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....

Godmother Kayla

I am officially the Godmother of baby Lyka. I was the midwife at her birth in March and she was named after me, kind of! Her baptism was last Sunday so I got back down to my Catholic roots and enjoyed it greatly. Mass was held in this beautiful old stone cathedral over looking Antipolo and Tay Tay city. I am now responsible for encouraging Lyka in her faith and buying Christmas presents!

After the ceremony we went out to eat at a very authentic Filipino restaurant "Jollibee". We started with rice and chicken with a drink. Then the Asawa (husband) Larry ordered us each a sundae and fries, then another drink, then a hamburger and drink to go. I stopped after the sundae! The funny part was them all looking towards me as to weather or not to use the silverware or just dig in with their fingers. Knowing they would be more comfortable using their fingers I set my silverware aside. I still confused them greatly and they were sure something was wrong with me because I am so very much left handed. I enjoyed the family fun and laughing around a big table and feel very blessed to be a part of this special time.

The Little Children's Home

TLC Home is an orphanage that is under the same ministry as the birth center. For me spending time there is dangerous, I fall in Love! They currently have 13 children waiting for adoption. I love holding the little ones and sometimes would love to ditch the birth center to spend more time with them. Even when they burp up all over you, like Kesha who quickly became my favorite! She won me over when I got her to take her nap with me. She loves being held and gets upset when you put her down. Kind of needy, I have heard rumours that I was like that as a baby.... We bonded.

The Joys Of Travel

I have spent too much of my free time lately on hold with the airlines listening to "I Can Fly" on repete, only to be interrupted by a lovely voice reminding me that someone will be with me shortly and my call is very important to them. The whole time all I'm thinking is CAN I FLY????? Alex and I are attempting to change our tickets to get home. We originally bought our tickets for one year out so we could change them at a later date. That later date is quickly approaching and we are trying to get tickets for September 14th. We arrive back from Singapore on the 13th and want one day to collect ourselves before making the journey home. So now Alex and I are in a battle, all flights are booked full from the 14th to the 21st. We are on a waiting list but are not allowed to know how long the waiting list is. I guess they fear we may find the people in front of us and "fix" the problem, tempting at this point.... tempting! In the mean time we have to call back everyday to renew our request and see if any changes have occurred. Let's get specific. We are praying for the 6:30am flight out of Manila on September 14th with no extra fees or taxes. If you want to add first class we will not complain! I just have to keep laughing through this all. So here are some aids to help you do the same!

Prayers For Penatals

At Shiphrah Birth Center we have three prenatal check up days a week with each day bring over 50 women to the clinic. The day starts at 8:30am with a Bible study then we move on to exercise, teachings and prenatal check ups. I usually see 8-12 women each day and this has become one of my greatest areas of ministry. I love getting to learn more about the women and see them as they go through the pregnancy. This is the time when I really get to meet the needs for those around me by doing more then buying their vitamines or few check ups. Many of the women come from the poorest of the poor. Some are living in homes for unwed mothers, we see many scared teenage girls as young as 15, and because our mission also runs a baby home next door we see women who have decided to give their babies up for adoption. Sometimes these issues seem so overwhelming to me and I am not sure how to relate to the women. So I pray. It is such a blessing to pray with them and for them. In a culture that is so focused on shaming someone who does something wrong, prayer to make them feel loved opens their hearts. I am seeing women and girls who's lives have come from such a different place then mine, but I have found a common ground in prayer and needing the love of God. I ask that you will join me in prayer for these strong and beautiful women.

Baby Holding, My Antidrug!

Some days you get so caught up in all the work the newborn exam and postpartum and is the baby breastfeeding, has the baby been given a bath yet and all the medical stuff that you forget to just hold the baby. Then life gets stressful and you remind yourself "I need some baby holding time". So that is what I do I go kidnap a baby from a very tiered mom and realize that life is amazing once again.

Take A Test

So my roomies and I were wasting some time on our Sunday afternoon taking tests on www.blogthings.com. You would have known my results because I almost had a lapse of judgement and posted them for you on my blog like the web sights encourages you to do. So you could have found out that; I have an amazing personality, should be a nurse or teacher or that I am going to be a cool parent and my power animal is apparently a deer? But then I decided that was putting myself out there a little too much. Basically it comes down to the fact that people want to take their own test they don't so much care that you are likely to live to be 100 or that you should paint your toes pink! So if you have a little time and want some reassurance that you have a winning personality and life will go amazing for you as long as your character always matches up to an apple pie, do some quizzes and feel good about how normal you are.