Life Changing Experiences!

Hello All!

I'm so sorry I didn't post last week. There was something wrong with the internet at the cafe where we were. 

Despite that, I had an AMAZING week! The Lord is really moving in the lives of people over here and I would encourage you all to continue praying as He answers them as I can testify! He is such a wonderful heavenly father who we have the privilege to call Abba because he is our father and we can rest in His arms even when life seems absolutely impossible. He has really opened up my heart and my life to things I have never experienced before and I thank Him everyday for all of the amazing things He has revealed to me just in the past few weeks. 

So, since my last post, we have been doing lots of stuff! We finished up our Filipino orientation at the BOOST on June 17th. This orientation was more of a chance to adapt to Filipino life rather than orientation. Like I said, we take bucket baths and wash our clothes by hand but very surprising to me, it's actually not that bad. You all know me as the Texas girl who likes her make-up and hair done in the Texas fashion, but I'm a totally different person here. I thought it was going to be really hard to adjust, but I actually like the "new me" :) The Lord has to do some working in that area of my life, but I'm actually very okay with it. 

The week of orientation at the BOOST really bonded us as a big group, we are like a family. After Sunday with the visitation at churches, we had a delicious Filipino lunch with families at the church and took our siestas (naps) until about 3pm. --------The pace of life here is so different from the US, it's going to take a lot of "getting used to" when we all return to the fast paced life there. Basically, the Filipinos are just concerned with things needed to survive which the Lord has used to really open my eyes to how "the other side" lives. In the US we are always worried about the next big thing and the next item on our agenda. That's not the case here. We cook breakfast leisurely, and if we're a little late, no worries (there's a phrase here, Filipino time, which basically means that if the time is set at 7pm, don't expect the event to start until at least an hour and a half later at about 8:30pm) Like I said, I love these people :)---------

We began our BOOST orientation with morning lectures about medical botany and common illnesses we (or our village people) may contract while here. These ranged from common cough/cold to Malaria and Tuberculosis. Not to worry though, I am fine and all the team is well except a little GI adjustment to new food and such. 

One thing that I found when we got here is that the team would be providing a medical clinic on the Friday of orientation where we would be providing free circumcisions to the boys in the surrounding villages. This was quite a shock to me seeing that I am going to go into physical therapy...not surgery. Now I can say with full confidence though that I am not meant to be a surgeon! 

We continued through the week with more education on the culture and the Filipino life. Friday rolled around and I was feeling extremely nervous about the circumcision clinic because Kuya Bong said that he wanted everyone to be "lead surgeon" on at least one patient. We walked up to the clinic at about 8am expecting to have only a few patients and found there were about 20 already waiting! We sure had our work cut out for us. We split into groups and I thought I would watch first to make sure I could do it correctly. The first patient was extremely brave seeing as he was only about 6 and so he jumped on the table and was all set! As soon as Kuya Bong made the first cut I felt so sick and almost fainted! I usually don't feel sick at the sight of blood, so I think it was a combination of the heat, humidity, and the feeling of nervousness. Needless to say, I sat down for a little while and let the other pre-med students and nursing students take the lead for a little while. As soon as I felt better, I played "nurse" to the "surgeons" and just assisted and comforted the patients with stickers and pictures. We only had one extremely scary case where we believe the patient metabolized the anesthesia too quickly and began to feel pain before we were finished, but Greg (a team leader) kept very calm and finished quickly. This certainly was an interesting experience, but I'm sure surgery is not for me :) 

The weekend was a pretty calm one and we were preparing for the next week when we would travel to our villages in teams of four. My team consists of Loren, Melissa, Ross, and myself with our fantastic translators Arleen and Jael. We are in the Village of Consorcia with over 1,500 people living there! That's quite a large village. Before we left for our villages I tried to keep myself from having expectations...but I couldn't help it. I had imagined that we would be sleeping outside in our hammocks hung on trees fighting off mosquitoes and other bugs all night, fetching water a mile away from a river having to filter it ourselves and having to start a fire with sticks and stones. To my surprise, this is not at all what our village was like! We rode over in a jeep-ney on a gravel/dirt road (no major obstacles) and we arrive in the village of Consorcia and we don't see mud huts with an uncontrollable bug issue...rather we arrive at our residence and find that it is a medical clinic with a real bathroom!! Up until this point, we have been using "squatty potties" at the BOOST and have been preparing for digging a hole in the ground. However not in Consorcia! We all sleep on the terrace/balcony of the Barangay Hall (kind of like their town's square/city hall) in our hammocks hung from the bars. My expectations have been put to shame! I should have never been preparing for something I wasn't sure was going to happen. 

Honestly, this is a good general message in life. Why do we worry? Why do we constantly go through life thinking about what "could be" or what "could happen"? The Lord is our ROCK and He is our PROTECTOR! We are living proof that the Lord is still using us to do His work. He is the CREATOR of the universe and He is our Father who will always takes care of His children. So why worry? Rather than worry, today, think about what you can give over to the Lord instead of what you can worry about. I will be doing the same 7,000 miles away from the US. 

Our first village visit ended yesterday and we all came back to our home away from home at the BOOST. It was like we never left each other! We were all so happy to see each other and hear stories of how the Lord is working in the other villages. Greg's team who was in E.G. Montillia came back with a story of 7 salvations!! Praise Jesus! The Lord is moving and we are only so fortunate enough to be His instruments. Thank you Jesus for using me for your work! 

Please continue to pray for the work He is doing over here and for Him to soften the heart of the people in our villages and begin to work in them. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

--Rachael