Namaste from India!

I arrived in India this last Monday at about mid-afternoon to this familiar land of spice, smells, beautiful fabrics and of course the pollution. It is still the same India as when I left it almost 7 years ago. Everything here in Hyderabad is very similar to all that I experienced in New Dehli and northern India. The food is sometimes just a little bit different... still good and spicy of course.
Leaving Tanzania was very difficult. As I have said in most all of my past postings before, Africa has become my home and because of that my heart is still there. The question that I have been asking myself constantly is how do you move forward when your heart has been left behind? I love India and I know that what God placed in my heart 7 years ago is still somewhere in there, but my biggest fear is that I will invest again so much into this place and the people that I will be just as devastated to leave India as I am to have left East Africa.
I was talking with Beth today about my feelings of being back here and decided that it is like seeing an old boyfriend who still wants me back and wants me to love him just as much as I had before, but I have moved on and my heart has been given to someone else. That is how I feel here. It is strange and uncomfortable to be honest. I know that there is a lot for me here and a lot that God wants to show me here in the next two months, but I can't help to think about Africa and when I can get back. I need to focus on this time that I have here so that I don't miss what God wants to teach me, so please pray that God can steady my heart.
I am working on a recap of my time in Tanzania for you all. I have been processing the last 6 months and will post my thoughts and highlights for you within the next week. I will include pictures of the babies delivered, my Tanzanian family and friends, and also my mom's time here when she came to visit at the beginning of the month.
This week, Sarah and Rachel our staff have been working on getting permission for us to work in the hospital here and they think that we will be able to get a tour of the hospital on Monday and then begin our work on Tuesday. Our days will be longer in the hospital here than they were at Temeke, so I ask that you would pray that we would have the strength and the perseverance to make it through each day and the next 2 months with the heavier schedule. It will be great though to have more hospital time. It means more training time and hopefully opportunity to deliver lots of babies!
Working in the labour ward is where it is at! I feel like delivering babies is my new addiction. It is almost like a drug! Powerful stuff happens during the first moments of birth! Seeing the breath of life coming into a little person is incredible. And when there is a baby that needs extra help, that is when I cling hard to the power of prayer and am able to witness even more miracles. My name is Rachel and I am an addict.
Thank you for all of your prayers. Many blessings to you all!

It's just a little thunder...

Wednesday was a big day. I did two deliveries at Temeke. The first was a little girl born at 10:17am weighing 2.7kg. I named her Rachel Joy. She was beautiful just like her mommy. There were signs of fetal distress so Joy (my partner for the day) and I began to pray over the mom and the baby. Prayer is powerful and much needed in the hospital when we are there. So far since being in Tanzania I have delivered two babies to moms who have had FGM. This mom was to the greatest degree i have seen yet. All external genitalia was absent. It made her delivery difficult as she wasn't able to naturally stretch the way she should have and as a result had some pretty bad tearing, but she was a trooper and got through it all most of the time with a smile. She was amazing. Such a light.

The next little one came at 12:45pm. A little boy weighing 2.25kg and just perfect. The delivery went well with no major complications, birth trauma or fetal distress. This mom too was so incredible. Both mom's were so much fun to work with on Wednesday. As soon as she was done being sutured she was ready to leave. Our staff Rachel told me that they saw her later as we were leaving buying a soda across the street from the hospital! Insane! Anyways, I was able to transfer both mom's and babies to postnatal and they ended up being on postnatal beds right next to each other. When I went in later to check on both moms they were laughing and admiring their babies together. It was pretty awesome! I will most likely visit both of them before leaving the country on March 20th.

Wednesday night we had Joel and Stella over for the late afternoon and evening for dinner. They are two friends from Mwandege and it was nice being able to spend time with both of them. More so Stella, because we rarely see her now that we are living in a different location. Joel we have seen almost every weekend since leaving the base. Anyways about 40 minutes or so after they left we heard what sounded like thunder. I thought it was fireworks in celebration of Muhammed's birthday. Jen came into our room thinking it was thunder and was scared. I just reassured her by saying, "don't worry it's just a little thunder." Shortly after saying that to her, Joel called us in a panic asking if we were okay. I said yes and then our phones cut out. He called again and said that there were bombs going off in the city around us. What?! He then advised us to turn off our cell phones and lights thinking that it could be an attack. I handed the phone to Beth and ran down the hall to start knocking on doors and telling them to do just as he said. Orlando ran outside and then quickly came running back ushering us to come quickly outside to see the explosions. We all got outside and brothers from the Friary came over to us telling us what they had heard on the radio of what was happening. An armoury near the airport which is about 10km away from where we are caught fire and bombs and ammunition within the compound were exploding. We were advised to stay outside our house in the event that any of the bombs or debris came our way we would be able to have a better chance of getting out of the way. We waited what seemed like at least an hour before we were told it was safe to get back inside. Our biggest concern was for the safety of the people that we know and being unsure of where they were and unable to get hold of them. By morning we were able to hear from everyone that we knew in the area and heard of their safety which was a relief. Anyways, long story short we are all safe. BBC Africa has a report of the accident if you want to know more.

We still decided to go to Temeke yesterday despite the risk of being surrounded by chaos at the hospital. We went not having any idea of what to expect, but once we got there into the labour ward all was calm (well for women labouring). Thursday seemed just like another typical day in the labour room. All of us apart from one delivered a baby today. I delivered another baby boy. Aaron, weighing 2.4kg and just perfect. After delivery I was waiting for the placenta to show signs of separation. I was getting concerned about her and the risk of her having a retained placenta, but finally after about 25 minutes the placenta delivered and she was fine.

Today I went to Temeke Hospital for what I think is my last time in the labour ward. It was a really busy day, but it was a really good day. All of us had a delivery and a couple of us I think did two. We made it to a BAS milestone today... 3,000 babies delivered since the founding of the BAS. Actually, 3,001 at the end of the day today. It was the first time that I have done a delivery for a mom who is HIV positive. I was monitoring a mom all morning and at about 1:30 Bek called for someone to do a delivery. I was sure that the woman I was watching wasn't going to deliver anytime soon, so I went ahead and went to go do the delivery. The baby came within 15 minutes and she was a beautiful little girl. She weighed 3.0kg and Celia and I named her Elena. Anyways, when I was filling out her paperwork that is when I discovered that she was HIV positive. No worries though. Universal precautions were taken all throughout the delivery and after as well. Anyways, she was such a beautiful woman and after this week I have decided that this was by far my favorite week in the labour room. Every woman that I was taking care of was amazing. They were all so happy and were a joy to take care of throughout their labouring experience. I will post a picture of Elena tomorrow and you will be taken by her beauty just like I was today!

Of course I will continue posting more updates and photos throughout the next couple of weeks and before leaving Tanzania I will post some pictures summarizing my time here.

Thank you yet again for all of your prayers and support. I am beyond grateful for all that you have made sacrifices for me to be here serving the kingdom of God.

A piece of home is coming to me...

Three weeks until my mom comes to Tanzania to see me and I couldn't be more excited! I honestly don't know if I would have made it this long in the school if I didn't have the guarantee of her coming. I am becoming weary. Emotionally, physically and even spiritually I am starting to weaken and I am in need of prayer. My time with my mom will be a time of much needed processing and rest. We are planning on going on a safari and spending a couple of days in Zanzibar which I am really looking forward to! Of course I plan on showing her around the hospital where I work, the clinic, and places that I have been over the course of the last 5 months. The countdown has begun!

We have only another month here in Tanzania and then we are off to India or Bangladesh for two more months. I am looking forward to being back in India, a country that is close to my heart, but will be sad to leave this land. A land that I would love to one day call home. More than that is the people that I am leaving behind. I have made amazing friends here in Mwandege and in the hospital and to part from them will be something that I know will be very difficult. One man in particular I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to. It will be hard, but I have the hope that I will return soon and see all of these people again.

Last week I was in ICU and made a new friend. She was a patient who had been there since the 1st of February. She was referred to Temeke from her local clinic because she had profuse bleeding. She was 7 1/2 months pregnant at the time and the doctors diagnosed her as having abruptio placentae. She was transferred to ICU and labour was induced. From the time she was referred to Temeke to the time she was transferred to ICU she had lost more than 1000mls of blood. She ended up having 4 units of blood transfused, three of which after delivery. Insane! She delivered a stillborn girl weighing 1.8kg. The mama spoke very good english so I was able to communicate pretty well with her and ended up being able to set up a time to visit with her this week to make sure she is still doing okay. Please pray for her. This was her and her husband's first baby. She still has severe anaemia as well so pray for a healing as well.

Our schedule is pretty crazy and I haven't been dedicated in giving you updates like I should and for that I am very sorry. I will send an email update to my supporters in the next couple of days with a few attached pictures as well. I will also post more pictures on my blog either mid-week, at the end of the week, or both if I can.

Many blessings and Happy Valentine's Day too!

For they are fearfully and wonderfully made...

So far, I have delivered 6 babies at Temeke hospital. I have loved every moment of working in the labour ward. That is where I feel most at home here. Being with the woman as support while labouring is an amazing honour. I feel blessed to be a part of each one of these women and new babies lives. There is an indescribable feeling that I have with each delivery. What a gift to be the first to touch these little lives!

Starting with the most recent deliveries.

This is baby Isaiah. He was born 1/21/2011 at 10:46am weighing 3.5kg. When we arrived that morning, no one knew how the mama had arrived in the labour ward and her information couldn't be found. I did a VE and found that she was fully effaced and dilated. Next thing I knew the baby's head was crowning and I frantically started putting my gloves on, but the baby was coming so quickly that Rachel V had to put her hand in there to support the head. Isaiah was born with a nucal hand and the cord wrapped around his torso. 20 minutes after giving oxytocin the placenta was not delivering. We gave her another 10iu, but still no placenta. It was obvious that the only option was to remove it manually. We didn't have any long gloves for the removal so the nurse made a make-shift long glove out of 2 gloves and removed the placenta. During her delivery mama lost a lot of blood. She had definite signs of PPH. I continued monitoring her throughout the rest of the day and made sure she was drinking a lot of fluids. Due to the lack of supplies at the hospital we were unable to get an IV drip into her which would have been a more effective way of managing her PPH. By the time that I left she seemed to be doing a lot better. I made sure that one of the more trusted nurses kept an eye on her and continued to monitor her while I was gone.

Below: Baby Jacob. Born 1/19/2011 at 11:07am weighing 3.2kg. There were signs of fetal distress with him, so we prayed for a quick delivery. After his birth, he had a slight temperature so I continued to monitor him and his mama and by the time that we left for the day he seemed to be doing a lot better.

Hannah Grace! Born 1/18/2011 at 11:19am weighing 3.4kg. As she was making her way into the world I noticed that her little hand was nestled next to her face. I was able to hold her hand tightly to her face to prevent any tearing and also slip the cord that was wrapped around her neck over her shoulder nicely. Bek and I did the delivery together which was really exciting.
Beth and I were able to assist in a C/S together. I think it was the first day we worked together in the hospital since we have been in Tanzania. We named the baby girl Esther Faith. I call her the cabbage patch doll. She was a chunk! Adorable!
Gauis named after Gaius whom John addresses in the book of 3 John. Testified of his faithfulness to the truth. I felt this little one would grow to be a man who walks in truth. Born 3/12/2010 at 12:03pm weighing 3.4kg.
Little Emma. Born 2/12/2010. She was precious with her little ear flapped hat. Born at 11:25am weighing 2.7kg.
This is me with Mama and baby Dale. Named in memory of my grandfather, Dale was born 1/12/2010 at 10:39am. Wt. 2.75kg

Continue to pray for me and the team. Heartache continues as we experience trauma and tragedy on a weekly basis.

Malaria, Moving, and goodbye Mwandege...

Okay. So I know that it has been a good while since you all have heard something from me about what is happening here in Tanzania. For that I am sorry. This last month has been pretty crazy. Beth and I started out celebrating the New Year with a mass crowd of Tanzanians. We went to an overnight prayer and worship celebration at the Uhuru National Stadium with some of the people from the base. We were the only white people there! It was pretty incredible, but I have to admit that both of us couldn't make it through the entire night and fell asleep at different points during the night. Since then, as a team we have been taking a lot of time focusing on team unity. We have really enjoyed the new staff that arrived last month and I cannot believe the change in dynamics that they alone brought to our team. Bek, Sarah, Rachel and Menno are amazing. They are servant-hearted, gracious, and a lot of fun. I have really enjoyed Bek being here. She is pretty wonderful! She is from Seattle too and her sister Molly and I did our SBS (School of Biblical Studies) together in 2005. She has similar humor as her sister, so I am enjoying the jokes and laughter. Last week, I started to feel really tired and weak. I went to the clinic on base and it turns out I had malaria! Just a small little case. Nothing major. I was given some medication and was feeling back to normal within a couple of days. The worst part of having malaria though, was finding out the news that the team is moving to another location for the remainder of the time in Africa. Oh, and not that we are moving, but we are moving in the matter of 3 days! By the grace of God I was able to pack up my things and managed to get enough rest to recover from malaria. The decision to move was one that the staff took very seriously. Several of us had built very strong relationships with the staff and families on base as well as people in the village, so the idea of leaving was very painful and difficult for us. I was one of those people that had a hard time adjusting to the idea, rather the fact that we would be leaving people that I loved behind to move in order to accommodate for the external needs of the team. In the end, I did have a lot of peace about the decision and know that it was a necessary change made to help us move forward in positivity and unity. It is closer to the hospital that we work at, we have air conditioned rooms with our own bathroom, and personally I have one of the best roommates out there...Bethany. A big thank you to the staff for working so hard to find a beautiful place for us to live. So we are moved and settling in. We have had some opportunity to explore our surroundings. We are living in a Catholic Monastery and what seems like a mini walled city. This is what I have found so far, a dispensary, an orphanage, a nunnery, a somewhat cryptic cemetery, a church, and 3 canteens. It is pretty cool. I have more to explore though.
Today I delivered another baby! It's a girl! Hannah. She was born at 11:19am weighing 3.4kg and was perfect. At least I think so. It was a pretty smooth delivery. Her mum did great! Her name is Aisha and she is 16 years old. Hannah is her first baby and Aisha was able to take her time in pushing so there was only mild grazing. An answer to prayers. Bek assisted me. She was speaking praise to Jesus over the mum and the mum repeated the praise at different points of her delivery. It was really uplifting. Glory to God for a healthy mum and baby!
Ok that is all for now. Internet time has run out. I will be posting pictures for you all tomorrow! Many blessings!

Sorry just a quick hello. I am doing well and will post some pictures and updates tomorrow. We were in the process of moving last week to a new location for the remainder of outreach, so it has been pretty stressful to say the least. We have been pretty busy. I will be posting updates tomorrow after coming home from the hospital.
Much love.

Hello 2011!

Our new staff are here! Last week three new staff arrived from Perth to take the place of the staff who have been here with us for the last 3 months. It was a pretty smooth transition. With the new staff came a burst of energy and joy that has begun to revive us all. Thank you Jesus.
So we are into the new year. I am not one to make the 'new year's resolutions' that most everyone makes and then forget about come February, but I have decided that there are some commitments that I need to make to myself and to God for 2011. I am still working on that list of commitments, but the main one is that I desperately need to finish nursing school. Africa is calling me for good and the sooner I complete my studies the sooner I can come and be in a land I have come to call another home.
Work in the hospital has resumed. This week we have seen 10 deliveries in the hospital so far. Yesterday, I spent the day in the ANC and Postnatal ward and was partnered with Bethany. I love her by the way. Anyways, at one point I needed to take 5 women for ultra-sounds. Out of those 5 women, 3 had live single pregnancies, 1 had live twins, and one was 29 wks and had an IUFD. I took the women back to the ANC ward and the doctor reported the news of each ultra-sound to each of the women. My heart continues to break when I think of the look on the woman's face as she was told the news of her infant's death. After the experience though I had even more of a respect for that doctor. He took her hands into his, looked into her eyes and explained the situation. I have been struggling to get that look on her face out of my mind. It has almost been haunting. Her face turned from excitement to complete torment. Two others from my team and I were able to pray with her. I pray now that God shows himself more than ever to her and that she can see His heart even in the midst of personal tragedy.
You can't escape some things here like you can in the states. Death is almost unavoidable. When you work in a hospital like the ones here that have a lack of resources and supplies, it seems inevitable that you will encounter it everyday if not at least once a week. Processing death, especially infant death is difficult and seeing God in all of it is sometimes impossible. The fact is that no matter how impossible it seems, God is here. He is in the smiles of the women who hear their baby's first cry or lay their eyes on them for the first time. He is in the hands of skilled surgeons who make sure that they do their very best at keeping both mother and baby alive during risky cesarean sections. He is in the comforting embrace of a doctor who is giving the mother the news of the death of her infant. He is here. I just have to keep my eyes open.
Please pray life over Temeke hospital. Please pray for the doctors and nurses. PRAY FOR MORE SUPPLIES!!! They are in desperate need for even the most basic of supplies. Pray for blood. They are out of their supply.