Habari!
First off sorry for the lack of posting in our first 2 weeks here. We have really just been getting our feet firmly planted on African soil and plugging away at lectures. Some of the things we are learning include: suturing with application, how to recognize obstructed/prolonged labor and how to manage it, how to manage post-partum hemorrhaging which (major cause of death in these developing nations). This always is the interesting part of this school because we are learning for the most part to be delivering in places where hospitals and doctors and C-sections may not be readily available. While we always want to recognize problems early and refer, refer, refer, sometimes it is not a valid option and you may have to try to save the life yourself. We are learning invaluable information. Most of this information is provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). We are lecturing and studying right out of the WHO manuals on how to manage these crisis situations. We also have another valuable text that is basically a resourceful guide of how to manage these issues in a developing nation. This coupled with The 1st world Midwife textbook of Maggie Myles and we are getting a pretty well rounded education.
Some of this last 2 weeks were also spent building relationships at the hospital and the YWAM run clinic where we will be working part of the time. We were waiting for our work visas to be granted and as of this last Friday they were granted and stamped in our passports!! Praise God. What an amazing opportunity we get to work in the hospitals of these developing nations alongside women who do this everyday! Tomorrow (Weds) is our first day at the hospital and in the rotation I am in the Labor ward! Off and running! Over the years the Birth Attendant School has had the privileged of welcoming thousands of babies into this world. This week and perhaps tomorrow will be our 4000th delivery. Our team has 4 more deliveries to go and 2 are currently happening out at the YWAM clinic!
We also get the opportunity to go out in teams and work for a week at a time with the YWAM run clinic about 20km outside of the city. The clinic is run by a midwife there that has been working in developing nation over for years now. She and her husband lead the YWAM base and there is also an American doctor who has been there for years as well with lots of experience in tropical medicine. Beate, the midwife, came and taught our lectures on labor and delivery in Perth. Spending a week being taught by her I can hardly wait to go out and deliver babies side by side with her. She is just such an amazing wealth of knowledge and so humble! Most of our team is drooling at the chance to work for a week with her and she wouldn't even begin to think of herself that way. In total, we each get 2 weeks with her in her clinic. I am also very excited for Bruce because he will have the opportunity to work under Dr. Joel 2 days a week during our week there. Next week is our first week and we look forward to it!
The kids are doing well with homeschooling and have overall adjusted to Africa so much quicker and easier than India. We are thankful for this but also know that India being so hard on us really prepared us a lot for our time in Africa. The kids continually amaze us with how well they adjust to new situations and we could not be prouder of their behavior! They are just great kids and we are blessed to parent them! We also love watching them learn and grow and explore the world around them. They have blended well with other kids from other cultures and don't let language barriers stop them from making friends and having a great time!
This last day off on Saturday we ventured out to a beach resort that was discovered by a few BAS girls of the past. For a few dollars, (less than that for the kids) you are able to enter this beautiful beach resort and use their facilities including a pool and private beach and just gorgeous places to relax. Ummmm YES PLEASE!
I will leave you with a few pictures from our time there. The kids loved to pool and cried when we had to leave. We are really thankful that there is a place to get away a little and relax. It was something we didn't have in India. Yes... I know what you are thinking.. we are truly suffering for Jesus! :)
First off sorry for the lack of posting in our first 2 weeks here. We have really just been getting our feet firmly planted on African soil and plugging away at lectures. Some of the things we are learning include: suturing with application, how to recognize obstructed/prolonged labor and how to manage it, how to manage post-partum hemorrhaging which (major cause of death in these developing nations). This always is the interesting part of this school because we are learning for the most part to be delivering in places where hospitals and doctors and C-sections may not be readily available. While we always want to recognize problems early and refer, refer, refer, sometimes it is not a valid option and you may have to try to save the life yourself. We are learning invaluable information. Most of this information is provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). We are lecturing and studying right out of the WHO manuals on how to manage these crisis situations. We also have another valuable text that is basically a resourceful guide of how to manage these issues in a developing nation. This coupled with The 1st world Midwife textbook of Maggie Myles and we are getting a pretty well rounded education.
Some of this last 2 weeks were also spent building relationships at the hospital and the YWAM run clinic where we will be working part of the time. We were waiting for our work visas to be granted and as of this last Friday they were granted and stamped in our passports!! Praise God. What an amazing opportunity we get to work in the hospitals of these developing nations alongside women who do this everyday! Tomorrow (Weds) is our first day at the hospital and in the rotation I am in the Labor ward! Off and running! Over the years the Birth Attendant School has had the privileged of welcoming thousands of babies into this world. This week and perhaps tomorrow will be our 4000th delivery. Our team has 4 more deliveries to go and 2 are currently happening out at the YWAM clinic!
We also get the opportunity to go out in teams and work for a week at a time with the YWAM run clinic about 20km outside of the city. The clinic is run by a midwife there that has been working in developing nation over for years now. She and her husband lead the YWAM base and there is also an American doctor who has been there for years as well with lots of experience in tropical medicine. Beate, the midwife, came and taught our lectures on labor and delivery in Perth. Spending a week being taught by her I can hardly wait to go out and deliver babies side by side with her. She is just such an amazing wealth of knowledge and so humble! Most of our team is drooling at the chance to work for a week with her and she wouldn't even begin to think of herself that way. In total, we each get 2 weeks with her in her clinic. I am also very excited for Bruce because he will have the opportunity to work under Dr. Joel 2 days a week during our week there. Next week is our first week and we look forward to it!
The kids are doing well with homeschooling and have overall adjusted to Africa so much quicker and easier than India. We are thankful for this but also know that India being so hard on us really prepared us a lot for our time in Africa. The kids continually amaze us with how well they adjust to new situations and we could not be prouder of their behavior! They are just great kids and we are blessed to parent them! We also love watching them learn and grow and explore the world around them. They have blended well with other kids from other cultures and don't let language barriers stop them from making friends and having a great time!
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| Abigail with Abigail from the YWAM base. |
I will leave you with a few pictures from our time there. The kids loved to pool and cried when we had to leave. We are really thankful that there is a place to get away a little and relax. It was something we didn't have in India. Yes... I know what you are thinking.. we are truly suffering for Jesus! :)
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