Getting back to some kind of routine?

Greetings! Thank you all for the wonderful encouragements and prayers last post! We are certainly beginning a very amazing and miraculous journey (not that we weren't on one already!...things just keep getting more insane! In a good way).

Monday I started work again. Tim and I were so thankful for the break from Wednesday night's arrival to Sunday night. We were so tired and battled nasty sinus infections. Feeling better now! YEAH!

We were so blessed by our church on Sunday...they found out that we were expecting and decided to share our story in the service! We were prayed over and blessed enormously...it really made us feel at home and well-supported....

And then early Monday, I walked to work....got there tired. Amazing how little energy I have as of late, but I have been reassured that the second trimester will be better. :)
So the birth room was quiet....I was first up to deliver a baby because I had been gone so long....first labor that came in had to be transported to DMC for premature labor....DMC was able to cause the labor to stop through a few injections. I believe she will carry her baby to term.

Next, my dear continuity that delivered in my absence came to see me! Remember Jelly? We prayed for her several times in the past....Well, there she is pictured above with her new daughter, Annecia Mea, and her bana! She had a cesarean as a result of polyhydramnios and other issues. I was so disappointed to have missed her birth while on furlough, but so thankful she came in to see me! She is a joy and very happy to be a mother!

Next on the agenda, just about shift change time, amidst constant hunger pangs and the like (I never know how much food to bring to shift...I am ALWAYS hungry...especially for MEAT!), I got another labor in! This time, the patient, Tata, was anemic and a medium risk patient....and she was PUSHING! Yes, she came at 1:10 pm fully dilated! Scrambling to set up her birth room, I yelled to my supervisor "She's pushing!"....and my supervisor said, "Tell her to stop!" I laughed.

So telling the patient to stop didn't work and I prepared for her birth.....my supervisor didn't believe me when I said, "Ate...I see baby's head...assist please!"....My supervisor said, "You didn't do an IE?" (that's an internal exam!)...."Ummm NO...THE BABY'S HEAD IS COMING RIGHT NOW....ASSIST PLEASE!".....Baby girl named Leandra was born 13 minutes after admission ....baby was healthy and beautiful.....and then we had to pop the placenta out quickly as Tata began to bleed...and bleed...and bleed.....and then I started having mild contractions! ACK!

But the bleeding stopped as did my contractions and I shuffled my way home, tired, worn, and ready for bed at 3 pm. Only to have another meeting at 7 pm. I might've zoned out a few times.....but I was thankful that God sustained me through my first birth shift back and even gave me a safe and healthy delivery for Tata.

Then today, Wednesday, I had prenatal exams....awesome. Love those....love praying for the ladies and getting to know each one....and I got to see my dear continuity, MJ, who is due March 9th. She is fantastic and staying healthy for her baby! Please continue to pray for her relationship with Jesus....that she will seek Him with her whole heart. I am so looking forward to the birth of her baby boy. She is soooo nervous.

After prenatals, I got to go with Ate Melody and Ate Bebing to the post office to pick up a package from our dear friends, Andy and Nicole Vieira! Inside was coffee and chocolate and pictures and Christmas decor....they had sent it in early November! We just got it now! But it was an incredible blessing and somewhat of a "welcome home" present. What a joy to feel so supported by our friends and family! We feel so blessed! Thank you!

Things are kinda getting back to normal here.....Tim left for an outreach this morning and will be back on Friday....he's doing a bit of scouting for water stuff and also helping with medical clinics....he was so excited to go!....I have our two bunnies (pictured above...my, how they've grown!) to keep me company as I fight my way through more assignments....next one is on breastfeeding....

Tim is very excited (as am I) about the water filtration stuff....new developments there...but I will let him tell you when he gets back! VERY exciting stuff! He will be busy these next few months!

Sorry for the lack of pictures....Tim will be home soon with plenty...thank you again for all the prayers and encouragements....we have been facing a bit of attack right now with our health and finances....things have been breaking and busting here....first it was some electrical wiring in our house as well as a few fans....then it was our computer cords and we are feeling some of the stress, but God has been so faithful and though we are never consistent with Him, He is always consistently here with us.

Be blessed!

September 12

Bethany and I arrived in Davao safe and sound yesterday afternoon. In a couple days I'll tell you more about our feelings upon returning home. We'll be back to updating the blog at least twice a week now, so be sure to check back often. Thanks to all of you who commented on our few posts during our vacation. Sorry we didn't write much, but there wasn't much to say. We had a great time in North America, and perhaps I'll tell you more about it later this week. But I've got something else on my mind tonight.

I joined Bethany for her ultrasound today. Awesome. I am so excited about being a Dad. My kid has a big brain. I can tell because its head is HUGE!!! The ultrasound dude says that everything looks good in there, and that the pregnancy is progressing nicely. I was amazed as I observed the whole thing. You can see so clearly. We watched as the baby was dancing about and doing little flips in Mommy's tummy. The doc said that our baby dances like Britney Spears. I thought that a rather rude thing to say, but I held my tongue.

I think that today I somehow gained further understanding of the "fear of God". I've often wondered about that concept. The paradox of loving Him and yet fearing Him all at once has often left me puzzled. Today I cried as I saw our little baby (only a couple of centimeters long) on the monitor. I was filled with joy and terror as I contemplated the change that is coming to our lives. I am so very excited, but I'm also extremely afraid. I don't know anything about babies. The responsibility of raising a child is incomprehensible. What have I gotten myself into?

Oh, but I love this little one already. I can't wait to welcome it into this world. I can't wait to hold it and sing to it and read it bedtime stories...and hand it to Bethany when it needs changing.

Thank you all for praying for us and our baby. Today felt like a really big deal. It was one of those "This is really happening" moments. This is happening, and it's super-fantastic-wicked-awesome-sweet. And a little scary. The due date is now officially September 12. Please continue to pray for Bethany. She is suffering from a bad cold and this week's traveling has left her pretty worn out. She'll be heading back to work on Monday, so please pray that the Lord gives her lots of energy.

I'll post again in two or three days. For now I'll leave you with the first official photos of my kid. I think it looks like me. Big head.

Peace out.
Tim.

Eventful

Greetings! Once again, I apologize for the absence of posts! We are currently in our last week of furlough! We are staying with my parents in Gresham, Oregon and have been flabbergasted by God's generous love and support through my parents.

From the moment we arrived here in Oregon, my parents were weepy and full of joy, encouraging us and looking for ways in which to bless us.....they even took the entire week off from work to spend with us! We were so blessed. We have never felt so spoiled! And they were so thankful and amazed at God's faithfulness to us in the Philippines as well is in our new pregnant state! Originally, my mother stated that I HAD TO COME HOME (that is, to OREGON) if I ever got pregnant....but this visit proved that the Lord had been speaking to them, too. They confirmed what we felt in our spirits.....that the Lord had brought us to the Philippines to serve and because my health history-this pregnancy was truly an act of God.....strange timing, but fully part of God's plan....we felt total peace that we are to return to the Phils and call it our baby's home.....

Then, this passed Sunday, we had a wonderful dessert get together with our friends who have been praying for us.....between the Knopp family (8 out of 9 of them came!), our neighbors, my best friend, Alissa and my mentors, Debbie and Deanie, there was a good number of us all telling stories and sharing in the faithfulness of God. We showed a brief slide show of our adventures and our new friends in the Phils, shared the vision that God has given us for 2008 and everyone confirmed once again, that we were to go back expecting God to carry us through the coming months because He has been so faithful thus far. No one encouraged us to come home or considered it unwise to return to the work given the pregnancy. We were so encouraged....they shared how they had seen a great change in Tim...so much more happy and full of peace....and they said they'd never seen me more joyful and we astonished at how much we missed our "home".

After viewing again the slide show Tim had made, Tim and I laid awake in bed talking about how strange it is that we feel a total peace about returning home....home to the Philippines.....we talked about missing our friends, Jenn and Joe.....my lady friends at the clinic....my peers....and missing the simplicity of our home, my Saturday mornings with An-An (I miss her!) and Tim's afternoons in Joe's back yard. We missed the smiley Filipinos....the taxi drivers....Gaisano....seeing God in new ways, both big and small.....and I miss my continuities. We're ready to go home....and for some reason, it feels more like home than ever before. God is so good.

Despite these precious moments, we have had our share of stress, too....from Impact Nations business, Tim's computer crashing for the 3rd time, and we found out our truck in the Phils died, some bills in the Phils were overdue that we were unaware of.....all financial burdens that have made us a little.....well, nervous. And then there's all the changes happening in me....I no longer fit into my pants (Praise God....tee hee) and the need for new clothes is becoming a little obscene.

Thankfully, my mom has come to the rescue many times throughout the trip making sure that I understand that because she cannot spoil her grandchild like she currently does my niece and nephew, she has to spoil me (and the baby) now! She bought me some comfy preggo pants, a few preggo shirts for the Phils, gave me some comfy undies (mine are now rolling south!), and some precious baby onesies for the first 6 months. Each gift was like the Lord confirming to me that He will continue to take care of us.....even in the small things like needing bigger pants. They also convicted me that I am to continue to believe by faith that this pregnancy is the fulfillment of God's promise to Tim and myself. To be honest, this is a challenge for me....there are days when I fear that this is all one big joke and that at some point, a disaster will come....but God reveals His grace once more....

Please continue to pray for us as most of you know that there are many added costs to having a baby so we need extra grace in our finances, but also please pray for the safety of our baby....my gracious naturopath saw me while I was in Vancouver and shared her joy and mild concern with this pregnancy. She is not worried, but wants to make sure that I am taking it easy and staying healthy....she is such a blessing.

Please pray that we make it home safely and that there will not be anymore financial complications, but financial blessing instead!.....and please pray for Mercy Maternity, too, as they have been hit hard these last few weeks with staff getting sick, financial burdens and high risk patients. Thank you for all your prayers and support! We are so grateful!
And to our friends in the Phils....we are sooooooooo looking forward to seeing you! Only one more week! We love you!
Be blessed.
PS. Sorry for the lack of pictures....with Tim's computer on the rocks, he hasn't been real motivated to take pics....but I promise we will this week!