A taste of July
I cannot claim that lots happened this month but it has been busy non the less. Ellora and I started on our assignment titles "Well-woman" and no it does refer to the woman at the well. It was a very interesting assignment but kept us very busy. I got to be involved with some more births, which as always wonderful, amazing and nerve wracking. We also have two interns from Austria staying with us and it has been great getting to know them, especially since they are from Vienna! Ellora has headed off for her four week furlough in the states, and tomorrow the new girls head to a mountain village for four weeks so I will be the only white person living the house for the next few weeks.
Alright, so I am not going to lie, my return here to the Philippines was a little more challenging than i was expecting, not for any one reason in particular, but I was definitely pretty home sick the first two weeks back. I had just finished getting over the real big bout of homesickness back at the end of April so it was a little unfortunate to have to go through it again, but then I suppose it shows just how blessed I am to have such a great family. Sometimes I find myself disappointed with how slow I seem to be in getting the hang of things. I will be honest I did not realize that this journey would be this difficult. I have had many good people in my life however that have been encouraging in addition to this I was reminded of something the other day and was actually able to put it into words while writing a letter to a friend.......
Dancing through the thistles
Some of you know, that I love to go places barefoot. On the ranch during the summer months I rarely wear shoes unless there is a real reason to. The thing with going everywhere barefoot however is one often runs into thistles and thorns which do not feel so great on the feet. Whenever I encounter these thistles that tend to disguise themselves among the grass so that often I do not know that they are there until I step on them, I am faced with three choices, 1) I can turn back, and miss out on what is on the other side of the thistle patch or 2) I could run through as fast as I can but then I would have so many thorns in my feet that I probably would have problems walking any further or I can choose 3) slowly moving around, over, side stepping and maneuvering through the thistles. I tend to pretty well always choose option 3.
I feel like the challenges we face can be like that. When we encounter struggles and hardships we can turn back and miss out on what God has for us (although sometimes it is God;s leading that we choose a different route) we can force our way through but then cause more harm to ourselves than good or we can let God lead us in a dance through the thistles. It is usually a slow dance and it takes time, and even when we are careful we will still get thorns in our feet, but by the time we get through and are on the other side, we can look back and realize that God turned the thistle patch into the dance of our lives.
Other things
Anyhow that is my sentimental moment for this blog post. Last Saturday we had our labour and delivery seminar and I had the task of teaching on the second stage of labour. I had fun explaining the different positions that one can use while in labour and the benefits of each. It was the first time that I did a teaching with a crowd since being here. I have done a few devotionals but not a a teaching.
Since the two new girls have arrived four of us Americanos have started our own little church service Sunday afternoons, we have not done it every Sunday, but we get together in the evening sing songs and share something. Recently we all told our testimonies which was pretty cool, we had to divide it up throughout the week however and give each one of us her own night.
Prayer needed
The clinic has been busy and we have had many wonderful women and babies pass through the doors. I do have a particulate prayer request for one of the patients. She recently delivered a baby last week but a few days ago she was confined in the hospital due to a fever. It turns out that she has Dengua fever and a Urinary Tract Infection. Thus she has to be separated from her baby and is not able to breastfeed him. The baby is staying with her family and is doing well, but their whole family could use prayer. Dengua is a very unpleasant illness and in some cases it can be fatal, but she is in good hands now with a very good doctor, please pray that she recovers soon and will be able to be reunited with her baby and family.
To close
With this I shell leave you for another month
other prayer request in addition to the above include continual learning, joy, confidence and humility
For the new assignment that I have started which requires a a lot of research!
Also for my Grandma who is recovering from a burst appendix In Canada. I am told that she is doing a lot better and I am hoping to skype with her soon so that I can see for myself.
As always I thank you for your prayers and support during this journey
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