Two worlds colliding!

Hello, I'm back after not blogging forever so there is a lot to catch up, too much to fill one post so I will hit some highlight in the fall and then focus on the time with my mom and brother


Kalinga
I went to Kalinga for three weeks! it was the longest I have ever been away from Safe and the longest I had been away from my cat but I knew he was in good hands.  However I felt nervous leaving for so long,  no reason in particular for that, I think I have just been very attached to the ministry. It can sometimes feel strange leaving, it was a sign that I probably needed to have a change of scenery.

In Tabuk I stayed in the student house next door to the clinic, a building that was not in existence when I was a student.  It was nice getting to know the three students who were there, Brittany (you may remember her name from another post when we went to a wedding together in Kalinga) and I walked to the river on a few different occasion exploring parts we had never been to before.  Spending time with my midwife friends was beyond precious!  they are such wonderful people and it felt so good to work and play with them again.  One Sunday afternoon we rode on the back of motor bikes with some friends up to a beautiful mountain park overlooking all of Kalinga.  It was amazing!!

I caught three babies while at the clinic and assisted at two others.  I was on shift almost every day.  It took me a few days to get my sea legs or midwife legs, but it sure felt good to help bring life into the world again, even taking blood and giving shots.  The clinic has switched to electronic charting, and it took me forever to get used to that, in many ways I still prefer paper however there are advantages such as people can read my writing/typing!.  (I have seriously horrible penmanship)

I spent a lot of time with ate Cheryl and Kuya Rod involving plans for the future shelter in Tabuk, now called Tabuk Refuge of Hope International.  I decided during that time that I need to make plans to move to Tabuk well before the shelter is actually in operation.   It was several weeks later that I decided that move will take place in February.

I returned to Tagaytay in early October, where we were having major plumbing issues and fiances were still sparse since we have been going through several months of a financial low.  Thankfully we were finally able to get our septic siphoned and excavated.  our land lady who originally said she would not help with the cost finally agreed to pay for half.  Whoever built the septic tank to begin with had not built it properly so it fills up much too fast.  We looked and looked and looked for a new house with a better plumbing system and more space but have not been able to find anything!!  In the meantime we had to move out of the manila sight as the contract ran out, ate Red walked the streets of Manila for days but there was nothing to rent.  Fortunately the girls staying in Manila are all independent now so they can now be on their own, so the house was given up and all of the things from Safe Manila were moved to Tagaytay.

Family Reunion
The weeks flew by and before I knew it I was preparing for the arrival of my mom and brother! as you can imagine I was pretty excited!

They arrived very early on November 7th and we had some friends who had stayed at our B&B last year who have a car and were willing to pick them up.  I stayed with them the night before, We got there pretty early, and I stared at every face that could possobly resemble my tall Canadian brother (I figured I would spot him first) and there they were with that sort of confused "I just got off an 11 hour flight and not quite sure where to go" look.  In moments we were embracing and just like that my two worlds collided

our friend ate Nikki who picked us up 
with her son and Isaac and I at the airport                                               showing off my little blue house!  
  
                                                         They received a Safe family welcome!

We spent a week just in Tagaytay, mom and Isaac meeting the girls, Isaac playing Frisbee with the kids, we distributed gifts that were sent from Canada and mom and Isaac worked on adjusting to the time zone and temperature.  Mom did a teaching on mother hood with the girls and spent lots of time with them.  Isaac spent time with the kids especially the boys who don't get to hang with young strong Christian men very often, they  soaked it up like sponges.  we took three of the girls out to starbucks one day,  the three we took don't often get to go out and for one of them it was her first time to Starbucks.

                      

 


 I took them to Balite falls, these beautiful water falls that fall into clear green pools that are wonderful for swimming, Isaac was like a kid on Christmas morning.  We ate Lomi noodles and I took them on a fairest wheel to overlook the city.  Another day Isaac and went to Taal Volcano, Isaac loved every minute.  I had been there before but this time we went on a trail with actual steam coming up on the trail and our guide knew a lot more and gave us the history and info. We ate a meal at the top and then all but ran down the mountain as I guess we were going over time on our tour.                                 

mom showing the kids pictures on her phone                       Taal Mountain, with ate Rosanna who helped us get around

Balite falls 

After a week we went to Tabuk city via the 12 hour bus ride, except it was only 10.5 hours which was nice.  When we arrived I thought we were getting close via the landmarks but I had never made the trip that fast before and so woke my mom and brother up with very little time for us to grab our things, the result was that we left one small beg on the bus.  Isaac realized it was gone as soon as the tricy took us to the hotel.  Frustrated I got mom and Isaac into the loby and then took off with the tricy driver to get my beg in the bus.  Fortunately the bus stops in Tabuk, so we knew we could catch it at the terminal but it was at the other end of the city.  We got there just as the bus was parking.  I retrieved  the beg which had a brand new coffee press in it.  The coffee press was for the students because I had broken their last one when I was there during my three week stint.  I was so happy I had found it on sale but in the end the money I saved on it was used for the 200 dollar tricy to chase after it.

after resting for a bit and getting transferred to a nicer room which was also cheaper, sweet! we had breakfast with ate Cheryl and Kuya Rod.  We then had a nap and in the afternoon Georgia picked us up to take us to the clinic.  I loved being able to show mom and Isaac around the clinic and introducing them to all my people there, it was really special.

While my mom spoke to the women for a tram building session I took Isaac to the river.  We had supper at the clinic which was delicious of course as it was made by Minda, the cook who made me fall in love with Filipno food.



The next day was the women's seminar my mom spoke at, I did errands in the morning then joined in the afternoon, after the seminar kuya and ate Cheryl took us to the farm where we plan to someday build the shelter when we have enough funding to expand.



My mom fully approved of ate Cheryl and Kuya Rod something that made me very very happy, although I knew she would love them.  We ate together again Saturday afternoon, and then mom Isaac and I hung out at the hotel.  we ordered sandwitches and Isaac and I watched Emperors New Groove while mom worked on her sermon.  It was so nice to just hang out with my brother like we used to do.  Sunday morning my mom preached, after church we did some video stuff for a promotional video Isaac is going to do for us and then we met Belen and her husband for Pancit.  after that I picked up some mending I had given to my favorite seamstress and then we all boarded the bus heading back to Manila with ate Cheryl sending us off.

It was a crazy weekend so we were all eager for our holiday.  Our bus arrived in Manila at around 4 AM from there we took a Grab to the bus terminal to catch a bus which I thought would take us to the boat that would take us to Mindoro Island, only to find out that was not the right bus terminal, the guy pointed across the street.  Crossing the street is not a simple thing in Manila so we walked up  the street, found a crossing, linked hands and ran across the dark streets avoiding traffic.

we finally found the right bus station and right bus, we loaded in the very back and after about two hours we arrived at Batangas port.  I was a little unsure about this part as I was now in new territory.  It was still dark and none of the buildings made sense.  A guy with an ID of some sorts asked where we were going, I said Mindoro and he said follow me.  My mom was asking me questions about why we were following a strange man, and I was like, well lets just follow and see, but then I started getting nervous.  But it turns out he was an agent for one of the boat companies, he took us through all the steps, and much faster than I anticipated we were on the boat. we sat outside and watched the sun rise over the ocean, we could not have planned it better.

we arrived on Mindoro and hired a tricy to take us to our resort called Amani Beach Resort. The resort was simple, but peaceful, bamboo out door lounges sandy ground and an outdoor feel restaurant and a beach front, it was pebbly but made for great swimming.  The next few days were wonderful.  relaxing and swimming.  My favorite thing however was the day we went snorkeling.  my mom was hesitant I didn't realize how much until she admitted it to me later.  the boat we went on was small, like Canoe size but with a little motor.  Mom and I sat next to each other, just barely fitting on the seat.  Mom had a little panic in her eyes when she realized that was the boat we were getting in and quizzed our boatmen on his experience.  But as soon as we headed out on the water, beauty took over any fear.  First our boatman took us to an underwater cave and then took us to the reef.  None of us had ever snorkeled.  I had been given a cheap little snorkeler when i was kid but had never liked the feel of the snorkel in my mouth.  The boatmen simply said go, so we figured out how to put on the snorkeling gear jumped in the turquoise water and with some uncertainty I put my head under the water.  it was a strange feeling not holding  my breath under water but as soon as my eyes beheld the massive amount of colorful fish of all sorts of types, the corals and sea plants I was filled with such intense joy I started giggling, yes giggling under water, mom said she could hear it through my snorkeler.  the fish would come up and nibble on my feet and hands which made me giggle even more.  It was like I had just stepped into one of those under water documentations.  I can honestly say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Before we knew it the holiday was over and we headed back to the main land.  I thought I was going to be ok with my mom and brother leaving, thinking I would finally be able to get caught up on some things, but as the days approached I started feeling a little panicky, our days were busy, introducing my family to friends last minute, baking four cakes for four birth celebrations.  I was very happy my mom was there to help with cakes, usually I do fine on my own, but that day we had two raw cakes, an over cooked cake and a droopy cake.  but with mom's help it call came together.

The girls put together a goodby party for mom and Isaac that same night.  

just having some fun
 
                                                 one of the many Frisbee session

Tuesday our friends picked us up, we spent some time together and then took them to the airport.  The traffic was intense but we left in good time and still got them there a little more than two hours before their flight.  Traffic coming back was even worse, and this is where I get into another story.

My place is really out of the way for our friends, so we had agreed that they could drop me off in a nearby town and I could take public transportation from there, I was showing much more confidence than I felt.  I knew how to get to the town I was in but was a little unsure how to get back to Tagaytay.  our friend's driver said he knew which jeep for me to take however and took me to a terminal, he said something in Tagalog and the driver said something back, I nodded at the guy who drove me and thanked him, I then proceeded to ask the driver of the jeep "Tagaytay?"as I went to get inside "No,"he said and then named another location I had never heard of.  I started to feel panic run through my veins.
Ï need to get to Tagaytay"
"On the way"he said in English "Transfer."
Äh ok" I said again with more confidence then I felt and then got on the jeep choosing a seat right behind the driver, I asked him to tell when to get off as I didn't know where this place was that I would transfer.
Finally we pulled over and he said something indicating this was the spot
"Just wait here."He said
I got off, it was the side of the highway and it was dark, except for the  lights coming from some building and the one from the entrance of what I assumed to be a community further back, but I couldn't tell, It was near 9 PM at this point and traffic and slowed down.
"Oh Lord,"came my prayer "Help me get home"
Finally, a jeep arrived with the word Tagaytay on the front
Unfortunately I realized the jeep wasn't going to where I lived in Tagaytay, but I figured I would recognize sights and be able to figure out where to get off.  The jeep came to the end of its route. I got off and realized I didn't know where I was.  a guy asked me where I was going and when I told him he pointed to the tricy terminal I passed.  I headed there and had to pay through the roof for them to take me all the way home.  But I would have paid anything at the point,  I was feeling cold, hungry, emotional from saying goodbye to my family and just wanted my little blue house and my kitty.  Once the tricy took off I finally realized where I was and later observed I could have taken two other rides which would have been cheaper but like I said, at that point I was getting tired of transferring to jeeps.  When I arrived home a little later I was beyond happy to have finally arrive safe and sound.

So, life continues, I am still behind in things, it seems there is always something to do, but I often look back on the week and can't figure out how the week went by so fast.  lots of baking for one thing.  the friend that has picked us up from the airport gave me some high quality bread flour from the USA specifically to make Pandasal with the girls.  Pandasal is the signature Filipino dinner roll style bread.  Its unique in that it has a sweet taste to it but not as sweet as cake, it is traditionally served with Coffee.   Three times I have made the bread with the girls, they are catching on fast. the hardest part is the kneading of course.  I have never been a great bread maker so I am learning as much as them.
        


We are in full Christmas mode right now and it will take another post to fill you in in that area so I will write another post at a later date.  Until then God Bless you and Merry Christmas!!!

-thesheepishmidwife

                                                    Isaac in a tricy

This and that and the other Things

Hello all, its way past the 6 week mark for updating since my last post there was a  little of this, little of that and some other things.

I hope you summer has gone well and you are enjoying the last few weeks well so far.  Hopefully you got in on some some camping, fishing, swimming, drinking lemonade and eating watermelon.  I imagine parents are busy getting kids ready for the return to school.

Here in Tagaytay, our Summer ended in June, and we are enjoying the rainy season now, and.... I.... love it!! the weather is cooler than our intense summer heat was.  In Manila the rain is just a sort of humid wetness but here in Tagaytay the air actually cools off, its wonderful! some nights I have my fan set to the lowest setting instead of highest, and during cool afternoons I sometimes don't have it on at all.  I am even drinking tea in the afternoons and we have had hot chocolate several times for our afternoon snack time. 
                                                     
                                                         Merienda (snack time) of hot chocolate and pancakes

Everyone has been back in school for awhile now.   Getting the younger girls back to school required a lot of arrangements such as sorting supplies, shopping and last minute things.   The day after the kids went back to school they told us they needed to make name tags, so I was hand making name tags at 8 O'clock at night.  One of our youngest little residents has started kindergarten, she loves it! and seriously so cute in her uniform.

I have been uncovering my teaching skills, and have found I quite like helping kids and teens with homework.  I feel that my homeschooling background helped me with this. 

 A few weeks ago our oldest child was learning her times tables, I was quizzing her on them which brought back memories of when I was struggling to learn them.  I found myself finding lots of tricks to help teach her since I had struggled so much with them when I was young.

                                        Liz, Chesa and Emma, our three ALS (alternative learning system) students

                                        High school and one of our college girls heading out in the morning

                                              Elementary girls off to school hand in hand

I have been learning how to de-lice.  I used to be freaked out about lice before I came to the Philippines and now its just part of life, I have gotten it a few times here and realize its not as horrifying as I once thought.  Its just a thing you get and a thing you get rid of.  when I had my lice one of the girls used to brush them out every few nights,  I was actually kind of sad when they were all gone as I loved having someone brush my hair.  Two of the kids had them pretty bad so I was picking and brushing them out and then finally used some shampoo that was sent from the USA.  (the stuff here doesn't work) One Saturday I drenched their heads in shampoo and the following week did the same.  It seemed to do the trick for now.

I have continued to help out with admin stuff here at safe as needed, I also check lots of Blood pressures as two of  staff are high blood.  I am learning lots about how to deal with conflict among the girls.  The kids are a lot easier for me to deal with, some days they seem to be at each other's throats, just like normal siblings.  One night a few weeks ago was specifically bad and it seemed I was constantly telling kids to apologize to each other.  I had just finished reading a novel where a father talks to his son about how he made Jesus unhappy with something that he did, I thought that was a such a corny way to discipline a child and then all the sudden I found myself doing it, it actually worked really well.

Baking continues, I think if I missed a Friday baking event there might be a mutiny! Our Fridays are our fellowship and we typically watch movies, but one of the other staff and I decided to start adding games to each night, This has resulted in a lot of laughing and enjoyment, the girls absolutely love games

                                                                  

I have gotten to spend some time with a few of the girls one to one, some times just hanging out, other times letting them talk through things.   We have a new resident! code name Liz and her two year old daughter Lilly.  Its fun having a toddler in the house and everyone dots on her, Liz is so sweet and because she doesn't speak much English she is proving to be one of my greatest teachers since it forces me to speak and form sentences in Tagalog.  She speaks slowly and waits for me to translate the words in my head so I find her an easy person to practice my Tagalog with.
                                             
                                           

Liz and Lilly! our newest addition to our family!  

I was involved with some Dr. checkups and took one of our teens to the dentist, which was probably a mistake since they charged my way more than they did when one of our Tagalog ates took some of the girls a few weeks before.  The reason probably being the colour of my skin.  White equals money so I am often overcharged for things.  But I was grateful I got to be there for Meggie as she got two of her teeth pulled, they were too far gone to be filled.  It was the first time I had ever taken anyone to the dentist and it was much harder to watch than I thought.  I had to look away a few times as the dentist struggled to pull the teeth out.  We went for ice cream after which was a nice silver lining to the event.

We are still looking for a lot where we can one day build a bigger house but so far nothing has been quite right.  Its hard to find property in our budget as land is crazy expensive here.  So we continue to pray for the right place.  We have struggled with water leaks, leaky roofs and plumbing issues in our current home.  We had leaks that went undetected for so long that our water bill shot up so high, the water company asked us if we had a swimming pool.  we got that leak fixed but several leaks kept popping up.  But the Lord provides.

Bible studies and worship time are always an important part of the week for the girls, one of our staff will bring us altogether, we sing, study God'd words or the girls will share what God has taught them lately.  It is often an important time for them and their healing journey.  They all really have a heart of worship and it is so precious seeing them Praise their Father.  ate Charisa and ate Grace do group sessions every week, also a an excellent tool in helping the girls with their healing and growing.

I have had some interesting "Vienna moments" lately.  One rainy dreary morning I headed to the grocery store to get ingredients to make hot chocolate.  We also needed fabric softener so I  said I could get it when I went out.  I was also out of coffee and was feeling the loss of my ritual of a cup of coffee before I started the day, so I was a little on the grumpy side.  I chose to go to the closer grocery store and took the two different public transportation to get there.  Despite the fact it was closer I had forgotten how things were a little more expensive at that store, which kind of put me off but anyway, I bought my things and headed back.  The rain had stopped and I didn't feel like waiting for the public jeep so I thought I would walk to the intersection where I would take just one ride home.  I finally made it back and began to empty my begs I pulled the fabric softener out and then and only then did it hit me that the saleslady had packed two begs for me.  But only had one beg. the fabric softener.  The hot chocolate ingredients and coffee had been left behind.  How I had not noticed that I was only carrying fabric softener while I walked more than a half mile is beyond me. Utterly frustrated I went back outside hailed a tricy and paid the extra to get me a little closer to the grocery, it took me as far as it was allowed and I marched the rest of the way chastising myself the whole way.  Before I even entered the door the security guard (every major store, mall, has a security guard inside each entrance) spotted me and exclaimed "Mam! your grocery!" I smiled, at that moment I admit I appreciated that my foreign look distinguished me enough that they remembered who I was and therefore there was no need to show my receipt.  I retrieved my grocery, again took the transportation back and by the time I returned to safe Lunch was pretty much ready.  I spent my entire morning buying hot chocolate ingredients, coffee and fabric softener!  Fortunately after a cup of coffee the world seemed a little brighter.

Then a few weeks ago I took our newest resident for a Dr. follow up check with another staff member.  I was in charge of the money.  After we left we got medicine and headed back.  I took out all the documents from my purse when I returned and was telling ate Red about how it went and I took out one document that had a Dr. note on it. "This is great that they give this to us," I said.  After ate Red looked at it for a moment she said "I think you were supposed to give this to them." finally it dawned on me, I was supposed to give that document to the front desk and then pay the dr. fee!!! I had walked out of the medical center with out paying!!! granted I was raised in a country with universal health care, so paying at a hospital or medical centre isn't exactly a reflex for me.  Non the less, I was incredibly embarrassed! ate Red called the center, they said they had noticed they were missing a document.  I rushed back to the center, as much as one can rush with public transportation. did the walk of shame in front of all the patients to the receptionist desk.  the lady was good about it, I think she even found it rather amusing.  I said how sorry and embarrassed I was, paid and then left, thinking that maybe I should have apologized more than once, this thought was immediately followed  by "Vienna....you are so Canadian..."



I attended another workshop with ate Red and our social worker, working through the process for a referral system among faith based organization in the Philippines.  We headed to Manila at 4 AM arrived in Manila in good time then took rail transit to the workshop.  we were all exhausted as none of us had slept well the night before.  all three of us were functioning on about 3 hours of sleep.  But it was a good workshop, just very long, from 8:30 to past 5 PM.  As always it was nice to connect with other organizations with the same passions.  It was the third meeting we went to involving this process so I have started to get to know some of them.  Pretty much everyone is Filipino so it was all in Tagalog or Taglish.   This was really good for me and I was impressed with how much I was getting, but I was pretty done in by the end of day.  The trip back was long.  Ate Red parted ways to go to her place and Deni (the social worker and I) stuffed our selves into the LRT )one of the rail lines) it was during the rush hours and so it was wall to wall people.  By that time I was so tired I was starting to giggle.  We made it to Pasay where we waited for over an hour or so in line to get a bus and finally arrived back at safe around 11:30 at night.




We celebrated a few more birthdays which met more cake!  Watermelon cake and caramel cake

We had a teaching by our missionary from the states ate Charisa who is also a psychologist.  We had our staff meeting and celebrated another birthday!

I went to Manila again to talk to the company handling my visa, They had not been getting back to me and I was getting worried and frustrated so I knew I had to go in person to figure out what was going on with my missionary visa. After the 2.5 hour bus ride and navigating the MRT I met up with ate Red, we ate and headed to to the travel company all ready to have guns blazing.  When we arrived  the lady talked to the guy in immigration over the phone, gave me a quote of what I needed to pay (which is what I had been waiting for for months) and assured me my application had been submitted to Immigration.  It should be processed in about three months, she promised me a few other things and within 5 minutes we were out of there.  I realized that all of what was told me could have just been e-mailed to me, but where would the adventure be in  life if things were that easy.  At least it was all good news.  Ate Red and I had coffee together and then eventually went our separate ways.  For the first time in a long time there was no line up for the bus!! I arrived back at safe at 8 PM. 



So life continues, I am shocked that I have been here almost a year now.   I have gotten into a routine now and the fact that life has a kind of flow confirms that I really am coming to the 1 year mark, Everyone settles into culture differently and I find for me it takes about a year to feel comfortable and two years to feel established. Interestingly enough I think I have a harder time with the culture in Tagaytay than I did in Tabuk.  This is surprising as the culture in Tagaytay is actually much more western than in Tabuk.  But I have come to two reasons why I think this is.  One is that even though its more western its still the Philippines, so I might be in western culture mode and then all the sudden I will hit a Filipino cultural item and I will have to stop and think.  Because of the mix of western and Filipino cultures I find its hard to know where one stops and another begins, so there is more tripping up and having to check myself. But In Tabuk even though there is a variety of different tribal cultures it all feels very, well...Filipino.  Once you get the culture I find its easier to  sort of melt into it.  The other reason is that Tagaytay is a city, so although it has western themes those themes all have to do with city life. As most of you know I was raised in the country, in a ranching and logging community where everyone knows everyone, and I loved that way of living with every fiber of my being.  Hence I feel more natural in a more provincial living environment like Tabuk, its difficult to describe the rituals and things that are similar to country living in Canada and provincial living in the Philippines, but there is a similarity, something that gets into your blood, that cannot be described with mere words.

Speaking of which in about two and half weeks I will be heading to Tabuk for three weeks to volunteer at the midwife clinic and to have more meetings and planning strategies with ate Cheryl about starting the shelter in Tabuk.

There are days that are harder than others that's for sure, but there are days full of joy as well.  My every day life always varies, I know people often ask what it is that I do and my answer is typically "Whatever safe needs me to do" this means that my days vary a lot.  some of my activities are really not very glamorous, like waiting in line at banks and bus lines, writing up documents or handing out allowances.   But there are also times of playing with the children and giving them extra attention and talking to someone about their day at school or helping with an assignment.  Reading stories or having a tea party on my deck.   Its often hard to know how much of difference these things make but one of my prayers is always that God will use me the way he wants me.

As always I want to thank you all for your prayers.  I do not do this alone, it would be impossible, Of course God is over everything, but neither is it just be and God, its all of you, the ones who pray for this ministry, who partner in this ministry, the ones who helped prepare me for this journey.  I do not walk this road alone, you are all right there as well. God Bless you all!

until next time
The sheepishmidwife

Old things, new things and everything in between

Hello  all!
Hard to keep up with this thing called time, the weeks and months have gone by in such a blur it has caused me to get behind in a lot of my updating, I know I am well past my 6 week deadline, but here are some high lights!

The wheel 
Lately I have been having these cravings to drive.  I miss driving like crazy, the first time I came to the Philippines I missed it but not this much.  It might be because when I was back in Canada I did a lot more driving and my brother and I had our own car which was a wonderful feeling and I do miss that 2000 red oldsmobile and being to just take off whenever (provided my brother wasn't using it). But I think my missing the wheel also has to do with the fact that driving is the ultimate feeling of control and Independence.  I am not a control freak, never have been, but like most people I like to maintain a little bit of control in my life, and I loved the feeling of putting my foot on the gass and steering "Tim Bit" (at it was christened after much debate) wherever I wanted.  I loved filling it with gas, learning to check the oil, and how it looked after I gave it a good cleaning.  All wonderful feelings of control.  Basically I feel I have very, very little control in my life right now,  God has been stripping me of that.  Reminding me I have little control about the way things go on a daily bases.  I have this very strong sensation that I am not driving my own life, that God is, it is not a situation of "Jesus take the wheel" because Jesus doesn't really want me anywhere near the wheel. I don't even feel like I am in the front seat as that would make me too close to the navigation devices, no i am in the back seat, every once in awhile asking the driver where we are and the answer rends to be "You'll see" and when I ask and when I have think I have figured how long it will take to get to the next place, I am always in store for a surprise.  I know this is how God wants it and I also know there is more that God will need me to let go of....

So onto to the updates...

The rest of April went well, and went by fast, I continued to help with daily finances, and other activities, the summer started and we planned more activities, the girls started doing self defense classes again, we had some worship dance sessions, and ate Charisa and ate Grace did weekly group sessions.   As predicted I missed my Canadian home a lot knowing that lambing was happening and I was missing it.   Right after Passover Thursday I went through a massive homesick period, it all started when I described to someone how my mom often cooks lamb on the Passover.  And then I started thinking about lamb, and starting craving it with an impressive intensity.  That just kind of snow-balled into missing everything at lambing this time of year, and I still have a craving for lamb that is unlikely to be satisfied any time soon  But that's ok, homesickness makes me feel human and reminds me of the love I have for both of my dear countries.

 Easter did not pass without special attention here at Safe.  On Passover Thursday I organized a candlelight communion event,  using grape juice and soda crackers, we lit candles and took turns handing each other the fruit of the vine and the bread.  For some of the kids it was their first time taking communion so we explained what it meant, for one of the girls, it was wonderful to watch her solemn expression as she partook.  On the Friday We made hot cross buns, I am not a great bread maker and have never made hot cross buns before, but they tasted pretty good at the end of the day.  I taught those who wanted how to kneed the dough, and they all loved it, even the smallest child, even though her hands were too small to really kneed to I put my hands over hers and we did it together. Sunday morning one of the staff members and I hid Easter candy for kids and adults alike, it brought much joy and excitement!  Earlier that morning several girls went on a local missions trip with ate  Charisa and ate Grace.  They had an incredible experience and some of them even brought a woman to the Lord.  For those of us back at Safe we made resurrection buns! the kids helped to wrap the marshmallows around the dough and I explained several times that after cooking the marshmallow would disappear, but after they came out of the oven and they opened them up to reveal the empty tomb the little girls were rather disappointed to find no marshmallows inside, until I explained that all the gooieness on the outside was indeed the marshmallow.

 Kalinga and more Midwifery
The end of April brought some adventures as I headed to Tabuk for a few days for a wedding.  As always I was happy to greet life in Tabuk, even for just a few days.

I stayed at the clinic this time and and spent time with all my old friends.  The day I arrived several of us went out for shakes at of the best place to buy a mango or buko shakes in the area, (and the cheapest) and some siomi.  We stopped by some Ukay-Ukay (thrift ) shops on the way back, an activity I often did with with them in the past.
The next day I met ate Cheryl, (the woman who want to partner with Ellora and I to bring a shelter to Tabuk) Ellora video chatted in and we had a great meeting about the potential of teaming up to fulfill the calling that God has placed in all our hearts.  We confirmed we had the same vision and desire and it seems like we are going to make a great team! The timing of when this will come to pass is still unknown as there is much to do, but By God;s grace it will all be completed.  We already have a location to begin when the time comes.
                                           
                                        ate Cheryl and her husband Pastor Rod with myself near the their property

I then headed to my friend's (the bride) home town where preparations for the wedding the next day were taking place.  I was to be an usherette for the wedding, a role that looks a little different here in the Philippines than in Canada.   That night was the before party, which is typical for the culture in that area.  The couple start the dancing out, and then people pay to dance and all the money goes to the couple.  Mostly it consists of single men dancing with the single girls and someone sponsors each dance.   This can go on all night, and would have except that not many single women showed and many of them went home early so there were only about four of us dancing at the end and we were fading fast.  So the bride took pity on us and at around quarter to 2 AM put a stop to the dance requests.

We rested for a few hours after that and then arose to get ready for the wedding which would begin at 9 AM.   The rest of the usherettes arrived and we all got dressed and had our makeup done.  The bride looked gorgeous in her dress of lace! The wedding went well they got hitched without a hitch!  The other clinic staff (who were also ucherettes) and I took photos together while we waited for a ride back to the reception.  There was lots of food for our meal, though I admit I was so hot I didn't eat much, we did a little tribal dancing and all sat together.  One of the new students who had been one of our principle dancers the night before was there and she and I had bonded over the last 24 hours.  I was so happy I could be there at my friend's wedding, she herself is a midwife and taught me a lot when I was training under her in the past. 

We went back to Tabuk that afternoon, The next day one of my other midwife friends and I made plans to travel to Bugnay to see our friend who lives there and go see the the nearby falls.  It was one of those perfect days.  Spending time with good friends, swimming in the cool falls and then having a long siesta in the afternoon to the sound of falling rain.  I spent a lot of time in prayer that rainy afternoon just needing some time to soak everything in. 

The next day we headed back to Tabuk and that evening I traveled to Manila.

 I traveled with my friend's sister and her little son.  Somehow we had actually booked the wrong day, but thankfully there were two extra seats, so the three of us squished together for the 13 hour bus ride.   After arriving in Manila I managed to get a taxi to take me to the MRT (he charged me way more than he should have as par usual) but thankfully there was a McDonalds where he dropped me off, and I took time to eat some pancakes and gulp down some coffee....so good.  I arrived in Quezon city at the clinic, as was my plan, mid morning feeling dirty and sleepy.   They had limited water and only a very little left in the whole clinic.  so I took a bath with only about two gallons of water.  But then the water truck arrived and we were able to fill all the buckets and barrels.  I was at the clinic for about 8 days, three days longer than expected.  There were two births and a labour watch while I was there.  I got to so some more prenatals on my own, and spoke lots of Taglish, and was able to understand more than I thought I would, which means my language skills are improving still.
After two full weeks I arrived back in Tagaytay, where I was greeted warmly by both human and kitten.  It was good to be back.   my cat didn't let me out of his sight for the first 24 hours I was back.

 When I returned most of the girls were in Manila teaching at Vacation Bible school, when they returned it had been three weeks since I had seen some of them, since they were still on the missions trip when I left. It was so nice to be with them again.  Another  One of our residents went to the USA to share her story at several International Justice Mission gatherings.  She and her little daughter had a jam packed two weeks but they managed to have some fun as well.

On Other News
One of the churches I attend asked me to share at the Ushers ministry day retreat.  Their subject was connecting to people, so I shared about 30 minutes on my experiences with this.  It went well and it was nice to meet more people in the church.

That afternoon and the  next day  I helped a young woman in need, I won't go into details since this is a social media platform so for safety reasons I will say no more.  But I was thankful for anyone who had been praying for us during that time and for the strength that God gives.

When the situation had been resolved I returned to Safe exhausted but grateful.  However the kids were complaining that I had hardly been present lately and were sad to hear I would be going to Manila the next day for a free talk by Ravi Zacherias.  So before heading back to my place I spent a full hour playing Jenga and reading them stories.

The next morning I woke up at 3:30 AM and packed enough things for a possible overnight. 
I left for Manila at 4:30 AM and met ate Charisa, ate Grace and ate Red at a McDonalds in Manila, after scarfing down breakfast we began the journey to find the church where the talk was being held.  We finally made it. The talk was amazing! I soaked in every word Dr. Ravi Zacherias spoke, he is one of the leading people in Apologetics and speaks with incredible wisdom.  I was disappointed when he stopped talking, I honestly could have listened all day.  At the end of the talk I totally splurged and bought two of his books.

After eating some lunch (which was another adventure in trying to find a chinese noodle place)  ate Red and I went to chrislink to see about what was taking so long with my missionary visa.  Turned all we had to do was bring some papers in, fortunately ate Red happened to have those papers with her, so they made copies and then promised that the process can now begin.  With a thankful heart we left the building.  I decided I would head home that afternoon, ate Charisa and ate Grace were also going to Tagaytay that day but being unaware of how long they would be at the errands I headed to the bus station.  I had been praying the line would not be too long, but as most of us know, sometimes God answers our prayers with a no; the line up was the longest I had ever seen it.  Thankfully I had a book, the one I had bought earlier at the talk.   So I read as I slowly itched my way up the line.  an hour later I was on the bus! praise the Lord!  turned out I only just missed ate Charisa and ate Grace, they arrived back in Tagaytay about 20 minutes after me.

I went to Manila again for a day with ate Red to attend the first of a series of workshops with faith based non-profit organizations to come up with a good referral system between all of us.  It was really great, but I was tired after as I spent more time traveling than I did at the actual workshop :) most of that time being spent in line ups, an hour at the MRT and two hours in line for the bus home.  But I learned a lot of patience!
The next day I got to have some quality time with one of the residents we took advantage of the nice weather and sat on a blanket on the grass behind my house, we listened to the cicadas and talked through some things.  Language barriers are still hard but love is a universal language. 

Some randoms 
We finished our worship dance video with the girls! this is something we have been working towards for months, but have finally finished, at least the actual filming part, with crazy schedules we had to stop practicing for awhile and only recently resumed practice, I had also decided to add some choreography involving candle light dancing  I admit there was a moment, during filming when everyone's candles kept burning out and I was frantically lighting candles by the light of a flashlight and trying to get kids to keep still, hoping no one's hair was going to go up in flames and ate Charisa and ate Grace trying to get the actual dancing on film that I asked myself what I had been thinking adding things last minute!  But it looked pretty cool in the end, and I think everyone was happy about it.

We are looking and praying for a new building and land, whether we find a house already built or buy a lot to build on.  This is a challenging and expensive venture but we are praying God will provide in his timing, the house we are living in now, is falling apart in many ways, we only have one working toilet now for 14 residents including kids, a leaky roof, which we fixed but putting in a proper drain for when it rains and a floor that is chipping.


We celebrated Philippine Independence day, by making a cake and one of the girls decorated the national flag on it, you can see the video on my facebook page.

here a few photos from other moments in the last two month
                                                           
                   tea time!

      Pizza making competition                                          
                                                         mother's day card making

                                             watermelon birthday cake, that Meggie helped me make for our ate! she made the cake part, all on her own!

                                        I became an aunty again! meet my newest niece Emma Rose Alice Moilliet

And that brings us up to date but before I sign off I want to bring up a a project of our fellow brothers and sister in Christ. This project is not directly related to my ministry but it is close to my heart.  The Christian Church in Bugnay (the tribal village in Kalinga where the clinic has done a lot of outreaches) has been going through a building project for the  the last few years, as finances come in they do a little more each time.  It is a very old building and is in much need of renovations, it also is not big enough to hold its people, the last time I attended a service there several months ago, people were overflowing to the outside.  This is a wonderful blessing in its self but of course they want to be able to contain their members, especially in the rain.   In order to finish the renovations they still need several thousand dollars, (keep in mind Canadian dollars go much further in the Philippines) They are not a denomination so the only money that comes in is through individual or foreign supporters, it is a poor village so it is a challenge for them to raise the funds my themselves.  Anyway I just thought I would post that here in case anyone felt led to give.

If you feel inclined to you may give through a cheque to my church making to sure to "Philippines Mission, Bugnay Church" in the memo, or you can also send direct to me via e-transfer or my paypal account which you can find on my blog here.  However if you want a receipt you need to give through the church. my email is vmoilliet@gmail.com

Thankfulness
-Progress in getting my missionary visa
-God's provision, truly I have not felt in need at all since arriving, I have had freedom to take the girls provide and teach baking and other special treats.  And it is all because of the faithfulness of the givers for this ministry.
-For all that I am learning
-For the future ministry beginning to unfold

Prayer
-A new house for safe!
-For the future ministry in Tabuk
-For health for everyone here at Safe, just today two of our girls are feeling flue like and I am feeling my immune system fighting at something
-For the staff at Safe to be healthy both physically and emotionally
-Language (as always) :)

Thank you all for your prayers and support Many Blessings as you head into your summer! until next time.
thesheepishmidwife