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What lies ahead

I sit here the day before my midwife licensing exam. Yes, in my right mind I should be stressing and not on here writing. :)

But I've never been in my right mind. If I was--I would not have left my nursing job and uprooted half-way across the globe. Two years ago I left the US to follow my God-given passion of helping pregnant women.

In the Philippines, I witnessed miracles...the first cry of a baby...priceless memories etched into my mind forever.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to take a licensing exam. There's lots of money and emotions tied into this event. It's like the end of my two year journey to become a midwife. And yet, I remind myself...pass or fail...this examination does NOT define my worth.

It does NOT define my competence as a midwife.

It merely serves to reinforce the skills that have been taught to me at Newlife. I have been surrounded by women the past 2 years who possess amazing knowledge and skills, but more so reliance on the Great Physician. They have faithfully served women in circumstances when others would label them as 'too complicated' or 'not worth the effort'.

At Yosemite...Tunnel view in background.
Looks like a studio backdrop. I assure it's all REAL and God-breathed! :)

Today, as I sit on California's rocky shoreline—waves from the Pacific ocean crash mightily against the rocks. The power of God's design is undeniable. I do NOT know what my future holds....but that is ok because GOD holds my future. I cannot really think of a safer or better place to be. :)

Josh took this photo...love it!
Asilomar, CA

Here's a portion of a powerful poem from my Varney's textbook:

Holy Births and Howling Babies

I pray for all my babies, Be good to your mama.

Baby girl Althea {at birth}

I pray for all my mothers, Be strong, be good to this baby.

I pray secretly and I pray slowly.

I pray for us, the midwives and almost-midwives.

I pray that we make the right decisions.

And I pray for those of us who make bad decisions.

Decisions we regret with outcomes we can't change.

I pray that we learn from our mistakes.

That with age comes wisdom.

I pray deeply and I pray completely.

For all of the hands and all of the bellies.

I pray for holy births and howling babies.

~Dana Quealy, CNM, MSN

California

Well, we made it to California. And I can sum up my initial reaction with one word: COLD! I'm sure it's just typical September weather on the West coast. And honestly the mercury isn't down all that far. But it's easily the coldest weather I've experienced in a very long time. The low temps are in the 60s, which is easily 20 degrees cooler than the morning temp in Davao. Weather.com says today's high was 94 in mid-afternoon and I'd say it felt good. It was hot, but it felt good. You almost start sweating, but then that's normal for me now. But it's so dry here. The fire hazard is high as it's been a bit dry lately. But just the air itself is dry to me. Weather.com says the humidity now is 32%. The humidity right now in Davao is 84! With a light rain. That would have to be the next word I'd use: dry. My skin, my eyes, my nose all feel very dry. Never thought I'd say it, but I miss the weather in Davao. Although, I do not miss the random, frequent storms after nightfall. It's nice to not have to worry about being caught out in the rain.

It comes down to this

Oh my. Time sure has flown by. Here it is, September 17, 2012. My last day in Davao. In fact, our flight is scheduled to leave from Davao in less than 4 hours. Wow! Has it been two years already?

Well, just to inform you all, here is a rough outline of our upcoming travels:

• Leaving Davao around 9:00pm (9:00am EDT Monday morning)
• Going to Manila and "sleeping" in the airport before leaving Tuesday morning around 7:30am (7:30pm EDT Monday evening)
• Then on to Japan with a layover of a few hours (I don't even know what time it will be there)
• Then to Seattle where we go through customs (it will be Tuesday morning there, not sure about the exact time)
• Then from Seattle we fly to San Francisco, arriving about 2:00pm Pacific time (5:00pm EDT)

We'll be there for about three weeks before returning to PA in early October.

Well, time for one last shower in the Philippines (and the last one for quite a few hours!).

Ayo ayo Davao! Until we meet again. It's been a wonderful time. But for now...

Leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again!

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One week ago today...Part 5

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Sagada to Tabuk

July 11, 2012

We woke up around 5:00am and finished packing all of our clothing and gear. Sara made pancakes and the strawberry preserves we had bought were a great complement to them. So we grabbed all of our stuff and headed down to the multicab. Kuya Ligaya then drove us into town to the jeepneys.

One week ago today...Part 4

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Sagada – cave and town

July 10, 2012

We woke up in the cool mountain air of Sagada (still about 70°F inside). We made a breakfast of eggs and hot drinks. Around 9:00am we met Kuya Ligaya to take us to Sumaging Cave. We stopped in town to register as foreign tourists and pay a small fee. Then we picked up a guide recommended by the Ligayas. We stopped again so Jayson, our guide, could pick up his supplies, including a large gas lantern, which proved to be much better than using flashlights and headlamps (which we personally had with us).

One week ago today...Part 3

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

To Sagada

July 9, 2012

We were up by 6:00am and finished packing our last few things. We went down and made and ate our breakfast of pancakes. We carried all of our things to the front door to be ready for the jeepney. We visited with a few locals until the jeepney arrived. But it was full! A few more people got on, but there was not enough room for all of us. Sara talked with someone to arrange other transportation.

One week ago today...Part 2

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Bugnay

July 8, 2012

On Sunday morning we got up about 5:45am. We made coffee and sat outside looking at our pictures from the jeepney ride. The temp outside was 71°F before we received direct sunlight, because of the high mountains. With the sun it quickly climbed above 80°F.

One week ago today...Part 1

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Trip to Bugnay

July 7, 2012

We woke up around 6:00am and finished our packing, then ate breakfast. Achao then drove us to Bulanao to get a jeepney going to Bugnay. After a little confusion, Sara and Fonda joined us. We all climbed on top of the jeepney, with all of our bags. We had to climb over 3 baskets of chickens! The inside and top were both very full. The top had metal bars to sit on, and a raised metal bar around the edge to help keep you on top.

The Value of Encouragement

I've been meaning to write this all week. Now I've had time to think about and reflect on it. And today I'm finally taking the time to write it.

So what is it? Well, it's a simple story really. And honestly, I won't be doing most of the writing. This post will basically write itself. How will it do that? Well, I'll be using quotes. Not just those quotation marks (imagine a post filled with these """'' """ """" """ """"""). But actual words from local Filipino children. And an adult or two.

Maybe you could say I'm cheating. I don't see it that way. You'll just have to read the entire post to understand. So go ahead. Click on the link to keep reading and find out what these quotes are and how personal they are to me.

Realization of the day

So today I realized something. I'm not a blogger. Maybe I'm just not a writer. Whenever I do think of writing a post, I can't think of anything to write. Even now, I feel like I have nothing to write. And I think the gecko outside my window is laughing at me. At least it sounded like he was laughing. Or something.

I'm distracted. I just wandered into the kitchen looking for something to snack on. Now I'm back and I still don't know what to write about. I remember having this same problem during college whenever I tried writing a research paper. I'd turn the TV on, listen to music or play a game for a distraction. Then go back and try to write some more. Sometimes I wonder how I ever wrote 12-15 page papers.

Well, let's see. What did I do this week? Something there must be interesting. Well, Monday I went to the market to get a few items. While there I came across some of the Rugby boys from our Wednesday night ministry. One of them yelled my name, so I went back to say hi and shake their hands. Most of them had been at the youth camp the other week (which reminds me, I never wrote about that...I'm a terrible blogger). I was only able to communicate a little bit with them. I could tell them what I was doing and where I was going, but I could not respond to whatever it was they said because I had no idea what they said. I was able to ask about Wednesday night, and they said they'd be there. And then I said goodbye because it's rather awkward being a white guy in the middle of these Filipinos in a public market.

Youth Camp

So what's going on? Well, this month sees the completion of 4 years of marriage for us. It's a bit strange to realize that nearly 40% of our married lives have been spent overseas. That's 2½ years living back home in the States and 1½ years in our current home in the Philippines. I wonder what it would feel like if the day comes when more of our married years have been outside of US borders than within its borders?

In celebration of this momentous occasion (our 4 years of marriage), last week we spent a few days away from the city. We stayed at the same place we did last year on our anniversary. It rained one day, but we really didn't care. It was just really nice to get away and unwind a bit.

So are you starting to wonder what this has to do with the title of this post? Well, nothing. I just felt like writing a little bit about the most exciting of our recent endeavors.

Do you want to know why I this post mentions a youth camp and what in the world I have to do with it? Well, keep on reading!

Highlight & Lowlight

So I want to tell you about the highlight and the lowlight of my day yesterday.

Highlight:

Walk to the market: Free

Fresh, whole, mature coconut: 20 pesos (≈$0.50)

3 potatoes: 40 pesos (≈$1.00)

8 pieces of bread snacks: 40 pesos (≈$1.00)

6 pinkish-red roses: 120 pesos (≈$3.00, that's right, 50¢ each!)

Pedaled tricycle ride home by a guy who remembers me and knows where I live: 20 pesos (≈$0.50)

A happy wife: Priceless!

Life musings

Life musings:

I keep encountering a common theme in the past couple of months. The concept of missionary self-care. Before coming here, I don't think I really appreciated what that could me or the importance of it. I mean, I've seen how excited missionaries are to serve and get to their intended destination. I, too remember the sleepless nights I had before coming here. I was so overcome with joy and anticipation of what this new chapter would hold. Now, I wish I would have just slept more {and stored that sleep time in my 'short on sleep' tab}.

But self-care really applies to anyone who meets this criteria.

1. must be human {sorry I don't do animal self-care}
2. must interact with living humans on a daily or very frequent basis
3. proceed below :)

You can just change the title and fill in the blank (nurse self-care....mother self-care etc.) You get the idea.

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When God's blessing exceeds our worth

Ya'll must think I've fallen off the face of the planet.

Well I am 13 hours of ahead of the States, but somehow manage to stay behind in proper communication. I've still got Christmas thank you cards I'm waiting to make.

But this post isn't meant to be full of excuses. Let me 'show' you some of my recent life happenings.

Happy New Year!

So it's the new year, and it's time for a new blog post. Yes, it has been a long time. Life has been a little out of sorts for me recently, meaning that I've been knocked out of my routine. I'm still trying to get back into the groove. So here's a brief rundown of what's happened in recent weeks.

We celebrated our birthdays in October because Christina had a busy schedule in November. We stayed at a resort on Samal Island for one night. The water was just okay, but the surroundings on land were nice. So then in November, we had two special Thanksgiving meals. The first was with the other girls at the clinic. Christina was in charge of games, so we did bobbing for apples. Some of the girls had never heard of it. Others, like myself, had not seen it done in years. I think I'd last done it when I was like 12 or something. But most of these girls are in their 20s. Honestly, I didn't think it would go over well. But I was wrong. I think only two people did not participate. It was a hit. So much so, that two days later, when we had a meal with the families, we did it again for the kids.