"Abide"

Sweet Baby Benedict

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." -John 15:5

The word "abide" is such a comforting word to me. In the Old Testament, "abide" means to "await", "remain", "dwell", and "endure". It gives me the comfort of knowing that I don't have to do this journey alone, and that if I abide in Him, the one who is my Strength, I will receive the promises of God. "In John 15, Jesus explains how to live in a meaningful relationship with Him. It is not about what you are doing, or how many times a day you do it. It is about connecting with, and passionately pursuing Him."

-Wendy Blight

We started July off by "celebrating" Canada Day (July 1) with the Canadians that we live with, and then on the 4th we sat around the table, belting out good old, patriotic American songs with our hands over our hearts, missing our country and being able to celebrate our freedom with our families. I welcomed two sweet little babies into the world 4 days apart, a sweet baby boy named Benedict, who stole my heart, and a baby girl named KC Joy. Praise the Lord that there were no complications and both mothers and their families are doing well!

Random Fact of the Week: I was almost hit by a live chicken while going home from market the other day. It was untied from the back of a motorbike as the motorbike was going really fast down the road, and almost hit me as I was riding on the back of a tricey.

We had staff pictures taken last week (check out facebook to see them), and it made me realize how everyone here is treated as family...and I'm so blessed to be a part of it. We also had our wonderful staff retreat a few hours away at the beach! It was wonderful to be able to soak in the ocean, lay on the sand, and not worry about homework or clinic work for 24 hours. We all came back sunburnt and ready to embrace the rest of this busy month.

We did something very interesting...we ate dog for dinner one night. Yep, you read that correctly...DOG! At first we were all a little skeptical, but it was really good. It tasted like beef but had the texture of pork. Very interesting, but an overall positive experience. *Disclaimer: When I say dog, I don't mean a designer dog or a pet dog...I mean a Philippine street mutt.

The second-year students, Julie, Bess, and Scarlet graduated, and it has been so sad preparing to say goodbye to them in 2 days. 7 months isn't that long to know someone, but I have bonded with each one of them differently and I'm so thankful to have been in their lives for this short season. It definitely won't be the same around here without them! Please pray for them as they go off into dangerous and war-torn countries to share the love of Christ by providing adequate and compassionate midwifery care. We are getting Swiss interns at the beginning of August though, so that should keep us busy.

3 of my siblings have had birthdays in July, and it has been really hard being away from home during this busy season of life. I'm thankful for the many hours I'm able to spend on Facetime with them, trying to be as much a part of their normal as I can be. Please be praying for homesickness and finding our new normal here without the other 3 ladies.

July has been busy, with nothing too out of the ordinary going on. There is constant discussion about how July went by so quickly, and how August has just sorta crept up on us. I want to thank all of you who read my blogs, support me financially and/or prayerfully, and encourage me along this journey. I need a few more people faithfully supporting me in order to fully complete my 2.5 years here in Tabuk, Philippines.

Remember to abide in Christ and passionately pursue Him!

Prayer Requests:

-Homesickness

-Julie, Bess, and Scarlet traveling home

-That the weather would cool down

-Health

-Confidence in caring for my patients

-Wisdom for stressful situations

-Motivation (it's hard to be motivated when it is so hot)

Thank you again for all of the support! If you ever have any questions, want to hear more stories, or are curious about my life here, please feel free to text me, Facebook message me, email me, or write me a letter! I love getting updates and encouragement!

**The website won't let me put more than one picture on, for an unknown reason, so please stay tuned on facebook for my July picture update.