Obadiah and terminated pregnancies...

Yesterday in labour a little girl was born at 20 wks. She was a terminated pregnancy and although the nurse and doctors pronounced her dead and unable to be revived she was indeed alive breathing and having a stable heart beat. Her pulse was 76bpm, but life was still present nonetheless. The pregnancy was terminated due to signs of pre-eclampsia, but I don't think that was the real reason. Anyways, when I arrived in the labour room yesterday morning I asked of her case and was informed of the situation. She had been prepped for termination in the labour room which is routine and then usually the women are taken to another ward and the rest of the procedure is carried out there. It wasn't until Rachel our staff started to firmly tell the sea of nursing students that were there with us to part and move out of the way that I knew what was happening. The baby had delivered on its own and the nursing students were just standing not really knowing what to do or how to respond. I left the woman I was monitoring and quickly followed after Rach to assist her. She tore the membranes open and baby Alice Mariah took her first breath. We instantly started praying over her and expressing how beautiful and perfect she was. She was created in the image of God. After she was separated from her mum, I took her to the baby room weighed her (450g) and then immediately put her under oxygen. The staff constantly were expressing to us why bother fighting for the life, because she wasn't going to survive anyways. We (Lindsay and I) expressed to the nursing students that no matter what they are taught one of the most important things to remember is to value life and to give the best care to each and every patient, even when others say its a waste of time or there is no use. One of the nurses came in and asked, "Is she dead? Why are you giving oxygen? She wont live." I responded, "Yes maybe so, but she is alive now." She turned out the door and was laughing. I heard her talking to the other nurses in the hall in Hindi and laughing. I got pretty furious and although I should have remained where I was I went out after her asking why she was laughing. A dying baby is nothing to laugh about and I thought they should try to remember why they got into the profession they are in in the first place. The nurse was shocked, probably because I was out of line and addressing someone who was of higher authority than me, but she quickly tried to cover her actions and apologized saying she wasn't laughing at us. Anyways, I returned and Lindsay and I continued to express that the baby was alive and needed to be transferred. About a half an hour later she was tranferred to NICU. She wasn't expected to live more than a couple hours, but Lindsay and I walked away from the situation satisfied with how we handled the situation. We did the best we could for her and gave her the love and care she deserved. It hopefully showed the staff of the hospital a higher standard of care that each and everyone of their patients deserves no matter what the prognosis. While caring for her and giving her oxygen she grasped my finger. It was so precious I had Lindsay take a picture of her little hand. We took footprints to remember her as well. They are so tiny, but so perfect.
Today, I did a delivery that was a case of IUD, but within the woman's chart was a signed consent form of pregnancy termination. The baby had supposedly died on the 11th and in order to induce labour the form had to be signed. Anyways, the baby came breech at 26 weeks with hydrocephalus. It was a hard delivery, but I got through it. I have an incredible team and the women on my school who were with me today in the labour room were incredibly supportive and encouraging. The head was difficult to deliver so two doctors had to assist me in the delivery. He finally came, but before he delivered I got the name Obadiah, which means God's worker. He weighed 1.25kgs and delivered at 11am. Precious in the site of Jesus. To be sensitive towards that infant and his family I did not take a photograph with him, but I did take footprints and hand prints from him so that I had something to remember him by. They are pretty beautiful.

Lindsay and Rachel

On April 11th, two beautiful girls were introduced to this world. The first, Lindsay was delivered by the DMO working in the labour ward with us that day at 12:22pm weighing 2.8kgs and the second, Rachel was delivered by myself at 12:35 weighing 2.5kgs. They were beautiful. They were transferred shortly after their birth to NICU due to some issues with both of their right legs. Lindsay seemed to have something resembling talipes and Rachel had a hyperextension of her leg. I made sure to pray acceptance of both the little girls by their families, because they truely are precious and deserve all the love of their parents.

Baby Catie LuLu and other happenings in Hyderabad...

Baby Catie was born on April 4, 2011 at 11:15am weighing 2.75kg. She is her mommy's first child. When the sex was revealed to the mom, she didn't seem very happy. Women want boys, or rather it is really their husbands that want the boys. After a little while though my excitement for Catie being born rubbed off on mom and she seemed happy to embrace her new role as mother.
This is a highly male driven society. Women are a caste of their own. It is highly infuriating to daily feel like an object, something to be had by men here. I don't care what people say about the people being beautiful, that is obvious they are very beautiful, but there is a great ugliness that lay in the eyes of the men that I pass by on the street who make me feel as if my skin is bare and naked before them. To be honest I am really tired of men staring at me. I have been living with it for the past 7 months and to think I need to live with it another month and a half makes me a little angry and also saddened, mainly because there is nothing that I can do to change the situation apart from turn my head and walk the other way. Ignoring it all doesn't make it ever go away, but it helps you get through the rest of the day.
I am just now starting to adjust to the fact that I have just under two more months left of this school. I am starting to grow tired and weary of community living and just want the comforts of my own room/apartment. I love the people on my school and enjoy sharing in this journey with them, but I would put money on the fact that they are probably feeling the exact same way and that is okay.
I have decided to make the most of my time in Hyderabad. Great idea, right? Well this weekend was a pretty good weekend. Friday night started the out well with pizza. Joy, Amy, Beth, Louise and I all went out in search of this supposed pizza joint that has free wireless. It turned out to be a really good place to go for pizza, but no wireless was to be found. Yesterday, several of us made our way to the mall in Banjara Hills and spent the day shopping and lusting after things we could never be able to buy in fear of how we would feel as soon as we walk out the building and are forced to look at the poverty that smacks us in the face. It is a strange contrast between the poor and the rich. It doesn't seem like there are any inbetweeners here. You are either rich or you are poor. Anyways, after the mall Bethany and I decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe Hyderabad. Amazing! I felt like I was back in the land of the free and home of the brave! We shared a pitcher of coca cola, a plate of nachos, a delicious 10 oz. beef burger and dessert all for about $25. It was awesome. We ended up staying in the restaraunt for at least a couple of hours talking and discussing our fears and also our hopes for the future. It was a really good time.
This morning Beth, Orlando and I went to church together in Banjara Hills. Amazing. Africans. That's right people there were Africans there. It made my heart skip a beat several times. After the service we were able to talk to a man from Nigeria and found out that there is a pretty good size community of Africans living here in the city. They come from places like Nigeria, Sudan, Chad, Camaroon and a couple other countries. It made me happy. A incredibly diverse congregation. People from India, Korea, France, Brazil, Canada, United States, Camaroon, Sudan, Nigeria, and I am sure many other countries. Great worship and a good spoken word Beth and I have decided to make it our home church here in Hyderabad. Exciting.
Well that's all for now. More to come.

The work has begun...

We started working in the Government Maternity Hospital this week and it is nothing less than overwhelming to be in a new environment surrounded by people who nod their heads no, all the while meaning yes. The confusion has set in. I thought that I would be able to adapt more quickly since I have been to India before, but sadly it is of no advantage.
The hospital is a culture in and of itself and adjusting to life in India is one thing, but adjusting to the hospital and life in India at the same time there just are not words to express what I think about that apart from... shit.
This week we are just trying to settle into the hospital and familiarize ourselves with where everything is located and getting to know the staff. Our main priority is building relationship and trust with the doctors so that we can start doing deliveries and practice the skills we have been already putting into practice the last 4+ months in Tanzania.
I am still just trying to process my time in Africa. The transition to one culture to an entirely different culture in such a short time is almost impossible to deal with emotionally.
God give me a heart to be here, because right now my heart is somewhere else.

Highlights of Africa

Looking back I have decided that there are three distinct highlights of my time in Africa.
1. Delivering my first baby. Baby Dale was born on December 1, 2010. There has been nothing like that feeling of touching that first baby and helping him into the world. You sense and experience firsthand the fragility of life. You see the breath of life as the infant takes its first gasp of air and you are in awe that you were a part of that moment. It is really a feeling that cannot be described in words, because none can really capture the beauty of the experience. Baby Dale is a miracle and an amazing gift not only to his family, but to me too. He was named in memory of my grandfather who died December 1, 2008.

2. Kenya. I was blessed to be able to go to Kenya for 4 days to do ministry and also to get visas for the Bangladesh team approved at the embassy in Nairobi. While Bek and Liz were at the Bangladesh embassy for the majority of the trip, Emily and I were able to do some teachings and ministry in several of the slums. The first day of ministry/teaching we were able to share about nutrition during pregnancy with about 25 women and then after that teaching we prayed for the women and then began a second teaching with the traditional birth attendants from the slum on Using Aseptic Technique during birth. It was a powerful experience. To be in a room with women who had years and years of experience in what may seem to you and I like impossible conditions for a woman to labour in was amazing. I literally felt like I was in a room full of legends. An amazing honour for both Emily and I. After the teachings Jannekah (our hostess while in Kenya) was explaining to one of the birth attendants and a local pastors about how I have a heart for Kenya and would one day like to end up there. The birth attendant responded by saying something along the lines of "why doesn't she just stay now?" In that moment I remember my heart felt as if it was going to leap out of my chest. Being in the slums and in Nairobi in general felt as if I really were home and as if I was meant to be there my whole life. To ever leave once arriving seemed as if I were to abandon my true love. I mentioned many times how I felt like Africa had become my home, but I didn't fully realize what that meant until I crossed the border from Tanzania into Kenyan land. I knew that is where my heart was. That is where my heart will always be.

3. Momma comes to Tanzania! My whole world changed when I found out that my mom was coming to Africa. I think it was in December when my mom called me and told me that she was definitely coming to Africa. At that point she hadn't even told my dad. There had been talk about her coming, but after communicating through email earlier with my school leader, she didn't feel that my schedule was going to allow for her to be there and be able to see me much. I don't know what changed her mind, but she just knew she had to come to get at least a small glimpse into what my life in Tanzania was like. I remember that when she had called to tell me it was a moment in outreach when I was seriously considering giving up. It was hard and our team was not in a good place, so with my mom coming it was really the only thing at the time (besides my commitment to what God had called me to) that was going to keep me in Tanzania. It was amazing. We worked it out where she could come during the second to last week while I was there, because my schedule wasn't as busy and we would be approaching debriefing week.
I went to the airport with Bethany to pick her up and even as she came out of the arrival doors I couldn't believe she was there in Africa... with me! We did a lot while she was there and I am sure both of us were exhausted at the end. The second day she was there she went to the hospital with me. That was pretty overwhelming and difficult for her I think. She saw two deliveries happening at the same time, she witnessed a delivery happen outside the labour ward in a bajaj that a couple of us ran to during our lunch break (definitely not an everyday occurrence), and the best part was she was able to love on some babies.
We then went on a safari in the Selous National Park. Amazing time. Although for me it was a little uncomfortable to be a tourist at the beginning. We stayed at a camp nearby the entry to the National park. The camp was right on the river and during the day we could hear and sometimes see hippos out lounging and playing in the water. It was pretty awesome. We went on a boating safari almost as soon as we arrived at camp where we saw hippos, crocodiles, monkeys and some really cool birds. The next day we went in the truck through the national park and saw all of the big animals, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, more hippos, a large pride of lions, impalas, and a lot of other animals. The best part was seeing the elephants and two elephants with a newborn in the middle of them. The baby was 4 days old and was all trunk, tripping over itself. It was adorable. The third and final day we went on a walking safari early in the morning. Highlight of the whole trip was coming face to face with a wild African elephant on the path that we had just walked on moments earlier. We were maybe at most 30 feet from the elephant. It was the greatest!
Besides the safari, I was able to take my mom to Zanzibar for a couple of days. It was pretty magical. We stayed at Sea Cliff Zanzibar (look it up) and were two of maybe 16 guests in the whole complex. We spent the whole time lounging, relaxing and being fed amazing food that easily could have cost us hundreds of dollars in the states and it was all inclusive. Ah, take me back please.
Anyways, those were definitely my top three highlights of Africa. I hope you enjoyed. I have plenty of more highlights and pictures to share! As soon as I get home I will be more than happy and willing to show you all the pictures and tell of the stories behind them.

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.