"The best part of work....

My patients!!!"

Greetings! Just wanted to give updates on my current and past patients. Pictured above is Ate Lisa. I met Ate Lisa at church a long while back along with her hubby and 4 daughters. Her daughters always come up to Promise with kisses and curious stares. They're great gals. Ate Lisa is an incredible woman. After delivering 5 children way out in the bukid (VERY VERY rural mountains) with only her mother attending her births, she moved her family to Davao as her husband was near death with tuberculosis. For reasons of privacy, I won't go into grave detail, but her husband is currently healthy! Praise God! And despite losing their 9 year old son in a flood just 3 years ago, they are a beautiful, joyful family...so thankful for God's grace in their lives. I am fully humbled and amazed at Ate Lisa's poise, graciously beautiful smile and the incredible love she has for her family and her God.

I saw just a tiny bump on her belly a few weeks ago and the Lord laid her on my heart. With the help of my friend, Olivia, from church, I discovered that she was indeed pregnant and had no intended plans for a delivery site. I wondered if she needed prenatals and where she was intending to deliver her baby. I found out that along with her 4 daughters to care for, she is also looking after an elderly woman and hardly has time for prenatal exams. So I offered to do prenatals at her house and serve as her midwife. She had NEVER had a prenatal exam before! EVER! 

So last Friday, Olivia and I headed to Ate Lisa's home....a very small house on the beach consisting of two large rooms, one chair and a small crib that sat on the floor. She and her hubby welcomed me and though they speak no English, communicated their appreciation for taking them as patients. :) I was more blessed than they will ever know. As Olivia translated all Lisa's answers to my questions, I realized that this first prenatal was a milestone in Lisa's life. Never immunized....she'd never heard a baby's heartbeat before! We measured her tummy and found out that she was about 20 weeks pregnant and due August 29th. We laughed a lot and they seemed astonished hearing the baby's heart beat and the sounds of the placenta and I sat astonished and honored to be her first midwife. I asked if she would be willing to come in for laboratory tests that are required by MMC for delivery. Knowing she had no money, I arranged to have all her labs paid for. Thanks to all you guys who send donations to Tim and me, Ate Lisa doesn't have to pay a dime for her labs or for her delivery at MMC! :) 

So today, Ate Lisa came to get immunized for the first time, give blood for the first time and have her first urine analysis ever. And I am happy to say, everything is perfectly normal and she is healthy. I am THRILLED to have the privilege of delivering her baby. God is so good!

And do you remember Bel? I delivered her last baby, Precious, in 2007. Her baby boy pictured above is wearing one of the outfits you donors sent to me! He's now 6 weeks and doing fantastic. It was so very good to see Bel again today!
And here's Ruby and baby Bethany at 6 weeks old...Baby Bethany is also wearing some of the baby clothes sent to me! They are both doing much better after some serious health concerns. I tried to get Ruby to smile (she smiles NON-STOP when the camera is not on her), but she hates her teeth (or lack thereof) so she refused to smile. She is quite the character! Please continue to pray for them....they are struggling with a very persistent cough and I know Ruby is unable to continue taking her baby to the doctor.
And Beverly...oh Beverly....one of the dearest ladies you'll ever meet! Her baby, Fatima, is now 6 weeks, too, and wearing, yet again, the clothes you all sent to me...a sweet purple little onesie...so sweet. Fatima has an umbilical hernia, but other than that, both Beverly and Fatima are in great health and doing fantastic. Beverly is such a blessing to be around. I hope I get to spend more time with her in the future. 
And finally, here is Cherry Mei with her baby boy, Charles, almost 3 months old now! Cherry Mei texted me saying that she so badly wanted to meet Promise and wanted to show off baby Charles, so she came to MMC for a visit and I brought the Bird. The Lady Bird was quite taken by Cherry Mei and the little boy that was quite squishy to touch. :) I was amazed at how HUGE Charles was at 3 months compared to Promise at almost 8 months! Check that out!

So, as you can see, I have a camera. FINALLY. Tim brought one back for me on his trip to Manila...so now I can document life and bless my patients with pictures! They LOVE getting pictures because so few of them own a camera.

In other news, as Tim shared last post, the Bird and I are doing a lot better in the health department. The Bird still has a bit of a cough that we are watching closely and she's teething... BAD, so she's rather fussy and feverish...but healthy nonetheless. As for me, the dizzy spells are not as frequent and my cough is mainly in the morning and late at night....Praise God! 

And today, I turned in my assignment...ON TIME and completed an exam. Only two assignments left until I complete the academic portion of my training.....the end is near. My classmates are starting to get the "short-timers" mentality and getting giddy just thinking about May 11th (the day our numbers and final assignment are due). 

Tim is continuing to have meetings...non-stop...for the water project...it's spreading like wild fire and God is constantly opening up new avenues for the poor to receive the filters. He even got to bring the Bird with him on a few casual meetings this week. Apparently, she was quite a hit and he even received some babysitting offers. Don't think we'll take them up on it, but it's nice to know she's behaved enough to get them!

Thanks for reading. Thanks for the prayers and be blessed.

PS. We are hoping to head back to the west for furlough June-August, we'd like to visit as many people as possible, but may have to invite ya'll over for dessert....please let us know if you'd like to be included!