a blESSEd dAY of bliSS.

it started off the night beFORE. a movie night/sleepover is a RARity in the midst of an assignment, but the girls took a little time off to cElEbrate :D the next morning was an aMAZing breakfast - complete with frosted mini wheats and eggs with chEDDar chEEse (courtesy of my mom) She also left presents from my family and girlfriends back home, so opening those made me fEEl even more loved.


thEN we headed off to the dive shop, the club had conveniently planned an extra far dive for the day and when we arrived there was this big banner stretched across the front of the dive shop that read "Happy Birthday Jenna" haha. it.was.nuts! so fun.

these are most of the people i dive with...the group shot was not for me (i don't think) but the 'president' of the club suggested it for the carabou website (as you can see, they made sure they brought along the bday banner..) and thEN they sang happy birthday and started chanting "SPEECH, SPEECH" thinking i wouldn't have the guts to say anything. but i daZZlEd them with an on-the-spot, sugar-coated blurb.

the dives were amazing...the marine biology nEVEr gets old. The whole time i'm down there my eyes are darting every which way, trying not to miss a single colour or shape

The girls brought along books and such to read on the way to and from the dive sites, but i purposely forgot all my books at home. It was such a nice day and i just wanted to sit. and stare. and think. I gUEss turning 23 is supposed to make a person wise so i was TRYing to work on that!


the boat trip went from 8-5 and after we went to a favourite thai restaurant of mine. This is the best because everyone texts everyone, and all the students (well most) come together from whatever they were doing that day to share in a birthday meal. Here in the philippines, it is customary to treat everyone to the meal...and therefore i had lots of texts saying "i want to come to your party..hah. jokes lang" [because the filipinos know that is NOt practiced in canada...much the opposite actually]

gUESs whAt?! (mom, no telling.)

yeah. mary has always been the smartest girl I know. she's right...the chicken was actually wrapped up in a life preserver and not ONlY on the boat for a ride...he was the guy's lUNCh for the day, talk about frESh! Whenever we go scuba diving we stop at this amAZing beach for a picnic lunch. Everyone packs their own, and thIS time they killed and grilled chickEns. mmm, where ELse can you get freshly killed chicken to eat? (except for in Beamsville, that is, b/c I can remember my brothers letting chickens without any heads run around the backyard)

thIS saturday is an extra long, extra cool boat trip. a "club dive"! Yes, i am now a certified diver and also a member of the carabou dive club. This saturday we're going to travel around the island to dive where there are caves and such! (i've never bEEn on the other side of the island!) It should be inCREDible.. and incredible doesn't even beGIN to describe!

wedDINGs.

FIRST OFF, I'd like to give the biGGESt, moSt excitEd CONGRATULATIONS to my dearest CHristine Martens, who just got enGAGEd to Bradley Morgan! The date's been set AUGUSt 3rd...ohh my, that's so so soon. i'll come home to everyone married off with houses, and big bellies (couldn't BEE a more perfect time to return!) I know Brad'll throw a fun wedding..and whAt an amAZinggg wedding party!

NEXT, i have some news from here also. Leah Drayer, an mk (missionary kid) is ALSO getting marriEd...to a filipino (brianna, you'd be in lOVe, he's got dreads halfway down his back!) and she's asked ME to stand up with her. Yes! I'm going to be a bridesmaid, yet again! I cannot wait. We're having our dresses custom made. THe tailor just drew up my dress before my very eyes while I described it to him...cool huh. They're coming along nicely! The weddings April 21st. Here are a few pics of the fittings (and dreads..)
the other maids.

Well, I guess my vacation is coming to a close. What a whirlwind of activity, Jenna doesn't sit still for long. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up until last night when she ran up several flights of stairs (she didn't know where the elevator was and didn't think it important). I climbed the stairs OK just not as fast!!! We were on our way to an Italian restaurant. We have also eaten at a French establishment and Thai food, and a Mongolian Grill; a few filipinos homes for lunch, lots of seafood. Look out gourmet club - we are going to try some new dishes!!!
Jenna asked me what was the highlight of my trip. We have done so many varied and different types of things; mountain resort, beach resort, VERY poor and rustic filipino home for lunch, very rich filipino home for lunch, a day on the ocean with scuba divers - no I did not dive - lots of swimming and so on. However as I contemplated her question- I realized that the highlight was the night I went with her to work and watched her deliver an adorable and oh so tiny baby girl. The mother was awesome and it really was something to see - my baby delivering a baby!!!
I told Jenna how much I was going to miss her and her life here and she was quick to point out that my time here hasn't been exactly how she lives. She is after all a poor student - walks everywhere, doesn't eat out except for b-day celebrations, certainly doesn't frequent resorts of any kind and keeps her nose in the books when she is not at work. In fact she is starting to get behind in her schoolwork so I guess it really is time for me to leave. My flight leaves Davao at 6:45 p.m. Monday, I will be in San Francisco 7:30 p.m. Monday, and in Buffalo 10:30 Tuesday a.m.

it's only been a week.
i HARDly think that amount of time consistutes 'a lazy blogger'.
beSIDES..it's been a whirlwind of activity this past week.
i'm entertaininggg!
PLUS - the highspeed at our house has no speed right now, scratch that, it's not even working at ALL.
and these are the reasons I have not written to you.
please accept my dEEpest apologies (woodzy and dear michelle)...
and NOW.
for some reason the pictures aren't uploading from my computer so I cannot even show you all of the excitement my mom and i have had. I will do my best to describe it all now. And post pictures for you when it starts working.

I will start after our wkd at Eden.
Monday: mom and I had her first birthroom shift...there was only one labouring woman so we just read basically the entire shift from 6am to 2pm. [yeahh, i read 2 novels that wkd, kinda crazy] jUST after we endorsed the lady to the next shift - "HEAD visible" and she started pushing. Luckily mom was able to get in on that, and saw her first birth!, it was fast though, and i wasn't the one delivering, but...she saw it!
Tuesday: i have prenatal appts. all morning, so mom came with me to those. I tried to impRESS her by using this new language.
WEd/thurs: we went to Paradise Beach Resort, and stayed in this little hut! mmm.
Fri/Sat./Sun: we ventured out, 2 hours south to 'the province' (what WE would call 'the country') to Makilala where my supervisor Mayflor lives. Only we forgot sunscreen, and after spending saturday at a resort with all natural spring pools and waterslides, etc. I was burnt to a little crispy. [yeah, i got burnt and mom didn't..doesn't seem to make sense seeing as i'm the one who lives in a tropical country only, she wasn't as drawn to the waterslides] We had a really good time with May's family though. and i EVEN learned how to drive Arex's motorcycle this time. He told Rose to take me out and practice getting it into second...pfft - we were cruising towards the sun setting behind magnificant mountains in no time (in fourth :P)...SARE, motorcycles are the ONly way to go.
It.WAS.AMAZ.ingg.
here's a pic of my moms greatest adventure...riding on a motorcycle with four other ppl

EDEN - "naturally.."

is the motto that is splashed across the entrance to every site and attraction at the mountain resort my MOM took me to this weekend. Ironically enough, this nature park (found 3000' above sea level) is 95% man-made. Logged over in the 70's, they rebuilt the lost environment planting almost every tree found there today, making Eden the only pine forest in Davao [the pine sure reminded me of the cottage...mer]

the sITEs were incredible. We had dinner last night over-looking the core of Davao City, illuminated. This is a picture of something they referred to as "Rainbow Pass", because the arches are home to a number of coloured flowers.

We went swimming, and i went HIKinggg (yeah, i could've been of the bruce trail, except for the bamboo and the spiders bigger than my hand..), and we saw filipino deer and thought of Grandpa, took the hour long taxi ride up and back and thought of Dad (haha, you would've had your foot through the floor for SURE) the guy was nuts.

Eden is also a major supplier for the local grocery stores of Davao. Here is a picture of the lettuce, but they also have fruit orchards and vegetable gardens and herb gardens...it was really cool to see it all, and even bEttEr to try it all at the buffets.

The resort also had this amAZing bird sanctuary...i really believe sesame street had a character that looked like this. THIS bird was cRAZY scary, made a even stranger sound, and was bigger than me :|

they ALSO had pretty peacocks everywhere. but, only ONE white one. Mom thinks it musta been mating season because the males were CONstantly displaying their muscles, haha - it's not working too well for this poor guy (as the girl pecks aimlessly at the ground..)

uhh. so. this is..somewhat.embarassing. bUt we found a hat that suited Gramma's collection of unique cottage apparel and so HERE is a little present for Gramma ;)

a blog. from my mom..

Well I made it - 38 hours of travelling - 28 of those hours in the air - the rest sitting in airports. Read a whole Karen Kingsbury book, watched several movies and slept surprisingly well (surrounded by kids for the longest flight). Everything went oh so smoothly - thanks to all who were praying. Jet lag hasn't been a problem but then I AM ON HOLIDAYS - doing not much and enjoying it. Jenna's doing a good job of looking after me, but then look who she had as a teacher!!!
We have already enjoyed a massage - just incredible and only $4.00; went to the market this morning which brought back memories of my stay in Sudan; and have just made reservations at a mountain resort for Sat/Sun- the room will cost us $25 for both. I can hardly believe these prices. Yes, I said mountain- Jenna is looking forward to snuggling into a sweater and me - well, it sure is hot here - but not unbearable. Jenna's house is equipped with lots fans.
The food is good, real good. We enjoyed an incredible breakfast of fresh fruit and freshly shredded coconut. They have these machines that do the shredding at the market while you watch. Jenna took me to Banok's for barbequed chicken - a specialty. Here is a pic of the chickens barbequeing on a spit.

1. Never hold your breath.
2. Dive with a buddy.
3. SUN is good for visibility, and for getting a sweet tan!
4. Plan your dive.
5. Dive your plan.
and that but not least...
6. Diving etiquette entails using the bathroom to change so as not to make other divers feel uncomfortable.

Yes, that last one was a real, live question on the test I took for my diver certification.. don't worry though, it wasn't ALL that bad. and I learned a lot. and now I'm a certified diver! Here's Charity, me, Lois, and Jenny in "class" reviewing before the test.

and here is our teacher..it was cute because the club has painted keywords on the white board that reminds the teacher what all to cover when reviewing. It was a pretty good set-up.

A weekend GETaway.

Complete with flowers in the toilet bowl, Paradise Beach&Resort proved its name true once again...Krys picked us up just before 10 am friday and we met up with the rest of her family (Matt, and their two girls, Josie and Jessica), Lynn and Gary, and the filipinas at the fairy to take us across the channel to Samal Island. One of the 'white' girls (i put white in quotations because i'm nice and blACk/red after falling asleep in the sun) needed to room with the filipinas, so I was fortunate enough to be placed in their room. [so, it kind of sounds like we're somewhat segregated from the filipinas, but it's just that we're rooming with our friends, right, and they're all more comfortable with eachother, and we all know us whities better, with the exception of me, naturally, i'm trying my bESt to become a flip :P]

These were my roommates for the night. From left to right is Ate Ermie, Ate Estefanie, Ate Mayflor (my supervisor), and Ate Ana (who's currently on mat leave) SUch great, great girls to hang out with..
and here are the people that RUN the SHOW here, midwives and their husbands, my teachers and mentors from left to right are Krys and Matt McNeil, a friend of Josie, Josie, and Gary and Lynn Jones (whose daughter completed the program I'm currently a few years ago, they came over 7 years ago and have been missionaries here ever since).

hahah...yeeeee, ROOM SERVICE! :D It was a pretty sweet deal because our school financed the whole trip!

..the filipinas sure know how use the phone in our room to call down to room service, our breakfast display was quite impressive.

It's no pina colada..but fresh coco "buko" juice is probably my favourite thing to get ANYwhere in Davao.

thIS is what it's all about:

http://midwifeschool.org/Home.htm - for those of you who might think i'm making this all up, i've made it into MMC's newly re-vamped WEBsite...all of the students thoughts, opinions, and critics went into the making of this site. It's kinda crazy that I can recognize, and that I know and interact with all these people every day.

"Catches-to-date" total TWELVE live babies!! I'm busy finishing a current assignment (mircobiology) and getting ready for my semester exam at the end of next week that will cover everything I've learned up until now...uhh, I probably shOUld be spending more time looking into preparing for that...but, as always, "life" gets in the way. BeSIDES, my mom is coming in LESS than ONE week now!! And, I need to get ready for her arrival!...cleeean my room, clean the hOUSe, buy some groceries, wash the linens, get her bEd ready, find fun places to take her, budget, etc, etc, etc. hah. I'm just joking. come on now, she's my MOM, once she is in town, SHE can do all that stuff for me! I do get side tracked often..


Actually, the school has planned this nice little vacation/treat for us midwives, whities and filipinas alike, to hit up Paradise Resort for friday and saturday. [You mIGHt be wondering who'll catch all the babies born this weekend, but half of us went a couple weeks ago, and nOW it's the other half's turn! which includes me] So that is what i'll be doing this weekend, but first, I've got night shift tonight.

YEE, the bESt!

today on shIft..uhh, i think it was the vERY first time I was truly comfortable/confident being endorsed a labour. WHen I think back to some of the first times on shift, I was AB.sol.utely.terr.I.fied about being responsible for a labouring woman. But toDAY was different. Enday (Rudyleen Labajo) had a few complications that needed to be taken care of before delivery would happen naturally... a handsome baby boy was born @ 4:03pm, but was immediately transported because of meconium inspiration and nostril flaring - so sad because he didn't get his first meal before going off with his dad and leaving poor Enday totally alone and complEtEly exhausted. (this is where I shINE :D). I kicked it into 'nurse' mode, made Enday some 'milo' (kinda like hot chocolate, we always give these girls milo after a birth to boost their energy, like 200 calories a cupful), scammed some food from the kitchen for her! (usually the 'banas' (husbands) will go to get some food after the birth, if they haven't already brought some)...

so, we kinda became buddies, as I was hanging out with her in her cubicle while finishing all the paper work involved with delivering someone's baby. (NORmally I try to leave her, her husband, and new baby alone to bond) And SOMEwhere in and amongst all of her immediate postpartum checks, we started talking about baby boy NAMES! She asked me what I liked, so I began listing off names, starting with the coolESt ones I could think of, and finishing off with some of my friends names (it's hARD to think of boys names on the spot!) After all that, she asked me to repeat the very first one I had listed because thAt was thE ONE!

And, I'm excited to announce...

BRYDEN has offICIAlly had a baby in the philippines named after him! Enday has two other boys, both with two first names, so in keeping with this, her son was named Bryden Liam Labajo Pallor. I was so incredibly excited! BRY!, how COOL is THIS?!

As I was walking home I started thinking about if I'd ever get the chance to meet Bryden Liam when he gets older...THEN I started thinking about the ELEVEN OTHER babies I've delivered...I am the first person to assess, see, touch, and speak to these little babies and I've never really thought about their lives AFTER Mercy Maternity Clinic. [i miGHt be getting too far into this] How cool would it be to meet up with some of them 10, 20 years down the road and be able to say I HELPED you out of your mOm! and, ...would this have an impact on them? Then I started thinking about who delivered ME...and, i don't think i'd really care either way. So, maybe Bryden Liam wouldn't care either. But still, he is a big deal to me right now. I will probably go visit them in the hospital to see how things are.

ALSO. (yikes...) we had student group tonight, where all of the students meet with the directors/founders/active participants in the school AND birthroom. TOnight was all about missions (haha, again.) and Matt named off EIGHT countries they are in contact with who are bEGGing them to send midwives. They are as follows: Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Afghanistan, Romania, Cambodia, Mexico, and India....urghhh. [did i mention, they're BEGGInggg] Matt is such an amazing speaker, so inspiring...I wanted to cry a few times during his little schpeel. i.don't.know.what.to.do/think. Matt and Krys are totally behind supporting 4 or 5 of us going into a country and starting a birthing clinic...my face in this pic best describes my emotions.

the traditional family picture in front of the tree..

I just received brianna's christmas package. She sent me such great and thoughtful things, one of which were updated pictures...looks like i was home for christmas after all :P

thIS is my continuity, Aileen at her last prenatal at the clinic. We've been hanging out outside of the clinic though, and I am SO looking forward to delivering her baby. It's cool because she tells me her thoughts about pregnancy, and how her boyfriend doesn't want to be at the birth because he's afraid of seeing her in so much pain..(pfft. BAD excuse!) ahha, if I have anything to do with it, he'll be there. She's due April 10th...and i.cannot.wait!

and vaaaalentines day prep.. this was the kitchen we spent All wednesday in, preping, cooking chicken, pork, asparagus soup, this amazing salad, roasted tomatoes, etc. (good thING Joy haad extra chef's jackets and hats...everyone kept calling us martial arts pros)

i handled the chicken cordon blu...I enjoyed the prep part, at Joy's house, but after we got to the church it was inSANity. SO many helpers (which is good)(but OVERstimulating)

Let me introdUCE you to Jennah Fruylan, and her mom, Maricel
Jennah was my nineth handle. the TENth came as a bit of a rip off...let me explain. I got to work for 5:45 am, for enough time to change and get ready before endorsements at 6. As Estef endorsed her labour to me we could hear her moaning. We quickly finished her endorsement and I went straight to her cubicle to check on her. When I arrived she was pushing, and the BOW was bulging out of her, and I could only get one glove one before out spilled a little baby boy! uhhh...not.my.fault. haha. no no, everything was fine, I put the baby up on the mother's tummy, no harm done (good thing there was no cord coil..). AS the assist took over that part, I got 'ready' to deliver the placenta. It was nuts though, because the mother, Analyn, basically birthed her baby all by herself! The clinic was crAZy that day...all six beds were full, and I had to move Analyn and her family into the 'overflow' postpartum part to be able to check in yet aNOTHer labour (whom I later endorsed because she was only 4 cm). Things have been busy, but OH-so-good!

picture deprived.

i've TAKen the pic of Jennah and I and her mom, but had to use someone else's camera. So i'm just waiting for her to email to me... here are some others I got off ppl, to keep you entertained in the meantime!
this is me, tiffany, and laura one night after a bIG dinner out for Krystal's birthday, attemptING to all fit in my single, bottom, bunk bed!

and HERE laura and i are playing the guitar. i taught her e and em...lol.
this mIGHT look like I'm rapping..or something, but i'm ACtually trying to get away from the picture that was being taken of me..and only me..hah, laura was being funny. but i just felt awkward. but the PICture makes me look kinda cool ;)

in and amongst

Yeah, I'll get pictures of Jennah for everyone at the next baby check-up.
In the mEANtime, my words will have to suffice..

I wanted to fill you guys in on a few of the things that have been happening around here. As time goes on I'm slowly becoming more and more inVOLved with the 'stuff' that makes up my reality here (as my mom would say, it was only a matter of time). I realized that the contact list in my phone has grown out of control...I'll share a story to give you a bit of an idea as to why this is so...

I was in my favourite coffee shop, drinkin' a chai latte (one WAY better than ANy starbuckS) and working vigorously on finishing an essay for class when these two Korean girls approached me, kinda laughing at themselves while explaining to me that they're here to learn english, but that their classes aren't enough...they needed more conversational practice. hah, THEN they go "so, do you have time to be our friend?" We quickly exchanged numbers with promises to text. I just met up with them last night at the mall, and it was surprisingly a good time - no awkwardness (although, i did have an american along for supprt), we sat and talked then walked around and shopped THEN went to see Blood Diamonds (wHICh, by the way, is an amazing movie).

Also. today was my very first day to play the keyboard at my church's worship service...that's right, I've held off thIS long! They ALmost inSISted on me singing aswell...but I got away with not. And it went really well. The worship team at All Nations Christian Fellowship is vERY vERY good - made up of an acoustic, one electric (who both sing), bass, the keyboard and drums, and usually 2 other female voices. It was easy to play with such talent...not that the church on the hill doesn't have talent, because you DO! This was just...more...refined, I guess.

Let's see...what else?
Ahh, so i know that there was no consensus on whether or not I might 'meet someone' while here in the Philippines. Some would totally rebuke the thought, when OthERs were conVINced there is nothing wrong with it (those were the ppl who were SURE i'd go off, meet someone, and never come back). haha. For example, my last and very WISE employer (Mr. John Leyenhorst) absolutey forBID me to meet a guy here, while Bonnie Fahnestock encouraged it, as long as I brought him back home to be wed. WELL. You all will be reliEVEd to know that my school is also against intercultural relationships. And, I strongly believe that it's because of thIS reason alONE that I am dateless for valentines'07. lol. j/k...no, but I am...

SO, I made friends with a caterer named Joy. I love cooking, and baking, and eating - and she promised All of these things and more if I would help cater the valentines day couples dinner at our church. I figured this would be an excellent alternative to wallowing in...well. you get the point. but i am SUPER excited to be catering/serving again. Lois and I are going to her house early wednesday morning to prepare, and might even slEEP over! (her husband is out of town, so she wants some company - should be fun though, because she said she lives near the 'club' and that we could bring our suits...suhWEEt)
WOW - this became a novel.

Just one more thing...something I've been thinking about lately...
What is your perception of reality?

jenna(..with an h) Fruylan

last night's shift endorsed Maricel Malate, a 19 yo G1P1 (now) to me at 8 cm dilated. She wanted to push right then but I advised her to while until she was fully to start pushing...she was tired, so she rested. Just before 8 am she started getting more vocal, so I lifted her leg (she was lying on her side) expECTing to see nothing new.
exCEPT, somewhere in that hour she'd gone from 8 cm to fully and the baby's HEAD was alREADY visible!
yIkES!
so I call 'head visible' as I slap on the gloves so my supervisor will come to chart for me. [as students, we are suPPOSEd to have our supervisor in the cubicle for all the 'important' events such as crowning, baby out, and the birth of the placenta]. Maricel did sUCh a great job of controlling herself. She'd push when I encouraged it and would breathe when I'd say to. The newborn baby girl was born at 8:05 with a nuchal cord coil AND a 'body wrap' (when the cord also going around the body). I've never been faced with THAT situation before, and there's all these protocols and whatnot, but at the time, you don't really thINk about or reMEMber the rules, you just deal with it. And the baby slid out with being strangled, so i gUESs i did my job.

Roldan, her husband disappeared later on, just before the bath and i THOUGHt he was going to miss it. [i consider the first bath a prEtty.bIG.dEAl.] So when he DID show up I was like 'WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!', totally joking of course..but he smelled like smoke. I made him bath the baby, haha, all in fun, of course, as punishment for slipping out for a smoke.

Also, Maricel had said that Roldan would name their baby..and after 5 hours she remained nameless - when I was filling out the birth certificate I started asking him all these questions like 'well, what kind of names do you LIKE?', 'what are you conSIDering?' ...Finally he goes, 'i like YOUR name.' YEEEEEE.
Jennah Fruylan is THE first filipino to be named after me - maybe because I pressured him, maybe because we were buddies, or maybe just because he liked the name jenna, it doesn't matter - it feels prEtty darn good. They'll always be a special family to me.

beAUtifUl babY bOY.

what the stORk saw.

WELCOME JADEN LUCAS! born Feb.5, 2007 at ~3:15pm

the Neufelds were one of the hardESt people to leave home last september as I came to the Philippines to learn how to deliver babies, KNOWing that I would be missing the birth of Ted and Julie's precious second child. Communication throughout was as often as schedules allow, and has just recently become more of a steady, daily thing as they anticipated the birth of little Jaden. Juls went into the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, and by that afternoon gave in to a cesarean birth.
As you can see from the pictures, he's an angel!
- I'm am so thrilled for you guys, but also cannot help the saddness in my heart as I think of all that I have missed, and will miss until I return. !!God blESS you and your WHOLE family, imMENSely!! :D

hAPPy 22Nd!

haha, yeah - Michelle, you miGHt possibly be right with that one... hOPefully you're all assuming i'm holding out on ya until sOMEbody comments (yeah, no, someone OthER than michelle. lol)(you're cool) but, the truth is not much has been out of the ordinary around here.

I am not trying to say the delivering babies is in ANy lESs exciting. because. it's. amazing. but the birthroom has been quite on my shifts lately. and i WOUld've taken a pic of this crAZy salon that our neighbours built (right beside our house) in like, a day. I'm serious. They started building, and I'm pretty sure I saw her cutting someones hair thAT SAme night! Pretty fun though, I have BIG plANs to get my hair styled there...every.morning.

hAPPyyy BIRTHday wAHkeena!
dearest Tiff was sick on her ACTual birthday, and i had this super huge meal planned..so we postponed it. until tonight. Tiffany didn't want to spend money on going out for dinner, so we had everyone over to our house, and i planned different courses everyone could work on/be a part of...it went really well.