Mercy Girls Take Butuan

Ready for the ride!

This past week, the Mercy Midwives girls were given the opportunity to visit a little village in Butuan, which is a city on northern Mindanao, a few hours away from Davao. We have loved working in the city, but honestly it is not a representation of how the majority of people live in the Philippines, so it was exciting for us to go and experience village life. We stayed with the Mountain Harvesters team so we were also excited about getting to visit another team and see what the Lord was doing in & through them!
We headed out on Wednesday morning and after driving for about 5 hours we made it to Butuan City where we had to transfer to motorcycles to go the rest of the way. They call the motorcycles with wings (as you can see below) habal-habals... and they are super fun to ride!

The Mercy Midwives girls with our translator, Belle

After loading up and strapping on our stuff (bags & food for the combined teams of 10), we rode for about an hour and a half to Limatok, the village where we would be staying. The village is so full of green vegetation and is located in a gorgeous spot in the mountains. It kind of looks like Jurassic Park! I wish I could describe to you how beautiful and peaceful it is. 

The Mountain Harvesters team usually spends their days going house to house sharing the gospel during the week, so we just tagged along with them. After traveling most of the day on Wednesday, we started Thursday morning bright and early going house to house. Kate and I went with one of the other girls and our translator to a woman's house who had been interested in Bible study while the other girls split up to visit another house. We were able to share the gospel with the woman and Kate shared her testimony, and afterwards the womand said she wanted to accept Christ as her Savior! We prayed with her and gave her a Bible and told her we would come back the next day to talk about baptism. This was one of my favorite moments on the trip, because on our very first home visit a woman accepted Christ. 

Doing A Bible study on Friday Night

The Lord keeps proving his faithfulness over and over. He is showing us that if we will step out and do things that are uncomfortable (like sharing the gospel or having to cook over a fire for a few days)... He will move in mighty ways! Praise God for this trip to Butuan. We really enjoyed the rest of our time with the Mountain Harvesters and made it back to Davao safely. Now only one week left!


Pray for the people we met and ministered to in Butuan, especially for the woman who is a new believer.
Pray that God would keep moving in mighty ways in that village
Pray for our last week here in the Philippines, that we will finish the race strong!

Teaching the kids how to brush their teeth

Mountain Harvesters and Mercy Midwives :)

Cooking Breakfast

Yardwork

The Before...

During our stay in Davao, we are living in a house close to the clinic with 4 other midwife students. It is amazing how this place called Palm Village has quickly become like home to us, and it is probably because of the welcoming personalities of the students who live here. The girls have really taken us in and showed us everything from shopping at the market to working with our temperamental washing machine. We have tried to return the favor and serve them in some small ways. One project some of us have taken on is fixing up their front lawn. The students have to devote time to their studies and working in the clinic, so they don't have much time to spare for yardwork. Most people living in the city have barely more than a patch of grass and a few plants for their "yards" but they take great pride in keeping them neat and clean.



I don't know if we actually made any improvement in the aesthetics of the yard, but hey at least we tried right? We are so blessed to get to live with these girls during our time here.

Pray for the 4 girls we live with, that they will feel strengthened and encouraged.

...and After!!

When the Lord Moves You out of the Way

We usually do home visits on Saturdays for moms who are patients at Mercy. This Saturday, we went to a neighborhood to visit a couple of patients who had recently delivered at Mercy. The second woman we visited had just had her seventh baby, and she lived in an area where there were many other children as well. When we got to her house she asked us to wait outside for a few minutes while she prepared a place for us to sit. 

While outside we saw some girls working on some kind of craft project, and we went up and introduced ourselves and asked what they were up to. They said they were all in eighth grade and they were working on a project for school. We talked for a few more minutes and ended up inviting them to join our home visit/bible study. They agreed to come, and when we sat down with the woman we came to see, we had attracted quite a group of kids! She was nice enough to let them gather at the door of her home and listen as we told they story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. We explained how the Lord will take the small gifts we have to offer and multiply them, like in the story, if only we will surrender our lives to Him.  

At the end we asked if anyone had questions or comments, and one girl named Princess (who was about 15 years old) said she would like to say something. We thought to ourselves, "Oh, she will probably make a short comment and we can be on our way". Well, obviously God had a different plan, because this 15 year old girl got up, borrowed Jesse Anne's bible, and brought the WORD! 

She talked through Romans 6:23, how we all deserve death and hell, but through Christ we can be saved. She said that a couple of years ago she was smoking and cussing a lot but since she became a Christian her life has changed for the good. She explained to all the other kids who were there how they needed to accept Jesus and lead a prayer for them. We all just looked around at each other after she sat down and thought, "Thank you Jesus for giving Princess this opportunity to speak!" I think this experience taught us that sometimes we just need to start the conversation, and then step out of the way and let God do the rest.

-Carmen

Please pray for Princess and the other girls we met during our home visit, that they will continue to seek after Christ, and that they would find older women to disciple them.

The Mercy girls with Princess

Active Faith

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  Philemon 6

Pray for team members to clearly live out their faith as they minister.

Team of the Day

Mercy Midwives

Country of the Day

Philippines

Transports

Sometimes we have women who come in and are unable to give birth at the clinic due to a certain factor (like high blood pressure or not progressing fast enough) that put them into the "high risk" category. We then classify these women as "transports" because they are taken to the public hospital's OB/ER (yes, they have an Emergency Room specifically for pregnant women). Once there, we pass off communication to the doctor, tell our former patient goodbye, and then head back to the clinic. This is almost like a worst case scenario. In some instances, you have been with this patient for multiple hours trying to comfort her during the labor process, all the while forming this unique bond, only to have them whisked away to the hospital for some unforeseen problem. No longer are you able to see the mixed emotions of joy and relief on the new mom's face as their precious child comes into the world. Instead, we have to settle for the anxious ride to the hospital, and the sad farewell in the OB/ER as you realize they will give birth without their family/husband/partner by their side (they are only allowed entry into the hospital after the baby is born and only during visiting hours). Finally, we have to deal with the unsettling feeling that you may not get a chance to find out what happens with the soon-to-be-mom unless she comes back to the clinic. 

Another troubling aspect is realizing that this woman will not have the same exposure to the gospel if she would have stayed at the clinic. However, like many other times in my life God has been showing me how He works all situations out for His glory. With the ride over, God gives us the perfect opportunity to pray for the patient and their family and to share with them the peace that God brings. God helps us to remember the doctors and nurses who work 24 hour shifts at this hospital, who are probably still exhausted from their last shift. A few day ago, God showed us yet another means to continue the relationship with the women who we transfer.

A patient had to be transferred due to a recent illness that left her both dehydrated and too exhausted for pushing. It was difficult leaving this patient knowing that the hardest stage of labor was yet to come. For some reason, this patient weighed heavily on my heart and, after talking with several of the midwifery students, they informed me that we could go to the hospital during the visiting hours to the Post partum unit to meet up with the former patient. Kate and I decided to visit the unit the next day after our shift.

Once we arrived, we were directed to the Post partum unit. Nothing could have prepared us for the unit that consisted of a huge room housing 100+ beds with two women per bed. After the initial shock and roaming up and down the rows, we finally saw the patient we had transported the day before. Her eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across her face as soon as she saw us. She could not believe that someone from the clinic was visiting her and cared about her enough to follow up with how her labor went and how her baby was doing. After talking with her and the woman she was sharing a bed with, we said a prayer for both women and exchanged hugs. As we walked back through the rows of new moms, we realized God had shown us another way we could reach out to women and share His grace and His love.

-Jesse Anne

Please pray for the hospital here in Davao where we transport our patients and for the people who work there.
Pray for boldness as we continue to take steps to share the gospel

Health Teaching

We have had the opportunity to do some health teachings & devotions at the clinic each morning. Usually when women come in for prenatals, they arrive at 8 am for a devotional and health teaching, and then are seen, first come first served, starting at 9. The devotional usually starts with a worship song and prayer, then we will do an interactive devotion/short bible study. We try to make it simple and entertaining so we can keep the women interested, while teaching central biblical truths. We will then give the women an opportunity to pray and receive the gospel.

Kate & Jesse Anne leading a health teaching

The health teachings cover a variety of topics including: Family Planning, Labor and Delivery, Nutrition and Fetal Development, Newborn and Postpartum, and Breastfeeding. We are doing either all or partial teachings (with help from the national midwives) on each of these topics other than Family Planning. The health teaching usually lasts about 30-45 minutes. We will go through a powerpoint with lots of visual aids to keep the women engaged. We use an interpreter for all of this because the women we are speaking to speak Visayan or Tagalog. 

The most challenging thing we have faced in this is trying to overcome language and cultural barriers. Some women we are sharing with speak English and some don't, some are in their first pregnancy and some their fifth. Our translators really help us out with figuring out how to speak to such a diverse audience, and we have been trying to constantly modify our health teachings and devotions so they can be better understood. The women seem to be receptive of the information presented in both the health teachings and devotionals. We have had so much fun teaching women the Bible, and also getting to educate women about birth!

Please pray for the midwives and other ladies who interpret for us, that they can help explain concepts in a clear, simple way that our patients can understand. 

Isla Verde Outreach

Kids trying to get our attention

On Thursday mornings, the clinic does an outreach in a couple of poor neighborhoods in Davao. They actually have two locations that they go to on alternating weeks: one in Agdao and one in Isla Verde. Amy and I were on shift this past Thursday morning so we were able to go to Isla Verde! 

Isla Verde is a barangay (village) with a large Muslim population and is located near the ocean. There is also a large group of Badjaos there, a Mulsim ethnic group. Some people call them "sea gypsies" because they live in squatters homes near the water. They live very simple lives without calendars or other time keeping devices, and they cook over fires.

The outreach clinic usually starts around 9 am and women are seen in order of whoever shows up first. They do not have to have an appointment to come, so we never know how many will show up until we get there! 

This past Thursday there were not that many women who showed up, which was kind of discouraging at first. It ended up being a good thing that there were so few patients because a Muslim woman came in for a prenatal check and Amy and some other midwives ended up getting to share the gospel with her. She said she wanted to start a relationship with Jesus, so the midwives prayed with her and offered her support. If there had been a lot of patients the midwives may not have been able to set as much time aside for this woman. 

Streetside view

Some "cool kids on the block"

Please pray for the Muslim and Badjao women in this area, that they will come to know the Lord through these outreaches. 
Pray for the woman who received Christ, that she would grow in faith and have support from her family.

-Carmen

4 Births

Amy holding a newborn!

Earlier this week, we were all feeling a bit discouraged. We had all had several shifts where we saw no births at the clinic. Sure, we were staying busy when we worked during the day with pre-natal and baby checks and such, but we had not seen many births. Being able to help with women in labor was one of the things we were most excited about, so it made us sad that no women were coming in. We discussed our struggles as a a group, and brought it to God in prayer. We asked Him to show us why He had brought us here and  how we could serve Him better. 

The very next day we saw four births! It was a busy day full of excitement and joy. We realized through all of this that God showed us (yet again) that this trip is all about Him. I think we all had our own agendas or expectations whether we meant to or not, but God's agenda is the one that matters. It also showed us that God is faithful and will give us more than we expect if we will only ask Him. There are still hard & slow days, but we will keep trusting the Lord and His promises!

Prayer Requests:
Pray for the midwives & the rest of the Administrators here at Mercy Clinic

The Night Market

Last Saturday we got a chance to have an amazing cultural experience at the night market in Davao. Imagine what seems like hundreds of street vendors selling food, clothes, shoes, bags, and many other items sprawled out all over a street called Roxas. The vendors cook the food right there on the street, so the air is filled with smoke from the grills and the smells of barbeque, seafood, fresh fruit, and a crowd of people. There are tents tightly packed together where the grills/deep fryers and food are kept, with areas to sit down beside them. People push through the gaps between the tents to find a space to order food and sit down. Everyone is kind of sweaty and smokey from being all squished together and from the heat of the fires. Hopefully the pictures below will better help you understand what I am trying to describe to you.

The Night Market on Roxas

We made it to the market at about 6:30, which in the Philippines means the sun had already set. We wove our way through the crowd, led by one of our Filipino friends from the clinic, to find a place to stop and eat. Most of the vendors serve food that is fried or grilled. They have a large selection of shish-ka-bobs of different types of meat and seafood that they have set out, and you pick how many of which kind you want and they cook it in front of you, then dip it in sauce. The meat will most of the time be ordered with rice. A couple of girls on our team are vegetarian, so we went in search of food for them too and eventually found some nachos served with veggies and cheese on top. We also tried some refreshing fruit "shakes" that you could order with mango, avocado, apple, or other fresh fruits. It was so interesting to just get to sit back and watch people interact. We are so thankful that we get to be a part of this wonderful culture for a couple of months, and we are also thankful for the beautiful friends we have made and their willingness to share with us!

Barbeque Pork on the grill

Scripture: Romans 10 :14- "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
     
Prayer Requests:
Pray for the many lost people we encounter in Davao every day
Pray for our boldness to proclaim the gospel to those we meet

-Mercy Midwives

Serving in Small Ways

A newborn who was delivered at Mercy Maternity Center

We started our first week of working in the clinic and it has flown by! All of the midwives here are so kind and you can tell that they love what they do. Their compassionate care, I think, is the main reason the clinic is such a safe haven for moms here in Davao. We have named ourselves "midwife techs" because our role, really, is to support the midwives and other workers in the clinic. God has been teaching us to find joy in serving in small ways this summer. Many things we do could be considered monotonous; like taking vital signs for charting, but it is all necessary to help the midwives do their job. Sometimes when people go to the mission field they have these grand desires to see 1,000 people saved or hundreds healed. While these dreams are not a bad thing by any means, sometimes God is calling us to simply serve him in the small tasks of our everyday lives. All that being said, we are looking forward to all that God has in store next!
     
A verse that has helped us this week: Psalm 16:8- " I have set the Lord continually before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

Prayer Requests:

• for the babies delivered at Mercy Maternity Center this week, and their moms
• Thank God that we are over jet lag and getting adjusted to our clinic schedule
• Pray for discernment to understand how and when to share the gospel verbally with all those who come through the clinic

First Days in Davao City

Kate trying the durian (with whole fruit in the background)

We made it! Our team arrived in Davao last Thursday morning safe and sound. The city is a busy, energetic place with some of the nicest people living here. On Friday morning we were sent on a scavenger hunt as part of our orientation. We went around the city on jeep-neys (kind of like a public bus), talking to different people and trying various local foods. One food we tried was durian, a fruit that is popular here in the Philippines. It has a very distinct smell that is kind of stinky, and the taste is hard to describe but it is quite good.

Kate's reaction to the durian!

We also tried pandesal which is kind of like a dinner roll that many people eat. It is very good because it is usually freshly baked and cheap. Also on our scavenger hunt, we were able to share the gospel with some people who we stopped to ask directions from. They seemed to listen to what we said, and it was good for us to see some seeds planted. Later that day, we were able to hand out some tracts at a park and share Jesus’ story with a few people.

Jeep-ney Ride!

Experiencing and immersing yourself in a new culture can be exhausting and scary but also fun and exciting. Our team, I think, is experiencing a little bit of all these emotions at once. Overall, our journey so far has been full of new things and adjusting to life here. We start working in the clinic on Monday! Be on the lookout for a post about our first days in the clinic. 

Please pray that our team will continue to adjust to the culture (and the heat!) here in the Philippines. 

Also, pray that we will continue to be intentional about sharing the gospel with all those we come in contact with. 

Our team at a park in Davao

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Meet the Team: Mercy Midwives

We are so excited about sharing Chris’s love with the mothers, babies, & midwives at Mercy Maternity Center in Davao City, Philippines. As student nurses, we are excited about helping in the clinic on a daily basis. There are 4 of us on the team and we want to give you a chance to get to know us & begin to pray for our team.

Amy is our team leader. She is from Georgia & a graduate of Shorter University. She hopes to go into long-term medical missions.

Kate is from Georgia & is a recent graduate of the University of North Georgia. The first birth she ever witnessed was a cow! She aspires to be an ER nurse.

Jesse Anne attends Gardner-Webb University ad is from North Carolina. She like jelly fish & peanut butter… but not together.

Carmen is from Mississippi & goes to Mississippi College. She hopes to be a midwife one day so this is a great fit for her this summer! She has 3 younger brothers & a passion for summer camps.

Prayer requests:

• Be intentional about sharing the gospel with the women in the clinic
• Quick adjustment to a new culture

Team Unity

"I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  JOHN 17:23

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."  1 CORINTHIANS 1:10

The teams will begin ministry soon after they arrive to their assigned countries. Pray that teams would be unified as they minister so that the love of Christ would be evident in all they say and do to the glory of the Father.

TEAM of the DAY

Mercy Midwives

COUNTRY of the DAY

Philippines