It’s hard to believe that month one of the race is almost over! It has been a short, but extremely good month here in Manila and God is definitely working in the hearts of a lot of our squad mates, as well as in the hearts of the Filipinos.
This month, all of V squad has been living together at Kids International Ministries. There are several different facets to the organization, but what basically happens is that each team goes its separate way to do a ministry during the day, and then we all come together at night for dinner and squad bonding. Like I said, its been a good month. Many people on our squad have formed relationships with kids while working at the children’s home or while tutoring at the school. Others of us have formed life impacting relationships when we go feed people who can’t afford the nutrition they need to survive. For me, my biggest moments of impact have happened because of the maternity clinic.
Alana and I had the opportunity to go to the clinic a few times to be the midwives assistants for a few hours. Everyday, we saw about 30 pregnant women, making the total number of patients that come on a weekly basis somewhere around 90! We spent all morning weighing women, finding fetal heartbeats, and giving them the prenatal vitamins they need in order to have a healthy pregnancy, and ultimately, improve the chances of their baby being born healthy. Several of the women that we waited on were at least nine months pregnant, so we asked that if any go into labor while we were here, that they call us so that we can be present for the birth. Little did we know that the next morning, one of the women went into labor!
It was about 8:15 in the morning when someone came up on the balcony and yelled to me that I was being looked for because someone had gone into labor. I was driven to the outside of the village where the woman was laboring, but from there we had to walk to the home because there were only tiny pathways from house to house, not nearly big enough to drive an SUV on. We were unsure of exactly where the house was, and no one in the community knew of anyone that was in labor, so it took us about 20 minutes to find the house where the woman was. She was giving birth at a friends house because her friend had a nicer home that she did. We learned that her home had dirt floors, and that the midwives decided that it was safer for the mother to have the baby somewhere other than at home.
Johnna and Alana were already there, and we made it just in time to help out a little before she delivered. Alana was able to feel the head of the baby while he was still inside, and my left hand became the squeezing apparatus while my right hand was in charge of using the hand held fetal heart monitors that we use at the clinic. We encouraged the mom, and monitored the baby’s heartbeat regularly for the next half an hour until it was time for the baby to be born. Despite the fact that women here give birth with absolutely no medication, they are instructed not to scream, because the houses are literally built stuck to one another, and it is considered a disturbance to the neighbors if a woman makes too much noise during labor and birth. Its amazing how this concept is driven into the minds of the women here. The woman that we were working with did just that, and with a few silent pushes, a precious little boy entered the world. Alana got go cut the cord, and after drying him off a bit, he was given to us and we gave him his first bath before taking him back to his mom.
What amazed us the most was how different births in The Philippines are compared to births in the States. Obviously, the majority of the differences are because of money and the access to hospitals and healthcare, but in many ways, this birth was far less stressful and much more peaceful than any birthing experience I have been exposed to in the states. The environment was so calm and welcoming, and after the delivery and a routine bath, suctioning and a couple of shots, the baby was right back in the arms of his mother where he belongs, not whisped away by doctors into another hospital room.
Overall, it was such an amazing experience to be able to help this woman welcome her baby into the world. It was something that I had prayed would happen on the race, and it was such a blessing for it to happen just a little over a week into our time on the field. It is definitely something I will not soon forget!
