Dear Friends and Loved Ones, 05 April, 2007
God has been blessing me beyond what I could ever imagine and I am excited to tell you all about what He has been doing in my life lately. First of all, I want to thank you for your faithful prayer and support while I was in Malawi, Africa. God taught me and stretched me and grew me up in many ways during the eighteen months I spent there and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve Him.
I spent my last month in Malawi living in a village near Mwanza, a small city on the border to Mozambique. I was the only westerner in the area and saw things from a completely different perspective than I had before. Every day I walked to the well for my water and chatted with the women while I waited my turn. I bathed from a bucket and cooked over a fire, just like people living in a village would do. I experienced first hand the hardships and joys of living so simply and gained a much greater appreciation for the culture of the Chewa people. There was such tremendous need among the people there that it broke my heart. These people live everyday not knowing that they can live healthier lives by simply wearing shoes to the outhouse or by eating a varied diet instead of eating okra every day. It was so sad to see these people living in such poor conditions and often because they simply didn’t know better! Many of these people live in spiritual darkness. Some follow indigenous religions like Guli Wangulu, witchcraft and many people are turning to Islam. Some claim to be Christian but have no idea that Christ is a Savior looking to have a personal relationship with them. They may attend church, but that is as far as their religion goes. Or they may believe that because their family claims to be Christian that they are Christians too. The needs in this small country are incredible and I have a heavy burden on my heart to go back to them and spread the light of Jesus Christ.
The people who touched my heart the most were the women. During those weeks in Mwanza I prayed that God would show me what He would have me do to help them. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving these precious women and not doing anything to help them. During my daily prayer time I wrestled with God about leaving Malawi, coming home, what to do next and if I should return. I longed to see my family again but at the same time I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving these people that I had come to love so dearly. After much prayer and deliberation I decided to pursue midwifery. I believe that as a midwife God can use me to touch the lives of many women in need. I heard stories about some of the terrible practices that many women have to endure during labor and delivery. Some village midwifes beat the women believing that it will help her to endure pain better. One woman told me that while she was in the hospital to have her baby, another woman there had a cesarean section and lost her baby because the doctor was careless and cut the baby while performing the operation. Not only will I have the opportunity to help them have safe and healthy pregnancies and deliveries, but I will have an opportunity to show the love of God to women in need.
I have been accepted to Newlife Int’l School of Midwifery. This school is a Christian midwifery school that is run on the mission field which means that I will be able to earn a degree in midwifery and serve the Lord as a missionary at the same time! The school is based at Mercy Maternity Center in Davao, Philippines and serves impoverished families that cannot afford quality health care. It is a two year program and I plan to leave for the Philippines at the end of August. I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about this. I know it is only because of God that this is possible. God is blessing me and opening doors in ways that I was afraid to hope for. If you are interested in learning more about what I will be doing, the school’s web site is http://www.midwifeschool.org/.
In order for me to be able to go to school I am going to need a lot of prayers. This is a much bigger endeavor than anything that I have done in the past. Please pray that I will have wisdom as I prepare for school. That I will be able to get everything done that needs to be done and that things will go smoothly. Also please pray that God will be preparing my heart for the mission field. Pray that I will be effective and that I will learn as much as I possibly can. I want more than anything to be useful for the Lord. Another thing that I ask you to pray about is the finances needed for me to go to school. The cost of tuition, travel, visas, living expenses and medical equipment comes to about $30,000. Just the thought of trying to raise such a large amount of money can seem like an impossible task, but I know that God has made it possible for me to get this far and He will provide what I need. If you feel God touching your heart, then please help to send me back to the mission field. Without the help of those of you here at home, it will be next to impossible for me to go. A few things that are on my list of things to buy in the very near future are a Fetal Doppler, about $600; a plane ticket to the Philippines costs about $1250; and tuition for the first year comes to $10,000. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I thank God for all of my friends, relatives, supporters and prayer partners that He has brought into my life. It is because of you that I am able to do any of this. Thank you for all that you do.
In Christ,
Holly Findley
God has been blessing me beyond what I could ever imagine and I am excited to tell you all about what He has been doing in my life lately. First of all, I want to thank you for your faithful prayer and support while I was in Malawi, Africa. God taught me and stretched me and grew me up in many ways during the eighteen months I spent there and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve Him.
I spent my last month in Malawi living in a village near Mwanza, a small city on the border to Mozambique. I was the only westerner in the area and saw things from a completely different perspective than I had before. Every day I walked to the well for my water and chatted with the women while I waited my turn. I bathed from a bucket and cooked over a fire, just like people living in a village would do. I experienced first hand the hardships and joys of living so simply and gained a much greater appreciation for the culture of the Chewa people. There was such tremendous need among the people there that it broke my heart. These people live everyday not knowing that they can live healthier lives by simply wearing shoes to the outhouse or by eating a varied diet instead of eating okra every day. It was so sad to see these people living in such poor conditions and often because they simply didn’t know better! Many of these people live in spiritual darkness. Some follow indigenous religions like Guli Wangulu, witchcraft and many people are turning to Islam. Some claim to be Christian but have no idea that Christ is a Savior looking to have a personal relationship with them. They may attend church, but that is as far as their religion goes. Or they may believe that because their family claims to be Christian that they are Christians too. The needs in this small country are incredible and I have a heavy burden on my heart to go back to them and spread the light of Jesus Christ.
The people who touched my heart the most were the women. During those weeks in Mwanza I prayed that God would show me what He would have me do to help them. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving these precious women and not doing anything to help them. During my daily prayer time I wrestled with God about leaving Malawi, coming home, what to do next and if I should return. I longed to see my family again but at the same time I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving these people that I had come to love so dearly. After much prayer and deliberation I decided to pursue midwifery. I believe that as a midwife God can use me to touch the lives of many women in need. I heard stories about some of the terrible practices that many women have to endure during labor and delivery. Some village midwifes beat the women believing that it will help her to endure pain better. One woman told me that while she was in the hospital to have her baby, another woman there had a cesarean section and lost her baby because the doctor was careless and cut the baby while performing the operation. Not only will I have the opportunity to help them have safe and healthy pregnancies and deliveries, but I will have an opportunity to show the love of God to women in need.
I have been accepted to Newlife Int’l School of Midwifery. This school is a Christian midwifery school that is run on the mission field which means that I will be able to earn a degree in midwifery and serve the Lord as a missionary at the same time! The school is based at Mercy Maternity Center in Davao, Philippines and serves impoverished families that cannot afford quality health care. It is a two year program and I plan to leave for the Philippines at the end of August. I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about this. I know it is only because of God that this is possible. God is blessing me and opening doors in ways that I was afraid to hope for. If you are interested in learning more about what I will be doing, the school’s web site is http://www.midwifeschool.org/.
In order for me to be able to go to school I am going to need a lot of prayers. This is a much bigger endeavor than anything that I have done in the past. Please pray that I will have wisdom as I prepare for school. That I will be able to get everything done that needs to be done and that things will go smoothly. Also please pray that God will be preparing my heart for the mission field. Pray that I will be effective and that I will learn as much as I possibly can. I want more than anything to be useful for the Lord. Another thing that I ask you to pray about is the finances needed for me to go to school. The cost of tuition, travel, visas, living expenses and medical equipment comes to about $30,000. Just the thought of trying to raise such a large amount of money can seem like an impossible task, but I know that God has made it possible for me to get this far and He will provide what I need. If you feel God touching your heart, then please help to send me back to the mission field. Without the help of those of you here at home, it will be next to impossible for me to go. A few things that are on my list of things to buy in the very near future are a Fetal Doppler, about $600; a plane ticket to the Philippines costs about $1250; and tuition for the first year comes to $10,000. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I thank God for all of my friends, relatives, supporters and prayer partners that He has brought into my life. It is because of you that I am able to do any of this. Thank you for all that you do.
In Christ,
Holly Findley
No comments:
Post a Comment