Welcome to the online home of
Georgia Gilliland Macad
and the
Abundant Grace of God
Maternity Centre

I am a Canadian Midwife
working with the people of Kalinga in the Philippines!

Email me! gthemidwife@yahoo.com

last updated 11--17-09

BLOG

Check back here often for the most up-to-date entry in my weblog!

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September 12, 2009
Boys, Boys, Boys...Boys!

In August we assisted in bringing two sets of twin boys into the world! Vilma, pictured here in her village with her husband, had been coming for regular prenatal check-ups her whole pregnancy. We detected at about 7 months that she was pregnant with twins and were so excited that she wanted to deliver with us. But, when she came in labor, her blood pressure was high and we had to transfer her to the hospital. Thanks to God that she was able to receive the care she needed and she and both babies delivered fine.

The week after that Girlie came to us in labor from the village of Pakak. (Pictured here with Marivic and I.) We hadn't seen her in over a month because she was always working in the fields when we went for outreach. When we checked her in at the clinic it became obvious that she was going to deliver twins! You can't imagine the excitement amongst all of us midwives! It was a slow day and we had an extra midwife helping out that day, so there were 4 of us attending Girlie. It was a good thing too, as the little boys needed some extra help getting out and getting breathing. Thanks to God again that both boys and mom recovered well - and quickly. Girlie actually wanted to leave and go home only a few hours after she delivered! We had to talk her into staying for at least 6 hours. Enjoy the pictures of the amazing But-but mothers and their babies!

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Aug 1 , 2009
A New Batch

Thanks to everyone for your continued support that makes this all possible!

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June 2 , 2009
The Injustice

Potao came from Bugnay in her last month of pregnancy to deliver with us at Abundant Grace of God. It was her and her husband's first baby. They are both 18 years old. After a mostly uneventful labor, the morning of Friday June 26 Potao delivered a beautiful baby boy. It became apparent immediately that he was not making a smooth transition to breathing. We did all that we could at the clinic, but within 30 or so minutes we decided the best thing would be to take him to the hospital where he could be cared for by a medical professional. We transported the baby into the care of the doctors at the local hospital and after a few hours of recovering, Potao was doing well enough to join him there. Later that afternoon a few of us went to check how he was doing. At first we couldn't find him. No one seemed to have a record for him. Finally I found him tucked away in a tiny room, with one small window, no electric fan or moving air and three broken incubators, labeled NICU. There sat Potao sweating profusely trying to comfort her baby who was doing worse than a few hours before. I went to the nurses station and informed them where the baby was in hopes this would ensure they would be checked on regularly. The next afternoon we got an urgent text from the baby's father that the baby was not doing well. When I got to the hospital I asked Potao what the doctor has said that day. The doctor had not seen the baby since he was admitted! Tears sprung into my eyes and I stormed up to the nurses station demanding to know why no doctor had seen the baby since he was admitted the morning before! They had no reply. Just then the doctor arrived (did she hear my tirade?) and swept passed me without a glance. She took the charts and began reviewing them with the nurses. Then she went and checked this poor precious boy for the first time in over 24 hours. She announced angrily that the baby would be doing much better had the mother not tried to nurse him the day before (maybe if she had been there to tell her not to! ). She then pronounced that she was sure that he was improving. Two hours later Potao's baby passed away.

In Canada that baby would have had around the clock specialists fighting for his life. Here in Kalinga he passed away silently in his mother's arms with no one fighting for him. This is the injustice of the poor.

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One day last week we had not one, not two, but THREE ladies from Lacnog deliver with us here at Abundant Grace. Lacnog is one of the four Butbut villages that we visit monthly for prenatal and baby check-ups. For me it was especially exciting because my three new Midwifery graduates each got to deliver a baby and they all did an amazing job. Let me brag a little more about my midwives: Upon graduation Evelyn Pullis received the "Clinical Efficiency Award". This award recognizes her clinical skills as a midwife. Her Clinical Instructor apparently told the awarding committee "You should see her in action! She really knows what she is doing!". My other full-time midwife, Marivic Ongat doesn't yet have the same amount of experience in the birth room, however she is learning fast! I especially appreciate her humility and her compassion towards the patients. Last, but not the least, is Anita Paut. She is volunteering with us here this month to get more clinical experience. We love having her here and wish we had the money to hire her full-time as well. If anyone is interested, it costs approximately $200/month to hire a full-time midwife including their room and board.

Pictured here: Evelyn with her patient Jocelyn (baby girl), patient Menchie (baby girl) and her midwife Marivic, and patient Mercy(baby girl) and her midwife Anita.

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It is a record for us! Every mother has her own unique story and I want to share one of them with you. Martha's story is typical of the Kalinga tribal women and it embodies well the reason I am so passionate about our work here. Martha is a 35-year old mother of nine. She and her family live in one of the surrounding resettlement villages that we reach out to on a regular basis. At the beginning of her pregnancy we took her history and found out that she had delivered all her children at home alone. Her second to last child died shortly after birth and at her last delivery she almost died from a serious complication. We went regularly to her village and did prenatals for her and the other women who were expecting. In this village we are always warmly received for prenatal care and health teachings, but rarely asked to attend births. We were all so excited last week when Martha and her husband chose to deliver at our clinic! Her 10th baby is a beautiful boy named Jacob, who was delivered with gentleness and compassion by one of our visiting midwifery students from Davao. Here is a picture of Martha, baby Jacob and some of her other children at her home during our postpartum visit.

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March 4, 2009
PayPal!

It is easier than ever to contribute to the Abundant Grace of God Maternity Centre. Just click on our PayPal logo and you can contribute using a safe and secure online connection! (Our account is gthemidwife@yahoo.com)

Paypal is one of the easiest and most trusted ways to send and receive money online. Just click the paypal logo and you will be redirected to the website. You can sign up for an account and use paypal to pay directly from your PayPal balance or linked bank account, or charge it to your credit card. All you have to do is choose my account name "gthemidwife@yahoo.com" and at the press of a button the money will go directly to the clinic! Sorry, no tax-deductible receipts available through paypal, however every penny will go towards the work here in Kalinga.

Thanks so much for ALL the ways you support us!

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February 3, 2009
It's Heating Up!

Now that I have my computer back (YAY!) I can update everyone on what has been happening here in Tabuk. After a long cold winter, (temperatures getting down to 15 degrees Celsius!!) we are heading into summer. Emmaus and I went to Canada for two weeks just after Christmas for my sister's wedding and the day we arrived back the clinic had it's 200th birth! We are having deliveries almost every day here at Abundant Grace and we have 25 midwifery students from the local college who we are training. They are getting lots of experience! It is great for us at the clinic because soon we will need more trained midwives to keep up with the patient load.We are praying about the possibility of buying a piece of land to build our own clinic instead of renting this big old house that we are in. We need a bigger admitting area and more rooms for our patients. There are a few lots for sale around Tabuk, so we are in the stage of checking them out and seeing if any could possibly work for us.
On another note, I have had numerous emails this past month telling me about returned or un-cashed checks that were meant for us here! Ack! After contacting Upstream I found out that their address was incorrect on the website and the checks were never received. PLEASE accept my apology for this big inconvenience! I have updated the Upstream address on this website now. If you sent a check and it was not cashed or it was returned, could you please send it again. What a pain, I know!!
More stories to come soon! Check out the picture of the student midwives on outreach.

Dec 14, 2008
Christmas in Kalinga

This Wednesday we had our first annual Christmas party here at Abundant Grace of God Maternity. We invited all of our patients, delivered (180) and still pregnant (100+) to attend and were expecting maybe 75-100 would make it. We were blown away when over 200 people arrived! We had patients that traveled a 6 hour jeepney ride as well as some that hiked for hours from their villages to be there.
We had a wonderful day with games, food and gifts for every patient. I was personally overwhelmed with gratitude to God for such an amazing day and I know my midwives were too.

Follow this link for more pictures and stories from that great day:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188300&l=ef6b7&id=680170386

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Dec 5, 2008
First Repeat Customer and a New Midwife

We have been open for a little under two years and we have our first "repeat customer"! Lourdes De Vera delivered her second baby boy at our clinic this week. We have a few more repeaters to deliver in the next few months but Lourdes was the first.

Our numbers have been growing so much in the last few months and so we have hired another part-time midwife. Cathee Mapes, a good friend and experienced midwife, has started working two days a week to help us keep up with our patient load. We are hoping in the near future to hire one more full-time midwife.
Thank you to those who responded to my plea for more support to make this happen!

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Nov 26, 2008
A Very Special Visitor

Achao, Emmaus, Belen and I were waiting out in front of our house for the bus to take us to Baguio. Our bags were all packed and we were ready for some Christmas shopping. The bus pulled up and just as we were about to climb on, the jeep from Bugnay stopped on the other side of the street. We looked up on top of the jeep and whom did we see? Achao’s father! Emmaus’s apo! To give you an idea of just how momentous this trip was, I have to give a little bit of background. Achao’s family is involved in an all too common clan conflict. There is some bad blood between his family and another family and because of this it hasn't been safe for Achao’s father to leave his village of Bugnay for over 2 years! In fact it still isn't safe (he was accompanied by 5 tough looking Butbut “bodyguards”) but he was missing Emmaus so much that he couldn’t sleep at night, so he made the perilous journey to visit for a day. Needless to say, we postponed out shopping trip to Baguio so that Emmaus could spend the next day with his apo.

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Oct 28, 2008
A Blessing from Our Patients

The other week we went for our monthly outreach to the village of Loccong (Hwy Pakak for those of you who know Tabuk). We bought snacks and juice on the way, as we always do for our pregnant women on outreach. After we sat visiting with the ladies for a while we began to do our devotion and health teaching on family planning. Then we told them to have the snacks as we started individual check-ups. “No, no,” we were told “we have prepared a merienda for you!” Just then one of our patients, Elena, brought out trays and trays of sticky rice and fresh brewed Kalinga coffee. Wow! We were so blessed as we sat with the women eating the delicious snack. After the check-ups we started packing up to go back to the clinic and we were stopped again. “You can’t go yet because my husband is making lunch for you,” said Julita, who had just delivered at our clinic the week before. Leon had made us a feast of boiled pig and rice! We were so blessed – and so full!

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Oct 28, 2008
Breakfast at Appas

What a great few weeks it has been. First, we have been overrun by visitors – in a good way! Two women came from the village of Bugnay to have their babies with us, one woman (my sister-in-law) came all the way from Bugnay for a prenatal, and we had two midwifery students from Davao come to train with us. Second, we have surpassed 150 births at the clinic. It seems we are delivering around 4 – 5 babies a week now. It does tend to make for some tired midwives, so we are really praying we will be able to hire another full-time midwife soon. Here is a picture of breakfast with all of our visitors.

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Oct 14, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving - Hey, Where's the Turkey??

I guess this blog post is a little late - I actually forgot about Thanksgiving what with all the Christmas music and decorations they already have going here in the Philippines! I do however have lots to be thankful for! We had our 147th and 148th birth last night and another labour here today. Wow, thank you God for bringing us these wonderful women to serve. We currently have a woman from the tribal village of Bugnay staying with us awaiting her birth. This is her 6th baby and all the others but one were born at home. Thank you God that she trusted us enough to come here! We have two midwifery students here from New Life Midwifery College in Davao (www.midwifeschool.org). They are here for just about 3 weeks and have already been a huge blessing. I mean, they brought Starbucks coffee with them - how great are they! :) Every day I am blessed by my wonderful little family. Emmaus is such a joy and Achao is the best partner! Thank you God for all your blessings.

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This last week has been BUSY! On Tuesday night every bed was full – including the extra bed that Achao made last month. Two of our postpartum patients even had to share a room. They didn’t seem to mind though as they happily chatted, comparing birth stories. We have now had over 130 births. The students from the local state college have been getting lots of experience here and I have heard that we are the favourite place to go for practicum training! That is such a compliment.Next month we will have two Canadian midwife students visiting us from Newlife Midwifery school in Davao (www.midewifeschool.org). They will be here for two weeks and we hope it will be a good time for them as they see another aspect of midwifery care. I am very happy about all the opportunities we have to help train other midwives.
We could, however, use one more staff member to help with all of this and our increased patient load. We would be able to hire another full-time licensed midwife if we could raise another $200 per month. If you are interested in helping in this practical way, please see the donation information below.Ok, back to the birth room… ?

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Sept 3, 2008
Emmaus's First Trip to Bugnay

Well, we did it. We made the long, hazardous journey into the mountains to visit Achao's family. It took us a day in the jeep to get there, but it was worth the journey. The whole village came out to meet Emmaus when we arrived, and he got to meet his grandfather for the first time! We stayed for three days in the village and had Emmaus dedicated at the little community church there as well as had his tribal birthday party called 'so'ob'. Achao's parents arranged the party and gave one of their pigs for the celebration. To be honest, Emmaus was fast asleep before the party even got going. In fact he slept like a baby (hee hee) even though he was right next to the party with all the gongs, dancing and partying until 4 am. It must be the Butbut in him.

While I was there in Bugnay I was also able to do half a dozen prenatal check-ups. This time, instead of trying to find out who needed check-ups, the women all came and found me asking if I could check them. Wow, what a difference. I am hoping some of them will decide to come to our clinic to deliver.

Here is a picture of some of the oldest Butbut ladies welcoming Emmaus to Bugnay.

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Part of my vision in having this clinic is to train and encourage local midwives. As you might know, we have been sponsoring and training Midwifery student Evelyn Pullis as she attends Kalinga Apayao State College.

This week I met with the Dean of Health Sciences from the College to talk about a possible connection between the Midwifery program and our clinic. She was very excited about the idea and asked if we could be a training ground for her students’ “Related Learning Experience”. Beginning next week we will have 5 students assigned to us for training. I am really excited about the new partnership that we are establishing with the K.A.S.C. and hope that this will be a positive experience for everyone.…

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For those interested I thought I would give a family update. Emmaus is now 3 months old and weighs almost 17 pounds! Yes, he is a chubby little guy. Everyone says that he gets that from me…hmm. Not sure that I am loving the straightforward style of these Filipinos. Ha ha.

We are still living here above the clinic, and the clinic is getting busier. We had our 100th birth yesterday! I am thankful for all the girls that live with us here at because there is always an extra pair of hands to help with Emmaus.
We are, however feeling the need to have our own family space. A year and a half ago we bought a small lot here in Tabuk and now we are hoping to build a small house on it. We have made 2000 concrete bricks and have hired an architect. This is all in faith that God will provide the money to finish it? If this practical need is something you would like to help with, please email me and I will give you details on that.

Other than that, we have all been healthy and happy. Achao and I love being parents. Emmaus is just so much fun and is rolling all over the place. I think we are going to have our hands full! Enjoy his 3 month picture. (taken on June 25)

May 20, 2008
Miracle Baby

After 14 hours on the plane, Emmaus and I arrived finally arrived back in the Philippines to the waiting
arms of Achao! It was a good plane trip, and Emmaus was the best baby on the flight (there were seven others!). After resting in Manila for a day (thank you to Trixie and the girls for taking care of us!) Emmaus and I took a short plane ride to Tuguegarao where Achao was again waiting to take us the rest of the way to Tabuk. Everyone at the clinic was so excited to meet Emmaus. The next night we had a party with friends from Pakak to celebrate our safe arrival home. Here are some pictures of Emmaus's welcoming committee!

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April 14, 2008
A Few Weeks Left

I have only a few weeks before I head back home to Tabuk. Achao left for home last week and it was a sad day for Emmaus and I! Apparently everything has been going well at the clinic and they have been having lots of births. Next week two midwife students from Davao will be going to Tabuk to help out until I arrive back. I sure am excited to be back at the clinic and to see all the moms and babes. Of course it will be hard for me to leave my family. It has been so nice for me to be around them all, and nice for Emmaus too - to be smothered in kisses from all his aunties, uncles, grandparents and cousins!

Here is a picture of Emmaus, Achao and I the days before Achao left to go back to Tabuk.

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Emmaus Donald Macad was born Monday March 24 at 5:55pm, weighing 7lbs 2oz.

He is beautiful and he smiles all the time! He just hasn't mastered the art of sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time :)

Achao and I are totally in love with him already!

Enjoy the picture.
More to follow when I am feeling a little less frazzled!

Love,
The Macad Family

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March 16 , 2008
Ready and Waiting

Here we are in Canada awaiting the birth of our baby! I arrived at the end of February and Achao just joined me here last week. We left the clinic in good hands of my midwife friend Crystal and my Filipino midwife Zenny and they have had lots of great births since we left. Crystal will be going home to the U.S. at the beginning of April and so, because I will be in Canada until the first week of May, we have some special midwives helping out at our clinic. For the beginning of April, Isabel, a midwife from Achao's village of Bugnay, will be helping us out at the clinic and then at then end of the month some students from my old midwifery school in Davao will be coming to help. So, with the clinic in good hands I can relax ... oh and have this baby :)

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January 29, 2008
Samaritan's Purse

January 23, 2008
Back Home in Tabuk

We have been home for over a week now, and we have been on the go! During our first few days we were invited to a church anniversary/child dedication celebration in Pakak (one of our regular outreach villages) It was so exciting to see so many of the babies that we delivered be dedicated to God. We ended up being godparents to 9 children! How can you say no to a request like that? This past week we attended a “mass wedding” for four couples (2 of whose babies we delivered). They have already been married ‘traditionally’ so this service was for their legal documents. We have also done two outreaches and had one delivery. Enjoy some pictures of us with seven of our godchildren.

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January 3, 2008
Home for Christmas

I know this blog entry is a little late but we did make it home for Christmas! We actually arrived on December 13th. This picture is taken with my new nephew Cian the day we got home. It has been a whirlwind trip and we have had a great time visiting family and friends. We even had a white Christmas - Achao's first of course.

It seems that there has been lots of excitement back at the clinic in Tabuk also as I got a phone message from Crystal saying that they had delivered twins!

We will be home in Tabuk next week to hear all the stories that we missed.

(Note: Georgia and Achao flew back to the Philippines on Jan 8th.)

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December 10, 2007
Still Waiting...

For those that have been praying for Achao and I to get home for Christmas... please keep praying! We have had our bags packed for two weeks now just waiting to hear the word that we have Achao's visa. It looks like this week will be the last chance as our tickets can't be rebooked again. Hopefully the next blog post will be a picture of us bundled up in warm clothes in Canada!

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December 8, 2007
A Time for Planting…

As the Christmas season nears, and songs of ‘good will towards man’ are beginning to play (they have been playing here in the Philippines for 3 months now!) I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to be a part of the work here in Kalinga. We have now delivered over 50 babies and we don’t even have a sign up yet. The word is getting around. We keep hearing that friends have told friends to go deliver at “Grace of God” clinic in Appas because they are very kind there. Wow, what a compliment!

If being a part of this work is something you would like to do, please email me at gthemidwife@yahoo.com and I will send you the information you need.

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November 9, 2007
Crystal Has Arrived!

My good friend, fellow midwife and fellow Kalinga-lover, Crystal, arrived from the U.S. on Friday morning. We have been talking every day for hours since she arrived. I am laughing at her North Carolina accent back with a vengeance and she is laughing at my Filipino English.

Crystal will be running the clinic for me while Achao and I are away for Christmas. There is no one I would trust more to take care of the beautiful Kalinga women. Oh, and I have included a picture so you can see I truly am preggers- 20 weeks and counting.

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Was That A Chicken?

It was a Saturday morning after a long and difficult labour. Crystal and I sat chatting while we waited to go and check our patient again. Just then the patient's husband walked into the birth room with something tucked under his arm. "I think he just took a chicken in there!" I said to Crystal. A few minutes later we heard some clucking noises. I decided to take a look. I didn't want to say anything unless I was wrong. I couldn't see any chicken and I even tried nonchalantly to look under the bed. A little while later, out came the husband with a very limp chicken and a bowl of blood. I asked about it and found out that this particular tribe kills a chicken after the births of their babies as a thanksgiving. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity (that we will try to avoid next time by getting the husband to kill the chicken outside) and get a picture of the family and the chicken. It is always an adventure!

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When you are a midwife there is a lot of teaching that goes along with the job. One of the big problems here is the myth that the mom has no milk when the baby is first born. Moms will often give their babies rice, water, powdered milk etc., for the first few days until they feel they have milk. The babies then miss out on the very important “first milk’ or colostrum that provides many vitamins and antibodies.

We just had a family from the village of Buscalan (way up in the mountains!) come to deliver at our clinic. We encouraged them to stay with us for a few days after they were given advice from various family members to feed their baby condensed milk because the mom didn’t have any milk. Yikes! They left our clinic yesterday, the mom confident in her body’s ability to produce milk and the dad agreeing to drink the condensed milk himself!

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September 27, 2007
My Dad in the Philippines

Well, my dad just headed off for the airport after spending two weeks in the Philippines. We had a good time together. He got to see some brand new babies (which, as you can tell by the photo, he loved),he got to travel to a remote village to meet my in-laws (crossing a suspension bridge which he did very bravely), and he got to spoil his favorite daughter and new son-in-law (just kidding about the favorite part sisters!) I have been enjoying the Canadian food that my dad brought with him and I think I even gained some weight! So strange to be excited about that!

Although it was a great two weeks with my dad, it was a difficult one clinic-wise. We had a number of complicated labours and tough transports to the hospital so please pray for us that we won't lose heart.

Thanks for keeping updated on us here in Tabuk!

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We added on two more rooms to our clinic. Just in time too as today we have two labours! This month of September is going to be our busiest one yet with 15 moms set to deliver here. We also have an aspiring midwife from Canada helping us for the month, which is perfect timing. Hillary Grams arrived on Monday and will be here for the whole month learning about being a missionary midwife.

Let’s see, I know there is another addition I was going to write about…now what was it?

Oh yes, the addition to our family! ; ) I am 12 weeks pregnant, due at the end of March. Achao and I are very excited. For the month of August I was really sick but am finally starting to feel better. Unfortunately I have no appetite for Filipino food, but fortunately my father arrives next week for his first visit here and will bring with him a suitcase of Canadian food!

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August 12, 2007
Tribal Wedding

Well, it's official-- again. Hee hee. Achao and I had our tribal wedding at the end of July and it was wonderful. My brother John-David, his girlfriend Candice, and my cousin Kara traveled all the way to Kalinga to celebrate with us. This made it even more special. I have no way of knowing exactly how many people were there but I am guessing about 1500. The wedding lasted 2 whole days and nights with lots of dancing, eating and 'special numbers' by various friends. The special numbers included songs, dances and tribal chanting. There was one tribal chant in particular that told the love story of Achao and I. It was very cool and lasted about 10 minutes!

The second night of the wedding was the night of the courting dance. Achao and I started it off and were followed by John-David and Candice who were good sports to get out there and give it a try. Then one of the young men invited my cousin Kara to join him in the dance and she was a great sport as well. Oh by the way Kara, I think you may be married now? Hee hee.

We were so blessed by all the gifts of baskets, pottery, rice, beans, soap, matches-- pretty much anything that the villagers had to give.

Another amazing blessing was that Achao's 100-year-old grandmother hiked for four hours, by herself, through the mountains from her village to the village of Bugnay to attend the wedding! It was the first time in 10 years that she has been to Bugnay. I was blown away that she made that sacrifice for us - and that she could walk that far!! You can see what I mean by the picture of her and Achao's grandfather (on his mother's side, who lives in Bugnay).

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July 17, 2007
Brotherly Love

Achao and my wedding celebration is just a week and a half away! We are getting very excited... especially because my brother J.D. and his girlfriend Candice as well as my cousin Kara are going to be here. Achao's brother came down from Bugnay a few days ago to help with wedding stuff and the two of them (as well as the husband of one of our patients) built another bed for our guests. Apparently everyone in Bugnay is busy trying to finish the harvest before July 28th so that they can really party!

(In this picture L to R: Achao's brother Maggie, Edwyn, Achao)

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July 16, 2007
Surprise Twins!

Yesterday, Sunday July 15, we had surprise twins at the clinic. Well, to be totally honest we had one of them at the clinic and the other was born at the hospital. But both babies (boy and girl) are healthy and doing great. I will post a picture of the cuties as soon as I can.

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July 14, 2007
Smallest Baby Yet!

On July 13th our smallest baby yet was born at the clinic. The mom, who is from Bugnay (in the mountains) came to us a month ago because her blood pressure became very high. So, for the past month she and her husband have been staying with us at our house so that we could take care of her with the help of our doctor. Friday morning she finally went into labour and delivered a tiny baby girl - 1.8kg! (4lbs). Babies with moms who have high blood pressure tend to have small babies. She is really strong though and has been breastfeeding like a champ. We have nicknamed her "peanut". Please pray she gains weight quickly and stays healthy.

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June 2 , 2007

PLEASE HELP!

We are getting busier and busier here at our little clinic. In the last 2 months we have had 12 births! Four of these women came from the remote village of Bugnay and stayed at our house for the days and weeks preceding their births. We are doing regular prenatal care in three of the surrounding villages as well regular prenatal days here at our clinic. We are so excited that the women here are putting their trust in us to take care of them, BUT? our donations have not been meeting our costs. To run the clinic at the most basic level costs us between $1200-$1400 per month. As of now we have regular donations of $600 -$800 per month. Would any of you consider joining us as regular sponsors? You can give any amount (e.g. $25, $50, $100) per month and all donations are tax-deductible. Please consider joining our team of sponsors. For more information on giving regularly or on automatic withdrawal options please contact Upstream (my sending organization) at info@upstream.ca. Thank you!

See links below:

How to contribute

Links

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June 1, 2007
Baby Look at Me Now!

Do you remember baby Owen from the December blog? He was the malnourished baby that we brought back home with us from the village of Bugnay. After spending some time at our clinic where we taught his mom some basic "baby care" and nutrition, they went home to Bugnay. Over the last few months I heard updates that he was gaining weight and doing well. This week Achao and I went to visit in Bugnay and I didn't even recognize Owen when his mom brought him for a visit. He is so chubby now! 7.7kilos! Thank you for all your prayers.

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May 27, 2007
Day to Day Stuff

I thought I would write a blog entry about what life in like here for me in Tabuk. Even though we have had 14(!) births at our clinic now, the average day is pretty low key. Get up at around 5:30 or 6:00am, (this is no problem because typically I go to bed at around 8pm) have coffee and chat with the girls in the house. Then we go to the market to get food for lunch, clean up around the house, entertain whatever visitors we have that day or maybe go visit a village or two for prenatals. After lunch we all sleep for 2 hours because it is the hottest time of the day and you really can't do anything. We usually have at least a few visitors from the mountains every day of the week. Whether it is a pregnant mom waiting for her due date or someone needing to have a check-up at the hospital, or my mother-in-law coming for a visit! Last week my mother-in-law came to see us because we hadn't been 'home' to Bugnay for almost a month. She stayed for two days and while she was here, she climbed our biggest mango tree to bring back mangoes to her village. Here is a picture of her in the tree. I love the fact she climbed it with a cigar in her mouth!

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May 18, 2007
Love Thy Neighbour

A few nights ago after we had just arrived home from a regular outreach, there was a knock at the door. A group of our neighbours had been waiting for us to get home so they could have prenatals. It was a surprise since, because we are still waiting for our license, we don’t have a sign up and haven’t advertised at all. Word has gotten around! One of the ladies, Lordy, was already a few days past her due date and was planning on delivering by herself at home until she heard about us.

This morning at 6:30 am Lordy and her husband came to our clinic and delivered a beautiful baby boy less than an hour later. She bled quite a bit after the birth and would have hemorrhaged had we not been there to help her. A little while later a whole group of neighbours came by to congratulate Lordy and see the new baby.

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May 15, 2007
Hope for a Family

If you remember, in one of my blog entries from October, I told you about little Hope Jubilee passing away. Well this past week was a wonderful one for her family. Hope’s mother Mary Jane is one of my favourite ladies from the village of Pakak and since December we had been doing her regular prenatals check-ups. During one of our visits I learned that another of her babies had died a few years back. He was their only boy and he died at one day old, before they had even had time to name him.

I had been talking to Mary Jane and her husband about coming to the clinic to deliver and although she seemed open to the idea they wouldn’t say for sure. Well Sunday morning I got a text from someone on Pakak telling me to come because Mary Jane was in labour. I was so excited as we rushed off to pick her up. (Getting back to the clinic was a whole other story, as we got a flat tire half way home and had to wave down another vehicle to take us the rest of the way!)Thank God we did get back to the clinic in time and Mary Jane delivered a beautiful baby boy a few hours later.

As she laid breastfeeding her new healthy baby, she told me that that morning her husband had not wanted her to come to the clinic. I asked why and she said that because they had no clothes or diapers for their baby he was ashamed. Mary Jane said she told him that she would come alone if she had to because she wanted to deliver at the clinic. Her husband, out of his love for his wife and family, put his shame aside and came too. Because of a few generous donations of baby clothes from Canada, we were able to give them a bunch of new outfits and some cloth diapers.

That night we all celebrated the birth of their son with a big chicken dinner and the next morning we took them back home to Pakak for Junior to meet his two excited big sisters.

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May 5 , 2007
Double Milestone Birth

This morning Blyn, my aspiring midwife apprentice, caught her first baby! It was a great birth and she did a wonderful job. I am so excited for this opportunity to help train a local midwife. Magie, the mom, is even from Blyn's village so the match was perfect.

The other milestone? As we were doing the newborn exam my dad called from Canada for a chat. When it came time to name the baby Magie decided that she would name him after my dad because he called just after her baby was born... (oh, and I suggested it when asked what I thought was a good name...hee hee) So here is a picture of maybe the very first Donald in the village of Lacnog. Isn't he a cutie! Much cuter than his namesake..

Also here is a picture of Donald with Blyn, Magie and Magie's mother.

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April 20, 2007
Speaking of running out of gas…

Again it was late at night when we got the text asking us to go to the village of Lacnog to pick up a woman in labour. As we were grabbing the birth bag to head out the door Achao said to me that he wasn’t sure if we had enough gas to get there and back. He wasn’t sure because like most vehicles around here our gas gauge doesn’t work (nor does the speedometer, temperature gauge, etc.) I told him that we had better try and then see if someone had some extra fuel when we got to the village. (All businesses in Tabuk close at 6pm including gas stations) Half-way there, just before the police checkpoint, our jeep ran out of gas. No fuel at the checkpoint, no other vehicles on the road to help us, no gas stations open… We started to panic…okay I started to panic! We called the only person we knew who might know how to get extra fuel, hoping that he wasn’t fast asleep. Luckily Edwyn was awake and came to our rescue with 22 L of diesel, which was enough to get us there and back. Our hero! We continued on our way and picked up Linda and took her back to the clinic where she delivered a beautiful baby boy. We now fill up our tank every day!

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Last week Ramela, age 16, traveled six hours by jeep from her tribal village of Bugnay to deliver at our clinic…WHILE IN LABOUR! She gave birth less than an hour after she arrived. (All that bumping and bobbing around in the dirt mountain roads helped I am sure.) Good thing there was no flat tire, or running out of gas, or getting stuck in the mud. All of these happen quite frequently on the trips to and from the villages in the mountains. I was so excited that she decided to come. It was our first baby from the mountains, but not the last. Conception, pictured here reading a book about labour and delivery, is also from Bugnay and is staying here at our place right awaiting her due date, May 2.

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Blog March 26, 2007
A Midnight Pick-up

Late the other evening we got a text from someone in the village of Ileb saying that there was a pregnant woman on her way to our place. Her husband was bringing her on his “kuliglig” (a type of tractor used in ploughing the rice fields – maximum speed? Oh, 5 miles per hour!) Some of the boys from next door came with us for protection (Ileb is situated in a dangerous area) and we hopped in our jeep and headed out to get her. We wanted to go fast but not too fast in case we drove right by them, as they wouldn’t of had any headlights. About half way there we spotted the tractor packed with a group of people and one pregnant lady! We made the exchange at the side of the road, us picking up our pregnant lady and her bags and the tractor heading back home. Once we got home and checked our patient it was obvious that she was in premature labour. We got back in the jeep and took her to the hospital where she delivered a tiny little boy few minutes later. They are both doing well now and the little boy is strong and doesn’t need a ventilator or incubator – it’s a good thing too, because the hospital doesn’t have one! We were sorry we didn’t have baby number 3, but very glad that we were able to help.

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Blog March 17, 2007
Baby Number 2!

We had been having a tough week at our place. Belen’s sister had been on her way to visit us and got hit by a jeep crossing the road… broken jaw and concussion! Then Achao had a cyst removed from his breast…Youch! Then Elen had to go to the hospital because of a UTI (urinary tract infection) … every sickness here is considered a UTI if the doctors don’t know what it is. We were all exhausted here at the house from the many trips to the hospital, not to mention cooking three meals a day extra for the family members at the hospital. Then Saturday morning we received a text from one of our ladies in a village near by. We had been trying to convince her to deliver here because this was her 7th baby and her last two deliveries had been difficult. We didn’t know if we had been successful in persuading her until we got the text Saturday morning that she was on her way. A few hours after arriving her beautiful baby boy was born! She wanted to go home within 2 hours but we convinced her to stay for at least 4. (She was anxious to get home to her other children and all her work there. I cannot imagine!) Little Ezra Job definitely brightened our difficult week.

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March 14, 2007
Building Comfort Rooms...
Don't they look Comfortable!

We are still working on the construction of our birth center. Almost everything is complete but we decided that we needed more C.R.s (Comfort Rooms = Bathrooms). So we hired some guys from one of the villages nearby and got to it. Hopefully they will be complete in a few weeks. In this picture Charlie, Pastor Ernesto and his son Agad take a merienda (coffee break)

Meet Harry the Dog

We decided to enlarge our family here and get a puppy. He is a very good puppy and is already house trained - after 4 weeks of training! He is lots of fun to have around, especially when there are children visiting. The reason we got a dog is that Tabuk is known for being a dangerous town full of "notorious characters". I found it hard to believe at first, looking around at the peaceful setting of rice fields and water buffaloes. Then the other night there was apparently 3 men spotted climbing up onto our balcony in the middle of the night. Yikes! The neighbours saw them and so they were scared off. We doubled up the locks in our house and replaced some windows we hadn't got around to fixing yet. If you are praying for us you could include safety for all our belongings/medical supplies and of course all of us. Oh, and also that Harry becomes a good guard dog!

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Feb 26, 2007
Back from the Honeymoon!

Well, Achao and I arrived back from our one week honeymoon Saturday morning. We had a great time although I think 34 hours spent in buses over a week period is just a little bit much! Our simple wedding service was great. I couldn't believe how relaxed I was the whole time. This is the time that living in community is at its best. I had about thirty people helping me prepare as well as my good friend from Davao who arrived two days before our wedding. We even had time to do some prenatals the day before the wedding and attend Kalinga Day festivities. We met the pastor who married us the day before the wedding and decided we would write our own vows. Achao wrote his in English and I did mine in But But. We stayed up until midnight (that is really late for me!) practicing our vows. The actual wedding day was relaxed as well. I talked to my dad on the phone while getting my hair done and having my toenails painted by friends. Downstairs was a hive of activity of cooking, decorating and setting up. After our simple ring ceremony we had chicken barbeque and pancit. Yum! Out big tribal celebrations will be July 21. In contrast to this simple celebration of 40 + people, July will be three days of dancing, eating and partying with guests in the thousands. Maybe we will have a second honeymoon... but this time, no buses!

Our first baby!

The day after we arrived home from our honeymoon (we decided to come home two days early), we were all watching a new DVD and Blyn call a call on her cellphone. It was her aunty Salyn and she was in labour! We had been doing prenatals for her over the past few weeks and figured she was due sometime soon but she wasn't sure of her dates. We all jumped out of our seats and into our jeep and took off for her village to pick her up. We were praying the whole time that she wouldn't have the baby before we got there and that everything would go smoothly. We made the 30 minute trip to her village in 15 minutes! She had been labouring all day and was getting frustrated that she hadn't had her baby yet, so she called us. We checked her and decided there was lots of time to take her back to the clinic. So all 8 of us (Salyn and her husband included of course) jumped back in the jeep and headed for the clinic. Two hours later a beautiful baby girl was born! Everything went perfectly and Blyn (an aspiring midwife) was even able to assist with the birth of her little cousin. The next day we took them back to their village and sat out on their porch drinking coffee and chatting. What a great experience! Thank you God.

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Congratulations
Mr & Mrs. Macad!

February 17, 2007

It's Official!

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February 1, 2007
Outreach to the Villages

While we are waiting for all of our licensing and paperwork to be finished we have started regular visits to a few of the surrounding villages. Here we are after our prenatal and baby check-ups in the village of Pakak. We have been having a great time connecting with the families in these villages. Many of them are excited about delivering at the clinic when we are finally up and running. It seems like there are a lot of babies due in April so please pray that we have our permits by then!

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Well, here is the picture of Achao and I and the clinic jeep. It is a big bumpy old thing but it can go anywhere! We have already driven through a river in our adventure to get sand to fix our driveway. Because our driveway is so thin with a huge ditch on either side, every time I attempt to get to our house everyone in the car yells that I am going in the ditch.
So, now the bigger news... Achao and I are getting married next month! It will be a simple ceremony at the mayor's office. The big celebration will take place in Bugnay in July. Tribal wedding celebrations usually go on for three days and nights, with lots of eating and dancing. Don't worry, I will be posting pictures here on my weblog!

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January 12, 2007
All Aboard!

All Aboard! We officially bought our clinic vehicle this week. It has a seating capacity of 100 ... Hee hee just joking, although I am sure it is entirely possible as you can see in the picture here. This isn't actually our jeep as I don't have a picture yet because it is getting a few repairs before we pick it up. We are one step closer to getting our clinic officially up and running.

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Don't get me wrong, I love Kalinga and feel like this is where I am supposed to be and I am doing what I am made to do. But sometimes..
The other day I had one of those days where it all seems too much and I just want to go home for 5 minutes. To be somewhere that I understand all the conversations going on around me. where it doesn't take all day to check my email, where people aren't constantly staring at the only white girl in Kalinga to see what strange and wonderful thing I will do
next, where I can take a hot shower, where I can walk into a grocery store and get almost anything I am looking for, where I can hug my nieces and nephews...
And now for some good news...
Baby Owen has been gaining weight so he and his mom went back home to Bugnay. Someone there has agreed to weigh him regularly so I hope he will continue to grow strong and healthy. Yesterday we got the first of many permits that we need for the clinic. We have a name for the clinic now - Grace of God Maternity Center! My dad is coming in two weeks!! I have the best soon-to-be husband (As my niece Maryjane calls Achao) ever!

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December 20, 2006
Merry Xmas from the Philippines!

I know this isn't a very "Christmasy" picture but I also wanted to say a BIG thank you to all my supporters who have made it possible for me to be here. We are continuing work on the house, (painting the birth room in this picture) and have even started prenatals! While in Manila this week I will be starting the process for our licensure. In other news, thanks to all of you who contributed, I have raised all the start-up costs! After Christmas I will be buying a clinic vehicle. Yahoo!! (From left to right: Achao, Betty and baby Israel visiting from Bugnay, Elen)

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December 19, 2006
Pray for Baby Owen

While visiting in Bugnay (Achao's village) we discovered that baby Owen, who was born three months ago, had not gained any weight. He is still 3.3kg (7 1/2 pounds).After many discussions we convinced Owen's mother to come back with us to Tabuk so that we could help get him healthy again. After a check-up with a private doctor we were told that he was malnourished and anemic....hmm, yes I knew that! So, Owen and his mother will stay in Tabuk at the clinic until he gains some weight and is back on the road to health. In the picture included my mom is giving Owen an extra feeding of formula. For now we are supplementing his mother's breast milk until she is able to produce enough on her own. Please pray for Owen and his mother as well as wisdom for us at the clinic as we care for them.

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December 18, 2006
My Mom is Here!

My mom has been here in the Philippines with me for the last two weeks. It has been a busy time so I am sorry for the lack of blog entries! We spent the time fixing up the house, painting, shopping, visiting various villages... and chatting :) Here is a picture of coffee time around the kitchen table of the house/clinic. The three girls on the left are (from closest to mom)Elen, Belen and Blyn and on the right is Zeny who is my friend and midwife who will be working with me! Charlie, Elen's brother, also came for a visit this day. Achao was outside washing laundry. What a great guy.

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December 06, 2006
Tabuk Resident

I am now officially a Tabuk resident! I have spent the last 3 days moving into the new house, with A LOT of help from my friends. The first day we began cleaning the house - which is quite a large task! After things were a bit more in order, to the market we went. Myself, Elen Dalacnas, Belen Pullis (aspiring midwives) Belen Baluga (a good friend) and Achao (no need for introduction!) went and bought some of the basic necessities for our new house. We are continuing to clean and set things up but as of now, at least the house is live-able. I have heard great news that my midwife friend Zeny is going to come and work with me! It is such an answer to prayer as she is a perfect fit since she was born and raised in Kalinga and has a heart to reach her people. So, pretty soon there will be 7 of us at the house! The more the merrier I say! Oh yes, and at the moment Achao and I are back in Manila to pick up my mom who is spending 2 weeks with us. I will send some more pictures of that very soon.

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November 27, 2006
The Last Few Days

I have 3 days left here in Davao! On Friday I did my last pre-natal check-up on my friend Jackie. (She was the one whose wedding I went to when I first arrived here.) It looked to me as though I might not be here for the birth of her baby. We prayed that she would go into labour before I had to leave. Yesterday morning on my regularly scheduled birth shift, who should walk in in labour? An answered prayer! Jackie delivered another beautiful baby girl yesterday morning at 9:20 (a perfectly dignified hour!) weighing 7lbs 6oz. A good size for a Filipino baby! She and her husband George named her Alissah. No babies named after me here in Davao as they think my name is a little "pangit" (ugly). I guess I will have to be happy with the baby Georgias in Kalinga! I took this picture this morning at her one-day post partum check-up. I have only a few minutes to post this message before I head back to the clinic for my next birth shift. The next blog post will most likely be when I am back in Kalinga! Did I already mention it's only another 3 days? :)

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November 20, 2006
Ramblings of a Sleep Deprived Midwife

I only have ten days left here in Davao. I can't quite believe it, as six weeks seemed like forever when I first got here. It was so worth it to come here. I have caught 8 babies so far and done loads of pre-natals, baby check-ups and labour watching. I was also given a sewing lesson today by my friend Lynne Jones. She helped me sew little pouches for sterilizing my instruments. It reminded me of my home-ec class, oh let's see... 16 years ago... Ack! Was that really 16 years ago? Aren't I 16 now? While being here I have also had the opportunity to sit in on some presentations by the student midwives who are here. Did you know that breast milk contains over 200 different ingredients? Store-bought baby formula contains approximately 60 ingredients. Is this blog entry kind of a mixture of random thoughts? Well, let me add another then. I attended a conference last week led by my old pastor, Dale Walker, from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Good times... Happy days... Little House on the Prairie! Ok, this is what happens to someone's mind after a night shift. I have included a picture of one of my saner moments at a post-partum check-up of a baby I delivered while being here.

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November 12, 2006
An Outburst

My mom is coming to see me! On December 6 my mom will fly to the Philippines and help me begin to set up my house/clinic. I just got news today that the water and the power will both be connected in the house by the time she gets here. I am sure my mom will be relieved to hear that. So, the other day I was talking with Achao on the phone and I casually asked if everything was going alright with building beds for the clinic. (After our trip to Manila, Achao returned to his village of Bugnay to work on his farm and start some carpentry for the clinic.) He told me that the wood to make the beds was too expensive so he didn’t buy any. I immediately panicked! "But my mom is coming December 6! We need to have a bed for her at least! Please start building the beds soon!" Patiently Achao explained to me that he was building the beds. It was just that instead of buying the wood planks he was chopping down trees from the forest and making them. Sheepishly I apologized for my little outburst... Don't worry mom. You will have a bed!

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November 7, 2006
Adventures at the LTO

This last week has been a busy one for me. Not only have I had the chance to deliver 3 babies, I also got my Filipino driver's license and opened a Filipino bank account. I know that it doesn't probably sound like that much for a whole week but for any of you who have lived in a Third World country, you will know that is takes TIME to get anything simple done. For example in order to get my driver's license I had to get a physical exam and a drug test. "Kenny" the helpful man at the LTO (Land Transportation Office, kind of like DMV except much slower!) sent me across the street from his office with a little piece of paper to a shady little building and told me to ask for "Hurley". Um, ok... After "Hurley" took my money, he gave me a little cup and pointed to the back of the shady little building to a shady little toilet area. Why is it that when you really want to "go" quickly you just can't "go"? Argh! Finally I "went" and returned with my little cup which I gave to "Hurley" and was pointed to another shady little room where my physical exam would take place. "Yikes!" I thought. Actually my exam consisted of my blood pressure being taken and being asked if I wear glasses. Then I paid the "medical professional" and was given a clean drug test and physical exam "pass" and sent back across the street to LTO where I continued to wait for most of the day. At least I got it. And in answer to your question; yes, it is the worst picture of me ever taken!

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October 31, 2006
An Answered Prayer

Two years ago when I was doing my clinical internship at Mercy Maternity Center in Davao, I delivered Jacky's baby Althea. She was a single mom and we prayed together asking God for a husband for her.

God answered our prayer and provided a wonderful husband for her. Here is a picture of Jacky and Althea (at left) at the wedding.You may not be able to tell in this picture but Jacky is 8 months pregnant.

I am hoping that she will deliver while I am here in Davao so I can be her midwife again!

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October 28, 2006
New Revelations

I have spent this last week at a "busy" birth center in Davao in order to refresh my skills. Ironically I have worked six days in a row and not one birth! It seems that God has been wanting to teach me something else this week. He has reminded gently, but firmly that this great project I am starting isn't about me ... it's about Him. Although I wouldn't have ever said that what I am doing is about me and my great vision for Kalinga, somehow I was subconsciously thinking that way. I was going to be a great missionary to the tribal women of the Philippines!

God's reminder came in the way of a bout of depression and anxiety. "This is impossible!" I thought to myself, "I am going to fail! How did I ever think that I could do this!?". Well, the answer of course is so simple: This isn't about me. I can't do this on my own. My first priority is to love God and the second is to love others and the rest will fall into place as I continue to trust in Him. If all of my plans and visions fail it's okay because as long as I am more in love with Jesus every day, my life is a success."Ahhhh" a sigh of relief.

Thank you Lord for your reminder. Now can I maybe deliver a baby this week? ; )

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October 20, 2006
From Scaling Mountains to Escalators

My time in Manila with Achao and Emma was great. I think Achao's favorite part of the city were the escalators at the mall. He also liked the movies. However after we got our tickets and headed towards the theatre, he looked at me a little worried and said, "But I didn't bring a chair.” We saw the movie "The Departed" which had excellent acting and directing but was extremely violent and depressing. Our other option was an Asian horror movie. I think we made the right choice. Achao has now returned to Kalinga to begin building beds and tables for the clinic. I arrived in Davao late last night for my 6 weeks of intense midwifery "practice". I always forget what a beautiful city Davao is, and I am looking forward to eating lots of fresh mangoes and pineapple. I start working in the birth room tomorrow at 6 am, so I will try to get some rest today. For those of you asking for pictures of Chris and Cathee's wedding I have included a few pictures. Cathee Pullis married Chris Mapes on October 7, 2006. They are now on a 5 week honeymoon in Palawan. Hope you are having fun guys!

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October 18, 2006
In Memory

The day that I arrived in Kalinga, I heard the tragic news that Hope Jubilee passed away one week before I had arrived. Because of the poverty in which she lived, she had been sick on and off for almost the whole two years of her life. Hope's mother Mary Jane sat down with me and explained to me that this last time, Hope had contracted dysentery and by the time she was able to get her to the hospital it was too late. We cried together and even now as I write this sitting here at a restaurant in Manila on the way to Davao, I am in tears.

A few nights after I arrived, Mary Jane asked the church in Pakak to come and pray with her at her house. That night at about 8 pm, the church members gathered outside her house and prayed and worshiped God into the night. Hope is missed by her mother Mary Jane, her sisters Alma and Julianne and the whole village of Pakak. Please pray for comfort and provision for this family.

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October 16, 2006
Be Back Soon!

I leave tonight for Manila after spending the last two weeks in Kalinga. I am taking my friend Emma and "special one" Achao with me for the few days in Manila before I go to Davao for 6 weeks. It will be Achao's first time in Manila and I decided that we are going to the movies and the mall. That will surely blow him away!

I will arrive in Davao on October 19th and begin working in the birth room on the 21st. Even though I've gotten to do quite a few prenatals in the villages over the last few weeks, I am looking forward to being in the birth room and delivering some babies!

October 15, 2006
My Birthday in the Tribes

How I wish I could send a picture of my birthday celebration in the village of Bugnay! As soon as I have a good internet connection and the proper cables, I will!

When I told my friends in Bugnay that I would be in Manila on my birthday October 17, they decided I should celebrate an early birthday with them. It is customary to feed people a special food on your birthday. The special food I would be sharing was chayot (sweet sticky rice).I was a little worried at the prospect of feeding the village seeing as how I had no ingredients. I shouldn't have worried. Early in the morning on Saturday person after person came to my house with bags and bags of sticky rice and peanuts.With the help of Emma and Achao I began preparing... ok I roasted the peanuts and cut up the bananas and Emma and Achao did the rest.

At 7:00 in the evening children began showing up at the house, bowls in hand. It seemed that the news had gotten around the village. By 8pm the chayot was ready. There was 3 HUGE pots full and I wondered how we would ever finish it all. My answer came when everyone in the village came for my party! What a great night.

I will send pictures soon, I promise!

October 9, 2006
It's Official

I signed the lease for the house today!

It was quite an experience sitting in this tiny little lawyer's office with his secretary plunking away on an old typewriter preparing the lease papers.

We celebrated in the village of Pakak (just outside of the city of Tabuk) by buying a butchering and eating a chicken. Oh it was great to eat some meat after one week of rice and beans!

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October 1, 2006
Ten Pounds of Chocolate?

I just finished my good-bye birthday party with my family. We had a great time laughing, eating, and listening to my nieces and nephews serenade us with old classics such as "Johnny Appleseed" and "O Canada".

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I am now weighing my bags again to make sure I will be allowed on the plane with all my presents. My youngest sister Anna-Lisa is helping me balance my huge hockey bag We decide to get on the scale ourselves.We have now come to the conclusion that the scale is off by at least 10 lbs. As in we're sure that we are 10 lbs lighter! So now the dilemma; if the scale is weighing correctly I will not be able to bring all that I have packed and should maybe just eat the few pounds of chocolate that I got for my birthday before I get on the plane. However if I am 10 lbs heavier than I thought I was, I shouldn't be eating that chocolate.
Let's just hope the scale is off.

The next time you hear from me I will be in the Philippines carrying my huge bags into a village thinking that the scale was probably correct!

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September 24, 2006
The Return to Kalinga

I am returning to work with the tribal peoples of Kalinga, a remote area in the northern Philippines. This isolated area plagued with tribal wars is one of the most beautiful and untouched areas in the Philippines. Because of their isolation, the people living in this area have little to no access to medical care. Most of the pregnant women will deliver their babies at home on their own, without any prior prenatal care or attending doctor or midwife. Many of these women and babies die due to complications that would have been easily preventable with adequate care from a qualified midwife.

I am a certified professional midwife and have spent a great deal of time over the last two years with the tribal peoples of Kalinga. Because of my love for the people as well as the obvious need, I have decided to move permanently to Kalinga and set up a maternity clinic to provide Midwifery and Primary Health care to the tribal peoples in and around the capitol city of Tabuk as well as into the remote mountains of Kalinga.

The Philippines is a developing nation with extreme poverty and corruption and so, I am seeking to find sponsors from outside the country that would be interested in partnering with me for this cause.

I and the people of Kalinga would be so grateful if you would be interested in supporting this charity maternity clinic through the donation of medical supplies or financial support. All donations are tax-deductible. (A cheque should be made to Upstream Christian Initiatives, specifying it is for the Philippines.)

The estimated monthly running costs of the charity clinic are $2200. The estimated start-up costs are $7000

I am returning to the Philippines October 1, 2006 and after spending 6 weeks working at a charity maternity centre in Davao will move permanently to Tabuk.

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The Vision:

To actively share the love of God to the tribal people of Kalinga through midwifery and primary health care.

• Provide free pre-natal, delivery and post-partum care.
• Provide health education and spiritual encouragement for expecting mothers.
• Provide a safe and comfortable place for women from outlying areas to stay in the days or weeks preceding their deliveries.
• Act as a post for mobile midwifery into the tribal areas surrounding Tabuk (capital of Kalinga).
• Provide hands-on training and discipleship for Filipino licensed and aspiring midwives.
• Encourage and aid local midwives currently working in Kalinga.
  

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Financial Support

If you want to support me by contributing financially, we are now accepting donations through PayPal. Click the icon above!

Paypal is one of the easiest and most trusted ways to send and receive money online. Just click the paypal logo and you will be redirected to the website. You can sign up for an account and use paypal to pay directly from your PayPal balance or linked bank account, or charge it to your credit card. All you have to do is choose my account name "gthemidwife@yahoo.com" and at the press of a button the money will go directly to the clinic! Sorry, no tax-deductible receipts available through paypal, however every penny will go towards the work here in Kalinga.

Or... you can send cheques, with a note allocating funds to Georgia Gilliland, to the following:

In Canada:
Georgia Macad
c/o Upstream Christian Initiatives
37750 Dawson Road
Abbotsford. BC.
V3G 2L1
Canada
(604) 854-5878

In the USA:
Georgia Macad
c/o First Love Christian Fellowship
Rt. 1, Box 227AA
Sayre OK 73662
USA

In the Philippines:
Georgia Macad
c/o Abundant Grace of God Maternity Center
Appas
Tabuk, Kalinga 3800
Philippines

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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