"Just Be There"

Busy month means lots of pictures! :) Scroll all the way down to read about the faithfulness of the Lord this month!

Miracle baby Alicia when we went to visit at the hospital

Jovy, Lovely, and I in our matching clinic scrubs before the Labor and Delivery Seminar

Wednesday night church service

Baby dedication with my pastors wife Cheryl, SarahBeth, and I

1 Hour old and not impressed

MiNay, me, our pastors wife Cheryl, and Brittany at church

SarahBeth, me, and Brittany before our church Christmas program

Church selfie in our Christmas pink attire

Sweet baby girl ChrisMarie

Kyla, Aaron, SarahBeth, and I at the clinic Christmas party

My dear friend Kris and I

Afternoon with friends

Waiting to donate blood at the Red Cross blood drive

(Me, Kris, Melody, Brittany)

Youth Christmas Party at church

BoodleFight at the youth Christmas party

SarahBeth, me, and Brittany performing "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas" at the clinic Christmas party

Woah, how is it already the end of December?! We have been busy preparing for Christmas, and all of the church programs, cookie baking, and present wrapping that comes with the wonderful holiday. As I sit here, it is 2 days until Christmas, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to spend this holiday season in such a wonderful place.

December started out rather "cold", at a whopping 68 degrees. We bundled up in sweatshirts, blankets, and fuzzy socks, and sat in front of our tree while sipping hot cocoa, Michael Bublé softly playing in the background. We attended a baby christening, had a girls day in a larger city, celebrated a dear friends birthday, got rained in, welcomed lots of babies, and learned many dances and songs for the church Christmas program. This month has been filled with fun memories, new Christmas traditions, friendships being strengthened, hard times, growing moments, and LOTS OF COOKIES! We are thanking Jesus for His faithfulness through it all!

I developed a boil on my arm (I know, gross!) and it became infected. It started swelling, was extremely painful, and was warm to the touch. After realizing that it was only getting worse, I went to the doctors. She prescribed me an antibacterial cream, and told me to use a warm compress 3x a day to help it open up. It was ridiculously painful, and nothing was helping, so I went to the Filipina midwives and asked what to do, since boils aren't that uncommon here. They took one look at it and said that I needed to find a gumamela flower. Having grown up in a family that didn't have a green thumb, I had no idea what that was. I was told that I needed the red flower that was down the road, so I started walking, looking for red flowers. I eventually found one, but the problem was that it was in someone's side yard, and I couldn't just reach over the fence and pick it. The older lady that lived there came out of her house as I was standing there, contemplating what to do, and I pointed to my infected boil. Before I could say anything, she grabbed my arm and marched me over to the flower tree, yelling something to the neighbor. The older lady who lived next door, and two more older ladies from the neighboring houses came over, and were all arguing over which one was the best. They finally agreed that I should take the big red one, and plucked it from the tree. They told me that I need to smash it up until the juices came out, and then put it on my boil. I was a bit skeptical, as I wasn't sure that this flower would help anything, but I was so desperate that I was willing to give it a try. I had the midwives help me, and I put it on my arm, covered for 12 hours. They said that only the red flower works because the swelling and boil was red, and being the same color helps the magnetism work to remove the boil. I was skeptical of that too, but like I said, I was desperate. I did this 3 times, and each time that I removed the bandage and flower, the swelling and pain had lessened a bit each time, and the pus had started to come out. By day 3, the boil was almost completely gone, and there was no more inflammation. I was shocked, as this "magic flower" really helped. I am thankful for people who know alternative remedies that work quickly, and I am also thankful that it didn't turn into MRSA or sepsis.

A patient that had her first baby with us came back to have her second baby with us, and we were all so excited to see her for prenatal visits. We all patiently waited for her to go into labor, and eventually the day arrived where she was in real labor. We were all so excited, as this patient and her family are some of the sweetest people. As one of our supervising midwives, Melody, was monitoring the patient, she noticed that the baby's heartbeat was becoming dangerously low during the peak of contractions. She gave the patient oxygen, started an IV, and we transported to the local hospital. We were all scared, as the baby would not survive without immediate intervention. I remember sitting on my bed and crying out to God after leaving the hospital, not sure what the outcome would be. Thankfully, we have a good relationship with a local OB doctor, who was able to come and do an emergency C-section, which saved the baby's life. It turns out that there was a knot in the umbilical cord, and it was getting pulled tighter with each contraction, cutting off the baby's oxygen supply. We all were thanking Jesus when we got word that mama and baby were doing fine, and SarahBeth and I went to visit them in the hospital. Their miracle baby continues to do well, and we are so thankful for their sweet family.

One night,as I was on shift, we got word that the younger brother of a dear friend of mine was in a really bad motorbike accident. He is 16, and suffered severe injuries to his leg, requiring multiple surgeries to correct it. The healthcare system here in the Philippines is very different than in America, and can be frustrating at times, even for the native Filipinos. Her brother needed 3 units of fresh, whole B+ blood for a blood transfusion, and he needed it rather quickly, but after talking with his sister, I was informed that there was no blood to be found. We started praying for a miracle. I went for quite a few days to visit them in the hospital, and was able to be his sisters companion as she went around town trying to find the things he needed for his hospital stay. We spent hours in line at a Red Cross blood drive, trying to get blood for the transfusion, and eventually they were able to get two of the units. My dear friend stopped her entire life to help her family, constantly putting their needs above her own. She taught me some lessons on selflessness, and it really bonded us as we walked and talked about Gods faithfulness in such a dark and confusing time. Her brother was finally able to have two of the required surgeries to try to fix his leg, and now we are just praying for complete healing over him. The family is trusting God throughout this difficult time, but please join me in praying for them as they now have many burdens to carry this Christmas season. We know that we serve the God of miracles! Thank you for the continued prayers for this sweet family.

If I had to choose one thing that December has taught me, it would be the phrase: "Just Be There." As the oldest in my family, and a naturally born leader (I think that's the nice way of saying stubborn), it is hard for me to not just jump in and fix everything. I want solutions, and if I don't know how to fix something, or make someone feel better, I get stressed and try everything I can to make it better. The ups and downs of this month have taught me that I don't have to know how to fix everything. I have spent many nights, crying out to God, "God, how could you do this? Where are you now? Why isn't this fixed? How do I solve it?" And He simply holds me in His arms and says, "just be there." So when I can't fix her brothers problems, I just sit quietly next to his hospital bed, my hand on his sisters knee, letting her know that God is bigger than our problems. "Just be there." When I can't see the outcome for our patients baby with the low heartrate, I just sit next to her, rubbing her belly and praying, reminding them that God is faithful. "Just be there." As I sit in the clinic, playing cards or watching The Voice on Tuesday nights, our relationships are built and strengthened by just being there. "Just be there." Or when I get wrapped up in thinking about the future, or stressed about an assignment, He whispers "just be there" and it reminds me to take it one day at a time, one step at a time, soaking up every opportunity to grow relationships and be His hands and feet.

This Christmas season has had me reflecting a lot on the

birth of Jesus (midwives are always thinking of birth) and the events that played out that night in the stable. We started doing an advent Bible study in the clinic, and I wanted to share a part that really stuck out to me: "Advent is an act of midwifery. It's a prophetic act we engage in tonight: lighting one candle, just one, to flare out against the darkness. A candle to lead us home, to light our work, to comfort and to guide. It's our light in the window to each other saying, "this way. Hope is here." It's standing alongside those who longed for Jesus then, and all of us who are still longing now and saying. "You're doing it, keep breathing, it's supposed to hurt a little, but keep leaning in."

Thank you for all of the continued prayers and support! It is hard to be away from home and comforts during this Christmas season, but I am so thankful to be here in the Philippines. Merry Christmas from Tabuk City :)