update....

So, I had a labor... and I checked her all out, and it turned out... she wasn't ready to stay at the clinic... so I sent her home! It was really cool and I was terrified. Thanks everyone for praying.

Prayer requests

Ok, so honestly, the title of this post was going to be yikes!.... but... Prayer requests is maybe better...

So I am sitting here, on the cusp of handling... ok, maybe not really. I am at 8 births, and the supervisor said if there were 2 the third would be mine... and I was not expecting it today. I wasn't expecting it until Wednesday... SO I, with a look of terror, I'm sure, said... umm... ok. So yeah, If you look at this on the morning of December 3rd before 9 o'clock... I could be... yikes... a real live midwife, sorta... Actually, if I handle, I'll probably be there for longer than that... so if you could be praying for me, that'd make a TON of difference....

also... my great friend Cindy.... texted me the other day... and she is having some SERIOUS familial problems, I think. And she is confiding in me. I am very worried about her, because she was texting me a lot, and then she said something about her uncle coming over (who, I think is the source of the problem), and she hasn't texted me back since then... please pray for her, and her family. And for me, and the other mercy girls that may be called on to try to work out this problem for her.

Alright, thanks so much! Love you guys!!

~Sarah

Natalie Bolcan!

So I had Cindy and Natalie's 6 week check. It's the last post partum check we do here at mercy... it was kind of bitter sweet... however!! We went out for breakfast/lunch after and they invited me over to their house... which was kind of far, and I didn't really tell anyone I was going... but it was crazy fun.

So we get in the Jeep outside of the shopping center, and they told me it was far.... but I didn't really believe them. It was pretty far. So we rode, and I was holding Natalie, and we got all sorts of funny looks from the other passengers who were thinking how did this white girl get this baby... Then we got to the stop, and jumped out. Cindy's mom took the baby and got on one form of transportation, and me and Cindy were going to ride on a motorcycle together... well... she told me to get on, and I said "that one?" and she said "yeah" and I said, "now?" and she told me yes... so I did... and the driver started freaking out, and I was like... uh, what? and everyone started laughing... and I had no idea what I did... so cindy was like "Get off!!" and I jumped off so fast... and I tried to get her to tell me what... but she was laughing so hard she couldn't get it out... great... I start off by totally embarrassing myself... So it turned out that the guy just wanted to turn his bike around... I was the talk of the bus station for the rest of the day (at least).

So we got to her house and I had a LOT of coke, and some peanut butter sandwich thing, and anything else they could find in their house to get me... which I tried not to eat, but really, there was no refusing them. It was a grand visit and while I was there, Cindy asked me to be Natalie's godmother. which basically involves buying a bunch of presents and going to her baptism and stuff like that. she also invited me to their family reunion on Jan 1... so, it's going to be great fun!! So I made it home in one piece, I didn't even get lost (which is kind of a miracle, because I get lost all the time)! It is SO wonderful to have relationships with these girls! And I really hope I can continue to build good relationships even when the work schedule gets crazy.
I hope you all are well, and I pray for you regularly~

Shift with Holly

It was a very exciting shift... it started out kind of slow, but it held a lot of action! :-) Holly was first up to assist so we had a pushy girl who was giving birth to her first baby. She was doing pretty good... but then the baby wasn't coming out.... for a long time... so we ended up transporting her to the hospital, and she had a C-section. It was kind of sad, but I think it was ok. Then after a little while another girl came in, and she was SO beautiful! She was very tall, like, REALLY tall. It was grand. She had come with her young daughter and son and husband. They didn't have anyone to watch the kids except a little boy, who they also brought with them. Crazy. So, the mom was pushing out her third little baby, while the husband ran back and forth between her and the kids outside! :-) And then, since there was nobody else there, the kids came in and were hanging out and inspecting their new baby! Holly did amazingly and it was a pretty good shift. (so the pictures are of the new little family, and Holly finishing up the newborn exam)

In other very exciting news... we are deep into our new assignment (which isn't so new anymore...) it is Intrapartum (labor/birth). It's really great and relevant to what we are learning right now. The girls in my year are starting to deliver the babies instead of just assist, and it's exciting to see. I still have 7 assists... I only need 3 more... I have been "stuck" there for about 2 1/2 weeks. It's a little bit discouraging, but I know that I am not going to handle until God wants me to do it, and I have learned SO SO SO much in this past 2 1/2 weeks. I have gotten the women from admission and sat with them, basically, until the head was about to come out, and then a supervisor comes in and catches it. So I feel more like I am... I don't want to say ready, because there is still SO much to learn. I will never get it all. But I know way more than I would have if I would have just finished my assists 2 weeks ago. And it gives me more time to build relationships with these girls, which, is so important to me. Anyway, thats all for now. I should get back to homework. I am on cooking this week, which leaves me not as much time for homework! :-) Have a wonderful last half of the week, and weekend, friends!!

P.S. Shout out to Jes L.'s Mom!!! She rocks! ;-)

:-)

Wow it's been a long time... The assignment was due, and then the internet out for a whole week! It was crazy times! :-) But now it's settled down just a bit, and we are back to just the regular amount of craziness! :-) I am very excited because this aftenoon I get to work with Holly! And I PROMISE that there will be pictures and stories from that later. But for now, it's laundry and homework until 2 when its time for work... until then :-)

sigh

Wow! I finally finished my assignment. that one was a killer. It wasn't exactly hard... just long and time consuming. So after malaria set me back about 6 days, I finally finished Sunday night (definitely 6 days after I wanted to). It was due monday afternoon, so it turned out ok. God is SO faithful. I just have to take the test on... tomorrow, and then on to the next assignment, which, I hear, is a real whopper... so yikes!

In other news me and Holly got to work together yesterday!! It was prenatals, so we really didn't see each other at all. BUT our cubicles were right next to each other, and it was so great to be able to hear her with the women, and to listen to them joke and laugh together. It made my heart smile. She however, did not hear my initial prenatal karaoke joke... In the Philippines karaoke is HUGE!!! Like, really, a karaoke machine on every corner! so on the day of initial prenatals sometimes the girls have no clue what is going to happen, so we tell them... "Here at mercy..." so I always talk about the fetoscope (like a stethoscope, but different...) to hear the heart beat, but then I also tell them about the doppler I tell them it's like a microphone, for their baby to do karaoke! and they always laugh so hard at my very funny joke... actually, a lady responded yesterday with, "Oh yes, I know this baby is going to be a karaoke star, this is practice!" HA HA HA, it was hilarious! Well, anyway, here are some pictures of Holly and I doing prenatals... not yesterday... but recently... :-) Have a great week everyone!

Oy!

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting... I have been very sick for the past... week ish... I've had malaria and basically not moved from my bedroom for about 6 days, not eating/drinking, etc... But God is faithful, and He was taking care of me, and Holly was taking care of my physical needs (which, is kind of difficult, I'm not the best sick person... I'm not very compliant...). I am so blessed by her. But anyway...
Today I had a three week check with Cindy and Natalie. Natalie is getting SO big! She was over 7 lbs! yay! She was still kind of jaundice, which should have probably gone away by now, but her grandmother was giving her this "vitamin" supplement and thought that was enough, and she didn't need to follow our instructions. But I told her to stop giving her the vitamins, and sun her a little... and keep feeding a lot. Cindy is so grand, she texts me all the time! :-) And nice ones, too, not just forwards (in the Philippines they send a lot of forwards to people, they are kind of silly, but ... yeah). Last night she sent me a message saying that she was so excited to see me tomorrow (today), and that she misses me, and Natalie does too! :-) And today they brought me some mangos! my favorite! I've decided that Natalie looks just like her mom! They are both so cute!

So on the school front... Our teacher for this assignment graciously extended the due date from Friday at 12 to Monday at 2! I was SO glad, because when I was sick, I couldn't do any of it... I couldn't think well... So that left me about 4 days to do about half of the assignment that we had 3 weeks to do! yikes! I was SO excited about the extension, so now, I can do a bit of a better job with it. Speaking of "it." I should probably go work on it some more! Have a wonderful week! I will update again sooner! :-)