So You Know

Oh, and I should let you know - the updates are going to seriously slow down after we hit Manila! Life here has been leisurely. Life is about to get busy!

On to Manila!

So our time on this little island has come to a close. Tomorrow we catch a morning ferry back to the largest island of the Philippines - Luzon. By tomorrow evening we will be in our new home, starting to get settled in and make it ours, so that starting on Friday we will begin our acclimatization to Manila, figuring out our way around a city of 17 million!
The past 1.5 weeks has felt enormously longer - it's hard to imagine I left home such a short time ago! But these days have been good, I had such a hard time leaving home this time, and God gave me time and scripture and friends to help me move beyond that and trust Him. Also we've had chances to relax on the beach and for snorkeling. We've visited a local tribal village, and a century-old femme sage. We've had classes and reviews to prepare us for the life that starts next week! And like last Wednesday, this morning I had the chance to practice prenatals.
Today I stepped beyond observation to actually being the caregiver! I can no longer say "I will be a midwife", because I am a midwife! One in training, one still learning, but hey, midwives are always learning. It's lifelong.

Meet Florencia...

Meet Florencia Magbuhos. A 98-year-old Filipina hilot (hee-loht: a traditional birth attendant). This precious women spent more than 60 years delivering the babies of this small island, and has stories from WWII when she seriously delivered babies while hiding in tall grasses as the villagers were running from the Japanese!
We visited Florencia in her home up in the hills, where she is surrounded by 13 children who have since "gone forth and multiplied" so that she has more than 100 grand and great-grand babies! Meeting this woman is such a privilege, not only is she perhaps the oldest person I have ever met, she is the oldest midwife I will likely ever know.

A certificate from a training program Florencia took in the '80s.

Florencia sees herself in digital form.

A legend of our calling!

O is for Ocean

Today was our day of rest - so we went snorkeling! Some of you know my history with snorkeling and the ocean and may wonder why I would attempt such a thing, but alas, I did. It was okay, but the whole time I spent thinking 2 things: don't let your friends get more than 5ft away and that coral is really close, I'm claustrophobic! Oh and as a lovely twist of fate I did get a small jelly sting! Nothing to complain about, if my last sting was say a 10 this is a 1 or a 2. I'll survive.
Then we returned to "our" beach only to find the tide abnormally high and the waves extremely intense. What is usually 30-40ft of beach was at times completely submerged. Waves were cresting at 6-10ft right on shore and sweeping up to the "resort" walls! There were these little boys having a heyday in the waves, while we watched to make sure they didn't get swept off!
Look at the last pic, those precious boys came and joined our line and were mimicking us - so cute!

The Little Children

So today contained more adventures! We went with friends up into a local Mangyan village, a place that is very poor, and seems a step back in time.
Our friends have been visiting this village for several months now and just try to help meet local needs and have fun with the kids. So our medics set up a little clinic and a bunch of girls were cutting and washing kids hair, and scrubbing up their little hands and feet. We also had bags of baby clothing and blankets to give out to those who were buntis (pregnant) or had batas (children).
Really all of these small gifts were for their health, the medic work is obvious, but washing their hair helps keep the children from itching their scalps and causing wounds, wounds which don't don't heal quickly in this kind of humidity. And cleaning little fingers and under nails helps stop the spread of diseases when little kids are always putting their fingers in their mouths. And the clothes also gives them something clean, and something warm.
We had a lot of fun, but it is always sad to me that we have so little real lasting help to offer. That is why I am pursuing Midwifery, so that I will have a real, necessary skill to help impact the health and safety of mothers and babies, and in turn entire communities!
I spent most of the morning playing "photo" with the beautiful children! I took pictures of them and they would ogle and laugh and screech! They loved it and would have loved it until the end of time I'm sure. Anyway I have uploaded all the pics into an online album, so click HERE.

The One with Prenatals, an Ocean and Ducks

So these first 9 days are a brief period to recupe from travel, and get some orientation to our work here and the Filipino culture. So that means that I have time to go to the beach and time for classes/review sessions and even prenatals!
That's right - today I found myself in a local church where some of our midwives go each week to provide prenatal check-ups to local women. Can you believe it? I've been here 2 days and we are already getting experience! To tell you the truth for the last year I have never really felt like this could really be real! Even in classes all summer I often wondered if they would really "let" us do this. And today I worked with another midi who has been here since last summer and she was just so knowledgeable and confident and good! And I realized that very soon I too will be as confident, and soon I too will have many, many similar experiences under my belt.
So aside from prenatals, in the last couple of days I had the chance to go to the beach and see the beautiful ocean (I think it's been almost 2 years!) and bathe some ducks, as you will see below!

Words that Make a Difference

Some scripture and some words of wisdom from Mr. Oswald Chambers. Both are really helping me right now as I work through the emotional turmoil of this big move.

"Trust in the LORD and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the LORD,
and He will give you your heart's desires.
Commit everything you do to the LORD.
Trust Him and He will help you."
Psalm 37:3-5
(there are five small directives and then four HUGE promises!)

"Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don't pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone."
(what is my life source? it can't be where i am or friends, family, comfort. it is Christ.)

First News

Well friends as I said I am here and after sleeping for the first time in several days I feel human again! I'm on the island of Mindoro right now, here for 9 days and it is warm, and so green outside.
We arrived last night and the power went out to welcome us, so we were operating with candles (and I was trying not to think about what might be out in the dark that I wasn't seeing!!). I had my first cold shower - ahh life!
So far I haven't seen any terrifying spiders (knock on wood), but just a few cockroaches, and other bugs nothing to worrysome - except when they come flying out at you in the middle of the night.
Life here is about to begin!

So the pic above is the view from the ferry boat (not what you're thinking of when you think ferry boat), and this one is the view from the front of the house!

I'm Here!

I didn't think it would happen - but I have finally arrived!!
I can't give you any news now, but it was eventful, and I am very glad to no longer be in transit.
Thanx for your prayers, I'll have pictures and news in the next day or two.

This is just to say that pics will come - I've had a mishap with burning a CD. Therefore the pics are still across town and not on this computer! Arghh!

Kim's Going Away Party

Last night was the official Kim's Going Away Party, and never has there been a dance party like it!! We all boogied for a solid 3 hours, I mean we went mad! It was a beautiful, crowded, overly warm celebration. I would pick no better way to leave all these blessed friends then to "smack that" and "drop it like its hot" with them!! Some of the most fun EVER!
There were a lot of people there last night that represent a big part of my heart - its hard to really say goodbye, hard to know that none of us will stay the same (ultimately a good thing), but that means that this special time, these last 4 months, will not be repeated - good things don't last forever, you enjoy them while they are, but you must hold them with an open hand.
So I am going to open my hands now, and "smack that"...

(pictures to follow this afternoon!!)

Church

Well, it's come and gone - I've had my last Sunday here in GP, and Canada for that matter (and for now). The next time I attend church it will be in a warmer climate, in a different language and a different flavour!
I'm going to miss GP Church of Christ a lot! My home church, my family - there are so many there that I love. People I've grown up knowing, have served with, have learned from. I dearly love our church, and will miss singing alongside them, Alan's sermons, the jr high youth, my quirky-yet-lovable bible study group. All parts of this family that I love.
But as I go out, I know that the love and ministry of the church is going with me. I do not go to Manila alone, along with my midwife-sisters and (of course) the LORD, I go with the heart of our GP CofC. You are ministering alongside me, you are helping me even though I'm far away, and you are a part of any lives touched in the process.
I love our church. I love the Church!

Definition of a Good Day

Now I'm not saying a great day, but a pretty good one includes:

• 1 last day at work,
• 1 Flames victory over the Oilers,
• 1 evening out with Jessica!

Not too shabby eh? Now, from a good day, to a good nights sleep!

PS: only 5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blizzard!

So GP was hit with the same Blizzard that's ravaging all Western Canada! It came in yesterday with 46km/h winds, a foot of snow, less than a click of visibility and temps feeling about -35! I ended up crashing overnight at my folks, and even got stuck downtown today when I went to work. This is a picture out our side door, that snow is hitting the top of our fence, the drifts all over town are like that. My folks are almost snowed in!
I will be soooo glad to get to the tropics in a few days!

Unpacking Words

There's an article on Relevant to check out - this man lives my (current) worst nightmare! He accidently checks his book/music/goodness filled carry-on right before a 25hr flight!!
Please LORD don't let that happen to me!
But I suppose the anecdote is not the point of the article. Unpacking words is the point. Unpacking words, like the way Alan unpacked "WORSHIP" today in church. Loved it!
Check the article (and not your carry-on) HERE.

The IceCapades

Skating Dramatics...


Canucks vs. Oilers (uhh, how about neither!)...


And a bunch of Posers.

New Years Day

A beautiful afternoon as the sun disappears for the day.

We spent the afternoon skating on a pond downtown, I love skating despite my complete inability at it. I mean I can move and all that, but stopping and abrupt turns, not so much!!

It was lovely!