February 2009 Prayer Letter

Holly Findley

Mercy Maternity Center

Newlife International School of Midwifery

Davao, Philippines

The past few months have been a time of stretching and learning to lean on God for strength. There have been several times when I felt that it was all just too much; that I could not handle one more thing. And then God gives me that one more thing and shows me that I don't have to be strong enough, because He's strong for me. Every day He reminds me that I can rely on Him for strength when I'm tired, and that He will carry me through each exhausting, long day. Without Him, I know I would not have gotten this far without giving up and going home. It's only by His grace that I am here!

Things are going well with studies and work at the clinic. The list of classes and assignments keeps getting smaller and smaller and at the same time the pressure seems to increase as we come to the homestretch. It's hard to believe that in July I'll be finished with school and I'll be heading back to the U.S. to take the board exam. Please be keeping myself and those in my class in your prayers as things are fairly high stress right now as we work to get everything completed in time, both academically and with clinical requirements. Over January and February we have been taking algebra, statistics, counseling, microbiology, midwifery laws and protocols, community health and out of hospital birth. Phew! I'll be glad when this month is over! I have to say that algebra was, surprisingly, my favorite of them all. It was a nice change to be able to be given a problem with one right answer unlike medical topics where there are varying points of view every place you look. Microbiology has also been fun… swabbing things around the clinic and the house and seeing what bacteria grows and looking at stuff under the microscope can hardly be anything but enjoyable! After this we've got a few assignments about medical complications along with a few other topics to cover.

Work at the clinic is going well, and I am beginning to feel more and more confident in my abilities as a midwife. I am learning so much on my shifts there and I am so thankful for the Filipina and American midwives who take the time to help us learn while also caring for the women who come through the clinic. Things have been getting busier at the clinic as we are increasing the number of patients we see. Every week we interview and do initial prenatal exams on 70-80 new women. This leads to the occasional, extremely hectic shifts in the birth room, but it sure is fun! And most days I would guess we average 3-5 births a day. Some days it's slow and I end up getting plenty of reading and homework done while other days I hardly have a chance to sit down.

One exciting event that recently occurred, was getting to assist at the birth of twins! It happened on a quiet evening. Nothing was really going on at the clinic. All of the midwives on shift were just chatting, doing some small chores around the birth room and enjoying each others company. When all of the sudden, a woman obviously in active labor arrives. We rush her to a bed and immediately prepare for what seems to be an imminent birth. There was such a flurry of activity when she arrived that we didn't even have time to glance at her chart (or else we might have known that there was more than one baby inside). We were expecting a large baby to arrive when to our surprise a little, pink, yelling boy was easily born into the waiting hands of Medea, a classmate of mine. Confused by the small baby, we felt her tummy to see if there was another one inside. And sure enough there was! I helped to clean and dry the first little one while Medea waited to catch the second one. About 10 minutes later, a second baby was born, just as pink and healthy as the first! It was by far one of the most exciting births I have attended and I am so blessed to have had the experience of seeing twins born.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers right now as I seek God's will for what the next step is. The program ends in July and then I'll be home to take the midwifery certification exam in August. My heart is to go back to Africa as soon as possible and start work there. God knows my heart though, and there is peace in knowing that He is in control and that He always guides His children when we ask Him to show us what He would have us to do. Pray that He makes it clear what steps forward I should make. Thanks for all the prayers, thoughts and support over these last months. It's what keeps me going!

In Christ,

Holly Findley

Prayer Requests:

• Financial support for living expenses, travel back to the U.S. and for the certification exam coming up this summer.
  
• Ability to better communicate with the women and overcome the language barrier
  
• That I would grow closer to God and have a deeper relationship with Him
  
• Health and safety while working at the clinic
  
• Strength and endurance for work and school
  
• Wisdom and direction for the future
  

  
  

  How you can help:
  

Prayer support and monetary support are both greatly needed. If you are interested in helping financially, you can send donations to:

Central Community Church

300 Tucker Lane

Cocoa, FL 32926

If you are interested in getting email updates, send me a note at hollylovesmalawi@yahoo.com. You can also see updates by going to my blog at http://midwifemissionary.blogspot.com.