Orphanage

At our new location amongst the monks and nuns, there is an orphanage that has babies till the age of 3. visiting hours are at 9am and 4pm for one hour each. Emily and I walked over to the children playing and they all walked towards us looking like zombies with their arms up ready to be picked up. i held some for the entire time we were there. they were in great need of attention and love. it was heartbreaking to see the great need of love the children needed and that we couldn't stay with them. there are so many people that want to love children like this but the children are left with people coming in and out at the crucial years of their life. most of the children were malnourished, it was odvious as their eyes were sunken, their heads were quite large with thinning and light coloured hair.
i wanted to stay with the children and love on them..but we only were allowed one hour with them. my prayer for the children is that they would get the right nutrition for their small bodies and that they would be given a sense of hope and life through the nuns that work there.

delivery #9

it was quite rushed, as are most deliveries that i do. i am glad the mother only had a 1st degree tear compared to the 2nd degree tear i had earlier in the week. the mother delivered a baby girl and as soon as the baby was on her stomach she was yelling and screaming and shaking her hands because she was so happy to have her baby finally! it was her fourth child and a very beautiful one at that. the mother was beaming even through the suture. i was stoked it was a girl because i have only done 3. she was beautiful! and calm. i got the name Heidi for her.

SAFARI

I was able to go on a safari a few weeks ago! It was pretty gnarly. Favorite part was seeing the Giraffes run. And our tour guide who was amazing and took us off roading! heres a few pics...

Naming a baby!

Amy's delivery-

When you are the primary, you take care of the perineum..you check vitals and monitor the heart rate of the fetus making sure its staying consistent.. you deliver the placenta.. you check for tearing.. you clean the mother.. you fill out lots of paperwork.

when you are the secondary, you assist with the primary's needs and do the baby check-up while the primary is taking care of the mother. you get to pray over the baby and spend time with the fresh new life that has just entered the world.

Being the secondary has its perks. and for the mtoto (baby) that Amy delivered, i was able to spend time over the baby..praying and welcoming her into the world. When it was time to transfer the mother and baby to Postnatal, i carried the baby outside with the mother to go down the hall to postnatal. as we walked out into the hall, i saw an older lady and a man looking expectantly at the door i came out of. i thought for sure that this was the husband and the mother-in-law. as the mom came out after me, the husband and older lady smiled knowing that the baby that i held in my arms was theirs. here in tanzania, it is customary for the father to name the baby, so i asked the father what he was going to name the baby girl. he looked at me and said 'i don't know..you name it'. so i said 'Anna' . he looked at me and smiled and said very good .. Anna! Anna!
the family was very happy and we hope to visit them at their home in a week or so.


showing the baby to the father and grandmother

delivery #8

usually we have 5 students and 1 staff in the labour room so we pair up and have one girl as a floater filling in wherever we need help. i was a floater on this particular day. i was monitoring a woman who had just come in from prenatal and saw that she was progressing quite quickly. however there were 3 other women who were progressing quickly at the same time. to make a long story short..the baby came quickly and didn't have anyone assisting me because i was the floater. our staff was monitoring my delivery as well as Rachel's because our women were right next to eachother and delivered only 4 minutes apart. the mother had a baby boy and i got the name Paul-Isaac for him which means 'little one' and 'cheerful faith'.

infection prevention

so one of my deliveries last week was quick and unexpected ..no one was ready for it.. so my staff Bek, put on a glove halfway on just to catch the baby so it wouldn't slip off of the table. since her glove was only halfway on i took the baby from her and finished up the delivery. she told me after the delivery that she had put on a dirty glove on inside out..gross! Soon after the delivery, it was about time to leave so we all hopped on the daladala. Bek got her food and was eating happily. after she was finished, she licked each finger one by one. i looked at her with a disgusted face and said "i have a no licking finger policy after being in the labour room" she's like "oh yes. ha. your right...actually i dont remember washing my hands after that delivery..oops!

we are still improving in the area of infection prevention.

Ive always wanted to live amongst monks and nuns.

mwandege. a place..a village..one hour out of Dar. it is here that i have been for the past 3 months. these pictures are mwandege...where we have made our home for awhile. it is a place that is quite remote and far from any sort of civilization. i believe our time from living so far from what i am used to has come to a close. our team found out that we were leaving this place 3 days before we actually left. we were supposed to stay here for another 3 months, but for the survival and sake and sanity of our team, we are moving.
We are moving to a place that would put us closer to the hospital and closer to the city. but were not just moving anywhere...were moving to a monestary..in the midst of monks and nuns. they gave us one rule ... "you can have one beer maybe two..but please don't drink 5" i guess some catholics like their liquor. too bad this school has a no drinking policy.
living conditions of the monastery-
one word: AMAZING!
seriously. i never knew there was such a beautiful haven here in DAR! i will do a comparison so you fully understand of where we were at before and where we are at now.

mwandege
-no a/c
-children yelling and screaming outside
your window
-sharing a room with 6 people
-top bunk
-people yelling muzungu(white person)
at you everywhere you go
-walked in pairs everywhere
we went
-we had to drive an hours ride into
Mbagala (bad city) squished on a daladala
to get internet
-bathroom that was shared with
10 people .. flooded most
of the time .. smelled of urine ..
werent allowed to use during the day
-we had base chores everyday room
-we cooked food over a fire outside
with little or no cooking supplies
-a classroom
-not allowed to boil water
-not allowed to refridgerate
-oppression and poverty mentality
-skirts below knees and shoulders
covered
-2 hours from the city

monastery
-A/C!
-no screaming outside window
-sharing a room with one person
-my own bed!
-no one yells at us inside the
campus
-we can walk by ourself on the campus
and its huge
-there is a sweet internet cafe on the
campus
-private bathroom in room
-a maid comes in and cleans our room
-we have our own kitchen with a fully
supplied kitchen -a meeting hall with fans
-a large kettle
-refridgerator
-peace and joy
-pants
-10 minutes from the city
-cheaper to stay



Although mwandege sounds pretty hardcore..it has its perks! we established and made great relationships with the people there. people that love and appreciate one another. that see the bright side out of life and what we think is a hard life.. is their life and thats all they know. we will be visiting Mwandege once a week to work at the clinic doing antenatal care and teachings.

the team and myself are incredibly blessed by what God has given us. we are not worthy of His love and His grace and yet He gives it freely and in abundance. we are so needy of His love and His embrace. God is glorified in what He has set before us.

delivery 6 & 7

baby Hosea and mommy

Since our school is a year long, we just had a staff switch at the 6 month mark which was last week. 3 staff just left us, and 3 new staff joined us. im excited about the new staff and what they have already added to the team... creativity, energy and joy! all things our team is desperately needing.

#6.
it was our first full day with the new staff in the hospital and clinic yesterday. i was in the labour room and had the opportunity to do 2 deliveries! it was busy from the get go and wasn't planning on doing any deliveries but the babies had other plans. in the morning i was Celia's secondary. Her mother just delivered and i was doing all the check-ups on the baby when i looked over to my right and saw a baby crowning. i looked around to get a nurse and no one was in the room so i yelled for my new staff, Bek, to come assist me do a delivery. i had no gloves and there wasn't anything around except from Celia's mom who had just delivered so i grabbed those gloves and did the delivery. im pretty sure those are my favorite moments in the labour room, not knowing exactly whats going on but taking action despite the chaos around. the mother had a baby boy and i got the name Hosea, which means 'salvation'. so i pray for that babies salvation that it would grow up to know his Heavenly Father and cut off any strongholds over him.


baby Zaneta and mommy

#7.
we usually leave the hospital at 2 in the afternoon, and it was 1:40 while i was about to change when Louise poked her head in saying we had a delivery and Sister Hadija was alone. so i went out to see what was happening when i saw the head fully out. Sister Hadija walked away when she saw us because she didn't want to do the delivery but we weren't ready to catch the baby...Bek came over and we were putting gloves on when the baby popped out and Bek stabilized the baby with one glove half on so the baby wouldn't fall on the ground. i got my gloves on and grabbed the baby because Bek realized she put a dirty glove on that was inside out. ew. the mother delivered the baby at 1:45, placenta at 1:55, and was ready to go to Postnatal at 2! so she got up 5 minutes after delivering the placenta and walked over to Postnatal as i carried her baby over. we walk outside to get to Postnatal and so all the family and friends wait in . when i walked by with the mother and baby, all of her family walked closer to the ledge that separated us to catch a glimpse of the new baby. i held her up so they all could see and said 'Nzuri Mtoto!' which means 'very good little baby!' and they all smiled and laughed. i got the name Zaneta for her, which is the name of one of my good friends and i don't know the meaning of the name but i do know that she is an amazing person to name a baby after.

psalms 32

it has been 3 months since i left Australia to come to Africa. it has had more than enough challenges and at times felt like i wasn't going to get through this school feeling like my head was just above water, trying and hoping i won't drown. Probably the most challenging 3 months I've had going to a place of hopelessness and despair when seeing injustice and death so rampant and up close. i don't ever want to go to that place again without God. i think it was so hard because i didn't know how to include him in it but i think my whole mindset of including God in it was off. He is the center and answer of everything, i dont need to include him because he is already there. He sees people's pain and despair and wants to come. He doesn't want me to fight alone. He is my victorious warrior and He is the one that fights for me, i don't have to be discouraged anymore. He is building up my faith again. Were building a relationship again, me and God. this week i looked at Psalm 32 and it brought me hope as i hope it brings to you as well...

Psalm 32
blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. when i kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. for day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. then i acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. i said 'i will confess my transgressions to the Lord'- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. you are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. i will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; i will counsel you and watch over you. do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

its a girl!

olivia came into the world smiling :)

delivery #5
my first baby girl. so far i have done 4 deliveries that have been boys and just recently did my first girl...
i was in Antenatal (where mothers go right before they go into the delivery room) and was doing check-ups with women when i heard one of the other students, Emily, calling me asking if i wanted to do the delivery. i went over and saw the mother on a low bed which makes it harder to assist with the delivery. one thing i learned since being in the hospital is being quick to put gloves on because the baby is coming whether your ready or not. probably the most stressful part of doing a delivery is not having gloves on to catch the baby or to support the perineum. This time i did get gloves on in time and was able to support the her and finish the delivery as the baby came out. After the baby is out, i show the baby to the mother and ask if its a wakike(girl) or wakume(boy) for a few reasons, one being that the mother can see her beautiful baby for the first time and when we return it back to the mother after doing its vitals, she can't deny it not being hers (in some cultures boys are more valued). Luckily, i haven't had any problems with women denying it being their child. As i was doing check-ups on this new baby girl i got the name Olivia which means 'One of Peace' and prayed that she would bring peace to her family and community, that she would come to know and love God as her Heavenly Father and they would see the peace that God brings to her through her own salvation. Sometimes if the woman lives close to us, we are able to do home visits a few days after the delivery and talk to them more about God and to pray with them and their family. A perfect opportunity to share the gospel!