My life and my Jesus

I have been thinking a lot about how the gospel pertains to my life, and particularly my current circumstances.

Living life here can be challenging... Its really always hard being on the mission field. Its a battle. There is so much spiritual warfare, and sometimes it feels like we aren't supposed to talk about it. I think its important to share transparently though, because we know that, "God uses all things to work together for good..." Romans 8:28,  and because I feel like its important for the church in general, but especially people who support missionaries and want to be missionaries to be candidly told the rough, ugly, and beautiful truth of how hard it is to live out the gospel, and how unspiritual and dry it often feels. 

As a missionary lots of the time you feel alone, forgotten, lost in the shuffle. And really, nobody here can know me like my family and friends know me. This place is so crazy, its like culture shock on steroids sometimes! If you can remember, I wrote a little about it in my last newsletter (the birth room culture, midwife language, and several Filipino dialects, community living all rolled into one). Its easy to feel homesick, and I have definitely had the thought or consideration to come home more than once. 

We are not only students, but missionaries, and midwives. We are literally fighting a battle for life. Sometimes we lose. Sometimes babies are lost. Sometimes mamas are transported to the hospital for things out of our control. Being a midwife is hard. Its taxing on your body, all the moving, bending, pushing, pulling (you'd be surprised at how physical it can be), and we are up crazy random hours of the night and day, with no real schedule. It can also be draining on your emotions when you pour your heart into a patient that may get transported to the hospital for complications or when a patient tragically loses her baby. Its not fair. 

In addition, I am learning lots of new information, trying to finish large research assignments in short amounts of time while serving as a full time missionary and working 3 days a week as a midwife. I am so in need of God's strength and endurance. I often miss home. Especially the amazing church family I have, who consistently love a support me. I don't have that here. But I do have God to lean on and get my strength from... I am constantly thankful that when I am weak, He is strong. Because dang, I am SO weak. Haha.

Some things a couple people encouraged me with recently, are: 

1. Even though it feels like I am going backwards, often struggling with things that I haven't struggled with in years, feeling inadequate, immature, rejected, denied, weak, and genrally screwed up. Things are not as they seem. I am being transformed by the power of the holy spirit. In a pressure cooker. I am praying that I come out closer to God and that my life will glorify Him more and more with each passing day. 

2. Its our response to our struggles and our weakness that shape us. I am really thankful for the "life message" of one of my fathers in the faith. HE taught me that you cant allow your circumstances to beat you, but that you MUST keep your eyes focused on heaven. The culture of heaven is difficult to see, but with Jesus, it is possible to live with a heavenly perspective and be filled with joy no matter how dark the world around you gets. I do NOT want to be offended, embittered, and numbed because of a wrong perspective, but I want to understand the implications that my responses have and their eternal value. 

3. The Apostle Paul, Mother Teresa, and many other "heroes" of the faith (including my own personal heroes) did not feel adequate either. How you feel is not the measure of the kind of person you are. This is one of the ways we are attacked, but it is also something God uses to show us how glorious and how strong He is, and how weak we are. 

I want to thank all the amazing people who have encouraged me lately, who have prayed for me, and who have supported me. You all help me to know that I am not forgotten, unloved, or lost in the shuffle. Your emails, Facebook messages, phone conversations, and care packages have meant SO much to me. I am so thankful for the people in my life who are not only willing to love me well, but are willing to love me to the point of always being honest with me, even when it may be difficult. 

True love, is such that people are willing to lay down their lives and make sacrifices. I consider this is a high standard of holiness. Though maybe we aren't there yet, I know several people who I can recognize this kind of holiness in. If not always, then there are moments of clarity, where Jesus is able to shine brightly in your lives. Thank you for valuing the gospel above your own comfort, and choosing God's glory! It is an encouragement to many. And though the cost is high, the rewards of freedom and perfect love are more than worth it!!! 

Farther Along

Something God has been teaching me is that things are not always what they seem. I may be seeing something one way, but really He is doing something that I can't see right now. God does a lot of that. And history says, that some of the best and most amazing things He does come out of the most difficult circumstances. I am thankful for that... Though when I am in those circumstances, if I dont have a heavenly perspective and I am not constantly pursuing an eternal perspective I can lose vison and hope.

Sometimes, when you think you are just going backwards, you are Farther Along than you think.

Being a missionary is really hard. Sometimes its small things that give you moments of encouragement to keep going in what you know God has called you to do. This song is something that gave me hope and strength. At first I was struck by the beauty of the music itself and I didn't hear how much of the gospel is really in this song. But it really helped to give me more eternal perspective. I hope that it touches your heart as well. It is filled with truth.

Farther Along

Farther along we’ll know all about it

Farther along we’ll understand why

Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine

We’ll understand this, all by and by

Tempted and tried, I wondered why

The good man died, the bad man thrives

And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both

We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes

Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope

In a house of mirrors full of smoke

Confusing illusions I’ve seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along

To every chorus of the song

That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates

Leading mice and men down to their fates

But some will courageously escape

The seductive voice with a heart of faith

While walkin’ that line back home

So much more to life than we’ve been told

It’s full of beauty that will unfold

And shine like you struck gold my wayward son

That deadweight burden weighs a ton

Go down into the river and let it run

And wash away all the things you’ve done

Forgiveness alright

Chorus

Still I get hard pressed on every side

Between the rock and a compromise

Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul

And I’ve got no place left go

Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown

More glory than the world has known

Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall

I’m free to love once and for all

And even when I fall I’ll get back up

For the joy that overflows my cup

Heaven filled me with more than enough

Broke down my levee and my bluff

Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us

Some rejoice and the others fuss

Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess

That the son of god is forever blessed

His is the kingdom, we’re the guests

So put your voice up to the test

Sing Lord, come soon

Chorus

If you want, there is actually a free download of this album available on Josh Garrel's website.

http://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/track/farther-along

When the glory of His praises shall cover the earth...

DO you ever feel like some music makes you feel more artistic, more passionate, more beautiful, pleases your soul, and feeds your spirit? 

Lately I have been listening to a lot of music. I never was one to listen to music while I study, but lately I have taken to studying in coffee shops a lot (something else I never used to do well). It seems like I get a lot more done in the coffee shops here. Even though it seems like there might be more distractions, and usually at home this would be true, seeing as how I have a 90% chance of running into someone I know at all the coffee shops I tend to frequent.

 [insert characteristic Lindsy rant: This is actually something that I love about the coffee shops at home, they are good places to run into a friendly face and enjoy a spontaneous hug or a conversation to encourage each other in Christ, even make new friends and meet your friends friends! Not to mention that we have some pretty incredible coffee shops in Roseville/Rocklin, where you can get a great cup of coffee, and it is really not so here in the Philippines. The coffee is varying degrees of sucky, some less yucky and some just completely undrinkable. I find that I drink more tea here than I ever did at home.] 

SO ANYWAYS, as I was saying about studying in coffee shops and listening to music. I have been been listening to a lot of music. Mostly it is all music which glorifies God. Its not that I think its wrong or sinful to listen to secular music, I just find that when I listen to too much secular music at one time (which I do enjoy on occasion), I start becoming numb to whatever idols and demons the artists are unknowingly (or knowingly) glorifying. See, ALL music is worship. Music was created for worship!! It is MY personal FAVORITE way (as most of you may know) to worship the Lord and to express myself and my love for Him. In fact, when I was praying and asking the Lord to make my heart alive almost 2 months ago, Jesus told me to do one thing, He told me to sing!!! He knows my heart, and He knows that singing, especially singing to HIM makes my heart soar! I love music, I love the art of it, and the different creative sounds fill me with joy, emotion, compassion, love, and pleasure!!! I get SUCH pleasure from listening to certain music. For me though, these things are served best, when they are all for God's glory, so I do not feel obliged that I may only listen to Christian music, I love finding music that is artistic and also glorifies or worships and praises, and gives the Most High King the glory and honor and praise He is due! It is sparse, for some reason, Christians are just not tapping into the incredible richness of God's creativity and using it for His glory. I believe there is a renaissance coming though, where the artists will turn their hearts back to God and be inspired by what is pure and what is holy, and what is not only BEAUTIFUL, but the MOST beautiful, MOST creative, MOST loving Uncreated God!!!! I believe that with the power of God and the inspiration of heaven (which is unfathomable and incomparable to any beauty or creativity we know here on earth, God will break open the heavens over these artists and they will change the world, bringing people freedom from the spirits of religion (I think artists have a special gift in this, because they are weird and offensive to people, hence why the Christian art and music is SO boring!!! When their potential is capped by religion and apathy, no WONDER they are not walking in the fullness of the gifts God gave them!!!) 

I am eagerly awaiting a day when artists are walking in freedom, glorifying God, and tearing down strongholds with their expression of God's heart to people. Their art will teach us and show us different aspects of the beauty of Gods heart for us! It will foreshadow the age to come! The age where He will rule and reign, where every tongue will confess and every knee bow, to Him and call upon His name as Lord God and King of ALL!!! How I long for this day!!! I am SO deeply moved, and filled with hope for the fact that I worship this God who is holy, perfect, awesome, and transcendent in beauty!!!! 

I will eagerly anticipate the day when ALL of His glory is seen and known by the earth, when the earth joins in worshiping Him together. But for now, I will let the songs of love and worship with flow out my heart and praise Him. I will eagerly groan in intercession awaiting for the day when His glory manifests in the culture of art and music. I will pray for it, and desire it earnestly!!! Lord, let Your Kingdom come let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!!! Matthew 16:19 "For I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Lord, loose your creativity in heaven! Bind the spirits of darkness that are capping our potential to worship You how You rightly deserve to be worshipped here on earth!!! Let Your glory COVER the earth!!! 

And to ALL you artists who love the Lord and feel a deep lack in this area, may I encourage you to consecrate your hearts to the Lord. Cast aside the distractions of "art" which does not glorify God, and let your heart draw close to Him. Let Him inspire you with His goodness, with His beauty. Experience the richness of His beauty!!! Sing your songs of praise, play your songs of worship, paint His glory, write His poetry, sew His for His glory!!! Let all we do sing and praise and worship the Lord!!!! 

Culture shock, high ropes, and baby catchers!

It has been one month since I left Roseville for orientation in Clatskenie, OR, and I have now been in Davao for nearly 4 weeks. This is officially the longest I have ever been away from home. Its not as easy as I thought it would be. I have been adjusting to a new community (American in the midst of the Philippines), new food (with new bacteria), a warm sweaty climate with no A/C (except at malls and coffee shops), a house full of new women from all over the United States, Canada, and one girl from Germany, and no men to speak of anywhere. Haha. I miss you spiritual dads, brothers, and friends!!!

I have begun what the directors of the clinic call the love hate culture cycle. Haha. I have bottomed out once or twice so far. Sometimes when its a rough day, nobody understands what I am trying to say, despite the fact that we are both speaking english, one more cold shower, or a bug farm in my big tasty avocado is just enough to push me over the edge and make me want to cry. Then I will go to the clinic and see the women laboring and their amazing strength, and their gratitude toward me (even though I barely do anything at this point), I realize why I am here. I feel entirely inept. I feel 100% unqualified, and in no way do I have any confidence that I can make it through this program. I have asked God several times, "Why did you tell me to come here again? What were You thinking!?" Ok, then I remember He said, it won't be easy, but I am worth it, and I go in my prayer closet and spend some time with Jesus, and He gives me everything I need. He encounters me and encourages me and tells me that when I am weak, He will be strong. 

So its hard, because there are moments when I feel like I shouldn't be here. I could go back home to my comfortable life. I could have my own room again, get another car (or maybe a Vespa… thats an idea), and even get my old job back that I left with an open door. But I know that God called me here. I'm not sure I can do it. But by the power and the strength of Christ in me, I know I will. 

However, this adventure is not without excitement! DON'T worry, I won't bore you will my tales of woe for the next two years over and over. There is silver lining, there are bright spots. There is joy and strength in Christ, and I am having fun! 

Today I went to Samal Island for an outreach. The island is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful… and of course I forgot my camera. Its fun, because its really only a 15 minute dire to the dock, where we drove in a yellow VW bus onto a ferry that took us across to Samal. Its the island is like a resort paradise. There is actually a resort called Paradise on Samal, but its probably not the best one. There are several local places which range from $5 a night to $250. Amazing food, lush green rainforest, and white sandy beaches. The people who live on Samal mostly live in the middle, because all the beachfront properties are owned by the resorts. 

We left Davao at 8am, and arrived at the Foursquare church to do prenatals at about 9am. Three women came in for their prenatal check-ups and there was one baby check. After, the pastor and his wife usually take the group of midwives out to lunch (its in their church budget and they insist), but it was only 10:45am, so we went to Precious resort for coffee and a tour, and later had lunch there instead. Precious was gorgeous. The resort is a garden, but there is also a beautiful beach with lots of places to relax. We toured the resort and found some starfish and sand dollars before driving back to the ferry and going home. The only sad part of our wonderful adventure, is that while I was away, my best friend was waiting for me, falling asleep, and I missed our Skype date!

Ahh, tomorrow is Sunday, a welcomed day of rest. I am going sleep in, go to church (later) and go walking in the city with one of the second year students who I have become quite fond of (and hopefully reschedule that Skype date)! 

Monday, its back to work on my assignment (crunch time!) I am going to rock this assignment… But only by the grace of God. Then I am going to learn how to catch babies and save lives as a birth attendant! Amazing. 

I am finding that as I read my books and volunteer at the clinic and do outreaches, I am falling more and more in love with midwifery. The entire process of it, from the first prenatal to post partum care. I am loving the relationship, the natural stuff, and just seeing the women with their families. It really is such a beautiful process. Catching babies is so awesome! One of the coolest things is that when you catch a baby, you are the first person to touch that person. What an incredible responsibility! Even cooler than that though, as a midwife, I can empower women and husbands to catch their own babies sometimes. How much cooler would that be to watch someone pick up their own baby for the first time? Being the first to handel them! What an amazing experience! I pray that my experience as a midwife will be about me helping women and families to overcome their fears and have experiences that will change their lives forever. When complications arise, I pray that I will be equipped to handel them, know the perfect timing to hand them off to doctors. That I will find the balance between the midwife world and the doctor world. With these to worlds joined in relationship, we can be unstoppable in changing and saving lives. 

 I read in one of my textbooks that the word midwife  means "with woman" The midwife does not just "dump" or "punt" a pregnant woman through referral if medical or obstetrical complications arise. Rather she seeks the best balance of medicine and midwifery for the individual. 

I want to love and care for my patients beyond their practical needs. To joyfully serve them and to be an example of Jesus that would provoke them to seek God. He is greater, stronger, and higher than any other power we could give ourselves to! He is SO good! SO worthy, so kind, loving, gentle, and FILLS my heart with JOY! He is unstoppable, and with Him, I am unstoppable. When things look grim here, with life, with patients, with their difficult stories, there are promises I can stand on, and someone I can make my request to! I wouldn't be able to do it without Him. Thanks Jesus ;-)

Some pictures of my time here so far!

Preparing for the high ropes course at Outland Adventures (a ministry that has a leadership camp for inner city kids that the directors of Newlife School started)

View of the underside of the high ropes course!

Victorious midwives after a day of team building and high ropes course! 

Annabelle drinking some buko juice. We bought it from a roadside stand a few blocks away fro our house.

Holding one of our patients.

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.

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!

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!!!