christmas came early

tonight we leave for tanzania. i probably don't have time to be blogging, but i am. i want to thank the L*rd for what happened last week. we need gloves every outreach and every year we ask and ask and ask...we don't always get donations but we always scrape by...see below for what happened last week...


ansell donated a BUNCH, I mean thousands upon thousands of sterile and non-sterile, both are needs of ours...


christmas came early this year for us :) thanks you j*sus.

next post i will be in east africa. (unless i have something to say before then.)

part 6...debrief

and so we were prepared to leave the stan...

i left with new knowledge about the needs of a nation. my heart having been opened to how oppressed women can be in an Islamic nation, and what happens when we say yes to G*d-things change, his kingdom comes...in small ways but little bursts...

the whole time, emily and i felt as if we were merely representatives of the people of the nations that cared for the flood victims and passed on your love and care to the people there.

i don't know that all the lessons of the trip have been absorbed yet to the point where that can be expressed in words, and that's okay, i still have time to mull over it. but i think part 6 is the end of my stani posts. thanks for sticking with me through it...it took me a while...but we made it.

part 5....

not really knowing what to expect, except that G*od had spoken for us to offer ourselves, we landed and exited the plane, dressed appropriately for the culture, but still receiving countless stares. i was adjusting to emily taking the lead and remaining quiet when we were interacting with someone older than us. this usually involved me staring at the floor and occupying my thoughts with the thought that "women just get used to this".

not too long after we'd arrived we were met by our hosts who guided us to the car. with them were three lovely ladies-stella, enum and priya, each of them was enrolled in their d school. the hosts-an american and a british-stani, shared their heart for the land and introduced us to the music of the land. the american-an ethnomusicologist, had come to the stan to study the music and essentially left his heart there and kept returning and now spends about half the year there. The british-stani started a lot of the work and continues to be the voice that directs the happenings. both incredibly welcoming and encouraged by the visit.

the days began at 6am-quiet time, 7am-team prayer, 8am-breakfast....that worked one day only. We quickly realized that these people were night crawlers...in bed by 2 or 3 or 4am, not up until 10-11ish...The first couple days we saw that we were missing a lot of what was going on, and we needed to adjust! I specifically had a hard time and felt like I should stop wearing my watch so that I could adjust to the people, not the time.

Our days were filled with...
inter-sesh times that are remembered fondly, times of an open heaven, a land thirsting for focused pr*yer...
getting a heart for a nation (that I knew next to nothing about) through conversation, reading news articles and listening to more music...
eating lots of excellent food, plenty of tea, learning to cook and serve the tea as the women do...
preparing clothing and food to distribute to the families affected by the flood whom we would eventually meet...
and doing health care teachings for the those who were d-school students...these were some of the best moments...these students had a long term commitment to reaching the victims of the flood. so even if we weren't able to love on these people, care for them, give health care to them, we were able to extend our knowledge to the people who would be with them. and they were so excited about learning, they were great students and recited the songs and teachings for the days following the teachings.

our last three-four days were spent journeying to go and meet the flood victims. i guess in my head i'd had this idea of how a government, or the leaders of a nation, get together and make these plans in case of natural disasters/bombings/no resources... so when things like a flood happen, they get together and say "Okay boys, just like we practiced, plan 242C (pull down chart from the wall, all gathered in matching uniforms sigh and agree), places everyone!" and then the officials go for it and take care of all the people... well it doesn't happen like this as i found, no organized vehichles to take people to camps, no designated resources for those who lost everything...

what we came upon was groups of men and women, camped out on high places, scrounging together all that they had to care for their family...quilts as their roof, a hammock attached to a wooden frame for the family bed, and a pot and a pan. the conditions were meager at best...they had lost nearly everything...the crops, the clothing, the food. most of the people we met it had been their first time to receive anything, this was 6 weeks post flood. I don't know what they had been living off of. they were completely isolated as well, no where near the city, these are people that survive off of an agricultural income and all their fields were submerged in water.

at one place we tried to distribute the goods to people and it ended in a riot, people fighting each other, ripping food and clothing out of each others' hands. there is an unbuilt fear that there just isn't enough, only the strongest will survive...this is the fruit of poverty-it leaves people without choices.

some of the most memorable moments for me was the eagerness of the pregnant mothers to see how their babies were doing. what a confession of hope in a devastating situation-pregnancy...new life is coming...

one mother was in labour with a baby that could not be delivered normally, we were able to encourage her family and we ensured that there was transport coming for here.
one baby with a cleft lip had not been fed in days. the women were telling the mother it was impossible for her to feed the baby, so she had stopped trying. the wee baby was so flaccid, and had all the markings of dehydrated. we were able to have a little time of helping the mom attach, with all the nay-saying women around, and they saw that the baby could in fact attach and feed...beautifully. that was to me such a miracle, a baby who had been without milk for around 3-4 days, that he had the strength to nurse, and do it well. the mother smiled as we left her with a suckling baby.
another couple of mothers, absolutely anaemic, but pregnant, and so joyful. a couple of babies who had not moved for days and we could not detect a heartbeat-i continue to wonder what happened in these cases.
in each of these cases-we had a government official's wife with us (she visited often she said and was able to help with translation)! her eyes were opened to the need of the pregnant women and you could see her heart for the people was massive. she was our advocate when we saw a need that we simply couldn't meet, she was onto it.

this has been the longest silence...

i know our life has waves of busyness and chaos, but this has been the longest silence my blog has ever seen...i don't know that any pattern of life makes this excusable...

hmm...i need to finish about the stan and so much more.

sorry rachel. :( it has been on my mind a lot lately to work on this, but right now is not the time.

part four...scroll down for part one!

the weekend was full of brazilian friends, hillsong and delectable home made feasts...emily and i rocked up at the consulate. over the weekend we had learned that because of my youth and emily's years of experience beyond mine, she should be the one to do the talking. i should not even make eye contact or anything close...leave it to emily. we had received a letter from a goverment official in the stan endorsing not only the foundation we were working with but emily and i...we'd put the final touches on some paperwork, saw more finance come in, and really pressed in through inter-sesh.

over and over emily practiced our new government "friend's" name, so when she needed to reference the letter, his name could roll trippingly off her tongue. we entered the consulate as soon as it opened-although the desk we needed was not open for another hour and a half. we stared off into space, occasionally getting the urge to make the other laugh...i thought about having a quiet time, reading the word, and then realized that most likely the worst thing i could do. the time was passed by a little boy and his father, waiting for visa. the little boy did not listen to his father at all, rather his inner spider man, which made for much entertainment. at the stroke of eleven, our friend who had told us "NO!" and then given us the stipulations rocked up (emily and i accidently looked at him and smiled) and without even making eye contact with us said-"your letter has come through, your visas will be issued today". and so we held the building excitement until we organized our passports,etc. and then let it all out in the elevator ride-"AHHHHHHHH!".

thus began our frantic ticket booking, inter-sesh, final finance collaboration and insurance purchasing. we saw each dollar needed for the tickets, visas and insurance come through...how phenominal is our G*od.

that night we were on the plane through dubai and to our final destination.

this is the story all about how...part three...this is getting longer than expected...

And Friday morning, we arrived on the other side. We had exactly 1 1/2 hours to get to the embassy, plead our case and get our visas, hoping to fly out that day.

After hopping off the plane, we jumped on the train and briskly walked to St. Martin's Place in Sydney. Home of the consulates, and the fountain from the Matrix.

We took the elevator to floor seven, whipped out our official paperwork and invitation from an NGO and they looked at the paperwork and said "No, we cannot issue your visas, you are not Australian citizens. You need to apply from your countries." Not having come all that way to hear that, we said "Is there someone else we can talk to?" We arranged our meeting with the Consular General for two hours later.

We went to Hyde Park, chilled out, finished our airplane snacks, spent time with J*sus and then stormed the heavens together. Before we knew it, we were back in the office of the only person who stood between us and the flood relief victims. He was clothed in a suit that would have paid for both of our airfare, had the physique of a cricketer and had adorned his coffee table with a photo of him shaking hands with George Bush. He seemed important. And as we pleaded our case...without any warm fuzzies, he gave us some new info..."No one wants to be responsible for your ladies' lives. If I stamp your passports and something happens to you, I am in trouble." (This was the first of many insights into the instability of the nation. Everyone is afraid to mess up, no one wants to be responsible and actually it is quite unsafe for westerners, especially Americans--because we threaten to burn qur'ans, etc.) And then we basically asked, "what can we do to make this happen?" and he said "Get me a letter that endorses your NGO and takes responsibility for you from a government official and as soon as I receive that, I will give them to you. I will be here until 5 pm, and if it comes in before then, no problem, I will give them to you."

We made some more phone calls, found out that there had been a stabbing of a political figure who had taken political assylum in London and that things were potentially moving towards a declared 10 days mourning. This also meant that we would be delayed in getting our letter. Our contact in the UK was confident that it was possible though, we knew what we needed and now all we needed was time and we would get our visa.

And me? I was discouraged, tired and wanted to crawl under the lounge in the waiting room and fall into a deep sleep of hybernation. But Emily was right there, speaking truth, telling me that we knew what needed to happen, but we needed time and hey, we get the weekend in Sydney. A little bit earlier she had gone to the store while I had made some phone calls and in that time she had bought some sustenance. That was the best time ever to be surprised with a roll of sushi and a mini fish full of soy sauce. We toasted for what was to come. We remained in the lobby of this large commercial building there for the next couple hours, decompressing, downing hummus and listening to a man snore who was on the couch next to us. At one point the consular general walked past us and with a hint of soft heartedness said "Hey, if your letter comes this weekend, give me a ring." We smiled at each other, hopeful for this kind glimmer, even though we didn't have his number.

So a little more settled, Emily and I started to consider the fact that it was approaching 7pm and we had no place to stay and we were going to be in Sydney until Monday.

Alas, we live in a massive community where everyone seems to know someone, we were connected to some very kind people, now dear friends, that allowed us to stay at their flats, fed us to no end, showed us around and sent us out from Sydney after making us a priority all weekend. We love you Marcia and Jacob! Did you know there is a large Japanese population in Brazil? I never knew...

Onto part four...

this is the story all about how...part two

Wednesday night was spent talking with my family, pr*ying-getting a word to stand on as I was sure that we were heading into a battle, making phone calls and writing emails to specific people to see if they wanted to partner financially. Thursday morning came much quicker than expected.

Thursday I rushed to prepare for family chores and also rearrange my schedule for the day. (Each morning I get to prepare all the cleaning supplies for one area of our base so that we can blitz clean together as a family for about 30 minutes first thing in the morning.) I was supposed to be on chocolate selling, a fundraiser that happens all year, every year, taking turns selling chocolate to businesses to raise funds for our building costs. I ran around looking for a swap and found a gracious beautiful friend who said "yes!".

I was in the clear, the day was Emily and I's to work on visa stuff.
I had no idea what an adventure we were embarking onto.

We spent the morning calling embassies in Australia. And the common consensus after 2 hours of phone calling was "No, we will not give you a visa."
The reasons:
-American and British citizens are not allowed to receive visas in any nations except their own.
-"And no, you cannot get a visa upon arrival."
-All visas take 6 weeks to process.

After hours of trying, we then stopped, took a breather and said to each other "Why did we think this would be easy? Of course the enemy doesn't want us to get in." So, we went into an AWESOME time of open heaven intersesh (my new fav version of "that word"). This was the beginning entering into a battle that has been raging for years in a country that separated itself to be an Islamic nation. Oh man the enemy has been a part of that from the beginning and does not want any land to be claimed back.

Around 1 pm, it seemed as if we received some breakthrough. Phone call after phone call led me to calling consulate after embassy after official person. I ended up on the phone with some man in S. Asia who said "Yes, we will grant you a visa upon arrival." We absolutely ELATED and double checked with our contacts in the UK and S. Asia, and they seemed to think it was a go. So at 7pm, it seemed as if, we were done, we could work on finances, flights and be on our merry way. We walked home 2 feet off the ground. I sighed when I arrived home, so satisfied to have seen G*d answer with his favour after we stormed the heavens, and asked, seeked and knocked.

It must have been 9pm, almost 24 hours after we first found out that we were going to be able to go, that Emily called and said "We can't enter without our visas." I fell to the ground...quite dramatically (and unnecessarily), exhausted, doubtful and afraid. I knew I was meant to go, but not being able to get our visas on arrival meant this battle was not done, it meant going to a consulate in Australia. So after a series of phone calls to the UK and Emily, we confirmed the only options were Canberra and Sydney. I didn't know what to do, with not much money in my bank account and the word of the L*rd to stand on, Emily and I went back to dad and asked him what to do. I took a shower and cried out. My housemates pr*yed for me and listened to me process the options.
And then G*d spoke "Go to the other side". This to me brought me to the story of J*sus and his disciples (Mk 4:35) when they were going across the lake and J*sus said "Let us go to the other side." And then the storm was a-brewin' and the disciples were frightened and woke him and asked him if he even cared about them. He then silenced the storm, as you do, and questioned their faith. The direction he gave to them was to go to the other side, he didn't say it would be without storms, but would not have told them to do something they were incapable of. And so I took this heart. "You orginally said to give myself as an offering, and though it is a battle to do so, I need to keep chugging along." I called Emily and shared this with her and she said "Hey, Sydney is on the other side of Australia!". It was also during this time of waiting on the L*rd that Emily received 1,000 pounds in her account, so we had enough money to buy our tickets to the other side.

The next 6 hours consisted of sending an email to my whole mailing list asking if people wanted to support this trip, {and this email was overwhelmingly responded to. It was each of you that made it possible for the whole trip to happen...okay, I know I am fast forwarding, but...so many times (more than I ever get asked) people wanted to know "WHY? are you here?" and I was able to respond on behalf of so many people from so many nations and say "the nations care for your people and I am here to tell you that."}, contacted individuals on the phone to see if they could give, organized details that you organize in order to travel and didn't pack my bag (because my amazing housemate/friend/fellow midwife Sarah packed it.

Before I knew it, I was riding my bike at 3:00am to pick Emily up from her house and then we were on our way to the base for our dear leader to drive us to the airport.

And it was all so surreal.

this is a story all about how...part one

Every Friday night, together as a community, we come together and hear a challenging message, apply it and then grow corporately. this is the idea at least. about a month ago, the challenge came before the message. one of our base leaders led us into a pr*yer time for flood relief victims right at the beginning of the meeting. My heart was broken for the devastation, the women and children in need and the lack of response to the collapsing nation. In conclusion of the time we went into a time of giving, where we ask G*d what we could give financially. I felt like I could give myself as an offering. Sitting through the meeting was tough that night as my mind stayed in South Asia the whole evening.

After the meeting I found myself in my seat as the rest of the community stacked chairs up around me. Soon there were only a few people left and random people chatting around me. I waited for the base leader and found myself in the company of Emily, a British friend who just completed the birth attendant school, who too felt like she was supposed to go to Pakistan. It was late by the time we were able to speak to him, and once we had his attention, it was like "How do I put this...We want to go." He caught the curve ball and said he would get onto it, he had some connections and would see what he could do. Emily and I went to our leader after that, conveniently the same one, as we both work in health care. She said that would pray about it with our base leader and this other leader as well, for the weekend, we just needed to sit on it. As eager as I felt, I was grateful for her sound mind in it all. One of my house mates suggested that I paint "P stan" on the bum of my pants to show her I was taking that to heart.

Not much was mentioned on Monday and Tuesday I organized to speak with my leader and let her know what G*d had been saying over the weekend. She said she hadn't been able to pr*y but that she really wanted to see something happen and I felt like she was really going to all she could to make this happen. That day as well, the other base leader said he had gotten a response from inside the UK who is organizing the work in the country and that they would be happy to have two health care workers come...the door was opening.

I was so impressed with the support that we had. Wednesday afternoon Emily said that our leader was pr*ying...that didn't end up happening...she is busy. Really busy. Wendesday evening at about 10:00 pm, I was writing thank you cards for my BAS outreach finances...and Emily called and said "It's a go. We are going." And just like that, they had prayed and the base leadership was backing us to go into South Asia.

onto Part #2...

hi there.

hi friends. i just wanted to let you know that I am alive, doing well and have not had any time to procure blog posts about adventures to south asia yet.
this weekend i am babysitting two sweet children with a lovely friend called Sarah.
i will need to be posting soon.
see you all.
i think you are wonderful.

ready for take off.

visas-check!

amazing. miracle. should have been impossible, but here we are, waiting for our flight.

an opportunity has presented itself for those who would like to give towards med supplies in the stan. there is a great need, meds are available, just not for those who most need it.
you can send me an email if you are interested and i can write you!

thanks for all the asking. we are off.

sleepless in sydney

hey guys. we are running into barriers here in sydney as far as visas go. if you think of it, take this one to dad. to him be all the glory!

saturday.

i am going to the stan. it is a miracle.

pakistan. yes, i have responsibility.

i have read a very unsettling article. all i can ask is "where are those who fear the L*rd?" and then I realize, that I am here, in Australia, numb and separate from a disaster that the body of C*rist should be at the forefront at.

thank you bbc.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8965711.stm

When covering disasters, reporters can face the ethical question of whether they should help, or remain detached. When is it right for a journalist to help a weak and possibly dying baby?
Sometimes the scale of a tragedy is so vast, it is hard to comprehend.

It was a difficult birth, by the roadside, with no-one to help
Eight million people in Pakistan are homeless and hungry. Sometimes it takes just one to make it all seem real.
That is how I felt in Sukkur 10 days ago. Overwhelmed.
People were flowing into the city at a ferocious pace, a ragged river of humanity, with shocked faces and frightened eyes.
They were fleeing on trucks, donkey carts, bicycles and on foot, clutching whatever was precious - electric fans, bedding, pots and pans, chickens and goats. Behind them, a great sinister mass of floodwater was pouring in.
Tiny scrap
Sukkur itself was overflowing with families, along the roadside, on river banks, on every patch of open ground.
The heat was unbearable but they had no shelter.
When our car pulled up, they ran to it, flattened their faces against the windows, begged for food, for water, for help.
When I got out and started to record interviews, people pressed round.
Then, in all the noise and heat and smell, someone told me about a baby, born by the roadside, and led me off to see.
She was a tiny scrap, silent and still amid the clamour.
She was lying motionless on her back, on a small mat under a tree. Flies were thick round her face. The passing traffic was just feet away.

I see my job as to bear witness in a tragedy and to report - but not to interfere
Her skin was almost translucent, her head smaller than my palm, balanced in a faded china saucer, propped up against a stone. Her eyes were closed and lifeless.
I thought at first that she was dead. Her young mother seemed vacant with shock. She had had a difficult birth, there on the road, with no-one to help.
Now she sat beside her baby, looking dazed. The baby was not feeding, she said. She had not seen a doctor. She did not know where to find one.
I went down the road to a chaotic emergency clinic and interviewed a doctor there who promised to go and help. Then I went back to the hotel to work on a different report.
Metaphor for suffering
The following day, I was busy chasing more stories, but on the way back to the hotel in the early evening, I stopped off at the roadside, with some trepidation.
It seemed very likely that the baby would not have survived. But she had.
She was weak, but whimpering now and trying to move.

As the flood crisis continues, millions face an uncertain future
The doctor had visited and whatever he had done seemed to have made all the difference. Her mother had just named her Samina. Suddenly she had a name and a hold on life.
That evening I was elated. In all that misery and heat and exhaustion, I felt boosted by the thought I had helped someone, perhaps even played a part in saving a life. It eased my sense of guilt and helplessness.
The report I filed on baby Samina met with a tremendous response. Suddenly she seemed to be a metaphor for the general suffering.
I was contacted by friends and colleagues and complete strangers.
An international agency got in touch, offering to help the family. Baby Samina was becoming, unwittingly, a poster girl for the floods.
In some ways, that is wonderful. But it also made me feel very uncomfortable.
I see my job as to bear witness in a tragedy and to report - but not to interfere. I had urged that doctor to treat baby Samina.
He may have saved her, but was it at the expense of another patient? Is it unethical to attract resources to one family, when millions of others may be equally deserving?
Hope and disappointment
This week I went back to Sukkur to do a second report on Samina.
Her family has a tent inside a camp now - tent number 59 - with a supply of food and clean water.
Samina seems stronger. She is lying on a pile of embroidered cushions, instead of the ground, wriggling and yawning.
Her mother's health, too, seems much better. The family's future is still uncertain, but the immediate crisis is past.
Maybe I should stop there, with a happy ending that makes us all feel hopeful, but as I walked away from Samina's family, someone tugged at my sleeve.
She led me to a tent nearby where another young woman had just given birth, a day or two earlier.
Her relatives lifted a cover to show a tiny, wrinkled newborn.
The women turned to me, eager and expectant, as if they were thinking now this foreigner will help our child too.
They looked disappointed when all I could do was to say thank you, congratulate them and then turn to leave.



so guys, now what? CBC world news predicts that 500,000 women are pregnant and in need of medical help.

garage sale-check

hey family! i just wanted to let you know that over 800 dollars was made in the garage sale. wowie, can you believe it??? has to be favour of the L*rd. thanks for the pr*yers and for all the donations. you made it happen.

i am almost there with my outreach finances. they are due tomorrow and i am pretty sure they will be in. woo hoo! Go G*d!

sunday nights.

i say out loud "i just want the clock to stop" and my housemate responds "it is never going to happen", and thwarts me back into reality.

there is something about each weekend that reminds me again of my desire, the very being i have been created as, longs for eternity, where time will never end.

friday morning greets me as i prepare morning chores, characterized specifically by auditorium mopping, and i think to myself, wow the week is almost over. friday afternoon reminds me of my love for learning as we talk about how chris*ian mission should be advancing the kingdom of G*d, friday evening comes with a sigh of relief that i now have a weekend of possibility awaiting me. nearly every friday night, i have the best intentions to get to bed early so that i can make the most of the weekend mornings, but the excitement of not having anything pressing the next morning gives me leeway to hang out, wo*ship till the wee hours or make skype phone calls.

saturday morning i once again feel the joy of a free weekend and realize i better get onto it at 3pm--because keeping up at this rate and nothing will happen.

sunday morning i grieve because another day has passed, joy comes in the afternoon when i realize that i do have more time then the fogginess of my morning mind was telling me, sunday evening i dip back into a grievous state because as i realized on friday afternoon, the week has spiraled to a close.

have i come to conclusions about the revelations you gave me this week g*d?
have i told everyone what i really think of them?
have i shared coffee with someone new this week?
did i make a card for grandma's birthday?

i want to seal it off before the newness of this next week comes. nearly every sunday evening i feel unprepared, i have not sucked this last week dry for what it was worth.

time is passing, and i am not ready for the next day. my nieces are growing, writing, evolving and i have missed point a to point b's journey.

so back to this age old cliche, i need to live in the moment.

and i am reminded that i was created for eternity.

scents and funnel cake

i have one friend with such a distinctive scent. i hugged her tonight and now my hand smells like her, so comforting. it reminds me of when my aunt terri would go out with mom in our cool 1990 aerostar, then, when mom would pick us up in the car and we would fasten our seatbelt, instantly you would know with one sniff, aunt terri has been here.

it is nearly nine pm and the day has been full on. something about when we are trusting, not knowing where provision can come from, only fixing our eyes on him. everything else wants to distract, but i can't, i just need to baptize my eyes, clean off the muck and refocus. there is no formula to provision, only obedience. just some musings for the evening...

we had a very successful market night this evening-all come together who want to sell their goodies-a celebration of everyone's talents, an exchange of finances and a tummy full of tasty samples. our own little carnival. ben the balloon man even made me a purple pony with a yellow mane.

while i am here, if anyone would like to donate some items to raise finance for my outreach fees, let me know. anything you could give of course would be appreciated! and any pr*yers you have to offer as well for the event. it is happening this saturday. holly "the amazing" sturm is putting it on. she rocks.

okay, nighty night guys.

friday, what a day.

HI!
Keep pra*ing for dad.
also, all my flight money came in. Miracle... yeppers.

spiders and flights

hey guys, just wanted to rally some pr*yer for my dad. he has gotten a spider bite which has progressed to a staff infection and he is on antibiotics. as usual with staff infections, there is a risk that it is the strain which has a resistance of antibiotics, break this business off!

in other news, finances for my flight is due in 36 hours. woooo hooo! let's see a miracle, hey?

thanks for the pr*ayer.

cheers!! bekah

an excursion.

Hi family.

Well today was an exciting day.
I was able to go with some of my friends, who are a part of a group that redeems island dances of the south pacific, to share with some "troubled youth" at a local center. it turned out to be all boys, which I was feeling a bit nervous about.
i wasn't sure what it was going to look like, but I felt like G*d was laying on my heart that whoever we shared with needed to know that they were not under the law, but under grace-that nothing could separate them from his love. while my incredibly talented friends danced their feet off we inter*eded for all that G*d wanted to come be released.
after the cru*ifixion Haka (a dance done by the Maori people of New Zealand) we had the chance to disperse and talk to the boys. all of us "visitors" needed to stay within arms length of each other and in partners. my partner was my friend from South Africa.
we headed for these two boys we had met briefly at the beginning. they warmed up to us quickly when we asked them how to properly shake hands and confusing me to no end by introducing themselves with the wrong names. they asked "yous guys all churchies?"... "yous (aussie plural for "you") always been churchies?"...and without much more my partner launched into his personal testimony of laughing at chris*ian people all his life and then to being high out of his mind and confused as ever and G*d meeting him then and there. little did we know we were talking to two boys fully addicted to crack and pot. they shared how it is just "too hard" to give up, but they really didn't want to screw up their lives. they shared dreams of wanting to be a mechanic and basketball player. and said they wanted to help each other get to that point. it turns out they were cousins.

in the end they saw from my buddy's story that they wanted to meet this G*d for themselves, as we likened meeting G*d to a drug high, you can't describe it, you just have to try him for yourself.

and our two friends pra*ed a committment to keep following J*sus from this day on.

the guy who got us "in" to meet this guys will follow up with them.

doesn't get much better than that, hey?

lately my posts have been about food.

today a lady from church took me out for Indian food. i am so happy. i feel abundantly blessed. oh, and i ate lamb again.

hi! hi!

i just wanted to let you all know how great Livio is doing. i was able to visit him at the hospital the other night and he was awake, alert, talking and joking. so many of the words spoken came to fruition for his healing. wow, G*d is so cool. so much grace over his life.
today he was discharged from the hospital! woohoo!
thank you all for the pr*yers of petition for his life.

a little update for those who have been asking...

Thank you for your concern for my friend. He is called Livio, he is a Swiss-Italian. I was able to meet his parents today-I'm sure they were completely jet lagged but were in great spirits, fully trusting in G*d! They gave report that he is in good spirits. He has fractured (what I am guessing) his temporal bone, just behind his ear, very close to damaging his artery (again, guessing, but thinking his carotid artery)...but didn't! The haemmorhaging in his brain has subsided! Praise G*d! Thank you for asking, please keep on as led.

i just finished a satisfying dinner of lamb stew and sourdough bread and for dessert, a glass of milk.

there is so much commentary in store for this opening sentence.
Firstly, lamb...I have consumed enough lamb in this month than I ever had in my years in America. We just don't eat lamb. They are cute animals that represent J*sus and we don't herd enough of them to slaughter them.
Secondly, all the bread I have ever eaten here has been donated. Twice daily we pick bread up in the city, and when I say "pick up bread" I mean 5, 6, 7 massive trash bags. Abundance.
And milk--for some reason we have also received an abundance of milk donation, expired it may be, but delicious it is. Although there isn't enough to drink it by the glass usually, this weekend has called for a rare season. Yummm...It tasted like gas station. Okay, allow me to explain "tasting like gas station". I grew up as a milk snob. Twice a week a little man, called Bob Phelps (at least that is who we made the check out to), would bring 2% or 1% (depending on the Dinneen season) milk in 1/2 gallons and leave it in our milk box. It tasted like he drove the cow around in the milk truck, milked it in your drive way and then left the sealed carton in your insulated milk box, it was so fresh. On the off week, we would drink more than bargained for and then we would either go without milk until the next delivery day (torture) or my gracious father would pick some up on his way home from work. At some point , we decided this "pseudo milk", often purchased at texaco, tasted horrible, and dubbed it "gas station milk"---the worst of the worst. And now, having milk powder be a luxury, I look back at my silly jokes and wonder-"Why didn't dad spank his ungrateful daughter?" Hahaha. Thanks for your patience dad.

This weekend has been good. I reread the book "Is that really you G*d?". I feel like once again I have the vision of sending youth into the nations and how G*d uses the willing.

I did want to ask for pr*yer from you all. Yesterday, my friend, the very one who lent me his long board, was riding and took a really bad fall. He is currently in critical condition at the hospital, some bleeding on the brain, fractured skull, ruptured ear drum...but with that said-he is conscious, joking around and in a state of recovery. His parents are coming from Switzerland, they should be here tonight. Please take a moment to pr*y. I feel like he is definitely going to be fully recovered, but we need to cover him to get to that point.

Thank you guys for reading. It has been a weekend of getting things done. Gearing up for seeing outreach finances come in!

Look forward to hearing from you :)

my july update goes a little something like this...

although it is lots better with pictures, i am going to post this anyway...(if you do want my real updates in your inbox, you can send me your email address and i will make it happen.)

News from me to you...

the birth attendant school 2010
yippee!!! this is the new crew of 16 students began on July 4th. It's all happening! from the nations of france, u.s. (one u.s. via peru), canada (one canada via barbados), australia, samoa/taiwan (she is a special mix), the netherlands, new zealand and singapore. and not pictured is rachel...one of our staff!

and they are hilarious...a pre-requisite, of course.

what's been happening since i have been in perth...

it has been nearly two months since the last birth attendant school ended and since then i have been adjusting, refocusing, soaking and enjoying! this has been a time for me to see what really happens when you are working behind the scenes and not on the front lines of a school, rather the backbone.

as a base we are trusting for 1.7 million more dollars before we can begin construction on our new property. what an exciting time this has been to be reabsorbed into the base! ...

...once the new school was prepared for and had arrived, i was able to transition and see what happens to keep the base running. i have been able to work on planning our outreach, babysit, learn about applying for outreach visas, be a part of fighting for new staff to come aboard, re-organizing the keys for 53 properties the base has, and a lot of pr*yer, inte*cession and wors*ip in the mix of it all.

there are several times a week that i get to interact with the students who are learning to become G*d-fearing midwives, but this year i am not "staffing" the lecture phase. this means i will not go on outreach until after christmas. get ready everyone, i will be home from mid-november until just before christmas this year! woohoooooo!

thanks for all the pr*yer and being a part of this new season.

yes, i want to hear from you! send me an email!

i turned 22 this week. :) i would love to catch up with YOU! i thoroughly enjoy skype dates...my username is bekahwekah29. i also like to get prayer requests from you, send them my way! thanks for reading! til next time...(mad props to mailchimp who has revolutionized my updates.)

goodnight moon

Hey there guys. I am working on a "proper" update tomorrow. For now though...
I think I am adjusting back to the life lay before me in Perth.
A life that includes plenty of morning tea.
A life that includes baby sitting nearly every Sunday night.
A life that includes a revolving front door and a french press that can't be cleaned fast enough.
A life that includes dreading letting my feet touch the wood floor each morning.
A life that includes sitting with people from the nations at each meal.
A life that includes swallowing my pride and asking "What is your name? I have forgotten...again."
A life that includes commercial mops and disinfectant that dries only to smell like pee.
I am learning...that it is different...that it is okay for me to have free time...that G*d will show me how to use it and be wise with it, if I ask. There is adventure unfolding. I am being stretched. Hmmm...I like doing posts like this, don't I? I think my posts end up like when I feel like I have a lot to say but I don't know how to say it.

I am enjoying my last week of being 21.

My friend was epilating her legs while I was typing this and now she just turned it off...my ears are ringing. I think that machine was used in Medieval times for torture.

Cheers!

new school. new schedule.

hi guys. the school started yesterday, the fourth of july, what a celebration!
i just spent some time tonight long boarding outside my aussie home. it feels like it is filling my snowboard love tank. i'm loving it, and i don't need snow pants to do it.
my friend lent me his board for the week while he is away at a youth camp. such an unexpected blessing.
anyway, just a testimony to how kinesthetic activities bring euphoric joy and clear minds. i had such a great time, nearly falling off, talking to dad, jumping ship, watching cars, riding...
I am enjoying a bit more laid back schedule, a more 8ish-7ish day than outreach or staffing a school can be. oh man G*d is good.

aussie aussie aussie

hey there guys.

it is evening. i just wanted to say hello. i am snuggled up on our pleather, sea green couch. the electric heater warms the room inside the house without any central heating. i don't think australia is actually that cold, it is just that there are few warm spaces to be found unless you have a space heater. dare i purchase something so...permanent? for now i wear plenty of layers to bed and dread getting out of them each morning.

recently, i have been working with the other staff on the preparations for the new 17 students that are coming. we are still fighting for several students. we want to trust for all the lecture phase finances to come in before the students arrive so that it is just outreach finances we have to push for. there are 3 students who are still fighting this fight...up until days before their flights are scheduled to leave. thus far, 4 students have arrived.
four fresh minds.
ready to embrace the need for healthcare in the nations.
ready to immerse themselves in the call of mother and child healthcare.
sounds like i am in the business of indoctrinating. i'm not though.

if you think of it...you can fight with us... we are fighting hard for a nigerian couple's visa. when this is mentioned, the first words spoken out of most people's mouth who know anything about aussie immigration is: "nigerians never get their visas"...i rebuke this. i am, we are, trusting to see breakthrough, the beginning of many to receive birth attendant training who are from nations that greatly contribute to the 500,000+ pregnancy related deaths per year.

that's all for now.

G*d has been really good. I am making new friends. Even with the boys. I have been in an all boy inter*ession group twice a week for the past four weeks. I shared with them that this was the first time I prayed with boys in two years, they were shocked.

cheers.

Zumba is on.

Countdown to Zumba!
This weekend, Saturday the 27th at 7pm and Northlake Christian Church.
$10 suggested donation.
Are you game?

its not you, its me.

i will be the first to admit that blogging has slipped from my fingers since i have been back in perth. just because i have been able to write more personal emails doesn't mean my blog should suffer. i am going to work on this one.

a thought for you.

Last night this was shared at one of the base's corporate meeting times...
A country in central asia has decided that all new believers and those who continue to choose J*sus will be executed as their penalty.
I wanted to share this with you, as knowledge comes responsibility trails right behind it.

back to perth

hi guys. thanks for the covering. we actually got put up in a hotel thanks to the airline instead of 16 hours in the airport, what a surprise and picture of G*d's grace. one of the students hurt her back two days before we left and needed a bed for the night and we were expecting a turn around of getting home this evening and showing up for report back not having had great rest...anyway we did have excellent rest and free food! so thanks guys and thanks G*d.

hello everybody. just a small note to tell you that i am sitting in the airport of manila. this is our last leg of travel for the team. wowie. onwards to KL for a 16 hour layover and then to Perth. all pr*yer cover welcome.
thank you.
a final update very soon.

mmmm yesterday

For all of those inte*cessors from yesterday, I wanted to pass on the happenings of the day...isn't G*d the best? I think so.

I was able to converse extensively with a man who is part of the Church of Ch*ist. It is disguised as Chris*ianity but rather cult-like in the engagement with G*d. So much truth was spoken, specifically through testimony and G*d's word. In the end he allowed us to pr*y for his wife who is struggling with infertility and share that we believed when she would be healed it would be from G*d (they are only allowed to pr*y 3 times a day, very specific pr*yers).

At another clinic Reinette finished a prenatal check and asked the mother if she could pr*y for her. When she finished pr*ying Reinette was surprised that the woman was crying and deeply moved, she shared that 6 months ago there had been a large conflict in her ch*rch, so much so that she hadn't been able to return to the ch*rch and was longing for G*d.

We also were able to facilitate a discussion at women's bi*le study about oral hygiene (massive need here!) and here them share their worries for their children and then brainstorm about ways to save up for toothbrushes and toothpaste for a family of six...even looking equally effective alternatives. The women left having heard G*d's thoughts on stewardship, the parental influence and blessing! It was a very spontaneous time of G*d bringing his love and care through the teaching!

I am inspired by the power of pr*yer, G*od really met us. He is here.

bekah

points of the day.

Hi Guys!

Tomorrow is the 18th of May and my day to make sure that the team is covered in pr*yer. A couple of people had said that they had wanted to partake, but I decided to send out the requests to many just in case the day has opened for you and you have a moment to talk to Dad.

-There have been MANY open doors to share with Catholics (in the Philippines they are into idol worship, sacrifices, lacking in relationship) about the way we meet with G*d. Please ask for more chances for today.

-Please ask for our final days in the health care centers, good byes will commence on Thursday. A final covering over good relationships specifically, so that will translate as the base here starts it's own birth center.

-Please ask for the women on 12th Street (where we have been joining in with community development). Few can afford to see the midwives after we leave or to be able to pay for a skilled attendant at their birth.

-Please ask for our transition. May 30th we will arrive in Perth for a final week of debrief and then the students will graduate!


Thank you! So, if you are able to cover this stuff, double thank you!
You guys rock, couldn't do it without you.

Bekah

tstmny

Sunday night we were wandering down a boardwalk, near the beach, where many foreigners come, in between the lighted walkways are bars and dance clubs. I met a young girl who was trying to sell bracelets and small trinkets. My heart hurt to see her there in a lustful environment, going from tourist to tourist, up late, doing things children shouldn't be doing. I didn't have any money with me but so badly wanted to win her over, look into her eyes and tell her how precious she was. She didn't speak any English and was frightened when I would softly touch her shoulder. I asked G*d "what can I give to her?". I reached into my bag and remembered a bottle of nail polish that I had bought for a girl in India that I never saw again. I handed the shiny, red bottle over to her and she accepted it and walked away, not receiving what she was hoping for. All I could think was that she deserved a bigger picture of life then what poverty was giving to her family. As we were leaving I ran into this same little girl, her whole demeanor had changed; a joyful little girl with light in her eyes waved me over to see the masterpiece on her friend's hands. Even if only for a moment, she was able to shrug off the responsibility and see the creativity given to us through a child's eyes, it was a glimpse of G*d's kingdom. Thank you G*d.

This week concludes our work in the clinics here, next week we will say our good byes, pack our belongings and head back to Perth, Saturday the 29th. I am wrestling with the reality of this, wondering what life is going to look like when I am back in Perth. Although I will be involved with the school (doing background prep-for outreach, and participating in small groups, etc.), I will also be serving in other ministries. My heart is preparing for the painful good byes that are ahead and the sudden changes that will follow.

abridged april.

Hello my dear ones...

“Ground breaking” were the words that G*d spoke as we began the first week of April in Subic Bay, The Philippines. The month has been a compilation of transitions, meeting midwives and learning from them in their clinics, crying out for this nation, joining with the work of community development and meeting G*d in rich ways to carry us through these last months. I have some stories to share with you and hope that they will give you at least the slightest view of all the ways the kingdom of G*d are breaking into the lives of the Filipino people we are doing life with.

Here in the Philippines, the enemy has sabotaged relationships. Absolutely.
As team, three times a week, we sit in groups of four or five and ask G*d, "What do you want to say?" Almost every time, G*d reveals the twisted views of women and men and family life here. In one time of int*rcession, G*d brought this up and raised the question to us of “What are you going to do about the teenage pregnancies that you are seeing everyday?” There are too many fatherless homes, a lack of commitment in male and female relationships and it has caused teens to move into relationships, searching for that intimacy that was not received from their fathers, therefore skewed their vision of G*d, therefore almost every day of prenatals we are meeting 16, 17, 18 year olds. Out of this time of listening, G*d gave us the strategy to link in with some teen girls in the area we have been doing community development with and begin to share with them our stories of finding relationship with G*d in the midst of the world telling you to find value in boys. We also got to do teaching on G*d’s view of women and how that is seen in the way he has created us (always my favourite teaching). We have a larger group of girls that we will be meeting with to share this same message next week.

As a team, we have been looking into Jo*hua 1 for the last month and this week we were talking about being the “first fruits”. That we are a “first evidence of the new creation” coming… “a foretaste of future glory”. So just by being here, G*d’s kingdom is here in Subic Bay. How encouraging.

More stories and pictures are on my blog (www.bekah29.blogspot.com) if this has left you hanging. Just one month is remaining for the 2009 Birth Attendant School. In some ways I think, “it has been so quick” and then when I stop to breathe my body tells me that it’s tired and yes, it has been 11 months.

So, until next month...bless you family, bless you friends, for all your support, reading this email and blessing me with your love.

Bekah




we went to "zoobic", a home for tigers here in subic bay.
to all my zoo hating friends: they have been raised in captivity. i feel like they are well cared for there.
this was an amazingly large and gorgeous white tiger who was very hungry because he hadn't been fed yet that morning when we met him.


here is a tiger family. this was also my favourite picture, this one is for you molly.


this was to make up for the previous photo "the bad one" (according to the photographer).


here we are, ready to go for the day.
there are more pictures, not that i have yet. just a taste.

Relationship Perversion. How do our sins affect others?

I haven't researched my thoughts and opinions, and probably never will, but need to get them all out on "paper". So have a look if you'd like. I don't if I have pinpointed the beginning of the sex trade, but these are the conclusions that have roughly been formulated these past couple weeks through inter*cession and interaction.

What are the implications of a massive hub, drawing mostly men, in and out, day after day, hour after hour...
Years and years ago the US Navy planted a base here in Subic Bay. It was around that time that Olongapo city was stigmatized as "Sin City". The chains that poverty leaves cities in has outworked itself into the sex trade...For years and years the women of the city have found that this is how they can provide for the family, this is what they capable of doing. Still today, when I walk up the street, there is bar after bar after bar advertising their "women", it is a booming industry.
Why did the women need to provide for their families? What are the implications of such a thriving economy stimulated by prostituting of bodies?
Each time I have done prenatal checks with women, they have had a "partner". The term "partner" is widely accepted here in Olongapo as a proxy for "husband" and vice versa. Most families are matriarchal because the father is such a temporary or ever-changing figure.
What does this do to the family structure here in Olongapo?
Girls are missing their fathers. Boys are missing their dads. The value that is due to each child from a father has been withheld. This also means that the view of G*od as our father, that is most greatly affected by our fathers, is absolutely thrashed when fathers are not a part of the picture. Meaning that boys and girls are searching in other places for what they are longing for.
How does this affect who I interact with each day?
I have seen maybe ten women, in total, that have been over the age of 25 in prenatal care. Our greatest number of pregnant women fall into the 15-19 category. I would say 4 in 5 of the women we see fit in that category. The teens of this city have not found the value that G*od intends for them to receive and the cycle of either prostituting themselves or rushing into relationships is the outcome. Daughters, mothers, sisters, women, have been absolutely raped of their value.

So what now?
G*od let your kingdom come in this place. Through man and woman being in covenantal relationship with you. Men and women who are committed first to you and then to each other. We want to see burst of your kingdom in this place.

i have been trying to upload videos for three days. this will have to do for now.

Also, a wee report from my buddy Rach who just left Hyderabad with the rest of the team for Central Asia...this is from her update. Do you remember the woman I talked about meeting on the last day at the hospital? Well, they went and met her and this is how it went...

On Friday we went and did home visits and Cara, Alana and I were able to visit Shanaz - the woman Bek met at the hospital, She had lost her baby (due to placental abruption...aka...the placenta detaches from the uterus early). Her husband (Josef) was really lovely and directed our auto. They live a bit far away (about 75 rs) but we got there fine. They welcomed us into their home and we got to ask Shanaz a bunch of good post-natal check-up questions. We talked to her a bit about grieving and although she said she wasn't still sad she broke down crying. We let her cry a bit and then I asked if I could pray for her in the name of Je*sus and she said yes. Later we got to share with both her and her husband about why the school exists - who Je*sus is - how much he loves them and also talked to her husband a bunch about differences (and similarities) between is lam and chris ti an ity. They made us lunch ( dahl, rice and chicken - sooo good) and tea afterward. We stayed nearly 4.5 hours and they wanted us to stay longer but we had to go. We spent the entire afternoon laughing, crying, playing with her 5 year old (first child) daughter, loving and sharing with her and husband about the Hope that we have. She told us before we left that it felt like her sisters had come. (she has no family - her dad is dead, her brother and mother won't speak to her because they had a love marriage). It was a really beautiful day... we saw glimmers of hope in her as we hugged goodbye.


Here is some stuff Rach had in her post as well that maybe you would like.

NUMBERS: Although numbers only give a small part of the whole picture - let me give you an idea of what our time here has held. We delivered approximately 171 babies (and assisted at the births of countless others)of which 33 were in the last two weeks. More than 1000 people received some form of healthcare, around 500 people were prayed for, 5 came to know J*s us as their savior, and several hundred heard a test i mony of how G*d loves them. We visited more about a third of the women we delivered in the post natal ward the next day and 10 in their homes.

Yay! So cool!

this is the day!

So, for those of you who were wanting to send up some memos to our dad, here goes the requests!

• Yesterday we had five of our team members join up with us, who were doing a health care seminar in India. Please ask for the re-unification of our team and their adjustment to the culture, strongholds and dynamics of the whole team here in the Philippines.
• Ask for our team in central Asia who just arrived on Sunday. There are 4 students there (one of them is a student with a family of 4), a staff and our school leader with her family. They are scouting out the needs there and how our school can connect in for the future.
• Ask for Hollie, my fellow staff member, she is 13 weeks pregnant. Daily she faces the feeling of “seasickness”, more like all-day sickness as opposed to morning sickness.
• Ask for Melisa and I, in leading the team, while the dynamics are changing, we are still trying to settle the daily schedule here. In all of this we are learning to communicate with each other and keep on keeping on through tiredness we are sometimes facing in our spirits.
• Ask pray for the work here in the PHILIPPINES! So many open doors! Yippee! Birth clinics galore want us to come, such a chance for evangelism and learning from the midwives and doctors here.

Thank you thank you thank you! We have definitely sensed a difference since we started this and I am grateful to you for pitching in. Bless you!
G*od is so stinkin good.

it took so long.

Well, how do I sum up the time thus far in this land that I really do love.
Here are some photos from the lovely Reinette of South Africa. I have some of my own that I will upload a little later, for now. Enjoy these.
Sorry it has taken so long. I have been trying since Sunday but the internet has not been on my side.



this is our amazing dining room where we enjoy home cooked Filipino food almost everyday. Melinda, the cook, hopes to open a restaurant one day.


On this day we went to visit a birth center for the first time, we are now doing prenatal checks and immunizations there.


Elections are happening. I will send a movie shortly of what that loaded phrase entails. For now, this is mayor James "Bong" Gordon, hoping to be re-elected. He has my vote.


Taking a stroll on the beach. I'm clearly still in the Mu slim world with my head wrapped and all.


These are the lovely children of 12th Street, we go often during the week to be with the pregnant moms as well as these little cherubs.


and here we go with the pregnant mums...i take photos. that's my job.


Anyone can always come and get their BP taken. always a great time to love and people and send up some pra*yers for miracles!


we like kids chairs.









oh the "houses"...it is common for most people to have their house flood three feet everyday, yes, everyday.


we thank the u.s. navy for our transport.


These are the base leaders, community developers, loveliest of most lovely people.


every saturday. kids program. thank goodness i have the mother i have, I owe Kids INC a lot.


we take a little boat "banka" to the clinic each day, this is the view.


mmm...sunset...a lovely background to have up while we play beach volleyball.

that's all folks. hope you enjoyed!

ooohhh mail

If you like, here is the address that I am "at" for the next 2 months. Some have been asking and so I offer it to you.

P.O. Box 166
Olongapo City, 2200
Philippines

i may never March in the infantry...

March's update.

Kamusta ka?!

Greetings from the Philippines! We have arrived safely and have been greeted by guest-house standard accommodations and fans enough to keep us cooler than our bodies can handle sometimes. The L*ord is giving rest.

I want to share with you about our last month in India, but if you are interested in the recent transition to Subic Bay, you can check out www.bekah29.blogspot.com where I will be posting.

The strongholds of India that G*od first spoke to us continued to be things that factored into daily life. The implications of two major religions being entertained in the space of one city resulted in a battle that was constant, so many things being worshiped, sacrifices being made, led to a very active spiritual realm. For our team, the constant battle caused sickness, fatigue and the feeling of oppression that can cause a reluctance to participate. In the final week of our stay in Andra Pradesh, the Muslims and Hindus broke out in fighting. People were killed, stabbed and injured all in the name of false gods. This gave us the final push, showing us once again that G*od was calling his people to this place to bring his kingdom. And so we left the city through inter*cession and wor*ship, calling out the body of Ch*rist to live differently to show the city that blood has already been shed and atoned for each of us.

Our time in the hospital is a ministry that I thank G*od for at the end of the day…well, most of them. Being in a place where women are travailing alone, G*od quickly brings us along side to inter*cede silently or with them. The overall feeling of the maternity hospital was quite oppressive and once again a battle. G*od made a way for us to share his name, for students to learn skills needed and to make friends.

I just wanted to share a story with you about a woman I met on the last day. It doesn’t have a happy ending yet, but I believe that seeds scattered were in fertile soil…

Our last day in the labour room I felt burdened to speak with each of the women labouring. I didn’t get much further than a woman called Shohazi.

Shohazi locked eyes with me and said “Baby dead, my baby dead.” She was lying on a metal bed in the corner, waiting to be cleaned up and for the blood to finish transfusing before she could leave. It seemed as if no one had spoken to her since she came to the hospital. Her eyes were empty with loneliness. She shared her story, about how she had grown up rejected by her family for being a girl, that her first husband died of kidney failure and then she was married to her current husband as his second wife. She said several times “I hate the gods, I hate all the gods.” Nothing that anyone said would comfort her where she was at. She listened to me as I shared with her to tell G*od all that she felt, that Allah, the Hindu gods, they would all fail her, but G*od wouldn’t. He can handle us telling him how we feel. She cried and cried for her baby and let me pray for her that she would have another baby and that she would meet G*od. A softness came over Shohazi as she grieved and shared. It will take a lot of prayer to see her moved to J*esus, but those who have experienced as deep of suffering as she has meet J*esus in a deeper way. I got a phonecall from Shohazi’s husband the day before we left India, some of the girls still thee will visit her. It is an open door.

Recap. G*od is moving in India. We saw 5 salvations while we were there, hundreds prayed for, hundreds given healthcare to and about 100 babies delivered. His kingdom is coming. I believe he is calling people to commit to India, in inter*cessory prayer and long term miss*ions. I have tasted and seen that the L*ord is good over India.

Bless you family and friends. I will talk to you at in a month…

Bekah

***One more thing, our team felt that G*od was leading us to get more pra*yer cover as a team until the end of outreach. Each of us have taken a couple of days to ask if people we know (that’s you) are willing to take some time during these day to pr*ay for our team. My days are April 28th and may 8th. If you are willing to commit to pr*ay for the team at any point during any of these days for any amount of time, please email me so that I can send specific requests to you! Bless youuuuuuu!

here so very safely.

just a wee note to let you all know that i have made it to the Philippines. i am relearning the use of toilet paper, how ranch dressing tastes and what it means to sit at the table together as a family for dinner. it has been absolutely wonderful, splendid and restful yesterday and today. tomorrow we will dive in, but slowly and surely it is beginning...

Happy Easter all!

This is my friend Zara. We met at the hospital, a couple of us went to visit her. Enjoy the photos. These are the women of India.


Zara's sisters. The one on left (I forget her name, ahhh) did all my henna. Fatuma, with the blue scarf, she is 17 and awaiting her marriage in a couple months, she did our arm tat henna.




This is when they served me Bidyiani, three times, I was so full.


The mahindi-ed us (henna) and did our hair. Doesn't Kali's hair look great?


mmmm...henna


All too quickly we had to leave, and once again...burqua-ed up.

this is the world's largest imax theatre.


these are the world's largest 3-d glasses.


this was the world's most thrilling movie to see.

And now, completely unrelated to Avatar...

This week I spent three days in the labour ward welcoming babies with the students. I stand in awe at the end of this week thinking about the foot in that I have into women’s lives because of the favour G*d has on this school to get us in these doors. After processing with a student on Friday, she told me about her English midwife friend who couldn’t believe what she was learning to do, the skills, etc, and I agreed with her and we talked about how cool it is that when G*d calls us, he equips us. We are living testimonies.

As much as I would like to, I often shy away from graphics or too intense of imagery in relation to the labour ward, those stories are better for one on one conversation. That is, seeing how I don’t know my blogging audience and all. Perhaps I should start a separate blog? Kidding. I know I appreciate the details, but I have learned that my language needs to be accessible to all, especially when talking about things pertaining to birth.

With that said, the following is appropriate for all.

Our image of a woman labouring in a hospital with her separate room, having ice chips served to her hourly, the contractions recorded on the monitor are things of luxury and not actually how most women in the world spend their hours labouring. With that said, it is not at all wrong, but not like any of the deliveries we as birth attendants usually are a part of. The women here in India, as well as the women of every other country that I have birth attended in, labour in community, all sitting on their separate-or sometimes the same, bed. Usually there are about eight women in labour in one room at a time, but on an especially busy day, like it was most days this week, there are 10-14. Every once in a while, there are those quiet women that don’t say a word, and before you know it, baby is coming and it isn’t waiting for nobody. One time this week, a woman delivered into her sari and the rest of us were so engrossed into our work with postnatal moms until we heard a crying baby and realized, “it’s too late”. In these situations, although it hasn’t been the best care for the mom, but you can still slap on some new gloves and welcome the baby in the name of J*sus, sing it happy birthday and ask the mom “larki-larka?”, “babu-papa?”, “bathchi-batcha?” and any other way you can remember to say “boy or girl?”. The mother has to respond with the answer of the correct sex of the baby before you can take it to warm it up. If no one is looking, we can keep the baby on mom’s belly, turn off the fans and let a little bit of bonding happen… Sometimes there are no students around and as baby’s don’t wait for nobody, I get the chance to stand with the mom, encourage her to push, smile at her, ask her what her name is, introduce myself and reunite mum and bub. Although we want all the students to get as many opportunities to be a part of conducting deliveries, sometimes they all are busy and in these situations, I am so happy to take part!

On Friday, there was one mom who had been labouring since six am in the labour room, and once they are in there, they are not allowed to eat (for cases of caesarian sections, etc.) and this mom was crying at us, begging us to let her eat. We tried to advocate for her and ask the madam (OBGYN) if we could give her something or if she could get some tea from her family, but she still said no. The mom was so angry with us, she didn’t want us to listen to the baby’s heart, to let us put a line up for her, nothing. We stayed with her and continued to encourage her. Low and behold, at the end of the day, when everyone else was tied up, baby was coming. I went and stood with her and asked a student nurse if she would like to learn to conduct a delivery. I began with guiding the mom in her pushing and recognized she wasn’t progressing well and asked the madam to come. After about 45 minutes of focused pushing, her baby girl was born. Anjana was a new woman after, she cried and thanked us for all of our help and we told her J*sus helped her and then she insisted on exchanging phone numbers. Hopefully we can visit her. These joyful-ending situations with tough beginnings can seem frustrating. Yet, I think of how Jesus is so persistent in standing with us, even when we push him away-kicking and screaming we deny his help, and in the end, we are so thankful, so thankful that he has been there with us through it all. Granted, women usually can’t be held accountable for how they act during labour, but that doesn’t mean G*d can’t teach me through this stuff.
G*d is right there with us in the labour room.

Thanks for reading guys, I hope the details were palatable.

Your friend,
Bekah

feeling the feb.

February, I remember feeling that last year this month went too fast, and again I echo this thought.

Last year, a girl called becca led my outreach until the month of January. She then went back to Perth briefly and then to Vancouver and got engaged and was married before we saw her for our debrief in May. She was a part of staffing the lecture phase this year and then moved to Wollongong . Last week, the pregnant becca and her husband Chris visited our team while they were doing a project here, ahhh friendship. While on our way to get iced coffee, she began sharing with me, “it’s not about the outcome, it’s about the relationship on the way”. Oh how I needed to hear that, to hear it from someone who has been in my shoes with years of experience. That’s why we are here, to meet the women, to share with them in their pain, to learn together as a school. There are tasks, skills, evaluations that of course that need to be ticked off, but those are not to rule me in co-leading the team. The principles of the kingdom are based off of what builds relationship. I once heard a man, (I think I’ve shared this before) who said you can replace the word “sin” with the term “relationship breaker”, that’s how serious G*d is about relationships. My feeble task-orientated self needs to change.



I have been sharing in my blog updates about how the battle between life and death has intensified here. We are not elite to the strongholds of the city, but aware, and thus must stand strong. Just opening your eyes in the morning can be a brawl of lies. We have entered into more fights for our unity, more difficulties with sickness and most of all, more struggles in communication. As a result, we have gone deeper into wor*hipping and inter*eding for this city and recognized our authority because of the name of J*sus.



We have one more month here in India . Staying for only two months is actually such a short time, then again, even four months in Tanzania felt short. We will be heading into the Philippines in my next update. I do have a mailing address here. I can send it to you individually, but through a mass email is slightly insecure.

I want to leave you with a beautiful testimony from earlier in this week. G*d has met us in the hospital. Since the first birth attendants came here seven years ago, we have seen his kingdom begin to advance. There is now a new location/building of the hospital-that gives much more space and is just more livable, there are more doctors-whom we have seen relationships increase with, there is newer equipment-that we have seen give much better care since we have been here…

So here is the story from Consuelo. Consuelo was once a student on the school and then returned back to Texas to receive her accreditation as a midwife there. Since the car accident in Nigeria in 2005, Consuelo has committed to see the school rebuild so she is here for our final month in India- teaching us, working with us at the hospital daily.

The Miracle of Life at the Edge of Death

(Consuelo York, midwife serving with the Birth Attendant School , 2 March 2010)

A lady was laboring today. When she was feeling ready to push one of the other tutors saw that the umbilical cord was coming out before the baby’s head. This is a very dangerous, and often life-taking emergency situation. I was called over, as well as the doctor. I arrived first and checked to see if she had opened enough for the baby to be born, and she had. I maneuvered the baby’s head to take pressure off of the pinched cord so she could get the blood she needed to stay alive.

The doctor arrived and told me that they knew that the cord was coming first and that I should just wait. I asked if the baby was still alive. I knew that if she was, the mother had opened enough to deliver quickly to preserve the baby’s life! I knew that delay would certainly mean death. WE checked and found the baby to have a heart beat; so I commenced with assisting this baby to be born safely. The doctor saw that the baby delivered quickly and revived immediately. Resuscitative measures were not even necessary.

As I entered the newborn room a few minutes later to see the baby, I had such joy that G*d’s hand in this child’s life had preserved her to fulfill her destiny. Yet, I was also aware that sadly her mother seemed not to be delighted to have a female child. So, for my pr*yers over this child, I called her Joy. My prayers to G*d for this child were that she would fulfill her destiny as a child of G*d, He delighting in her life being preserved, and asking that He would cause her to be accepted and loved by her family.

tank you (as said in telagu) for reading.
bless you guys.