Midwife for His Glory: October 2012

A Real Update...

You've probably noticed that I haven't had a "real" update in a while. There has been a reason for that. I have been under incredible stress and relationship issues. There is an intern here who I have a hard time trying to get along with and I feel as if she and I have been at each other's throats constantly. Well, it's actually been more of her at my throat while I try to figure out what I did wrong...again... (Note: I have not been completely faultless, but most of the time, I'm wondering what I did wrong again.) It's been very hard. However, God has been using it for good (at least, I hope it is for good!). Because I have been dealing with this every day, I haven't had much energy to write much. Please pray that our issues will be resolved soon. If they don't resolve (which is a good possibility) she leaves in 10 more days (yes, I've been counting) and I leave in 15 (I've been counting that one too) and we don't have to see each other again.

The other reason is that my laptop has been dead off and on. Thankfully it is working right now, but it's a pain to type on an iPod so the blog has been silent.

There are two new interns and so the amount of births each of us attend has slowed down. I hope to attend at least a few more before I go! :-D

My vacation was amazing! I was sad when it ended. I went to Singapore for 5 days and walked constantly. It was wonderful getting to meet a fellow Swineherd (inside joke from the online class we took together) and her family. I was shocked by how different Singapore was from Manila - for instance, no one smiles. No one. Well, the Americans do, if they're fairly new to the area. But other than that, no one smiles at strangers. It was really weird. Even if they were staring at you and you caught them, they wouldn't smile and sometimes wouldn't look away. Unnerving.

After that I went to Davao for 5 days. That trip was really relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved getting to stay with the Bartel family and playing with their kids. Then I visited Karissa and observed the night shift at Mercy. There were a grand total of 8 births during the shift. It was crazy! :-D

Ok, I need to go now. We are having a going away party for Karissa and I (since we both leave in the next two weeks) with cake and pancit. It supposedly starts in a few minutes and the midwives, knowing that, are starting to complain about being hungry. LOL. :-D

It's great to be back at Shiphrah and I also can't wait to return to the States in 2 more weeks! :-D

Davao - a post in pictures

Here are pictures from my vacation to Davao. It was really peaceful and I had a ton of fun staying with the Bartels and their very energetic four kids. Their youngest, Katherine, is Joy Anna's age (younger by three days) and liked me immediately. In fact, she came into my room at 5am my first morning there, and was excited to clamber onto the bed and play with me, before I eagerly ushered her out. She was a definite hoot!

I really enjoyed my stay there and wish I didn't have to wait several more years to see them again. :-(

Enjoy the (tons of) pictures I took!

it's fun getting your picture taken with a half-naked statue at Crocodile Park! :-D

it was great getting to see Karissa again! - Sorry, I have no idea why the picture won't get any larger...

once again, getting my picture taken at a tourist spot

...I hate snakes...

Ryan and Grace demonstrate the proper way to ride a fake elephant

the monkeys stared at us as if we were the exhibit, not them!

Ryan was proud of the butterfly which landed on his shirt

this old man was designing beautiful beaded jewelry

a native house

when we went to Paradise Island, Katherine wasn't too sure of the sand...

the ocean is beautiful in Davao!

mother and daughter

Maggie

Katherine decided she loved the beach - she'd go in and sit down and play. She was also very popular on the island - a Korean family fell in love with her and played with her while a Filipino family let her sip out of their drinks - much to Mrs. Bartel's chagrin...

these two buried themselves in the sand then took a nap

sisters

"Look! I'm a mummy!"

I ordered a durian frappe, expecting them to make it as a durian shake but they added coffee to it. I didn't like it so much ...

...but Katherine loved it! She drank over half of it for me... I stole it back to drink the whipped cream, though!

the tall building on the island is Marco Polo hotel, where Dad and I stayed when we were in Davao, four months ago

Grace

this building looks like the Capital, from the Hunger Games

this boat was our transportation to and from the island

Maggie being silly :-D

the Bartel kids, looking so perfect

...lol...not really!

my little buddy!

Maggie and Winston

the Bartels family - I offered to take a family photo for their next prayer card so they all piled on one motorcycle for fun :)

Singapore - a post in pictures

I'll explain each picture - I have way too many! But my Singapore trip was amazing and I am so thankful I got the opportunity to go there and meet Ci and her family. I really didn't want to leave... :-(

the only thing separating me from these tigers in the Singapore zoo was a deep pit which they supposedly aren't able to cross...Thankfully they were only interested in sitting and staring at all the tourists

Ci and I had a lot of fun watching these monkeys

this baby monkey was being pulled around by his tail by his mommy. That's parenting for you!

really neat spider

penguins! Nathan, eat your heart out ;-D

this orangutan is staring right at me...

the rhinos were snorting, pawing, and acting generally unhappy with each other

the flowers are called "Dancing Ladies"

"Oooh, look, Polly! The lady's taking our picture!"

peek-a-boo!

no one can see me!

Ci and I feeding a wallaby

tourist photo... :-O

this picture in an elevator made my day so much better :-D

outside China Town

China town was a neat place to visit

the styles and designs of these bags is indigenous to my sister's province - Guangxi

outside a Hindu temple - every religion and race is represented in Singapore and it was pretty neat traveling around and seeing different Hindu and Buddhist temples along with shrines and mosques, churches and synagogues. Singapore is a true melting pot!