I'm here and loving it!!!

Dear Prayer Warriors!
Flight… baggage… and plugged ears… The flight to Davao was fairly painless… I say painless because the day before we took off, I got a ragin’ Sinus infection! As a result my head felt like it was in a torture vise every time we changed altitude! As you can imagine, this happened often with 4 planes to catch! Despite the pain, I was able to rest and we all made it to Davao in record time! We even had goofy, jet lagged smiles when we landed and were greeted by the staff and other students!  

Getting’ tight with my Roomies! My new home here is comfortable but maxed to capacity. I now share my home with 17 others! Yes, you read that right! There are anywhere between 18-21 women in this home at any given time!(There are more because interns come and go!)This makes for interesting shower schedules since you need to shower at least 3 times a day! You do the math!! That equates to lots and lots of showers! Good thing it rains a lot here!  

New Foods- Good Eats! In addition to the Durian (Aka: stinky garlicky, gym-shoe-smelling slime! -Which I love!!!) And the Balut (Aka: partially developed boiled duck egg- which is way good!)I’ve also had the privilege of eating Fresh Buko! (Aka: young coconut!) & drinking the juice! :-)Yummm!  

A new Decade has begun… I spent my Birthday by going to the spa! I got massaged and pampered and loved every minute of it!!! “How old?”, you ask! I’m not sure I can count that high! Let’s just say I still have my teeth but I couldn’t tell you how to facebook to save my life! :-)  

Cultural Perspective: When I tell the Filipinos my age, they all say… “ohhhh… You are old!” Then they ask… “Are you married?” When I say no… they say… “ohhhh………” They get quiet… you can hear crickets chirp and mosquitoes hum. They don’t know what to ask next! I stump them. Being single and “old” makes no sense to the Filipinos. They assume you are not married because no one ever asked… you must be one of those ‘left on the shelf’ ones. I say this with a smile… but It’s getting a bit old. I’m tempted to LIE and tell them I’m even older!! “You want to come here to serve the poor? Don’t. You will burn out. You must come here to serve Christ. He will sustain you with joy and you will never tire of Him."- Mother Theresa Before getting here someone gave me this quote by Mother Theresa. I find myself thinking about this statement a lot. I thought I was coming here to learn midwifery and serve the poor. Now I realize that I’m here to serve Jesus by loving on the poor and studying hard! Having this view makes all the difference.  

BABY UPDATE: I’ve been here just over a week now and I’ve had the privilege of watching five babies come into the world!!! Each one was so unique and amazing! Some were complicated births others were very simple! Women labor here differently. I’ve yet to hear one cry out in pain!!! Can you imagine a labor and delivery unit that is almost completely silent?!! Well, try!:-) That’s what it’s like here. The only crying comes after the birth when the baby says hello!

D-day!

Howdy one and all! D-day has arrived! Please pray for our trip! As we have some seriously harry lay-overs and enough luggage to sink the Titanic!!! Also I'm fighting a nagging cold... (I WILL PREVAIL!!!) Even garlic hasn't killed it outright... it must have some garlic resistant strain or something!!! :-) So far I've only managed to ward off any local vampires and gross out my roommates! :-) good times... good times... ! But my important papers got here on time! Hallelujah! love- SW

Portland Preparations and Parting....

Dear Loved Ones and Prayer Warriors!
I've been in Oregon for a few days now... and I'm loving the weather, the change of scenery, and the COFFEE! :-) This last week I've spent most of my time getting to know my new roomies! I will be spending a lot of time with these ladies for the next two years, so it's important that we have solid relationships! They are all unique and lovely in their own special ways! The first day we went hiking up Mount Neah kah ne it was gorgeous. It is a simple hike along the coast with a spectacular view. I got a nasty blister but it was well worth it! Afterward we roasted hot dogs on the beach and smothered out hands and face in Smores! The water was unbearably cold! There were crazy people swimming in it! I would have died of hypothermic shock had I tried!!! The following day we went to New Song Church which is one of New Life School's greatest supporters. They prayed over us and welcomed us very warmly. Afterward we visited downtown Portland, drove alongside the Columbia River, and hike a mountain to Multanohma Falls. It was so serene and refreshing. Since then we have been resting, repacking and mostly emailing .... and downloading pictures. Enjoy the pictures and let me know how you all are doing.