NARM

I just wanted to give a big Praise Jesus on my blog - I passed the NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) examination in October and it is all due to God giving me grace and strength. I am so filled with awe when I think about the journey that He has brought me on and how He has now seen fit to close the official schooling part of that journey (I will always be studying, but no longer in a formal capacity for midwifery) and is allowing me to concentrate on mentoring and discipling the BCOM students here.

Passing the NARM means that I can now apply to be licensed to practice midwifery in any US state where midwifery is legal and where they use the CPM credential as part of the licensing process. I am currently not pursuing getting my MN license because mentoring keeps me pretty busy but I am able to help at homebirths here and there with local midwives in the area and that is wonderful.

Thank you for all your support and faith in me through the past two years of preparing for this test and what lies ahead.

September 2008 Update

September 2008 Update

Dear Friends and Family,

My life has changed so much since returning to Minnesota 2 short months ago. Sometimes it feels like having lived in the Philippines for the last two years was just a dream. But then I remember the babies I delivered and the Christ-centered relationships I built with my patients and am blessed. The last two years in the Philippines were truly life changing and those experiences have molded me into the person I am today.

I am now settled into life here at Bethany College of Missions (BCOM). (http://www.bcom.org/) I am a mentor for 7 female college students and I spend 40+ volunteer hours a week with these girls encouraging them in all walks of life - in their spiritual, physical, emotional and social lives. The word ‘mentoring’ is becoming popular nowadays, with a wide variety of what this means in practical terms.

What does it mean to be a mentor at Bethany? The mentoring model here at Bethany is very close to the practical way Jesus mentored His disciples – he lived, worked and taught among them 24/7. So too, I’m
--Living embedded right in the midst of these girls’ dorm rooms, as their dorm rooms encircle mine. This means I am there for them modeling Christ in the evenings and weekends in the time and place where life-shaping decisions and disciplines are often made/learned.
--I eat my meals with them.
--I spend 2 hours a day working side by side with those on kitchen crew
--I lead a weekly 2-hour cell group time with them where we deal with the nitty-gritty personal issues of life.
--I meet with each girl one-on-one weekly for an hour to pray and encourage them on their journey in pursuit of God.
--I go to the prayer room with them throughout the week for chapel & prayer times.
--Once a month, I accompany them on their weekly outreach to the U of M campus where we intercede, share the message of Jesus’ transforming power and plant small-group churches. This campus of 52,000+ students is the largest in the nation and is teeming with internationals, so it is great prep for the mission field.

Mentoring at Bethany means something different than it does many other places that’s for sure! At BCOM, we are serious about preparing effective missionaries in a holistic way.

I am a support-raising volunteer, and aside from food and lodging, am responsible for providing my basic necessities while I mentor this year. I ask that you prayerfully consider continuing your financial support for me through this year, as the training I am receiving here is as vital a ministry as what I was doing in the Philippines for the last two years. Thank you for being involved in my life in this way.

The girls I have in my group are amazing. Their names are: Nicola, Tamsen, Naomi, Catherine, Autumn, Andrea and Lydia. Please add them to your prayer list. J I know this year will be a year of growth for all of us as we continue to seek God together. I am excited to learn much more about how to lead in a Godly way as I serve them and help them become the women that God wants them to be.

Mentoring is challenging in quite a different way than midwifery was. In the Philippines I enjoyed building relationships with the women, both before and after delivery. But here at Bethany the relationships are so much deeper and the task of forming Christ in these girls, to present them ready for missionary service after one year here, is much more time consuming. I believe that both of these experiences will tie together in the future, combining the medical expertise with the knowledge of leadership and discipling.

I will have the opportunity to attend births every once in a while with a local Christian midwife in MN, for which I am grateful. The first birth I plan to attend comes in October. Homebirth is much different than clinical birth like I am used to, so I am excited to learn this new facet of midwifery.

My commitment to mentoring at Bethany lasts through August of 2009. I am seeking the Lord for his guidance for this next step that he has prepared for me. I feel like it has to do with missions and midwifery, though the specifics are not yet clear. Please pray that God makes the path clear to me.

Thank you for staying involved in my life as I grow in leadership during this year. I will continue to send out updates, so if you know of someone who would like be on my distribution list, please email me and I will add them.

Blessings,
Jenny

BCOM Mentoring

My life has changed drastically since returning to MN a few short months ago. Life in the Philippines almost seems like a far off dream from the past already but it hasn't even been 2 months since that time.

I am now settled into life here at Bethany College of Missions. (http://www.bcom.org/) I am a mentor (think glorified Resident Assistant) for 7 girls and I spend 30 or so hours a week with these girls encouraging them in all walks of life - in their spiritual, physical and emotional and social lives. I am a volunteer, and raising support to provide for basic necessities for this next year. If you feel God leading you to give, please see the side bar on this blog for ways to help.

The girls I have in my group are amazing. I know this year will be a year of growth for all of us as we continue to seek God together. I am excited to learn much more about how to lead in a Godly way as I serve them and watch them become the women that God wants them to be.

Mentoring is challenging in a different way than midwifery was. Both have to do with relationships, but in different aspects. In some way they do go together and I know both will tie together in the future because my knowledge of midwifery is allowing me to come alongside these women and encourage growth but not hover or demand it. And learning this kind of leadership will allow me to be a better midwife someday.

I have the opportunity to attend births every once in a while with a local Christian midwife in MN, for which I am grateful. The first birth I plan to attend comes in October. Homebirth is much different than clinical birth like I am used to, so I am excited to learn this new facet of midwifery.

Thank you for staying involved in my life as I grow in leadership during this year. I will continue to send out updates every few months, so if you are not on my distribution list, please email me and ask to be added.

Blessings,
Jenny

Travels

My brother was so amazing in being willing to take some time off work to drive me to and from Iowa to take my NARM exam so that i could maximize studying time on the way there. We left around 2pm from MN and arrived a little after 6pm.

We had dinner, I studied a little more and then went to bed at 10pm. I was restless all night so sure that I wouldn't wake up to either of the two alarms I had set for 6:30am, but I woke up no problem, David and I had a great waffle breakfast compliments of the hotel and were on our way to the exam site.

I waited in the wrong area and I got nervous when no one showed up and it was almost 8am when the test was supposed to start, but a lady showed me where to go and I made it to the test in time. The first section of 175 questions took me until 10:30am, we took a 1/2 hour break and then the second section took from 11am to 1pm.

In some ways the test was easier than the final exam that I did pass at Newlife School of Midwifery (where I graduated from in June) but in other ways the questions were subject and a little on the frustrating side. I did my best and hope that I passed, but I won't find out for another 3-6 weeks! The wait might kill me :)

Because I finished the test earlier than expected, I was able to get to MN by 6pm, and I turned right around and joined the BCOM mentors for the tail end of the mentor retreat. So in the span of 12 hours I was in IA, MN and then WI! Yikes.

All went well, except when I was less than a mile away from the campsite in WI I HIT A DEER!!! Yikes. That was intensely scary! It came bounding out of cornfields and I had no time to stop, but since I was only going about 20 mph, it bounced onto the hood of my parents' car, then over the windshield and then over the roof into the ditch, but there was no blood, and when we went looking for the deer later, we couldn't find it so I don't think I killed it. It was a big buck though - about 1.5 times my size! I have never run over anything thus far - not even a squirrel, so that was frightening, but God definitely was protecting me. Thank you Jesus :)

NARM Board Exam

This will be the shortest post yet, because I am running out the door to drive to Iowa for my test, but I wanted to ask that people who check my blog remember to pray for me and my two friends Laura and Tiffany who are all taking the NARM board exam this Wednesday, August 20th.

The test will take the whole day, is 350 questions I have been told and is very important for me to pass. :) Thanks for your prayers and interest in my life.

I won't find out if I passed or not for 3 more weeks, but here's to hoping! :D

Lois this is for you!

Making hummus at home turned into a family effort! I found garbanzo beans with Rebecca's help at the Super Walmart, then the twins were instrumental in helping me shell all of them as the rest of the family groaned at the effort it took. Then Rebecca and my dad went to a different grocery store to find me the Tahini that I needed, then our blender/food processor just wasn't cutting it so my mom bought a new one at walmart! Yikes. Good thing the hummus turned out good - of course that was a given seeing as my teacher was amazing! Thanks Lois! :) Loves to you.

Hellos are much better!

My last post was hard to write, but this one is so much nicer. I was welcomed home after a pretty smooth non-eventful flight - except for a nice pat down upon arrival on US soil and all my bags searched, but nothing was taken so that was nice.

My whole family (including the dog!) plus my roomate, Heather - from Bethany days - was there to greet me and it was wonderful. Hugs all around and I LOVED it! A big shout out goes to my dad who shared his "thunder" with me by scheduling me to arrive home on the day of his birthday. So we celebrated my return and his birthday with an amazing steak meal made at home.

I was sleepy that afternoon, but my parents and family kept me occupied so I didn't sleep - in fact, I didn't go to bed that night until 11pm! Pretty good for jet lag! I slept until 5:30am with the help of two melatonins.

Then, yesterday, we had about 40 people over to the house for hamburger grill out, family and friends alike so I wouldn't be hard up trying to say hi to everyone before vacation and the NARM and what not. It was wonderful. Thanks mom and dad for putting that on for me.

Today we shop and pack for vacation. Yesterday I drove to Walmart and let my 15 year old sister who has a permit drive me home. I almost had a nervous breakdown when she didn't know which way to turn the wheel out of the parking space, but otherwise she did great - she even talks to the other drivers like I do!

Tomorrow - Vacation, study for the NARM, vacation, study :) Hugs and kisses to all those in Davao - most of you have written goodbye blogs or posts or chatted saying there is sadness and holes now that a few of us are gone, and we (or at least I) feel the same way. I am so happy to be home, but at the same time I tear up randomly when i think of life in Davao and what I am missing. I suppose it will get better with time....

Goodbyes are hard...

3 of us have bitten the dust so to speak. Laura left first on Sunday afternoon, then Tiffany left that same evening and now I am writing this blog from my hotel in Manila where I will leave from to board my flight back to the US bright and early tomorrow morning.
I hate goodbyes. I sometimes wonder what God was thinking when he asked me to be a missionary when this life involves so many goodbyes. O.k. granted, there aren't many people that enjoy saying goodbye, but some people are better at it than others and I am not one of those others.

I managed not to cry too hard during the actual goodbye part - I think I was so prepared to cry that I just didn't allow it - I knew it was a strong possibility and so I just didn't allow it, but there were other times when my guard was down and I wasn't prepared to say goodbye when the tears would come.

This may very well be the most depressing entry I have written! Goodness. I should stop before I start crying again while typing away on my computer in the lobby of the hotel all by myself...

To those I have left behind - I love you so much and I know that God will continue to use you mightily - please keep me updated on the goings on of MMC - I will need to live vicariously through you for a while until I get accustomed to life back home. Thank you for all you have invested in me - all the love and patience - who knew you would make a midwife out of me!

Marco Polo Breakfast!

As a graduation present/surprise, our wonderful, amazing, incredible (I could keep going) directors, Matt and Krys (hope you are reading this!) gave our whole class gift certificates to have the breakfast brunch at the fanciest hotel in town - the Marco Polo.

We had so much fun really being girls - we even went around the table and everyone said what they thought person x would be doing in the near future, long term, what her husband would look like, when she would have kids, what/when her wedding would be/look like etc. I haven't ever done that before but boy was it fun!
So a big shout out to our amazing, wonderful (opps i said all that already) directors. We LOVE you!!!

Last MMC delivery for 2008

Lyn was a miracle birth in my opinion. Not only for me - because my goal was to deliver 92 babies and so I took an extra shift (thanks TK), but for her since she was endorsed to me at 2pm with transport papers prepared! That is never a good sign, but I was allowed to work with her and monitor her for a little bit of time and her high blood pressure went down and stayed down even without IV fluids or anything like that - she just needed someone to calm her down some and to have a little time to relax from getting to MMC - she had just arrived minutes before day shift ended and I arrived on shift. She was also leaking water and only 2cm - also not a good combo, but she drank castor oil like a champ (which I don't think I could ever do) and her labor progressed like you wouldn't believe!

Not only did she deliver before my shift ended (which she needed to in order to avoid transport) but she delivered at 8:12pm meaning I was able to spend some of the postpartum time with her. She, like Meira delivered a big baby - 8.12lbs, and it was complicated, but she stayed for some extra time (discharged the following morning about 24 hours after birth instead of the customary 6 hours) and was fine.

I saw both her and Meira for the last baby checks I would be able to do for them this morning before going to the airport for Manila and it was wonderful to be able to say goodbye in person.

Meira Ablanque

Last April I was Meira's midwife - but almost didn't catch her baby (who is now 1 year old - see pic on the left) because I was in class and then came down and was doing a few baby checks (she was supposedly only 4cm) when i was called in quickly because "the baby was coming!" We only had time to introduce ourselves after the birth, but still managed to enjoy our time together for the 6 weeks following the birth when she came in for postpartum visits.

When I found out she was pregnant again, she was already 34 weeks along, and due right around the time I was leaving but I really wanted to try and be her midwife again, so I put my name on her chart (thus establishing continuity of care). However, she was on a different prenatal day and it turned out to be very complicated to change her to my team due to miscommunications...

I almost didn't persevere - almost said it was ok if she wasn't my patient, but in the end she was moved to my team, and i still was able to do 2 prenatals with her before she delivered. And they were good ones. Then, of course it was so much better for me to be with her during birth because we had the relationship established instead of a random midwife being assigned to her.

The birth was wonderful! She progressed through labor quite quickly, and breathed through the last hour allowing her to open completely (which is insanely difficult I am told!) and the birth happened slowly. We all knew her baby was big but since this was her fourth, we weren't worried - her last baby (the one I delivered) was 8.02lbs and this boy was 8.10lbs! (very big by Filipino standards!)

There was shoulder dystocia, but only for a minute and with help from my assistant/supervisor (Ate Susan) there were no complications sustained to the baby.

Look carefully at the picture to the side - Meira is not only nursing her own baby (on the bottom) but I brought in the baby of another mother (delivered a few hours previous) to breastfeed because his mother was at the hospital having been transported for something - she was such a trooper - I held the top baby up and she was the hero of the day!

Tacada Outing

Many of you know Rachel Tacada who has been a good friend of mine since the beginning of my time here - I delivered her baby - my 14th handle (I am at 90 now) and so this is one friendship that is hard to say goodbye to. I took Rachel and her sisters and sister in law out for lunch with their kids as part of my goodbye. It was alot of fun. We did lunch, then we went to the mall and set up an email/msn account for Rachel so that we can stay in contact even though I am going home! Yay.

Boat Trip

Many of the MMC staff went on a boat trip last Saturday and it was a good time to be sure! I knew it would most likely be my last time on the ocean like that for a very long time, so I took full advantage of it - soaking in the sun, and taking many pictures of the captivating beauty that is the ocean. So here are a few pics for you to enjoy. Believe me - I will be tormenting myself with them come this next year when it is 10 below F, and shockingly cold and I don't remember what the ocean looks like anymore having been in landlocked MN for too long :) Oh well - God has given me a great two years here - I can enjoy MN for a year or so as well right!?

July Update

Dear Friends and Family,

This will be the last email/newsletter you receive from me while I am still in the Philippines. My time here is quickly drawing to a close, and God is moving me forward with eagerness and anticipation for what the next year holds.

Last Friday was a big day – I took the final exam along with 5 other girls on my team and we all passed it with flying colors! Thank you so much to all those who were faithfully praying. I know that a huge part of the reason why I did so well was the prayers you all were offering up on my behalf for peace and retention of the things I had studied over the last two years. Later that day, I worked night shift, 10pm-6am with two of my teammates and my supervisor Sister Ermie. I caught the first baby which was a hard birth, and the baby was transported to the government hospital for respiratory distress (but praise God – he is doing great now, and I saw the whole family yesterday at a baby check up). Then, Tiffany caught a baby which went well and the birthroom got quiet. As I was finishing up with my first patient, Liza, two more patients walked in about to deliver. Laura (my other teammate) took one, and my supervisor asked to be skipped in rotation so that left me to catch my second baby of the night! This birth was beautiful, and there were no complications at all. In two years, I have now delivered 88 babies (and still counting until July 18!).

The weekend was spent at the beach with my girls – a time of remembering fun memories from the last 2 years spent together, and making new memories to remember in the following years. Then, early Monday morning we left the beach and returned to the city to run around getting ready for our graduation ceremony/celebration. It was a really nice time had by all with good friends and good food.

So now, we are done. Well, except that we all still need to pass the NARM board exam for midwifery in the USA – which I will take in August. So you can mark the date of August 20th in your calendars as another date that I will need your prayers yet again!

This next year I will serve as a volunteer mentor at Bethany College of Missions, where I graduated in 2005., This will give me the training I will need to successfully lead and mentor other girls who become overseas midwives when I return to the field again. During my time in the States I hope to attend some births on the side – so if you all know of anyone looking for a midwife, let me know! I am told mentoring at Bethany is a challenging role, and I look forward to growing and being stretched in an environment that is familiar to me, but in a role that will be new. I will have a great support system of Godly leaders to mentor me as I mentor young girls entering the program as missionaries-to-be.

I will be volunteering like I said – 40 hours a week, so if any of you feel lead to continue supporting me financially or start supporting me financially, to help cover basic life necessities, I would be so grateful. It would continue to be tax deductible through Voice In The Wilderness, the wonderful organization that has been making it possible to give donations tax deductible these last two years for me. If you have not yet joined my support team but are interested in doing so, please ask me for more information.

For those of you who like to follow my journeys through my blog, I will be continuing that, but under a new title after I start mentoring. When I get that set up I will let you know, until then, please continue to visit my blog at http://www.midwifejenny.blogspot.com/ for stories as I make the transition from life here in the Philippines to life back at home.

I will continue to write monthly updates even after I get home, but if you would rather not receive my updates, let me know and I will remove you from the list. Otherwise, if you know of anyone else who would like to receive my updates, please give them my contact information so I can add them.

Thank you for all that you have been for me these last two years, the support, financially, emotionally, spiritually have sustained me above and beyond my greatest expectations. I have grown into a midwife that will be able to reach more people for Christ as I go and minister to women physically and spiritually in a country desperately needing good maternity/baby care. Right now I am considering somewhere in Africa. Pray with me that God will open doors for that.

Much love,
Jenny

2 Babies on Friday night and 2 again on Tuesday!

Not only did I catch 2 babies today, but my last shift I also caught 2! My last shift was last Friday night with Tiffany and Laura (right before we went to the beach for the weekend). I was up first and caught a baby that was on her way out when I got there. Then, Tiffany caught one and then 2 active labors walked in together around 3am. Laura was taking care of the first one when the second walked in and she realized it was her labor from earlier that evening, so she switched to care for that one.

That left the G3 mom (who usually go fast!) without a midwife while Ate Ermie (our supervisor who was up next) woke up... While she was focusing, I got gloves on ready to assist, but I could tell Ate Ermie didn't really want to catch a baby and so when she didn't make a move to put gloves on and instead started charting, I asked if she wanted me to catch and she said yes so I could catch more before coming home! Haha. Ok. That was fine with me because my other birth by that point wasn't needing me as much as most everything was done there. So the first picture is of Tiffany's baby on the left, Laura's in the middle and one of my two on the right. My other baby was transported to the hospital right after birth due to complications and was admitted there. Both Tiffany and I had 5 lb babies and Laura had a 7 lb baby which is normal but looked so big compared to ours!

So then, today, I was not up first, Jane was - and the birthroom was actually empty, but all the beds were made up prepared for a busy shift - so I actually blame the shift before us for the busyness of that day :) Jane got a labor and my fully walked in minutes after hers. Mine delivered right away - G4 (4th baby) and it was a beautiful birth. I was alone for some of it while the others were helping with Jane's birth but it was so easy and beautiful. Jane's delivered some minutes after mine.

A labor came in for Ate Steph soon after but she wasn't active, we kept her for a while to manage her hypertension, but then ended up transporting her for hypertension. Soooo, another labor came in who was mine since the hypertension girl was still there, but soon Ate Steph took over and she was only 5cm so she labor watched her the rest of the shift. At first I was grateful to have more time to concentrate on my first birth, but I knew that it wouldn't be long (the way shift was going) until I got another fully.

Sure enough minutes later a taxi pulls in laying on the horn. I grabbed some gloves and ran out the emergency door to find the taxi driver frantically pointing inside saying "baby coming, baby coming!!!" I look in and barely see the girl who looks like she could be coming in for prenatals who is getting money out to pay for the ride. I laugh and say the baby isn't coming out, but the taxi driver is insistant and so I help the girl out and as soon as she stands up a strong contraction hits and she doubles over! Wow. So I 1/2 carry 1/2 support her as she stumbles into the clinic and we get a bed prepared for her. This is her first baby ( G1), so even though she is fully before 11am, she didn't have her baby until 12:22pm.

It was a long, exhausting pushing stage that I wasn't sure we would be able to do, I was afraid we would end up transporting her for exhaustion and failure to progress, but with alot of help from me, and alot of cooperation from her, we did get her baby out. We almost cut an episiotomy because we were sure she would tear pretty bad without it, but Ate Steph wanted me to cut it and I didn't want to so we argued about that for one contraction, waited for one more and then the baby was coming and out, and it wasn't needed! We still thought she tore, but to our shock and utter delight God totally spared her tissues! No tear at all! The baby was so small (another 5 pounder - both of my babies today were as well as last Friday), but for some reason it was so difficult to push, but all is well that ends well.

I didn't get home until 4pm (shift ends at 2pm) but considering the fact that I am completely done - no more assignments, no more tests (except the NARM in August) to study for, it wasn't a problem. So now I am up to 87. Anyone care to place bets on what my final baby count will be before I leave here? :)

Graduation!

Monday night was the big night - 6 of us girls who started our training in the fall of 2006 (which at times seems like forever ago, at times seems like yesterday) marched forward and received diplomas and congratulations as we officially (except we all still need to pass the NARM - so you can continue to pray for that, it will happen in August for me) became midwives with an Associate's Degree. God is so faithful - He brought us here and has strengthened and encouraged and made us effective witnesses for Him as we have learned the art of midwifery.

Beach Grad Party '08

For Graduation Weekend we were all not scheduled to work (or finagled the schedule to our liking) so that we were able to spend Saturday, Sunday and the very first hours of Monday at a beach celebrating. It was here that we found out that we all passed the final exam! How exciting!

We did many fun things - and these pictures are just a quick snapshot, so if you want to see more with more stories please see my photo album on facebook. Thanks!

75+ Baby Celebration

From the beginning, my girls and me :) have thought it fitting to celebrate certain landmarks. We celebrated once everyone had caught/delivered 25 babies, then 50, but then life got insanely busy, and our 75 baby celebration got semi delayed, that's why it's called 75+. Most of us are in the 80's now, with Superstar TK being in the lead with 97!! But the important thing is that the celebration did happen, and as expected, it was an amazing time had by all.

We went to the mall first for a Filipino ice treat called halo-halo and were playing the card game scum when we were told cards were not allowed in the mall! Opps... So we finished up there, and went bowling which was so great. After that we were pretty hungry so we tried out this new Indian restaurant and the food was amazing! To get to the restaurant though we got in a jeep that didn't look as full as it really was, so a couple people were on laps thus the pic of me and my human picture frame :)

After dinner we got off the jeepney early and walked the rest of the way home and had a blast taking different pictures. The shadow ones are so much fun - try and figure out what we are doing in both - hint the first one is semi-midwifery related, and the second has to do with us graduating this year. If you figure it out - leave a comment :)