Uncle Bob

One of my best friends is gone. He's known me since I was a boy, and he is one of the people who helped me become a man. And now he's gone. If you were to ask me, "What do you want to be when you grow up," my answer would quite likely be "Uncle Bob".

He's been my father's closest friend since I was very young, and he was much like a god-father to me and my three brothers for more than 20 years. As boys we used to go exploring in the ravine behind their home in Ontario. When my parents were ministering out of the country, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sylv would look after us boys. We still talk of the brownie surprise ("the surprise is...there is no brownie!"), and the chocolate chip spaghetti.

We moved to another province when I was 15, and I was just a dumb teenager, so I didn't know what I was missing. I was shocked when I did the math today and realized that Uncle Bob and I have been close friends for less than four years. It was the spring of 2006, shortly after they moved to BC, that Bethany and I started spending time with Uncle Bob and Aunt Sylvia. They quickly became some of our dearest friends and life would not have been the same without such a friendship.

We had many a great walk along the river in Steveston, and many peaceful afternoons eating potato chips and drinking beer on the boat. But what I treasured most was their quiet wisdom and the peaceful prayer that was sure to come at the end of the day when the cards were put down and the espresso and chocolate was gone. I'm afraid of being without his wisdom. Yes, Uncle Bob's wisdom was from the Lord, and I know that God's wisdom is still available to me, but it was far more reassuring to know that it was just a phone call away.

If you're looking for Uncle Bob's influence in my life, you needn't look far. Two of my greatest passions can be directly attributed to him. It's no coincidence that I fell in love with photography at exactly the same time that he and I became friends. When Bethany and I were in the Dominican Republic with Impact Nations in January of 2006, we began spending time with Uncle Bob and Aunt Sylv, and he let me borrow his point and shoot camera. He showed me a few things and something inside me came alive. The next month I bought my first point and shoot camera and he started to teach me. And the rest, as they say, is history.

After hearing the news today, I found myself browsing through my old photography blog (you might be curious to wander through the archives). My first images were laughably bad, but Uncle Bob's influence becomes apparent as the photography improves. So much so, that I mentioned him often in my writing and referred to him as The Famous Uncle Robert. He was always bugging me to turn that blog into a book. Perhaps one day I will.

He has encouraged me every step of the way in my photography; kicking my ass when I would complain about crappy weather or insufficient gear, and cheering me on when I was pushing myself creatively. He got me an early Christmas present this year—a subscription to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals—with a note that encouraged me to keep pressing forward. I can't tell you how many books he has handed me to read, and their effect has been profound. It's been a long time since I went on a photowalk with him, and I cannot express how much I regret not finding time to do that when I was with him this summer.

My other passion, of course, is the biosand water filter. Did you know that he's the one who trained me in that technology? Exactly two years ago I went to learn all about it from he and Aunt Sylvia in Manila. A few weeks after that, he was helping me build our first filter in Davao. We have since built almost 3000 filters and impacted as many as 50,000 lives. None of that would be possible if he and Aunt Sylvia hadn't imparted their passion to me.

You see, that's the thing. Uncle Bob did more than just teach me these things. He instilled a passion in me to do them to the best of my ability. Some days I was working hard in the hopes that he would be proud of me. But I know he was proud of me—he told me so. Most days I was working hard because I had caught his passion.

All this has me thinking about my dad. I count my father as one of my very best friends. He and I had a good cry together on Skype today. I told Dad that he and Uncle Bob were my go-to guys for wisdom, and now that Uncle Bob is gone, Dad is gonna have to carry more of the load. Problem is, I know Uncle Bob was one of Dad's main sources too. We could be in trouble.

It is days like this when I absolutely hate living on the other side of the world. It feels awful to grieve alone. Bethany and I have been holding on to each other throughout the day, but a hug from my dad sure would feel good right about now. A beer with Uncle Bob would feel pretty good too.

I miss him a lot. I know he's with Jesus, but fat lot of good that does me. Please be praying for Aunt Sylvia and the rest of their family.

I lost a lot of my photos of Uncle Bob during a hard drive crash a couple years ago. Those that I do have, I just put up on facebook.

Tim.

It was far from here.

As the news of the recent massacre has spread, some of you may be wondering how it has or will affect us. The short answer is that it won't affect us here in Davao. We are several hours east of Maguindanao, the province where this atrocity was carried out. Davao is a very safe city that has not experienced any significant political violence for many years, so there is no need to worry.

Unfortunately, this incident may indeed interfere with portions of the water project. Maguindanao is one of the provinces that we focus our efforts on because of the intense poverty that is found there (52% of the population has no access to safe drinking water). One of our main filter distributors, Glen Achivar, has gathered his team and returned to his home in Tacurong city in the much safer province of Sultan Kudarat. Most recently, Glen was overseeing the filter installations in Bulod, Maguindanao. If you haven't seen some of his reports (there are still more to come) then I strongly recommend you visit the website.

As I met with Toti this morning, it became clear that the current atmosphere in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao will impede most of our distribution efforts. We have decided to shut down the factory for Christmas a few weeks earlier than normal. We always try to have at least 100 units in stock so that we can quickly fill large orders or respond to emergencies. This week's events meant that an expected shipment did not go out, so we now have an overflow of stock. Friday will be our last day of full operations for 2009.

If you've not heard, people have been giving water filters to Filipino families on behalf of their friends as a Christmas gift (if a $40 filter is a little above your price range, you can supply a kid in Nicaragua with a Christmas present and a meal for only $5). We are still selling the filters on our website, and Toti and Glen have assured me that they will soon be able to deliver to Bulod without risk, as it is a safe distance from the epicenter of the trouble.

This has felt like a confusing mess of a blog. Sorry about that. Bottom line: we're fine, pray for our filter distributors, and think about not giving your brother that ugly sweater for Christmas, but instead give him the joy of knowing that a family just got clean water for life or a poor child in Nicaragua got Christmas this year.

Okay, one last piece of business then I'll leave you to your eggnog. Thank you all for your prayers regarding Bethany's NARM exam application. A few of you have asked how you can help us with the cost of her flight. The easiest thing is to simply write a cheque (or a "check" if it's yankee-doodle-dollars) made out to Bethany Stewart and send it to:

c/o Christina Stewart

8433 Quayside Court

Vancouver, BC

V5P 4W1

We thank you so much for your prayers and support. God's goodness will forever overwhelm us. I leave you with a few snapshots of the Bird in her natural environment.

Cheers,

Tim.

Update on NARM prep.

Greetings! Thanks for all the encouraging notes regarding my current state of application chaos! Well, just to update you on my progress, yesterday, I spent the day notarizing important required documents, getting copious signatures from preceptors and supervisors, making photo copies of my last 2 years of midwifery training....that's over 550 prenatal exams (I stopped counting when I ran out of sheets), 77 labor assists and 70 deliveries, continuities, and well-woman exams, newborn exams, postpartum visits, the list goes on.

And then this morning, after sending some e-mails out to NARM and the National College of Midwifery, I was bewildered and in a state of panic as I read that the application was due November 1st to the National College and December 1 for the NARM exam! ACK! However, my contact at the National College said she would do her best to help me get all the needed materials to NARM in time despite it being Thanksgiving week! I was sent into a signing, scanning and filling-out-form-frenzy and at 5 pm this evening, both applications for permission to take the NARM exam were sent via FedEx....set to arrive exactly on December 1.

Tonight, I am going to try and pay the NARM exam fee by phone. Then it's just a waiting period to hear if all my papers are accepted and I receive permission to take my certification exam.

I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and yet, a new weight has been put on...time to study and time to start praying for a plane ticket for Promise and me. In the meantime, I have shift tomorrow and Friday and life goes on.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement....please start praying now that I pass the NARM exam....I can use all the prayer I can get!

We will post a proper blog later this week.

Be blessed.

...

Help wanted...

Greetings! Crazy things are a-happening around here.....and I am feeling a little overwhelmed.

So within the last few weeks, God has been challenging me to reconsider taking my certification midwifery board exam (called the NARM) in August. Because we took our break from life here as we know it to be with our families June-August this year, Tim and I figured we would not be able to return to the West until completing his work with the water project, which we thought would be about August of 2010. However, this deadline is being extended. While my plan was to take the NARM exam in August 2010, it would appear as though this is not an option for a number of reasons. Hence, my current dilemma.

After talking with Tim and with my director, Krys, I came to the conclusion that the only way to ensure that I get certified as a professional midwife in a timely fashion so that I can serve the women here (or anywhere in the world!) in a greater capacity is to take the exam in February. THIS February. The exam is only offered 4 times a year and only in certain US cities. My parents live in Oregon and their happens to be an exam in Eugene, Oregon in February.

Here is where things get a little tricky. While Tim, Krys, and I have a peace that this is the route that we are to take, it requires some SERIOUS prayer....
1. The application (which is extensive) with an exam fee of $725. USD is due DECEMBER 1.
2. The flight to Oregon from Manila is about $1500. CDN
3. I would need to travel with Promise, but without Tim.
4. I need to PASS the NARM exam! (February 17th)
5. Tim will be alone for 3 weeks while I am away.

In other words, I really need your prayers....for provision, for grace, for wisdom. You may be asking, "Well, Bethany, what took you so long to make this decision? You have such little time to prepare!" In all honesty, it hasn't been until recently that our plans to leave the Philippines in July or August 2010 have changed.

To leave you on a good note, today I delivered a beautiful baby boy to a dear lady named Me-Me. She was having her third baby, however, her very first baby had died just two days after birth from respiratory distress syndrome a couple years back. Since then she has had one girl and greatly desired to have a boy as she had lost her only boy. After only 30 minutes of pushing, Me-Me delivered a healthy baby boy. With tears in her eyes, Me-Me showed her gratefulness for her precious gift. She has not named her baby, yet, as she is really wanting to name him something extra special...I hope she doesn't wait too long! :) So here is Me-Me, her bana and her precious baby boy.

So, thanks for praying for us as we press forward in multiple directions and we will keep you posted as things develop. I am praying and working my bootie off to get all the application requirements completed by Wednesday, November 25th so that I can send the material via FedEx to meet the December 1st deadline. YIKES! By His grace alone.

Be blessed.

Repellent in November.

Greetings!! It's amazing to me that though this is our third November here in the Philippines, I am flabbergasted by the fact that I have to put on bug spray in the middle of November in order to avoid chronic itching driving me to madness. The manufacturers of OFF! are getting good business off of me! :) Unfortunately, one of my dear friends has suffered greatly from the November mosquito population. My fellow midwife, Ali, has come down with Dengue fever passed by a nasty mosquito bite. She has been bedridden for days on IV fluids and constant monitoring. Please keep her in your prayers...she is finally on the way to recovery, but very uncomfortable! Thanks! Dengue is both awful and dangerous.

Sorry about the pics above, I will explain each one below...blogger is being difficult. ARGH.

I have appreciated Tim's last couple posts and enjoy reading his rants. Sometimes the words that he finds trouble uttering appear on the blog and I get a better sense of where he is at. It's good.

In the world of midwife-mommy-wife, I am excitedly looking forward to January when my schedule will be less exhausting and Promise and I can give Tim a break. Until then, it's busy busy busy. Since my last post, I have delivered 3 babies and have been grateful for God's mercy in the deliveries. They have not all been normal.

First came Neravic (last pic above). Having her second baby, Neravic was not at all worried or fearful. She smiled throughout her labor despite varying fetal heart tones and seemed perfectly content to labor as long as it took. I was impressed by her calm nature. However, around 8:30 am, November 6, the descent of her baby's head into her pelvis took away her beautiful smile and she decided her baby was coming as fast as possible. She gave two long pushes and a meconium-stained baby boy flew out of her with barely enough time for me to grab gloves. :) Unfortunately, her pushing with all her might caused her to tear a bit, but her baby boy was finally out. However, within minutes, it was clear that her baby was having trouble breathing. Having been deep suctioned because he swallowed a lot of meconium, little baby boy, Glen was monitored every 5 minutes along with his mommy. His chest retracted and he struggled to breastfeed. I did a quick newborn exam discovering that his metopic suture was open (the frontmost suture at the top of the forehead). This can be a sign of some serious developmental problems...or nothing at all. So I had to transport as quickly as possible. I came back to Mercy to suture Neravic and monitor her bleeding. Within just a few hours, her bana returned to pick her up to take her to the hospital to be reunited with her baby.

I went to the hospital the next day to find Neravic and baby Glen doing significantly better and his sutures were beginning to firm up and close. God is faithful.

My next shift proved to be quite eventful. I was endorsed a pushing labor named Gina. She was having her 4th baby and decided that shift-change endorsements was the perfect time to push her baby out. Her midwife from day shift, Amber, called in a panic.."Head out!" Coming in to assist, the supervisor told me to catch the baby, as it was now shift change. Well, the hard part was done. Amber had labor-watched and directed the head out. I just caught the baby as he was sailing out! Healthy and strong, baby Jepson arrived at 2:12 pm (first pic above)

As the placenta came out, I noticed that it was flat...without much shape. It looked odd. I made a note of it and continued to monitor Gina's bleeding. The shift was super busy, but Gina's bleeding kept me inside her cubicle. We gave oxytocin, had her pee, gave her an ice pack, but still, she bled....just little bits here and there. I moved her to postpartum to get her out of the busy birthroom. In postpartum, I checked her pulse...rising...and her blood pressure was dropping...fast. I checked her fundus and blood loss...250 ccs!! She was hemorrhaging! I called my supervisor, Carmen. As she started an IV with another supervisor, I tried to keep her fundus firm to stop the bleeding while trying to keep her awake to avoid her going into shock. Gina looked pale, but was able to stare at me without emotion as Carmen tried to do a manual exploration of her uterus. I continued to check her pulse and BP. The IV was working, but she was still bleeding. Then we found out she had gone to see a hilot (tribal doctor, witch doctor) when she was 5 months pregnant for fundal massage. This often causes the placenta to adhere to the uterus upon delivery causing postpartum hemorrhage. This required us to transport to the hospital so that they could do a D&C. The placental fragments were just too stuck on uterine was for us to scrape out.

After transporting Gina, baby Jepson and I bonded a bit, but the birthroom was too busy for me to babysit. I had to hand him off to another midwife living next door giving the occasion bottle of breastmilk for feeds. Then I was handed another labor. Via came in at 7 cm dilation and all smiles. She was having her second baby and was accompanied by her mother-in-law. They were a JOY to serve. Hilarious.

Clutching her Rosary, Via prayed throughout her contractions while her mother-in-law encouraged by singing Catholic chants. They were awesome...asking questions, joining me in prayer for her baby, laughing between contractions and anxiously awaiting Via's urge to push. When it came, Via was sure the baby's head was out....and yet, the baby's head was not even remotely visible. I had her get up to walk a bit and she came back to the bed grunting, but not actively pushing. However, by the time she lay down, the head dropped into place just behind the pubic bone...slightly visible. Suddenly, her bag of waters broke open and the baby's head began to come. I instructed her to breathe deep and "blow" her baby's head out slowly to avoid a tear. With total control and focus, Via pushed baby Noli's head out without tearing. Baby was super healthy and began to breastfeed right away. Via's mother-in-law kept thanking me as though it was all my doing! Ha ha. (second pic above) Via's bana arrived all smiles but had to prepare for work. (He works the midnight meat market at Bankerohan market here in Davao). All was well and I finished with Via in time to steal baby Jepson away again for another feed. Three more babies were born on that shift. Whew. Super busy, but peaceful nonetheless.

Upon the first baby-postpartum checks of Gina and Via, both patients and their babies are doing great. Via even brought me TONS of Filipino sausage (called Longganisa) from her bana's meat market! LAMI! (Yummy!) I am looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow.

In other clinic crazies...I had a few transports for high BP and was able to visit them and their babies at the hospital. All is well.

Bible study continues to amaze me. An-An and I see God move with each visit. We have had two consistent attenders and have been studying the life of Christ together. We seem to struggle with the same things...this week we studied the temptation of Jesus and His response to satan. We were challenged to change our view of temptation and to pray for those around us who struggle, as well. It has been a powerful journey for all of us. We've been able to give away 4 Bibles in Visayan and two of our Bible Study patients had their babies safely at Mercy already....an answer to prayer. This week, we are studying the Beattitudes. I am already convicted. It's good.

I am leaving out all kinds of news, but I will leave them for future posts. Many blessings as you enjoy the preparations for Christmas. :)

Clean Water for Bulod

My writing on these pages is usually more subtle and nuanced. Today I'm going for blunt and in your face, though hopefully not manipulative. If it ticks you off, forgive me and understand my heart, and come back next week for some nice reflection on the imponderables of life. This week it's all business and there is nary a clever metaphor to be found.

As you may already know, most of my work is done right here in Davao City. Every once in a while I get to escape to another region of Mindanao, but even then it is likely that my experience will be limited to the inside of yet another board room. I miss getting in on the action. Recently the only filters that were distributed locally were installed while I was on vacation in Canada. Go figure.

The reality is that the greatest need is in an area that is just not very safe for me (another white dude was kidnapped recently). Add to that Bethany's work schedule, and my travel options are pretty limited for now. I want to make sure I don't sound like I'm complaining. I'm not. There is plenty to keep me busy here in town and I love the challenge of keeping this whole thing moving forward.

I bring this up because my absence in the field means that our readers no longer get much reporting from me in regards to the biosand water filters and their final destination. These filters are saving and changing lives and sometimes I forget to tell you that. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to check the Impact Nations website (not yet, keep reading). We recently began a project that is in the initial reporting stage right now and I want you to read the reports and see the pictures.

People from all over the world have been donating filters to very poor families who are living in a marsh and have literally zero access to safe drinking water. It costs $40 to bring a lifetime supply of safe drinking water to a family. The first batch of 50 filters are being installed this week and I am 100% convinced that we are rescuing lives.

If you are reading this blog because you are a midwife or are midwife-curious, then you likely have a heart for mothers and children. Imagine a woman drinking nasty, bacteria-laden water throughout her pregnancy. Imagine a child being fed infant formula made with this same water (yes I know breast milk is best, but these folks don't have great midwives like you to tell them so).

This is sounding kinda heavy, but it probably should. Bad water is a big problem. Less than 50% of the population in the Muslim region (that spans three provinces!) has access to safe drinking water. People are suffering from terrible illnesses and some are dying. $40 per family stops it.

I'd like you to click on the link at the bottom of this page and see what I'm talking about. Seeing the reports that are coming in reminds me of why I do what I do. If you'd like to join the effort, consider giving a gift of clean water to a family for $40. If you think I'm not talking to you, then you are probably exactly who I am talking to. If you are already giving to Bethany and I, or have given to the water project, then you've already been a part of the impact and I thank you.

So without further ado, click here to see the project I am talking about (tip: if you sign up for the network and join the group, you will get a little email telling you when we have updated it—we will not spam you and we don't update it so often that it will annoy the heck out of you). In the unlikely event that you have no idea what I'm talking about, you may want to start by watching our short video about the filter.

Okay, I'm done getting in your face now. Thanks for listening.

Tim.

Hong Kong, I Hardly Knew Ye

I wanted to write this yesterday, but things got busy (and I wanted to watch a movie with my wife). I was in Hong Kong for less than 48 hours this week for business, though I managed to fit in a bit of sight-seeing as well. The event that brought me to Hong Kong was the annual International Care Ministries fundraising banquet. Impact is in the beginning stages of a relationship with ICM, and they invited me to come to their headquarters in Hong Kong so we could get to know each other a bit better.

My plane landed at 5pm on Monday, which left me just 2 hours to claim my bag, clear customs and immigration, take the train into Central, get a cab to my hotel, check in, iron my wrinkled and frumpy suit, get dressed, and find a taxi to the banquet at the Marriott. It turns out 2 hours was just about right, and I arrived at my table minutes before the event commenced.

The banquet was quite impressive. I was seated at a table with some bigwigs from major corporations such as Coca-Cola and HSBC. I also sat with ICM's director of Health Education and was glad for the chance to get to know her a bit. There was an auction that included seven very elaborate vacation packages, one for each continent on the planet.

The highest bid was for a trip (first class) to Vegas to meet Manny Pacquiao, sit in on his sparring match the day before the fight, stay in the same hotel as him and visit his room for an autograph, and then sit ringside for his upcoming fight at the MGM Grand. Pacquiao is pretty much the #1 boxer in the world right now, and happens to be from a city only a few hours south of Davao. That auction item fetched 160,000 Hong Kong Dollars (more than $20,000 USD).

While it was fun to see rich people fight over fancy trips, the main benefit for me was to get to know ICM a bit better. I must say that I am pretty impressed. In several different regions throughout the Philippines they are doing preschools for children, meaning kids are much better prepared for grade school and far more likely to succeed. They provide health teaching and medical clinics to those living in abject poverty. They help people prepare government documents so they can apply for federal aid. They have livelihood training. They are doing more than I can list here and I am pretty excited to be working with them.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear a brief mention of our clean water project during one of the presentations at the banquet. The next day I met with a couple of their executives, and it is becoming clear that they are very much interested in including the biosand water filter in their programs. I'll tell you more about that as it develops. I'm excited for two reasons. The first is obvious. ICM has a pretty big reach and will help us to get clean water to a lot of people.

The second positive is a financial one. In one evening, ICM raised 7 million Hong Kong Dollars (nearly 1 million USD). They flew me out to Hong Kong just to have a 40 minute meeting with them. These guys are serious about ministry to the poor and they have the money to get some big stuff done. I'm not saying it's all about money, but the reality is that it takes money to do what I do. The filters don't build themselves. By partnering with an organization such as ICM, I can get lots done without having to think as much about the bottom line.

After my meeting on Tuesday I went back to my hotel room and grabbed my camera and tripod, stuffed an extra lens in my pocket, and headed out for an evening of sightseeing. I headed up to the peak for a great view of the city that I shared with a heck of a lot of tourists and other photogs. I then wandered Central for a while and had fun making some images while getting myself completely lost. The next morning I crawled out of bed to shoot some more before heading to the airport by 11am. I wish I had more time to see the city. I really only got to see one district, and I know there is so much to see across the harbor and on some of the other islands but I didn't want to risk missing my flight.

I'll post a few pics here, and a bunch more on Facebook (click here). I'm not thrilled with them. They don't make me feel anything, and that makes me feel sucky. But whatever. At least I had fun making them.

Cheerio.

Tim.