Christmas evening dinner and Christmas presents
New Years Eve meal
firework all around us!
Happy 2015 Everyone!
Wednesday 31 December 2014
Christmas and New Years photo album!
Christmas evening dinner and Christmas presents
firework all around us!
Monday 29 December 2014
Christmas package arrival!
Thank you all for your prayers, because my package arrived safe and sound!
The amazing part is I didn't have to pay one peso to pick it up which is what Canada Post said I would have to do. Plus there is usually a fee to pick up any parcel. There isn't really a reason for this except that mom said she was praying that I wouldn't have to pay. Thank you God for little miracles.
Thank you so much everyone who put time, money and effort into this, it was a wonderful Christmas present and you have no idea how excited I am to open up some of that wonderful tea!
love you all!
Thank you so much everyone who put time, money and effort into this, it was a wonderful Christmas present and you have no idea how excited I am to open up some of that wonderful tea!
love you all!
Wednesday 24 December 2014
Merry Christmas from the Philippines!
I hope and pray that wherever you are in your part of the
world your Christmas is a special one.
Last night I was sitting up on our roof contemplating how
this year is a historical one for me.
Not just because I am in the Philippines and having a tropical Christmas
but because it is the first Christmas I am spending away from home. I have spent 21 Christmases in Vavenby,
British Columbia on Aveley Ranch in the home I grew up in. There is definitely some homesickness going
on but that is to be expected. My love
to all of you at home!
Now here is to Christmas number 1 in the Philippines. But I am jumping ahead of myself; it has been
awhile since I have updated my blog so I better bring you all up to speed. In my last post I told you all about
Bugnay. Well, after Bugnay it was time to
do the final steps to get my missionary visa…..
The saga of the photo and fingerprinting for Visa
The last stage for getting our visa involves a trip to
Manila to get our photo ID and fingerprinting.
However this is no small feat since Manila is a 12 hour night bus ride from
Tabuk city. There was an idea that I
could get all of my needed material from the much closer city of Tuguegarao because they had the special fingerprinting machine. So I had submitted a letter to the Manila immigration
office asking if I could get my photo and fingerprinting in Tuguegarao. When I returned from Bugnay I had letter saying
basically that they were giving me permission to get my photo and
fingerprinting in the said city. So off
I went to Tuguegarao, to get this complete.
However when I arrived, the bottom line was that they could not complete
the task. So then they had to write
another letter for me to take to Manila explaining that although the Manila immigration office had given them permission to get these things done, they were not able to
process them. This whole thing took
awhile but meanwhile I met some very interesting Christian people from
Ghana. After this was done and I texted
the person who was helping with the whole process about what happened I was
instructed to get to Manila that
week. Fortunately one of the other
midwife volunteers, Deborah, said she would go with me. For those of you who know me really well, you
can just imagine me, a farm girl from little tiny Vavenby going to Manila by
myself.
The Manila trip
Instead of taking the 12 hour night bus, doing
our deed, and then taking the next 12 hour night bus home that same night, we decided to make use of the long trip and try and enjoy it and see
some of Manila. So we found an
inexpensive hotel and stayed over night.
We enjoyed the luxury of hot showers and a very comfortable bed, and
Western food (not that I don’t like Philippine food, it actually is very good, but
it is fun to eat food from your homeland, which one tends to crave) And yes we
even took in a movie. We got to see some
beautiful historical sites in Manila and explored a beautiful mall. I even found almond milk! Following are a few
pictures. Oh and do you want to know the ironic
thing? I didn't time it, but the Immigration
task probably only took around 12 minutes to get my photo and
fingerprints. Yep, that’s right 12 hours
for 12 minutes. Or actually it was 24
hours for 12 minutes. But, we enjoyed
our time very much!
In the courtyard of an old Church
The end result was a good one, I now have my visa! So it all
feels very official now!
One of the most interesting things about taking the two
trips so close together, first to Bugnay and then to Manila and being in Tabuk
in between, was to see the vast culture difference between a mountain village
and the capital of the Philippines.
There is really no way to stereotype the culture here because it is beautifully
different everywhere you go.
So that was November.
Clinical hours increase!
December brought regular shifts in the clinic. I now have three shifts a week. The funny thing is that so far there has not
been one birth on my shift. So the other
night after one of my shifts where nothing happened I asked the night shift if
I could stay. That night there were two
births that I got to be in on. Both births
were an honor to be a part of and went very well. By the end of it all I was tired from having
been up for so long but I was also very happy.
I definitely still have a LOT to learn but I think that small bits of progress are being made. While I was holding the newborn baby at 5 in the morning it struck me at this amazing road and journey I am on. It is so hard to imagine myself as a midwife because of how important and grand it seems. But God keeps confirming in little ways that this is where He wants me. I could definitely use prayer for confidence and knowledge increase.
I definitely still have a LOT to learn but I think that small bits of progress are being made. While I was holding the newborn baby at 5 in the morning it struck me at this amazing road and journey I am on. It is so hard to imagine myself as a midwife because of how important and grand it seems. But God keeps confirming in little ways that this is where He wants me. I could definitely use prayer for confidence and knowledge increase.
Work load increases!
The first assignment is out of the way and the second one
(which is much larger and overwhelming) has been received. There will be lots of memorization of
concepts and probably lots of pots of tea in the office to keep me going. Please pray that I keep focused and get
things done on time.
Fun December things
We had a wonderful baking party at our Directress'’ house for
the staff Christmas party. It was quite a scene; cookies coming out of the
oven, pots simmering, bread being kneaded and incredible smells. Did I mention we got homemade pizza afterwards?
On the 19th we had our Christmas party. There was a LOT of wonderful tasty food. I ate far too much. There were lots of amusing games that
followed! It was a very enjoyable
evening.
prier to the party
prier to the party
Philippine version of the Pinata! no worries it's not as dangerous as it looks!
Tonight being Christmas eve there will be a
gathering for a Christmas movie party and tomorrow will find us with a small
gift exchange among the foreigners. My understanding
is there will also be a brunch and we intend to get together for a dinner. I will let you know how it all turns out in the next update!
P.S. VCC has sent me a package that has not yet arrived; I
am told that Canada post is in the process of an investigation. Please pray
that it arrives eventually. Not just
for my sake but for the time, effort and money everyone at the church put into
it.
Once again
Merry Christmas dear Family and Friends! And a Happy
New year! you all mean so much to me
Friday 5 December 2014
a few pictures from Bugnay
Managed to get my pictures on to my laptop so here are some pictures can give you an idea of where I was when I was in the mountain village of Bungay.
View of Bugnay from where we were staying. If you look closely you can see the suspended bridge
On the way home (blurry due to the bumpy ride :)
Thursday 20 November 2014
Back from Bugnay
The last you heard from me (on my blog) was that I was going to a mountain village for two weeks of outreach. Well, on Tuesday Ellora and I returned, so here is a little update.
The actual outreach was very relaxed, it ended up being a time to really observe the culture and be involved with some of the activities that the midwifery clinic in the village do and we also fit in a little missionary support. Some of you may have heard that prier to this trip I threw my back out and was laid up for about two days literally. Even if I wasn't in bed I was lying down somewhere. Anyway it healed up enough for me to go on the planned date and feels very good now. Thank you all so much for praying!
Activities
The day after we arrived the Midwife clinic where we were staying (the clinic is an extension of the clinic here in Tabuk with their own midwife ( a missionary from the states) supervisor and local midwives who live and work there.) had their prenatal day where expecting mothers come for devotionals, teaching on a topic related to motherhood, their medical prenatal checkups and for Merienda (a term used for snacks in between meals; it's wonderful!), Ellora opened in prayer and I closed in prayer after the devotion.
The next day we walked down to the village (the clinic is situated above the village with a few other dwellings) and it is quite the walk; complete with a catwalk like suspended bridge. The purpose of the strip was for a teaching time for mothers called a "Well Baby Seminar" This included lots of women and their children all packed into a church watching an hour long teaching video and as always, complete with Meriends (Merienda is included in everything here which is absolutely wonderful in my opinion.) From there re received a wonderful tour of the town, It is an amazing village I would love to show pictures but I seem to have misplaced the object that transfers my photos from my camera to my computer, when I find it I will post them.
The next day I got to go to the village again and it was so neat to see the people there, their homes, and their families, they are all such wonderful and beautiful people.
A speed bump in the plans
Later that day I got a text saying that I needed to sort some paper work out for my enrollment with National College of Midwifery: my high school transcripts had not been signed by a school official, the cutoff date I needed to get this in was November 20th. the sudden panic was my fault as I had not had my head in the right place and although I sent an e-mail asking for it to get signed I had not fully dealt it with it yet and had not realized the urgency. So back I cam from Bugnay to Tabuk to sort it all out and I received some killer motion sickness on the bumpy ride back. Fortunately when I returned I had an e-mail waiting for me from my high school overseer with the scanned signed transcript so I sent it to the college but then remembered they wanted the overseer to send it. Thankfully I was able to get a hold of my dear mother and she miraculously found the phone of the teacher (we have not used this number in about three years) so she calls my former teacher/overseer and actually gets a hold of her. Apparently she had just got in the door and the next morning she was leaving for three weeks (thank you God for your timing!). She sent it right away. But before I went back to the world of no internet access I knew I should confirm with National College to make sure everything was well. But in order to do that I had to wait for Tuesday or midnight Monday in the Philippines which is Monday in New Mexico (where the school is stationed). So I figured I'd just hang out for a few days and maybe get in on some births...good plan right?...well....
A speed bump on the speed bump
I woke up at 4 the next morning with a nasty stomach flu. So for a full 24 hours I was out of commission except to lay in bed watch movies and sip the occasional fluids, I was well taken care of though the girls made sure I had lots of fluids and that I wasn't dying (which had crossed my exhausted mind at about 7 that morning). Monday dawned with wellness and that night (or early morning) I stayed up till after midnight to skype call the college: I got the confirmation that everything was in order and Tuesday morning I took a buss back to Bugnay
Bugnay trip continues
so the adventure in Bugnay continued with beautiful walks great talks with our host (the midwife missionary) about midwifery and missions, helping the said person with cleaning her future little house and assisting in some paperwork organization as well as doing some midwife book reading. The last day before we came back we went to the next province and visiting one of it's cities. Ellora and I visited the museum which held artifacts and history of the local tribal people, it was fascinating! Then on Tuesday we made the journey back. Hopefully I can get these photos to you soon so you can get an idea of how gorgeous this place was.
Oh dear so much for the "little update" this is getting really long i apologize and give you all permission to skim read.
Since then
Since returning I got my confirmation that I am an official student of Natinal College of Midwifery. So begins the coalition of being a long distance education student and a missionary volunteer. Ellora (as she is also enrolled) received our first assignment, it's quite exciting!
Since returning Bugnay I have been feeling really good emotionally. I won't lie; it has not been easy adjusting to a new living environment and routine. But I have felt really happy and content the last few days and I am eager to study and ready to embrace what ever comes next. Thank you everyone so much for your prayers and support. Do keep praying for continual language learning as I begin to force myself to speak little bits of ilocano here and there and prayers for understanding as I begin to learn new concepts.
love you all so much!
Vienna
Monday 3 November 2014
November Beginnings....
Well, here we are at the beginning of another month......
Whats new?
Well I have seen 13 births now which is pretty exciting! I am slowly becoming more involved with each which also comes with much excitement. This last Friday was our last regular language class, no i am not fluent but i know more than when I started. Fortunately our wonderful teacher will continue to come every Friday, so we won't be completely on our own.
Whats next?
tomorrow morning we are going to Bugnay; a mountain tribal village for outreach. We will be staying in midwifery clinic above above the village. The town has no internet and limited cell service so if you are wondering why I am not replying to e-mails and facebook messages I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. They do have electricity and tv. Do be praying for this trip that we have an opportunity to make a difference, we will be encouraged to connect with people and we have heard whispers of maybe doing a Bible study, so pray that Ellora and I have confidence and words of wisdom as we talk and connect with the people of the village.
A Setback
Saturday night I threw my back out bad enough that for about 20 minutes I couldn't stand, fortunately it has improved since then and I can move but sitting is not very good, so I am lying down lots and walking a little bit, basically I am limited which is coming at a bad time for us leaving tomorrow, please pray that this improves so that there will no pain or little enough that it is not hindering, it is getting better but in small increments so I don't think I did any major damage just pulled some muscles or threw something out.
A cool answer to prayer
a few days after I wrote my last blog Ellora and I were walking back from the market and two little girls started walking beside us, we didn't pay much attention as we were lost in conversation. But then they started talking to us in the language; we couldn't understand all if it (partly because there was loud traffic going by us) but we figured they were asking us if we spoke ilocano, of which we able to reply simply "Bassit" (little) from there we had a very, very basic conversation in ilocano which was very exciting! Even though it wasn't much I was very much encouraged that I knew more than I sometimes think. But do pray that we will have importunity to practice the language. a few other situations like this have come up and they are wonderful little answers to prayer concerning language learning.
Some sad news and some good news
As I think I mentioned last time I found a church I am trying to go to regularly, sadly the pastor and his wife lost a son to a heart attack so if you could please for their family during this time.
Out of the 25 books that have to be read (besides our assignments) I am currently working on the 12th, I had read I think it was three and a half before I came so I had little head-start, I am very thankful for this as soon we will be very busy with clinical and assignments and there will be limited time for extra reading.
I want to close by saying how grateful I am to all of you at home and in Vavenby Christian Church, your prayers, actions and words of encouragement have meant more than you know and help when I have days of being overwhelmed or homesick. Thank you so much for your love and support.
and finally as promised here a few pictures.....
the rice fields being planted
dong laundry....yes...that is a hand pump...my mom used to laugh at me when I would hand wash something for fun....little did either of us know....
Canadian Thanksgiving with our Abundant family!
walking home from the market (about a 25 minute walk, we've learned not to do it when it is REALLY hot) in front of us is a tricy-a motorcycle with an attached cart-this is our main way to get around.
eating a much craved hamburger (we don't eat a lot of red meat because it id very expensive)
in Tuguegarao wihch is our big city where we have to go for certain immigration stuff (and has great hamburger and pizza)
Whats new?
Well I have seen 13 births now which is pretty exciting! I am slowly becoming more involved with each which also comes with much excitement. This last Friday was our last regular language class, no i am not fluent but i know more than when I started. Fortunately our wonderful teacher will continue to come every Friday, so we won't be completely on our own.
Whats next?
tomorrow morning we are going to Bugnay; a mountain tribal village for outreach. We will be staying in midwifery clinic above above the village. The town has no internet and limited cell service so if you are wondering why I am not replying to e-mails and facebook messages I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. They do have electricity and tv. Do be praying for this trip that we have an opportunity to make a difference, we will be encouraged to connect with people and we have heard whispers of maybe doing a Bible study, so pray that Ellora and I have confidence and words of wisdom as we talk and connect with the people of the village.
A Setback
Saturday night I threw my back out bad enough that for about 20 minutes I couldn't stand, fortunately it has improved since then and I can move but sitting is not very good, so I am lying down lots and walking a little bit, basically I am limited which is coming at a bad time for us leaving tomorrow, please pray that this improves so that there will no pain or little enough that it is not hindering, it is getting better but in small increments so I don't think I did any major damage just pulled some muscles or threw something out.
A cool answer to prayer
a few days after I wrote my last blog Ellora and I were walking back from the market and two little girls started walking beside us, we didn't pay much attention as we were lost in conversation. But then they started talking to us in the language; we couldn't understand all if it (partly because there was loud traffic going by us) but we figured they were asking us if we spoke ilocano, of which we able to reply simply "Bassit" (little) from there we had a very, very basic conversation in ilocano which was very exciting! Even though it wasn't much I was very much encouraged that I knew more than I sometimes think. But do pray that we will have importunity to practice the language. a few other situations like this have come up and they are wonderful little answers to prayer concerning language learning.
Some sad news and some good news
As I think I mentioned last time I found a church I am trying to go to regularly, sadly the pastor and his wife lost a son to a heart attack so if you could please for their family during this time.
Out of the 25 books that have to be read (besides our assignments) I am currently working on the 12th, I had read I think it was three and a half before I came so I had little head-start, I am very thankful for this as soon we will be very busy with clinical and assignments and there will be limited time for extra reading.
I want to close by saying how grateful I am to all of you at home and in Vavenby Christian Church, your prayers, actions and words of encouragement have meant more than you know and help when I have days of being overwhelmed or homesick. Thank you so much for your love and support.
and finally as promised here a few pictures.....
the rice fields being planted
right before my first official shift
a section of the market (not a very good picture) on hot days they put curtains up to avoid the direct sun light
in Tuguegarao wihch is our big city where we have to go for certain immigration stuff (and has great hamburger and pizza)
Friday 3 October 2014
Hello October!
Hello my dear family and friends. Here it is October already! It is hard to believe that it has been almost two months since I left my Canadian home, and that I have been in Tabuk for over a month.
Today I am writing from Davidson's Hotel, we have heard that this is a very nice place to come for a good cup of coffee and good food, we are told it also has a swimming pool for those unbearable hot days. It is quite cool today however, so it is just enjoying the coffee shop environment today (which is fantastic!!!!) after Deborah (a soon to be midwife) and I did some grocery shopping.
What I have been doing
First off I must apologize for the lack of photos, I have been terrible at taking pictures and remembering to carry my camera with me, I do promise to get some to you all soon though. We are half way through our language class now. I would like to say that I have been having conversations in Ilocano left, right and centre, but alas not yet, at least not out side of class, Ellora and I have been practicing a little in the market, saying things like "Mano ditoy?" (how much is this) and Agyamanak (thank you) In fact we think it has spread in the market place that two of the white girls are trying to learn Ilocano.
I think I have seen 10 births now since being here. The last birth i was taking out the garbage and got pulled into the birth room to help support the laboring woman for while as she temporally pushed on a birth stool. It was pretty neat to be able to be that close to the action.
I have been busy with doing lots of reading, we are required to read 25 books and do reviews for each by the end of of the two and a half years. So far I have read eight, (one I had read last year and two and a quarter prier to coming). The fact that we do not have assignments untill December provides us a chance to get a head start on the reading. I did not know that I was capable of reading a non novel in a weeks duration.
I am continuing to enjoy the wonderful people here and am getting to know the Filapina staff, they are all wonderful and great teachers.
Some personal improvements: I feel like I am doing better at taking blood pressure and feeling less awkward when I am observing in the birth room, we are also learning about charting during the births which is something that has to be done for every delivery.
New things
I tried a chicken foot for the first time, and you know what.....it tasted like chicken! I know...who would've thought, not so sure is my favorite Philippine cuisine however.
I have discovered sticky rice! Oh my goodness it is soooo good!!! it is like...well....I don't how to discribe it, but they prepare it a bunch of different ways and they make into a desert dish, it is sweet and it can have fruit in it and coconut milk and it is just sooo good, probably my favorite foods thing here, they often have it for Merienda, which are snacks they often have between meals, I really like Meriendas.......
I start my first shift tomorrow morning (Sunday) Not that I will be doing anything very medical mainly just observing, but it will be exciting to have an official shift.
Prayer requests update
If you remember I asked you to pray for a baby that had been transferred to the hospital, the update is, they were able to keep the baby alive for a day or two but the end result is that the baby is no longer on this earth with us, there seemed to be some things wrong with the little thing that no one could do anything about. Please keep the mother and her family in your prayers.
I think the church search has found it's end. Ellora and I went to a church with one of the Filapina midwives and I really liked it; the worship was good, the people were friendly and although the sermon was all on Ilocano it is good for me to practice.
We're just so Fascinating!
So i am going to keep trying to include a story each time, this one isn't really in depth but it is cute. Because of being the only white people around we get a LOT of attention which makes sense, after all if we white people see another white person we will stare at them. I mentioned before that staring is not considered rude so we get a lot eyes on us. This one evening Deborah ad I walked down to the river, to sit and enjoy As we visited, a young boy, probably about 8 carrying what I assume to be maybe a younger sister about 2 or 3 approached us, stopped and stared, they were so beautiful and so cute. This wasn't really uncommon so Deborah and I just kept talking while he slowing came closer and closer, and both of them continued to stare. A few times we stared back and he would grin with this gorgeous smile. Soon he and his little companion sat down about a stones throw from us. As Deborah and I kept talking they would slowly shuffle about 2-4 feet closer to us and then stop and keep staring. They kept doing this until they were only about 4 feet from us. It was as if we were the most fascinating things they had ever seen.
It was so cute, and the were such gorgeous children.
Prayer requests
Language: Boldness in practicing it with others, it is often too easy to speak English out of fear they will not understand my Ilocano.
I will be able to keep reading at a good rate
I will continue to adjust and feel at home
finding the balance of how much money I should spend on food - (we do get a budget for food, but I tend to exceed it due to things like yogurt, grapes and goya - a cheaper version of Nutella-)
if any of you have a question about something or any suggestions as to what I should include in future blog posts, feel free to post them in the comments.
Today I am writing from Davidson's Hotel, we have heard that this is a very nice place to come for a good cup of coffee and good food, we are told it also has a swimming pool for those unbearable hot days. It is quite cool today however, so it is just enjoying the coffee shop environment today (which is fantastic!!!!) after Deborah (a soon to be midwife) and I did some grocery shopping.
What I have been doing
First off I must apologize for the lack of photos, I have been terrible at taking pictures and remembering to carry my camera with me, I do promise to get some to you all soon though. We are half way through our language class now. I would like to say that I have been having conversations in Ilocano left, right and centre, but alas not yet, at least not out side of class, Ellora and I have been practicing a little in the market, saying things like "Mano ditoy?" (how much is this) and Agyamanak (thank you) In fact we think it has spread in the market place that two of the white girls are trying to learn Ilocano.
I think I have seen 10 births now since being here. The last birth i was taking out the garbage and got pulled into the birth room to help support the laboring woman for while as she temporally pushed on a birth stool. It was pretty neat to be able to be that close to the action.
I have been busy with doing lots of reading, we are required to read 25 books and do reviews for each by the end of of the two and a half years. So far I have read eight, (one I had read last year and two and a quarter prier to coming). The fact that we do not have assignments untill December provides us a chance to get a head start on the reading. I did not know that I was capable of reading a non novel in a weeks duration.
I am continuing to enjoy the wonderful people here and am getting to know the Filapina staff, they are all wonderful and great teachers.
Some personal improvements: I feel like I am doing better at taking blood pressure and feeling less awkward when I am observing in the birth room, we are also learning about charting during the births which is something that has to be done for every delivery.
New things
I tried a chicken foot for the first time, and you know what.....it tasted like chicken! I know...who would've thought, not so sure is my favorite Philippine cuisine however.
I have discovered sticky rice! Oh my goodness it is soooo good!!! it is like...well....I don't how to discribe it, but they prepare it a bunch of different ways and they make into a desert dish, it is sweet and it can have fruit in it and coconut milk and it is just sooo good, probably my favorite foods thing here, they often have it for Merienda, which are snacks they often have between meals, I really like Meriendas.......
I start my first shift tomorrow morning (Sunday) Not that I will be doing anything very medical mainly just observing, but it will be exciting to have an official shift.
Prayer requests update
If you remember I asked you to pray for a baby that had been transferred to the hospital, the update is, they were able to keep the baby alive for a day or two but the end result is that the baby is no longer on this earth with us, there seemed to be some things wrong with the little thing that no one could do anything about. Please keep the mother and her family in your prayers.
I think the church search has found it's end. Ellora and I went to a church with one of the Filapina midwives and I really liked it; the worship was good, the people were friendly and although the sermon was all on Ilocano it is good for me to practice.
We're just so Fascinating!
So i am going to keep trying to include a story each time, this one isn't really in depth but it is cute. Because of being the only white people around we get a LOT of attention which makes sense, after all if we white people see another white person we will stare at them. I mentioned before that staring is not considered rude so we get a lot eyes on us. This one evening Deborah ad I walked down to the river, to sit and enjoy As we visited, a young boy, probably about 8 carrying what I assume to be maybe a younger sister about 2 or 3 approached us, stopped and stared, they were so beautiful and so cute. This wasn't really uncommon so Deborah and I just kept talking while he slowing came closer and closer, and both of them continued to stare. A few times we stared back and he would grin with this gorgeous smile. Soon he and his little companion sat down about a stones throw from us. As Deborah and I kept talking they would slowly shuffle about 2-4 feet closer to us and then stop and keep staring. They kept doing this until they were only about 4 feet from us. It was as if we were the most fascinating things they had ever seen.
It was so cute, and the were such gorgeous children.
Prayer requests
Language: Boldness in practicing it with others, it is often too easy to speak English out of fear they will not understand my Ilocano.
I will be able to keep reading at a good rate
I will continue to adjust and feel at home
finding the balance of how much money I should spend on food - (we do get a budget for food, but I tend to exceed it due to things like yogurt, grapes and goya - a cheaper version of Nutella-)
if any of you have a question about something or any suggestions as to what I should include in future blog posts, feel free to post them in the comments.
Monday 8 September 2014
My New Life in Tabuk
Finally! things are beginning to shape into view. I am now in beautiful Tabuk, and am currently in the much appreciated air conditioned (which they refer to as air con here) gas station/coffee shop/restaurant awaiting my much anticipated crepe which I have heard is worthwhile. My roommate, Ellora and I have been here for one week and a day. We immediantly were taken by our amazing view from our balcony of rice Fields that seem to go on forever and the tropical mountains that completely surround us.
Life in Tabuk: Places, People and Birth
Life in Tabuk is completely different than life in Davao where there are malls, massive traffic walking to and fro to the clinic among many other things. Tabuk is much, much, much smaller if I had to describe it to a Canadian city maybe a Filipino version of Vernon but with no big houses, no malls, instead of horses there are water buffaloes (which people will ride to and fro to the rice feilds) and instead of vineyards there are rice fields. I have visited the market several times already as one can get most things there, fruit, vegetables, school folders, flip flops, laundry supplies, meat (but one should really only get meat in the morning when it is still fresh) coconut milk which is made right in front of you which is how I discovered that coconut milk is made from the flesh of the coconut.....yeah I know I am little ignorant. Oh yes and a place where you can get your clothes fixed which I have taken advantage of and the woman was so kind she absolutely refused to take payment and believe me I tried to pay her. The market is a little like an outside Walmart but way more fun to go to, way more interesting and I also like it better than Walmart so maybe I shouldn't even compare.
Our living area is located just above the clinic, so it is very convenient. Ellora and I share a small room and the other day we got to share it with a gecko, I called him Freddie. There a lot of geckos that like to make an appearance in the house in the evenings, I am getting used to them they actually are really cute and they eat the bugs so I am actually becoming rather fond of them. I am slowly adjusting to the large quantity of ants as well, although we are currently in negotiations about what is their space and my sleeping area it has come to as long as I keep food away from bed they will for the most leave me alone. Ellora and I have seen 4 births since being here and it works well being so close; one of the midwives will come and say "she's starting to push" and we come down to witness the process. For one of the recent births i was allowed to locate the fetal heart beat after each contraction that was really cool! not all of the births have been easy to watch the first we saw here was quite intense, and happened in the middle of the night, after as I headed back to bed I wondered if I would be able to handle this, but the next two births were perfect, one mother even named her baby girl Ellora Vienna after us. The last we saw was quite difficult as the baby had to be taken to the hospital to be put on oxygen, please pray for this baby and her mother. This experience made me truly see the importance of good midwifery care and what the vision of the clinic is, if this baby was born with no medical help it would have died. Yesterday it was announced that the clinic had 6 births within 24 hours it was very busy! Ellora and I have also been able to see how the clinic works during the day hours involving things like prenatal patients. We have started to learn how to take vitals under the supervision of the experinced midwives such as taking blood pressure pulse.
On Saturday there was a health seminar on health and nutrition Ellora and I along with three other women were each given two points along with information to teach to several young mothers. This made me nervous but it went very well Ellora and I assisted each other in portraying the lesson by doing a dialogue skit. My two points were the importance of Iodine in the diet before and after pregnancy and good hygiene to keep germs to a minimum.
Many of the Filipina staff midwives live for certain periods of time above the clinic as well. They are all wonderful individuals and I look forward to getting to know them better. We have a wonderful cook who makes our lunches and suppers 5 1/2 days a week, during the weekend everyone takes turns cooking suppers. We (the single foreigners) are each given a set amount of money during the week for breakfast food.
Story time: A Church Search Adventure
Sunday was yesterday for us and Ellora and I began our church search, we have been warned that trying to divide time between church and life at the clinic can be a challenge so we are hoping we can find a church that will fit well into our new life at the clinic. So here is a funny story about our first week finding a church. We were told about that Fundamental Baptist church that has its service in English, so Ellora and I decided to try it. We decided to take a tricy there (a motorbike with a side car attached) it would be more expensive but it should be easier to get there.....so we thought......so we go to the place where you get a tricy and there is only one, the young driver approaches and asks us if we would like his tricy and I explain
"yes we want to go to Fundamental Baptist church in Bulanao [the name of a section in Tabuk]"
He replies
"yes, yes" so we get on his tricy and he promptly turns in the opposite direction than what I was quite certain was where we were supposed to go, but I thought well maybe he has a better way of getting there but I ask him
"you know where the Fundamental Baptist church is?"
"Yes, like the Seventh day Adventist?"
"No I mean the Baptist church, can you take us there?"
"Yes, yes I can take you there"
"okay wonderful"
the next thing we know we drive up to the seventh day Adventist, of course it is close as it is Sunday which he notes
"oh it's closed"
"yes but we want to go the Baptist church"
"oh the baptist church...." you can tell he doesn't know where that is. But fortunately he did not let that detour him and went on to ask about 4 other people, we begin weaving in and out of back roads and both Ellora and I are thinking where are we?
finally we arrive at a building with a sign that reads "Christian Ambassador Baptist Church" (culture note, we were told that a Filipino even if he doesn't know where a place is he won't admit it because he does not want to be negative or disappoint, so I think this was part of the reason we ended up as we did it also could have been just simple miss communication with the whole language thing)
"Here is the baptist church" the driver says and Ellora disembark and pay him. he drives off and we look at each other and say
"this is not the church" I was a little more lost feeling than Ellora, and was thinknig we should call someone but Ellora said
"lets just go here" turned out we were right on time for the service. A woman shook our hands and in we went to a bench in the back, many people visibly turned their head to look at us (but they were nice looks) and who could blame them I think we were the first white people to ever enter the doors. we sang hymns and then the announcements started and I was so nervous they were going to call us up and make us tell our life story or sing or something (we had been told that this is common) but it was fine, we were only asked to introduce ourselves not unlike little Vavenby church. the sermon was fantastic! turned out it was southern Baptist Church which is where Ellora is from. The preacher preached in Tagalog but for our sake also spoke in English. The church was about the same size as Vavenby church and everyone was very friendly and shook our hands. So in the end it was a lot of fun and is on both our lists of possibly returning. The funny thing is we thought we would never find our way back since we didn't really know where we were (don't worry we had a cell phone, there was no danger) but we found another tricy to take us back and it turned we weren't as far away from the clinic as we thought. In the end it was a lot of fun! Anyway that is my story of the week.
The language
So that brings us to today! We had our first Ilocano lesson, it went well but my goodness I sure hope my mouth muscles will learn the new sounds and my memory will be able to remember the meanings. we will a lesson everyday (for five days a week i think) from 9 AM to 11:30ish AM
With that in Mind here are some prayer requests
1. For the little baby who is in the hospital on Oxygene and her mother (I won't say much than that because I don't know how much I should say for privacy sake)
2. That Ellora and will learn this new language and that I will make myself practice it with other people who speak it
3. That I will continue to develop strong relationships with the other clinic workers
4. that both Ellora and I will be able to find a church
5. that I would adjust and feel at home and develop a retinue
6. for strength in my relationship with God; that it will no diminish but grow.
Oh my that is a very long post don't worry I don't think they will all be this long
all my love to you back home!
Life in Tabuk: Places, People and Birth
Life in Tabuk is completely different than life in Davao where there are malls, massive traffic walking to and fro to the clinic among many other things. Tabuk is much, much, much smaller if I had to describe it to a Canadian city maybe a Filipino version of Vernon but with no big houses, no malls, instead of horses there are water buffaloes (which people will ride to and fro to the rice feilds) and instead of vineyards there are rice fields. I have visited the market several times already as one can get most things there, fruit, vegetables, school folders, flip flops, laundry supplies, meat (but one should really only get meat in the morning when it is still fresh) coconut milk which is made right in front of you which is how I discovered that coconut milk is made from the flesh of the coconut.....yeah I know I am little ignorant. Oh yes and a place where you can get your clothes fixed which I have taken advantage of and the woman was so kind she absolutely refused to take payment and believe me I tried to pay her. The market is a little like an outside Walmart but way more fun to go to, way more interesting and I also like it better than Walmart so maybe I shouldn't even compare.
Our living area is located just above the clinic, so it is very convenient. Ellora and I share a small room and the other day we got to share it with a gecko, I called him Freddie. There a lot of geckos that like to make an appearance in the house in the evenings, I am getting used to them they actually are really cute and they eat the bugs so I am actually becoming rather fond of them. I am slowly adjusting to the large quantity of ants as well, although we are currently in negotiations about what is their space and my sleeping area it has come to as long as I keep food away from bed they will for the most leave me alone. Ellora and I have seen 4 births since being here and it works well being so close; one of the midwives will come and say "she's starting to push" and we come down to witness the process. For one of the recent births i was allowed to locate the fetal heart beat after each contraction that was really cool! not all of the births have been easy to watch the first we saw here was quite intense, and happened in the middle of the night, after as I headed back to bed I wondered if I would be able to handle this, but the next two births were perfect, one mother even named her baby girl Ellora Vienna after us. The last we saw was quite difficult as the baby had to be taken to the hospital to be put on oxygen, please pray for this baby and her mother. This experience made me truly see the importance of good midwifery care and what the vision of the clinic is, if this baby was born with no medical help it would have died. Yesterday it was announced that the clinic had 6 births within 24 hours it was very busy! Ellora and I have also been able to see how the clinic works during the day hours involving things like prenatal patients. We have started to learn how to take vitals under the supervision of the experinced midwives such as taking blood pressure pulse.
On Saturday there was a health seminar on health and nutrition Ellora and I along with three other women were each given two points along with information to teach to several young mothers. This made me nervous but it went very well Ellora and I assisted each other in portraying the lesson by doing a dialogue skit. My two points were the importance of Iodine in the diet before and after pregnancy and good hygiene to keep germs to a minimum.
Many of the Filipina staff midwives live for certain periods of time above the clinic as well. They are all wonderful individuals and I look forward to getting to know them better. We have a wonderful cook who makes our lunches and suppers 5 1/2 days a week, during the weekend everyone takes turns cooking suppers. We (the single foreigners) are each given a set amount of money during the week for breakfast food.
Story time: A Church Search Adventure
Sunday was yesterday for us and Ellora and I began our church search, we have been warned that trying to divide time between church and life at the clinic can be a challenge so we are hoping we can find a church that will fit well into our new life at the clinic. So here is a funny story about our first week finding a church. We were told about that Fundamental Baptist church that has its service in English, so Ellora and I decided to try it. We decided to take a tricy there (a motorbike with a side car attached) it would be more expensive but it should be easier to get there.....so we thought......so we go to the place where you get a tricy and there is only one, the young driver approaches and asks us if we would like his tricy and I explain
"yes we want to go to Fundamental Baptist church in Bulanao [the name of a section in Tabuk]"
He replies
"yes, yes" so we get on his tricy and he promptly turns in the opposite direction than what I was quite certain was where we were supposed to go, but I thought well maybe he has a better way of getting there but I ask him
"you know where the Fundamental Baptist church is?"
"Yes, like the Seventh day Adventist?"
"No I mean the Baptist church, can you take us there?"
"Yes, yes I can take you there"
"okay wonderful"
the next thing we know we drive up to the seventh day Adventist, of course it is close as it is Sunday which he notes
"oh it's closed"
"yes but we want to go the Baptist church"
"oh the baptist church...." you can tell he doesn't know where that is. But fortunately he did not let that detour him and went on to ask about 4 other people, we begin weaving in and out of back roads and both Ellora and I are thinking where are we?
finally we arrive at a building with a sign that reads "Christian Ambassador Baptist Church" (culture note, we were told that a Filipino even if he doesn't know where a place is he won't admit it because he does not want to be negative or disappoint, so I think this was part of the reason we ended up as we did it also could have been just simple miss communication with the whole language thing)
"Here is the baptist church" the driver says and Ellora disembark and pay him. he drives off and we look at each other and say
"this is not the church" I was a little more lost feeling than Ellora, and was thinknig we should call someone but Ellora said
"lets just go here" turned out we were right on time for the service. A woman shook our hands and in we went to a bench in the back, many people visibly turned their head to look at us (but they were nice looks) and who could blame them I think we were the first white people to ever enter the doors. we sang hymns and then the announcements started and I was so nervous they were going to call us up and make us tell our life story or sing or something (we had been told that this is common) but it was fine, we were only asked to introduce ourselves not unlike little Vavenby church. the sermon was fantastic! turned out it was southern Baptist Church which is where Ellora is from. The preacher preached in Tagalog but for our sake also spoke in English. The church was about the same size as Vavenby church and everyone was very friendly and shook our hands. So in the end it was a lot of fun and is on both our lists of possibly returning. The funny thing is we thought we would never find our way back since we didn't really know where we were (don't worry we had a cell phone, there was no danger) but we found another tricy to take us back and it turned we weren't as far away from the clinic as we thought. In the end it was a lot of fun! Anyway that is my story of the week.
The language
So that brings us to today! We had our first Ilocano lesson, it went well but my goodness I sure hope my mouth muscles will learn the new sounds and my memory will be able to remember the meanings. we will a lesson everyday (for five days a week i think) from 9 AM to 11:30ish AM
With that in Mind here are some prayer requests
1. For the little baby who is in the hospital on Oxygene and her mother (I won't say much than that because I don't know how much I should say for privacy sake)
2. That Ellora and will learn this new language and that I will make myself practice it with other people who speak it
3. That I will continue to develop strong relationships with the other clinic workers
4. that both Ellora and I will be able to find a church
5. that I would adjust and feel at home and develop a retinue
6. for strength in my relationship with God; that it will no diminish but grow.
Oh my that is a very long post don't worry I don't think they will all be this long
all my love to you back home!
Saturday 23 August 2014
first week
So far so great! Yesterday we all got back from a great resort weekend as part of our Orientation. I got to swim in turquoise ocean, eat fun food (included a lot of wonderful, wonderful mango things like, mango crepes, mango fruit drink and mango ice cream) wonderful massage which when the money conversion was done was only about 12 dollars Canadian. Played beach Volleyball, Watched fire dancing and Fireworks!
No its not all fun and games, we are going to start our major orientation this week with lessons on culture and things in that nature. After this week the real work begins. The other young woman, Ellora, and I will head up to Tabuk on Sunday the 31st where we will start our two month language lessons. The students that remain in Davao city will also be in language classes and learning the local language (that I do not know how to spell).
In Tabuk, Ellora and I will be learning Ilocano
After the two months of language class we head back down to Davao city and join our other class mates for a one month missions program called Nehemiah Teams http://www.nehemiahteams.com/ we will spend a month among a Tribal village doing different activities in order to share God's love.
After the Nehemiah Team month, us two Tabuk girls, will head back up North to start our Clinical training in December.
A little about life in Davao city
The other young ladies that are here with me are terrific! The only drawback to going to Tabuk is not being able to be among them for the duration of the two and half years. I am not the only homeschooler/come from a big family/farm kid. There are LOTS of us, one young woman is the oldest of 12. So my background type is actually in the Majority which is a little unusual. The result is that many of the conversations involve animals or younger siblings. The food is wonderful, the fruit is out of this world, although there is one fruit called Durion that I am not so sure about. The traffic is something else, I actually find it exiting because I've heard about places with traffic like this but have never actually seen it! But I'm glad I don't have to drive in it.....
Being white results in a lot of attention as white skin is in the tiny minority,
The people who are in service are super helpful and attentive, the clerks will be by your side when you buy your products eager to make sure you find what you are looking for and then they carry your purchase to the counter for you.
well that is a taste of Davao, at least of what i have experienced so far. However I am told that Tabuk is very different.
well I say goodbye for now I hope all of you are well in your part of the world
P.S. Fantastic Church service today!!!! absolutely loved it, it was a guest speaker, the husband of one the students, he talked about the need to tell the lost about Jesus and it was a powerful message.
No its not all fun and games, we are going to start our major orientation this week with lessons on culture and things in that nature. After this week the real work begins. The other young woman, Ellora, and I will head up to Tabuk on Sunday the 31st where we will start our two month language lessons. The students that remain in Davao city will also be in language classes and learning the local language (that I do not know how to spell).
In Tabuk, Ellora and I will be learning Ilocano
After the two months of language class we head back down to Davao city and join our other class mates for a one month missions program called Nehemiah Teams http://www.nehemiahteams.com/ we will spend a month among a Tribal village doing different activities in order to share God's love.
After the Nehemiah Team month, us two Tabuk girls, will head back up North to start our Clinical training in December.
A little about life in Davao city
The other young ladies that are here with me are terrific! The only drawback to going to Tabuk is not being able to be among them for the duration of the two and half years. I am not the only homeschooler/come from a big family/farm kid. There are LOTS of us, one young woman is the oldest of 12. So my background type is actually in the Majority which is a little unusual. The result is that many of the conversations involve animals or younger siblings. The food is wonderful, the fruit is out of this world, although there is one fruit called Durion that I am not so sure about. The traffic is something else, I actually find it exiting because I've heard about places with traffic like this but have never actually seen it! But I'm glad I don't have to drive in it.....
Being white results in a lot of attention as white skin is in the tiny minority,
The people who are in service are super helpful and attentive, the clerks will be by your side when you buy your products eager to make sure you find what you are looking for and then they carry your purchase to the counter for you.
well that is a taste of Davao, at least of what i have experienced so far. However I am told that Tabuk is very different.
well I say goodbye for now I hope all of you are well in your part of the world
P.S. Fantastic Church service today!!!! absolutely loved it, it was a guest speaker, the husband of one the students, he talked about the need to tell the lost about Jesus and it was a powerful message.
Monday 18 August 2014
Arrival!
Well after a VERY long flight I am here!!! In Davao city! Very exciting, mind boggling, hard believing, a little overwhelming and yes I am on the tired side of things. But fortunately I dozed lots on the plane which I think will work in my favor for dealing with jet leg. (by the way if anyone knows why Jet leg is called jet leg please let me know because it has never made any sense to me). Anyway I did feel a little ill on the plane and although thankfully there was no barf bags involved there was a need for me to trade seats with my neighbor in order to be sitting on a aisle seat in regards to being close to a bathroom....but the air line staff were wonderful and actually come to think of it..... because I wasn't feeling the best I ended up sleeping more, and I am feeling fine now.
Oh yes and it is REALLY hot here as expected so I am thinking my Canadian family and friends could ship me some snow and ice. or I guess you could just pray I climatize quick.
Anyway, so I have about two weeks of orientation here in Davao and then will head up to Tabuk! So I guess just prayers that adjustments go well.
love you all!!!
Oh yes and it is REALLY hot here as expected so I am thinking my Canadian family and friends could ship me some snow and ice. or I guess you could just pray I climatize quick.
Anyway, so I have about two weeks of orientation here in Davao and then will head up to Tabuk! So I guess just prayers that adjustments go well.
love you all!!!
Sunday 17 August 2014
quick prayer request
okay so here comes my big flight! quick prayer request. I am not feeling all that wonderful, (no worries its nothing major) so please pray that I do not feel sick on the plane. thanks! next time I update I will be in a new country!
Monday 11 August 2014
A week of travel!
I will give you all my travel plans, but because this is a blog and not a personal note I won't give specific times.....so here we go....
On Wednesday I take the bus from Kamloops to Calgary to spend some precious time with my Grandma and Grandma. Then on the morning of the16th (Saturday) I fly from Calgary to Toronto, Where I take a breath. On the 17th I fly with a fellow Canadian student across the country and to Manila, Philippines, where we switch flights and head to Davao arriving on Tuesday the 19th Philippine time. There are about 15 hours difference from B.C. time. (sigh) so that's the plan! In the end it will be about 10 hours on a bus and 24 hours in the air.
A big prayer request is that I don't get sick. last time I had a long flight I was really ill, and would be so pleased if that was not repeated!
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Busy Last Week
So the final stages are coming together,it is a busy week with lots of family that I am eager to spend time, visiting, and saying goodbye to dear friends and family. I got my twinrix shot yesterday and have to go into Kamloops for a different shot. There is also the Gospel weekend coming up on Friday of which I am playing a small part in; singing with my fellow worship band members on the last day, of which I am really excited about.
Note to other travelers: Do not wait to the last minute to get shots done. turns out one has to get booster shots after the initial injection, fortunately I can get those in Philippines. For this next shot i am getting on Friday I almost didn't get in as the Clearwater nurse is away until Monday and the Public Health service office is booked all this week, fortunately I was able to get in with Travel connections, a very lovely lady who only charges 10 dollars to give the shot. So I am thanking God for that. Also a side note on that, my arm is still sore from yesterdays shot, the last time I got a shot it was tender for months, am praying that this will not be the case.
Please pray that all the details come together with lots of time to spend with family and friends before the departure. In the next few days I will post my travel itinerary but for now I can tell you that my journey begins on August 13th
Note to other travelers: Do not wait to the last minute to get shots done. turns out one has to get booster shots after the initial injection, fortunately I can get those in Philippines. For this next shot i am getting on Friday I almost didn't get in as the Clearwater nurse is away until Monday and the Public Health service office is booked all this week, fortunately I was able to get in with Travel connections, a very lovely lady who only charges 10 dollars to give the shot. So I am thanking God for that. Also a side note on that, my arm is still sore from yesterdays shot, the last time I got a shot it was tender for months, am praying that this will not be the case.
Please pray that all the details come together with lots of time to spend with family and friends before the departure. In the next few days I will post my travel itinerary but for now I can tell you that my journey begins on August 13th
Saturday 26 July 2014
My very first blog! One of my many firsts mind you as I prepare for the great journey across the seas. Speaking of which I suppose my first prayer request is for safety for all of the girls traveling to Davao city as we travel to the Philippines in a few weeks what with all the tragic accidents in the skies lately, despite this fact I am looking forward to the adventure of being in air for a considerable amount of time as I very much enjoy flying.
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