Being Still in the Busyness
Woah, this last month has flown by! Sorry that I haven't been updating as often as I'd like. Life has been busy here at the clinic! I can't believe that I've been here for 3 months already.
I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who follows along on Facebook, Instagram, my blog, or through my parents. Please message me if you feel led to give financially, or have any questions! :) I'm not quite fully-funded yet, but I know that The Lord Will Provide.
March was full of busy village outreaches and continued bonding with the girls. April came with a whole new excitement as a medical team from Canada came with Samaritans Purse for 12 days. Julie and I were able to help out in Pinukpuk for two days doing diagnostic tests (urinalysis, hemoglobin, blood glucose, blood draws, HIV testing, HepB testing, and Syphilis testing), as well as doing a few prenatals. The team is currently in the mountain village of Pasil, and next week we have a few more outreaches planned before they go back to Canada. It has been such a blessing getting to know them and learning from them. We rode top-load on top of Jeepneys, and the view was beautiful! The green, rolling hills and sparkling rice fields, the glistening river with the mountains behind it, and the little villages nestled up on the side of the mountain are all breathtaking sights that we experience frequently, and it doesn't ever get old.
The 6 of us finally moved into our new apartment! It is nice to finally be able to settle in and unpack. I am sharing a room with Brittany and Bess, and we have a beautiful view of the mountains, the palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the gorgeous red-orange sunsets. We still don't have everything we need to fully unpack and organize (like a stove, and one of our bathrooms doesn't work yet), but I'm thankful that we could finally move in!
I've helped welcome four sweet babies into the world this past week, and each time, I'm reminded why I'm here and how amazing God is. Sometimes things don't go as planned, I don't get any sleep, or it's a really busy shift, but I'm thankful to learn from some of the best midwives. Seeing these babies take their first breath, all pink and squishy, with lots of dark, black hair covering their heads, and the cutest chubby faces, I'm reminded how precious life is. I love getting to know the mothers, watching as their babies grow inside them. The Lord is good!
One of our pastors and a dear friend, Uncle Robin, celebrated 50 years of ministry last Saturday, and I was so blessed to be able to celebrate with him, his family, and the church community. Julie made about 7 dozen cookies, and they were quickly eaten up! This morning, I had the opportunity to help Julie teach people from villages in a 4-hour radius how to run a Vacation Bible School. That way, they can go back to their village and run one for the children. I love my church community here, and it's so fun to be able to help them share the love of Christ in the community and in nearby villages.
As for the weather, it has been HOT!!! I'm talking like high 90's-low 100's every day. This NNY girl is melting! I'm thankful that we have some places nearby with air conditioning, because sometimes you just have to get out of the heat in order to work on homework or hang out with people. The nights are a bit cooler...low-high 80's. The birth room is especially sweltering, and we are often found having to dab the sweat off each other.
In all of this craziness over the last 12 days, I've been really encouraged to live in the moment and to remember to be still. I keep going back to the verse in Psalms that says, "Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." (Psalm 46:10) When I take a minute to live in the moment, I find that there are so many little things to be thankful for that are often overlooked by the busyness and hustle-bustle of the world around us. Homesickness has been especially tough lately, so I've been holding onto Psalm 42:8- "But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life." and Isaiah 40:29-31: "He gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."
I love getting to spend quality time with each of the girls, and slowly we are learning to live together in harmony. It's not always easy to put 6 different personalities in such close living arrangements, but I'm thankful for such great role models and people to do missionary life with. Each one offers new and different opinions, excitements, and ideas, and I'm thankful for the way that they challenge me to really find who I am in Christ.
Well, If you are still reading this, THANK YOU! I will stop rambling and work on some more of my antepartum homework assignment, but I'm so thankful that you took the time to read about the adventure the Lord is taking me on here in the Philippines!
Prayer Requests:
-Homesickness
-Grace and Compassion
-Joy in all circumstances
-Intentional Bonding
-Motivation to work hard on my assignment and in the clinic
I will try to post more pictures later :)