Enter October

Greeting friends and family, I pray this update finds you all well and that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving

The month of September brought, joy, tears, new experiences and transitions.  The beginning of the month saw Ellora and I starting a new assignment.  We  had some buisy days in the clinic and many babies entered the world creating new moms and dads.  I met some new people and tried some new things.  The main theme of the month however was the bold awareness that it was the last month of having Bina and Alex with us.

New experiences 

The girls and I have started attending a new church, it is only five months old and part of the Victory Church which are all around the world.  The sermons are in English which is a bonus and the pastor and his wife are a wonderful couple who have an amazing vision for this area.  So far we are all really enjoying it so I think most of us will remain there for a good while.   

One Sunday after attending the church and after Ellora and I had a wonderful afternoon visiting, we found ourselves out in one of the rice fields playing tag with the local kids, now every time I walk down our road the kids know me on a first name bases, they are a great group of kids and a lot of fun to hang out with.  

The following day I experienced something else for the first time. I went to a birthday party with Alex and some of the girls (no a birthday party is not the new experience) and I sang Karioki for the first time! Yeah I know 23 and have never sang karioki pretty sad.  Anyway I discovered that it was a lot o fun (even if I am not all that good at it).  It was a very enjoyable afternoon eating a ton of food, meeting and talking with new people and hanging out with friends while singing to a video karioki machine.

Clinic life
There are several women that I have been following through their pregnancy since they first came into the clinic.  They are such wonderful ladies and it has been an incredible joy to watch their babies grow inside them, watch them as they get excited about becoming mothers and be able to pray for them each visit.  this is my favorite part of working here; being able to build relationships with the women and get the opportunity to love them and strive to allow God's light to shine through.

There is so much to learn in the clinic but by God's grace he is leading me and providing me with skills and experiences as I know He sees fit.  The clinic has been quite busy the last few weeks with sometimes two or three labours at a time.  The other day we had a woman delivering a baby while other women were coming in for prenatal checks, and then several ladies coming in with signs of early labour.  Fortunately the other volunteers came down to help.  In the end, a beautiful baby came into the world, all the women got excellent care during their prenatal checkups and we got the other women in labour settled in.
                                           
                                                 

Academics
The book studying is going well we are always learning so much.  We recently completed an assignment about postpartum care and it has been great being able to apply our book knowledge to the practical clinic world.  We have now started our assignment on family planning which so far has proved very interesting

Goodbyes
Well the big event since my last post was saying goodbye to Edolbina her husband Andrew and their  little son Ari  and also to Alexandra. Alex and Bina (as we tend to call them)  have been our senior missionaries in our program and started one year before us.  Alas it was time to throw them their big party, say speeches, cry and then a week later say goodbye as they headed back to Canada

Their party was held on the clinic roof covered with colourful tarp and decorated with Christmas lights, we ate delicious food, hung out together and proceeded with a fun and heartfelt program.  We all preformed a zuba type dance with steps that all involved midwifery care.  The very end of the dance had the grand finale of acting out delivering baby.  Ellora and I preformed a song titled "When can i see you again" by owl city and presented Alex and Bina with homemade lanterns made by a guy in the market place to symbolize how they will shine their light for Jesus no matter where they go.  The evening ended with everyone taking a turn at the Karioki machine that was rented for the night, it was a lot of fun.
                                                             
                                                         Ellora and I singing our song

                                                          at the party on the roof, Ellora, Bina, Alex and I
(the hats are part of our gift to Alex and Bina to help prepare for Canadian cold)

A week later it was time to say goodbye and send them off.   Ari was born here in the Philippines so it was a big deal for everyone saying goodbye to him as the girls here have watched him grow since he was still inside his mom.  And everyone had come to love these individuals.  I wept as I hugged these two wonderful women that have become such good friends and have helped me through so much this past year.  It was very hard to say goodbye and I miss them terribly but I know that God has great plans for them wherever they go from here.

Adjustments
So with saying goodbye to people, comes adjustments.  Ellora and I are now the most experienced foreign volunteers here which is a little intimidating for both of us but I think it will teach us a lot.  I know that I often feel that I should be a certain way have a certain set of skills for this title and so forth but I need to remember to not get caught up in that and just let myself be just where God wants me to be

Pinkeye 
Right at about the time we were all getting ready to say goodbye to Alex and Bina the staff here at the clinic all started getting pinkeye (called sore eyes here) it is crazy how contagious it is.  Pretty well everyone got it who live at the clinic save about three or four.  In the end I think it was less about who was exposed as compared to who had the stronger immune system.  I was one of the ones that got it and spent most of that day putting compresses on my eye, turns out green tea begs are very effective!

Thanksgiving
I did a thanksgiving meal for everyone here at the clinic on Sunday,  I even found a turkey which my Filipina friend went with me to buy.  We bought it live, brought it home and the guys "did him in" the next morning.  There was definitely more bone on him than meat but it was still really fun to have turkey. We also had stuffing, sweet potatoes cooked with sugar and butter, green beans (which were pretty stringy) and Jess (one of the American volunteers) made mashed potatoes and Gravy, so good. For dessert we had pumpkin shakes, made from homemade pumpkin puree, bananas, ice cream, spices and what not.  It was really nice to have a meal that tasted like a Canadian thanksgiving

                                                    our Turkey dinner!

On another note
So I have a technical prayer request (literally) my computer charger is dying, I am currently charging my computer by jamming the charger into the computer via holing it against the wall with my foot while I type (I know it is not very good for my computer but I have no other choice) Ellora's charger has also died so we have been frantically trying to get a hold of two new Lenova computer chargers. we are going looking again today, so if you could pray that we successfully find a way to each get one that would be wonderful!

Thank you all so much for your love and support
Many Blessings
Vienna; the sheepishmidwife

September: 1 year in the Philippines!

So this is a special blog as yesterday September 1st (Philippine time) marked a full year since Ellora and I arrived in Tabuk city.  Two weeks before we had spent 10 days in Davao city for orientation but the arrival into Tabuk city truly marked the beginning to a new chapter of our lives. 

 Since my arrival!

Since my arrival I have learned much and experienced plenty.  There have been tears and there has been joy.  There have been babies, mothers, new friends and new food.  And I am becoming half decent at washing my clothes by hand.

I now have a year and half left until the end of the program and I am in no rush for it to end.  I am reminded of this as our second years Alex and Bina prepare to depart from the Philippines and head back to Canada.  I can see how hard it is for them to leave and i cannot imagine how difficult it will be to say goodbye to the people here when my time comes,  but that is still a little ways away I must not dwell on that now.  It is not that I do not miss home and my family and friends because of course I do but I have also grown to feel at home here and of course it will be hard to leave, but as I  say I shell not dwell on that I am still not even half way through yet and despite my full knowledge of how fast time flies I am determined to say the phrase "I have lots of time".

About this month

So on to what happened this month.  It was a very good month with lots of wonderful moments. I got to be involved with some wonderful births.  There was one birth where I was in of which I was so grateful that the skill of the midwives, It was their skill and experience saved a particular baby's life.  The baby and mother are now safe and sound.  

During the second week of August you may have heard about the meteor shower that was expected, some of you may have even been able to witness it.  On of those nights Alex and three of my Filipina friends here at the clinic laid out on top of the clinic roof with blankets and pillows and watched the stars fly by.  The first shooting star we saw was huge, red, and lasted for a good 10 seconds.  As it shot across the sky we all pointed and screeched with delight.  It was such a beautiful night and it filled me with so much joy.  

IV's were another lovely experience this month! After Ellora came back from her break in the U.S. we practiced giving each other IV's. Ellora's first IV was inserted into my hand, and she did a very good job!  I have to admit it took me a few tries to successfully get an IV in my fellow missionary.  And it took three willing and very obliging volunteers for it to be a success but as you can see I did manage to do it with the careful guidance of our head midwife.  

My last blog I know expressed the difficulty that I was feeling with my first few weeks back.  Through prayer and the encouragement of family and friends I have been able to not only see God's hand in Him bringing me here but also that I am meant to be here.  I still have so much to learn and that is a definite prayer request that I will become more and more skilled in the practical aspect of clinic life. 

 I admit that volunteering overseas in a midwifery clinic involves many things that do not come naturally to me.  But then I have found that when I am learning new things; often they do not come naturally to me. I do not really know why, I think it has to do with how my brain works and processes things, maybe its Dyslexia, or Irlen or maybe it is some un-discovered learning difference.  I do not know for sure.  I do know that often God seems to call people to things that they are not always natural at.  Gideon, was an unlikely candidate for his calling as he came from a small family and he was absolutely terrified at the notion of doing what God asked him.  Scripture seems to indicate that Moses was not a fan of crowds but he did become a great a leader and God gave him the resources to do it.  Louis Pasteur was never good at academics and his greatest skill when he was younger was tanning yet he became the greatest Chemist in History.  

The very fact that things do not come naturally to me he here just shows how much I need to lean on Jesus and trust Him that he will carry me through, and that when I get through it will not be my own doing but my heavenly Fathers.  The one thing that does come naturally I will tell you, is how much I love the women.  I was not expecting such an overwhelming feeling when I arrived concerning the love for love each woman that I have the privilege of helping during their pregnancy and labour.  

1 year anniversary

As mentioned before, September 1st marks one year since our arrival to Tabuk so Ellora and I celebrated the occasion by baking a cake and serving it to everyone here at the clinic.  It has been a great year, not always easy but then I understand that most great things are not always easy to achieve.   I want to thank all of you who are praying and supporting me through this journey, it is an honor to work with these fine midwives and women and to help where and when I can with these woman and babies that pass through these clinic doors! Also thank you again for your prayers concerning the patient and her baby whom both had dengue and are now better.  Until next month, over and out, the sheepishmidwife! 

a prayer upon a prayer request!

Just want to send a quick prayer request out. In my most recent post I mentioned that there was a patient who was confined in the hospital with Dengua fever.  I got word today that her newborn baby has also come down with Dengua fever and was taken to a nearby city for treatment.  Please continue to pray for this woman and her baby, for privacy reasons I will not include their names, but I just ask that you lift them up in prayer.  For a complete recovery, strength and peace.  As I mentioned before Dengua has been known to be fetal.  So this can be quite scary.

July has flown by....

wow...it is already the end of July, it seems just like yesterday that i arrived back from Canada and here I am almost 4 weeks later.


A taste of July
I cannot claim that lots happened this month but it has been busy non the less.  Ellora and I started on our assignment titles "Well-woman" and no it does refer to the woman at the well.  It was a very interesting assignment but kept us very busy.  I got to be involved with some more births, which as always wonderful, amazing and nerve wracking.  We also have two interns from Austria staying with us and it has been great getting to know them, especially since they are from Vienna! Ellora has headed off for her four week furlough in the states, and tomorrow the new girls head to a mountain village for four weeks so I will be the only white person living the house for the next few weeks.

Alright, so I am not going to lie, my return here to the Philippines was a little more challenging than i was expecting, not for any one reason in particular, but I was definitely pretty home sick the first two weeks back.  I had just finished getting over the real big bout of homesickness back at the end of April so it was a little unfortunate to have to go through it again, but then I suppose it shows just how blessed I am to have such a great family.  Sometimes I find myself disappointed with how slow I seem to be in getting the hang of things.  I will be honest I did not realize that this journey would be this difficult. I have had many good people in my life however that have been encouraging in addition to this I was reminded of something the other day and was actually able to put it into words while writing a letter to a friend.......

Dancing through the thistles 
Some of you know, that I love to go places barefoot.  On the ranch during the summer months I rarely wear shoes unless there is a real reason to.  The thing with going everywhere barefoot however is one often runs into thistles and thorns which do not feel so great on the feet.  Whenever I encounter these thistles that tend to disguise themselves among the grass so that often I do not know that they are there until I step on them, I am faced with three choices, 1) I can turn back, and miss out on what is on the other side of the thistle patch or 2) I could run through as fast as I can but then I would have so many thorns in my feet that I probably would have problems walking any further or I can choose 3) slowly moving around, over, side stepping and maneuvering through the thistles.  I tend to pretty well always choose option 3.

I feel like the challenges we face can be like that.  When we encounter struggles and hardships we can turn back and miss out on what God has for us (although sometimes it is God;s leading that we choose a different route) we can force our way through but then cause more harm to ourselves than good or we can let God lead us in a dance through the thistles.  It is usually a slow dance and it takes time, and even when we are careful we will still get thorns in our feet, but by the time we get through and are on the other side, we can look back and realize that God turned the thistle patch into the dance of our lives.

Other things
Anyhow that is my sentimental moment for this blog post.  Last Saturday we had our labour and delivery seminar and I had the task of teaching on the second stage of labour.  I had fun explaining the different positions that one can use while in labour and the benefits of each.  It was the first time that I did a teaching with a crowd since being here.  I have done a few devotionals but not a a teaching.

Since the two new girls have arrived four of us Americanos have started our own little church service Sunday afternoons, we have not done it every Sunday, but we get together in the evening sing songs and share something.  Recently we all told our testimonies which was pretty cool,  we had to divide it up throughout the week however and give each one of us her own night.

Prayer needed
The  clinic has been busy and we have had many wonderful women and babies pass through the doors.  I do have a particulate prayer request for one of the patients.  She recently delivered a baby last week but a few days ago she was confined in the hospital due to a fever.  It turns out that she has Dengua fever and a Urinary Tract Infection.  Thus she has to be separated from her baby and is not able to breastfeed him.  The baby is staying with her family and is doing well, but their whole family could use prayer.  Dengua is a very unpleasant illness and in some cases it can be fatal, but she is in good hands now with a very good doctor, please pray that she recovers soon and will be able to be reunited with her baby and family.

To close
With this I shell leave you for another month
other prayer request in addition to the above include continual learning, joy, confidence and humility
For the new assignment that I have started which requires a a lot of research!
Also for my Grandma who is recovering from a burst appendix In Canada.  I am told that she is doing a lot better and I am hoping to skype with her soon so that I can see for myself.

As always I thank you for your prayers and support during this journey

There and Back again: A Furlough Tale by Vienna Moilliet

Well as the title of this blog indicates (in addition to my obvious appreciation of Middle Earth books) I am back again after four weeks in Canada spent with family and friends

the trip back to Canada went very well, April and Anker picked me up in Vancouver, which was a real treat, it was so much fun coming out into arrivals and spotting April, running towards her as we both squealed in a way only sisters can do.  After a lovely cup of Starbucks coffee we headed east! we made a stop along the way and visited these old railroad tunnels, it was a lot of fun and felt good to be among Canadian forests again.

                                              Sister fun on the way back!

That evening I had supper with my brother and sister-in-law and of course my wonderful nephew whom has grown up so much.  It was so good to see him!!! then my mom and dad stopped in which was a wonderful a reunion.  Later I went back to April and Anker's where I slept very soundly

The next morning held a lot of biter-sweetness.  Sweetness because we went to a Breakfast place (still in Kamloops) where I got to see two sets of aunts and uncles, and nearly all of my siblings (one of them had to stay back and look after the ranch) it was so good to see them and I was nearly bursting with excitement I even got to see my soon to be sister-in-law.  The bitterness of this morning however was that the reason that so many of my family were in Kamloops this day was due to the fact that a dear friend of the family (mentioned in my last blog) had  unexpectedly died and his funeral was being held that day.  It was a very sad day as we said goodbye hugged his family members; he was only in his thirties.  Thank the Lord however that he had the Hope of Salvation and that he is the arms of Jesus and we will soon meet again.

That afternoon I returned with my mom, dad, younger brother and my nephew (who was to spend with weekend with up) to the ranch.  It felt good to smell the smells of good ol' Aveley, see more friends and family and play with my nephew.
                                                 
                                                daddy and I hanging out at the ranch pick nick

Unfortunately I got quite sick that weekend with a nasty cold.  I went to church that Sunday not feeling the greatest but tolerable.  Joseph and Cadence then took me out to lunch in Clearwater.  it was a lovely afternoon but by evening I had a fever and was all achy.  Anyhow I survived and got over it in about a week but my couch lasted longer than I would have liked.

The Merendia evening went well there were about 40 people there.  From the evening to the end of the month I raised almost a third of what I estimated I needed.  I thank everyone who contributed; it was truly a blessing, about half of the money has already gone towards my tuition for this year

June 20th was a big day for us as one of my younger brothers; Seth, tied the knot! and got married to a lovely girl whom is a great match for him.  I had the honer of being one of her bridesmaids, along with her sister (maid of honer) two of her friends and Cadence.  It was an adventure! as with many weddings there were unexpected little mishaps that came up but they were all worked through and everything in the end was beautiful and no one knew the difference.  I shed quite a lot of tears and was thankful I walked up the isle with a tissue in my hand.

The next day the rest of our family stayed in the house that we had rented in Vernon and hung out together as a family, we had a relaxing morning as the kids played and then went swimming in Kalamalka lake.  We finished the evening off with a delicious BBQ which included lamb...oh so good.  I had a blast with me nieces and nephew, it was hard to say goodbye.

                                                 BBQ time at the rented house in Vernon

I returned to the ranch for the final ten days, they were a bit more busy than I had hoped, but such is life.  I visited several people, went huckleberry picking with a friend (which included a lot of bush wacking) Helped mom take my youngest brother into Kamloops because he had to have knee surgery, and help nurse him a bit thereafter.  I also had the honer of baptizing a young friend mine.  The following day we had another young person who was also baptized.  I went for a drive with mom and dad to Clearwater lake, of which I had never been to before.  I went riding for the third time that month, watched some Lost episodes with my younger brother, said goodbye to my sheep Tiah and before I knew it was time to leave.

                                                 Clearwater lake: quite cold

                                              Saying goodbye to my old sheep Tiah

The trip back was certainly a journey.  I already knew that it was going to be a long trip of about 42 hours, due to lay overs, but it turned into a bit of an adventure.  April and Anker dropped me off at the Kamloops airport where I flew to Vancouver.  I discovered that my flight was delayed by two hours which was fine since my layover in Beijing was 7 hours so I had plenty of time to spare.   The 11 hour plane ride to Beijing went very well, I was happy that I seemed to feel fine (I have a history of sometimes not feeling well on planes) we were fed two meals the last only about an hour before we landed.  Again I seemed to feel fine but as soon as we started to land I started feeling really sick.  It was very fortunate I had bought a small beg of chips in the Vancouver airport and that I ate them as it allowed me to have an empty beg at my disposal, I was, after all unable to get to the bathroom since we were in the middle of landing.  As soon as we hit the ground....well you can guess the rest I won't give you details.  I was hoping that I had gotten sick just because of the motion.  But upon entering the airport I was in need of another bathroom.  I managed to make it through security but needed another bathroom right afterwords.  With about four hours till my next flight, I found an empty gate (fortunately I had idea of the airport layout since I had stopped there on my way over) stretched out on the chairs and slept for two hours.  After that I still didn't feel great but there was nothing left in my system to throw up anyway.  When I got on my next plane (which went to Manila) I found myself sitting by a woman and her young son.  I noticed earlier that she looked tired and exhausted and I soon found out why. Turned out that we had been on the same plane from Vancouver, and that she had also been sick and had had the same meal as I did.  We were both relieved that we were not the only ones sick and agreed it must be food poisoning.  Both of us slept pretty well the entire four hours to Manila.

I figured that was enough excitement for one trip but alas it was not the end.  I had one more flight to catch, an hour flight from Manila to Tuguagarao, from there I would take a van back home to Tabuk.  But I arrived in Manila at 12:30 AM and had to wait until 11:15 AM.  So I wondered around, facebooked, read, and slept on the airport floor for another two hours.  We boarded the plane at 10:45 AM and started to get ready to head down the runway lane, but before we could the pilot informed us that due to weather the flight had been canceled, so off the plane we went.  At first I was just going to stay overnight and get the plane the next day but by texting with friends back in Tabuk it sounded like the storm was going to last until the next day.  So I decided to take the 11 hour night bus.  I took a taxi to the bus station where I discovered that all buses to Tabuk were full but managed to get the last seat on the bus going to Tuguagarao.  While I waited I meant a really nice family and we chatted for about half an hour and they helped me get on the right bus.  I finally headed out of Manila at 6:30 pm that evening, slept off and on, arrived in Tugeagarao at 5:30 am, where there was lots of wind and rain (I confirmed later that the flight for that day was also canceled, so very good I did not wait around) got to the transportation van in plenty of time.   I finally arrived in Tabuk at 8:30 AM where Georgia and her husband kindly picked me up at the terminal so I did't have to walk in the pouring rain, not that I would have minded but my luggage would have.

It was so nice to see everyone again, there was lots of hugs and "glad to see yas" all around.  I met the two new young ladies that have joined us here at the clinic, they will also be here for 2.5 years. They are great gals.

Oh boy that was long post but you know I love to tell stories and there were so many that happened this last month.

So here I am again, I start doing clinicals again on Thursday and must begin my next assignment today.  It is going to be a crazy next 19 months filled with learning.

Thank you so much for all the prayers this last month
I think there will be a big learning curve approaching as the clinic has become quite busy.  I can definitely use prayer (as always) for the ability to grasp concept, understanding and wisdom.  you can also pray for the new girls as they begin their language classes.  And four our second years as they begin to prepare to graduate (so sad to loose them :( )

Much love and Blessing to you all!!

Short and Sweet

Hi All
So I would love to write you a nice long blog to catch everyone up but the bitter truth is that I simply do not have a lot of time considering the fact that I start my journey home in 2.5 days time  So I shell hit on the highlights.

May flew in with an immense amount of busyness, there was a trip to Manila with Ellora to get her visa stuff sorted.  We certainly had some adventures, without going into too much detail we ended up seeing more of Manila than we anticipated, no we weren't lost we just had a hard time locating a bus terminal where we could book a ride back to Tabuk.  But no worries we made it home safe and sound :) We even has some time to see some of Mall of Asia

When we returned home we soon become heavily involved with academics we were taught about breech birth, newborn resuscitation, and several sessions on Herbs.  We completed our herb assignment which was very interesting but very time consuming and required a lot of focus, did a brief statistics course and started on another assignment.

Two Interns have come to join our family for a month! sadly I have only been able to be here with them for two weeks, as they will be gone by the time I get back from Canada which brings me to my next set of business

As I mentioned earlier I am coming back to Canada in just 2.5 days! for four weeks my sister and her husband will pick me up at Vancouver airport and drive me home.  because this is a public blog and all I won't give many details about the flight or schedule.
You can definitely pray that I manage to get everything together in the next two days, as I have been swamped with homework and have only just started packing.  I still have some homework to finish up and clinic life is also busy.  I am very much hoping I do not forget anything before I leave.  And for those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning you know that I have a history of not always feeling very well on long flights, so please pray that I do not get sick in any shape or form.

There was some sad news received this last week as I found out that a good friend of the family passed away very unexpectedly, it was terribly shocking news and has brought great grief to anyone who has ever known him especially for his family.  I think most of you know to whom I am referring to.  Please remember the whole Vollans and Flagel families in your prayers.

Thank you for your prayers concerning the clinic things have picked up considerably this month and we have been much busier which is always good!

On this note I will close this blog post I know it is shorter than usual but hopefully I will see most of you soon so I can talk to you in person, I hope most of you can make it to me fundraiser event, (you do not have to give money to come :) this mission needs prayer warriors too!) I will be dividing my time between Vavenby and  Kamloops, I am trying to keep traveling to minimum as I have very little time in Canada.
Blessings to you all!

Up coming event....

So....in four weeks I fly back to Canada for 30 days.  I have set a date for a fundraiser/get-together  following is the information concerning said event.

A Merienda Evening!
June 13, 2015 at 6:30 in the evening. It will be held at Vavenby Christian Church, Vavenby B.C. The evening will start off with a video about the clinic, slideshow and my ramblings and stories.

 Following we will have Merienda! Merienda is something like the English' tea time or coffee time and always consists of some form of food (usually sweet).  I am planning on making two Filipino dishes often served for Merienda and am also asking people to bring goodies and finger food.  so if any of you feel like doing brining anything do let know.  We can then socialize and hang out for the rest of the evening.  If you have facebook the page for the event is
https://www.facebook.com/events/471073656380936/  if I have not invited you to the event via facebook please let me know so I can send you an invite!
Many Blessings y'all and looking forward to seeing my Canadian family and friends in a few weeks!