Thank You

Now that I am back home I am settling into my Montana life. So this blog will no longer be filled with crazy adventures from afar, but I hope to continue to post about the happenings of life's wonderful moments. The main motivation will be to continue to keep my world wide friends updated but everyone is welcome to check in on my humble attempt to share the joys I find in everyday living! Thank you for all your prayers and support during my time in the Philippines and also for joining in on the work of God. Much Love, Kayla

Saying GoodBye

As many of you know I went to the Philippines with Mercy In Action but because their clinic was closed in 2006 I spent the majority of my time serving with Help International Ministries at their Birthing Home, Shiphrah. The fallowing is a letter of my appreciation of this ministry during my time in the Philippines.

The compassionate hearts and loving hands of Help International Ministries are intertwined and encompass both the Shiphrah Birth Center and The Little Children’s Home. Through more than twenty years of service in the Philippines their ministry reaches far beyond these two physical facilities. I have been blessed to spend eight months working and learning along side the women of Shiphrah, including Deborah Gustafson, Jeri Gunderson and five remarkable Filipina midwives. This experience, in so many ways unlike what I had expected, has had an amazing effect on the very foundation of my character and in my life. It will be forever close to my heart and will never be forgotten. As a young adult going into the mission field I could have easy lost my focus and concentrated solely on my academic requirements and fulfilling my expectations. Thankfully my priorities were kept inline by the sincere love, passion, and care that Shiphrah displays to everyone that comes into their arms. Shiphrah’s mission is to share the love and mercy of Christ with impoverished women and their children, both born and unborn, by celebrating the value of their lives and working together to create a healthier, caring community. I am privileged to stand witness to their accomplishments and so much more. Although their focus is on a specific group of women and children, they address their needs in such a sincere and wholehearted way; the results exceed their mission statement.

I came to the Philippines to gain the clinical experience necessary for my education, but am leaving with a heart and head full of life lessons. Life is about the experiences we go through or perhaps more about how we go through them. This is true learning. Watching the Gunderson’s faithful walk with the Lord, even with the passing of Dennis, has encouraged us all to be unwavering in our faith. I am so thankful that the women of Shiphrah taught me more than midwifery, they taught my hands how to serve and my heart how to love consistently and unconditionally. I am excited about the preparation for ministry and the friendships I have established, and know they will provide inspiration in the future. I have the greatest respect for the Gunderson family and the midwives, whom have opened doors for me and so many others. I have never seen a more genuine mission and thank them for furthering the love and kingdom of God.

Should I Go Black?

Ate Helen and I where goofing off and decided to change hair colors. What do you think?

OOCH!

Our great friend Mia got Alex and I gold earring when she went back to Indonesia where she lived as a child. In remembrance of Mia, Alex and I let the midwives pierce our ears so we could where the beautiful gold! I have never had my ear pierced before so I left out the picture of me crying!

Singapore

Alex and I spent the first 10 days of September in Singapore visiting our friend Mia and getting to meet her wonderful parents that let us take over their house for the whole time. Singapore is not even comparable to Manila. The things that shocked us the most was how quite and clean it was. Alex and I got off the plan and started whispering like we were at a funeral or something. After 8 months of craziness we got the fresh air and exercise we much needed! Us girls had a great time just hanging out with each other and relaxing! Oh and I cooked dinner one night which does not happen very often because I am intimidated by the amazing cooking abilities of Lindsey, Alex and Mia. But I do have to say my chicken fajitas marinated in a honey lime sauce and a few other tricks up my sleeve were pretty good!

Babies!

As busy as this month was, there was still babies being born and lots of them. I delivered the smallest baby in Shiphrah history weighing in at just under 4 pounds. It may seem shockingly small and she was, but the mother was small herself only weighing 72pounds at 40 weeks pregnant. At this time I have been to over 90 births and have been the primary midwive under supervision for 33. So that is lots and lots of babies and here are some pics, cute as always.

Monkey Moms

While in Onlongapo we saw real wild monkeys and bats, but the monkeys are my favorite. And being midwives we could not be more excited then seeing one that was pregnant and some of the others where breastfeeding! So cute!

Art Project

So I attempted to do a little art work and not that I want to show the world, but I want to make my mom proud so here you go mom! Me trying to be an extension of you! This is the board that we post our prenatal class schedule on.

Check out www.kelyapgar.com for some real talent, that was not genetically inherited.

Princess Day

The little girls at Shiphrah have stolen my heart and I am going to hate to leave them. Johanna, Michelle and Roanne are the three daughters of three of the midwives. Alex and I being the girly-girls we are could not think of anything more fun then throwing them a Princess Party. So we went all out and had just as much fun as them!

Being a Princess is a hard job!

A week in Olongapo

In the middle of August we headed to Olongapo for a midwifery training course in how to be child birth educators. The training was offered through YWAM and it was so nice to be back with YWAM for that short time. The course was very refreshing and I once again realized my love for teaching which I hope to use in the future. Alex and I spent the week making big plans for all the crazy things we want to do in this life. We got some time and prayer to process through our time in the Philippines. It was a very encouraging time.

If only we could do it all, our hearts go out! Alex and I were so encouraged by all the YWAM base was doing we decided to stay an extra day and dedicate it to ministry. Because the old U.S. military base was in Olongapo there is a lot of prostitution and bar girls still in the area today. YWAM Olongapo offers a two year discipleship program for girls that want to get out of the bars. The give them a place to live and help them to find jobs or return to school. They have rescued girls as young as 14 out of the bars. Spending time with these girls changed my life and hearing there testimonies and love for God inspired me. One night Alex and I went out to the bars to just spend time with the girls and get to know some of them and let them know there is away out if they felt interested.

We played pool and I won both games, with much help from my partner so Alex and J had to crawl under the table. Sorry Alex! We got to talk with a girl that had only been working in the bars for 19 days. Her eyes filled with water as we asked her about her family? where she is from? and basic conversation. She had been sent by her family from a different island way down south to live with her "antie" which basically means her family sold her to a pimp. Although she said she was 20 she looked younger and you could tell she was scared with no one to care for her but another bar girl that was showing her the ropes. We are praying for her and hoping she contacts the YWAM base.

We also went to a home church service on 12th street which is the main squatter area in Olongapo. The base also has an amazing jail ministry. God has opened so many doors in Olongapo and they just need more staff to help out.

Moving On and Plugging Away

Alex and I have a lot in common!

August started with us moving out of our summer home. I think my parents will enjoy the pictures of Alex and I packing compared to Mia's way. Do not be fooled they are both very organized in there own way. Of course we where driving Mia a little crazy thinking we would never be done in time. The next morning at 4am we had to catch the bus to P.G. for a week meeting to finish up some school paper work and because it is on a beautiful island we took some time to vacation! Then we came back to Manila and had to say good bye to Mia. So it was Alex and I left for the month of August and like everyone told us to do we just kept plugging away.

Mia's Things....