Rules of the Wild.

"I thought, if you are really going to live in Africa, you have to be able to look at it and say, this is the way of love, down this road: look at it hard; this is where it's going to lead you. I think you will know what I mean if I tell you love is worth nothing until it's tested by its own defeat. I felt I was being asked to love without being afraid of the consequences. I realized that love, even if it ends in defeat, gives you a kind of honor; but without love, you have no honor at all." -Rian Malan

Charminar #2

During our last visit to Charminar...


Fruit Stand Man.

Mother and Daughter.

Hello again Perth...

I have arrived safely back in Perth. I will be here for a week before returning home to the states. Over the course of the next couple of days I will post pictures and a recap of our time in India.
Prayer request... I am still in need of a flight from LA to Seattle for June 3rd. Please pray that the finances come through and I am able to book the flight home before I leave Perth. I will also be needing some extra financial support for the first week of being home as I adjust to life there, process through difficult events that have occurred over this past year, and look for a job. If you feel led to give in any way I have provided information below. Thank you.
Thank you to all of the amazing supporters who have given not just financially but also through prayer over the last 11 months. I honestly couldn't have done it without you. May the Lord richly bless you! I am honored to have been able to serve Him in such an amazing way. Your gifts have helped do an amazing work.
To the BAS ladies... you are all amazing and brilliant midwives. I have been blessed to have spent this last year with you. I couldn't have asked for a better team to have been a part of.

To donate financially you may send donations to:
Stanwood Foursquare Church
PO Box 183
Stanwood, WA 98292

Please include in the memo line of your check Rachel Hayes- BAS to ensure the funds are transferred to my account. Your donations are tax deductible!

Hyderabad Happiness...

I can't believe I am saying it, but I am pretty happy here now. With only two and a half weeks left, the happiness seems a little delayed and unfortunate. Beth and I met some new friends at church a couple of weeks ago and we have been spending time with them during our free afternoons or days off. They are from Nigeria. It seems that it is impossible for Beth or I to separate ourselves from African culture... we find it and try and drown ourselves in it wherever we go. Finding a bit of Africa in Hyderabad doesn't make sense, but we are sure thankful that it is here. I know that if it wasn't for meeting them, our time here would look a lot different. It would be very difficult to survive even just a couple of months in this place.

A day in Admissions

Numerous BPs taken
Cannulas inserted: 3
Blood taken: 1
Antibiotics administered via IV: 1
Mag. Sulfate administered via IV: 2
IM injection administered: 1
Kind of a slow day today, but it was fun.
A mother came into admissions this morning with a baby that had been delivered at home, but was still attached. The placenta was retained and after the baby was separated from mom she was given a few injections and prepped to be sent to have the placenta manually removed. I gave the little guy a baby hat and he looked pretty cute if I say so myself. What a way to enter the world!

Adoniah.

Today was kind of an off day for me. I was very busy assisting with three deliveries and doing one myself with a student nurse. I delivered three placentas and out of those two of them had retained fragments/membranes. I spent a lot of the late afternoon walking through the management of all deliveries and in the end just had to give it all to God. I did what I could and managed each case with confidence and to the best of my ability. It was just strange times in the labour ward.
Baby Adoniah was born today at 3:15pm and weighed 3.25kgs. I delivered him with a student nurse. It was her second delivery, so I did a hand over hand delivery while talking her through what was happening. It was actually a rather enjoyable experience working with her. She was very grateful for my assistance and the things that I taught her. His head came with the cord around the neck, so we clamped and cut the cord and then delivered the rest of his body. He didn't give a good cry and so we sent him for resuscitation and oxygen. He was able to cry later and was doing well when we left. The mom was one of the ones who had retained fragments which was rather frightening, but we were able to safely remove the fragments and clots with the doctors help.

Plow.

The question I have continually asked myself over the course of this last year is, how do you forgive someone who hasn’t asked for it or even understands the extent in which they have wronged you? I think of a particular situation in my life that this applies to and I am at a loss for what to do or how to think. The worse part is no one can really give me a good enough answer and when I seek an answer from God I feel as though God has turned His ear away and has grown tired of my supplication. I feel defeated.

I will be returning to the states in a little more than a month. Although the longing to see my family is great, the realities that I must face upon returning are sometimes too painful to bear when I start to think about it. The place I called home is no longer there. The only thing left is the distant memory of the heart of the man that once occupied the land and pumped it full of life. I will be returning to something entirely unfamiliar. Uncertain. Despite it all, I will plow forward.

“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd and carry them forever.” Psalm 28:8-9