jeepny - a jeepny is a unique form of public transportation. It is sort of like a cross between a bus and a very large truck bed. there is a roof, but no glass in the windows, and one bench seat on either side of the "bed" area. I will try to get a picture of a jeepny. It costs 6 pesos to ride one way and they have their own route, like a bus. You can tell where a jeepny goes by the name of the street or neighborhood painted on the side of it. For example, I live in Obrero, so I would take the Obrero jeepny to get home.

pancit- a sort of Filipino noodle dish, kind of like chow mein with really thin rice noodles. 

buntis- the Visayan word for a pregnant woman. 

Maayong gabii- [Mah-aye-yong Gah-be-ee] good evening in Visayan 
                  buntag - [Boon-tah g] morning
                  hapon- [ha-pone] 



Maayong gabii! I am sitting on the balcony of my house, which is one of my favorite places to be (it is probably the most quiet) drinking hot milo with powdered milk, and listening to the rain all around me in Davao CIty. Today all of the first year students got up at 5:30am to go have a fun day with the Filipino workers at the clinic; the midwives, gaurds, office staff, cleaning and laundry crew. My supervisor, Ate Jhobee, organized all the events for the day. The Filipina gals had a sleepover at the clinic the night before and stayed up cooking pancit, fried chicken, pork, seaweed salad, and of course an ice chest full of rice. It isn't a Filipino meal without rice. They took us all up into the mountains in the clinic ambulance and a Jeepny, where it was actually pretty cold! We saw some of the beautiful country parts of Mindanao on our 3 hour squished jeepny ride. Our final destination was a little mountain resort where some people went swimming in the very cold, but very beautiful springs. There were beautiful waterfalls and green all around (unfortunately I figured out my camera battery was dead on my way up there (Hopefully there will be some pictures tagged on Facebook). 
We the Filipinos had games planned and they definitely know how to party and have fun! We laughed, talked, ate, and swam, until it was time to drive down the mountain and back into Davao City. I may have fallen asleep on my classmates shoulder for a few moments on the jeepny ride home. It was actually really nice, the comfort of her shoulder reminded me of my mom. Salem is a mom with four young kids, and moved here with her husband and kids (from Texas) to do the school. She is so sweet and loving, and I always feel comfortable and relaxed around her. The trip was a fun adventure, but I was so excited to get back home to the warmth of Davao and relax with my hot milo and my compadre Annabelle. 

Talking with Annabelle about the struggles and challenges we are having, God's amazing grace on our lives, and His dreams and plans for our lives has been such an amazing breath of fresh air for me lately! I am in SUCH need for Jesus, and it is so wonderful to have a friend I can talk to and receive encouragement from who will pray with me! There are so many of the girls that are so amazing and special here. I love the hopes and dreams that the Lord has put in each of our hearts for our lives, but it is still challenging because we all come from such different backgrounds and communities. It can feel pretty lonely sometimes. I am really actually thankful for this loneliness though, because it draws me so much closer to Jesus. The joy of the Lord is truly my strength. As I walk into this season of challenge, possibly more challenge than I have ever dealt with before, I have the strength of Christ more than I have ever had before. I can always rest on His promises. That He has called me here for a time and a purpose and that He will never leave or forsake me. I know that He will give me the strength I need in my weakness, because He told me He would. I keep remembering the words that ran through my mind months ago when I felt the Lord was giving me a choice to come here. "It won't be easy, but I am worth it." I go over these words in my head again and again and I thank God for His nearness. I also remember with this, that He also promised me fun and adventure! So I will be looking forward to that as well!!!


Buko (aka young coconut water), the most amazing and healthy drink here in the Philippines. It can be used to treat dehydration and urinary tract infections. It is loaded with electrolytes and potassium. It has been used as an IV before in rural hospitals when IV fluids are unavailable (personally, I'd rather have the buko even if the IV fluids are available. Haha.


Beautiful view from the beach at Paradise Resort on Samal Island. They took us there for two days and one night for our orientation. It was amazing! We had air con AND hot showers for one glorious day! 


Public transportation in the Philippines! We call them tricycabs. or tricys. They are one of many ways to get around. Super fun though! It costs about 10 pesos (25 cents) to get from my house to the closest malls/restaurants etc.




11 August 2011

First day in the Phils

Well, after 37 hours of travel, I have made it to my new home in Davao City! The last day has been a little bit of a jet lagged blur, and I still feel like I am moving sometimes when I stand still. We arrived at 5:30pm last night (Wednesday). After dinner and a quick house meeting, we all started to settle into our new places and spaces.

The house is a bit more full than usual, because there are some girls interning here for the summer, and they are living in the other house right now. So, at the moment, we are sharing a 6 bedroom house with 19 girls. Out of the 6 bedrooms, 3 are used as student rooms (4 girls to each room). One of the rooms belongs to Joy, a graduated student who came back to re-vamp our curriculum. The second room is known as the "air con room" and is used for after girls get off night shift and need to sleep during the day hours. There is 2 sets of bunk beds in there. The 3rd and final room is our study room. I have claimed a corner space, which I am pretty excited about. I will be able to put my computer, textbooks (as soon as they arrive, and PLEASE pray that they arrive soon!), and all other school related items. I am planning to build a nice little study corner!

Today, we got photos for our I-cards (Identifications Card) that we will be getting once our visas come through and went shopping for cell phones, laundry items, toiletries, sheets, and other goodies we will need. Unfortunately, I was not able to get all the things I need, because I am waiting for more money to come through. I had a decent amount of money saved, but I had to spend a about $200 to get my luggage over here since they only allow 15 kilos on the domestic flight we took from Manila to Davao, and also about $75 to get a phone, SIM card, and "load" (for a pay as you go plan).

(I am still in need of monthly supporters as I have more expenses coming up with for my visa, household essentials, school supplies, and also outreaches. If you would like to support me with a one time or monthly gift, please email me, and I can let you know how to do that. I would greatly appreciate it!) 

After shopping, I went with a few of my classmates, and one of the staff at the clinic to get a massage and recover from the plane trip over here! (Sleeping upright does NOT make your neck feel good).  I had one of the best massages of my life by a very sweet Filipina and all for a whopping $3.50! HAHA. Doesn't get much better than that. I am feeling SOOO much better, and my neck has thanked me multiple times since then. After the massages, Heather (our teacher/clinic staff) informed us that we needed to find our own way home by riding in a tricicab, jeepny, or motorcycle taxi. It was a pretty short ride home, and we made it home in time for dinner. I was in heaven, there was homemade chili, cornbread, squash, and a very big very healthy/green salad. Tomorrow we get to go to Paradise beach for orientation and all home to catch some Z's and get some book reports done! I start shadowing at the clinic on Monday! As for the rest of this night, I believe it is time to lock my computer in its bag, away from the ants (who think its the coolest home ever), and go to bed. I will catch up after Paradise!



06 August 2011

The Journey Begins

So, after a CRAZY week of goodbyes, I survived packing and being rear-ended less than 48 hours before I was set to leave the USA, and now here I am in Portland!

(A little back story on the car accident. I have been going to the chiropractor for the last 3 weeks, and was making incredible progress in the healing of my neck. Then I was rear ended! I had whiplash and I still needed to finish packing and doing things non-stop until it was time to go! I wound up going for my last adjustment on Friday where they gave me the good and bad news. Bad: my neck had moved a lot and was seriously inflamed/traumatized. Good: since my neck was now used to being adjusted from the previous 3 weeks, they were able to move it back into place and let it stay and not be more traumatized. I knew it was God's faithfulness. I was a bit sore the first two days, especially after packing and hauling a huge backpack and carry-on with neck trauma! But I iced my neck when I got to Gary and Lynn's house (our hosts). In the morning I woke up and have felt great ALL day! Praise God for His faithfulness! He really gave me the grace to believe for healing instead of hopelessness!)

I arrived last night at 4:45pm. As I walked off the plane SO tired and exhausted with 2 overstuffed carry on bags, I slowly but surely made my way to baggage claim. When a friendly gentleman with a big smile asked me if I was a midwifery student, I had stop myself from flinging myself into his arms! I was SO relieved to be off the plane and in the care of a DAD! Gary loaded up my WAY overstuffed bags into the suburban and took me to the Embassy Suites parking lot right by the airport, where we met Annabelle and Eileen (the IHOPpers). We then headed up the freeway to Clatskenie (pronounced KLATS-KEN-EYE) Oregon, where his wife (Lynn) and daughters were waiting and preparing dinner and lots of amazing sweets for us.

(Gary and Lynn are good friends of the directors of the school in the Phils and they lived there for 8 years and have been back in the states for the last 4)

We met and had dinner with the other midwifery students (there are now 10 of us here in Portland/Clatskenie). Gary drove us to the coast today, where we hiked up and mountain and then went to the beach. During a pit stop at Costco, Annabelle and I went in to find her a swimsuit, which she had apparently forgotten to pack, and Gary bought us our last strawberries we will be eating for the next year! I was SO honored, because I had just mentioned earlier how I was going to miss them! What a dad heart! My love tank was full!!

We got back in time for Lynn to serve us an amazing dinner of lasagna and spinach salad! YUM. Oh and of course, more sugar. Haha. Then they shared with us girls about dress code and some other practical matters regarding clinic conduct and spiritual health. We closed in prayer, then I went back to the house where we are staying to downsize my bag about 40lbs to make it affordable to take! My bag was 91lbs and I couldn't even pull it without a struggle! I will be sending another Balikbayan box from Portland for less than half the price I would have paid in overage fees!

The Lord has blessed our time here so much though! I am really enjoying the company of the girls (and Gary). We are so like-minded in SO many ways! Each one from a different place with a different background, but all SO wholehearted for God. I really feel it will be an honor to serve alongside these women on the mission field. I know already that I will be able to trust them and go deep with them. Thank you Lord for your blessing, provision, and camaraderie! Can't wait to board that plane on Monday to the Philippines!



Newlife class of 2013!!!