It's been almost a month since I have left for Guyana. I am starting to settle in and feel more comfortable with the place and people. I have moved into my "permanent" home, while I am here. The mission family that lives here has offered me a place to stay in their home, instead of living in another house by myself. So, I get to room with Serena, a 14-year old, that is constantly teaching me how to live here in Guyana. As ever day goes by, I am learning more and yet still learning I don't know anything. I am beginning to understand the saying, "Put your back into it," and applying that saying in a literal way. Whether sweeping with a stick broom, washing all (there's a lot) the dishes by hand, making food from scratch, and gardening... putting you back into it is a necessity.

    I am getting accustomed to waking up with "alarm clocks," the kind you can't set or have control of. Anywhere between 4a.m. and 7a.m. there will be cows, sheep, parrots, roosters, ducks, dogs, cats, taxis, and people that will wake me up. A new rooster has moved into our yard. At first, I thought, "Cool, an actual rooster can wake me up ever morning."... What was I thinking! This rooster sounds like it's voice box is broken, by the end of it's call it is just a loud squeak.

    The house I live in has running water, but the amount of water we have always depends on the rain. I have learned to take even faster showers, not only to save water, but to also get out of the cold water! Sometimes the cold shower is refreshing and cooling off feels wonderful, but usually I start to sweat while trying to dry off after the shower. (The only time I really feel "clean" is the 5 minutes after I brush my teeth). We are also blessed with a washing machine, it runs, however I am not sure how well it actually cleans. Hanging up clothes to dry is a simple task, the process of waiting for the clothes to finally dry tests my patience. Sometimes it takes two days for clothes to dry, and even then I am not sure they are actually fully dry. Because we only have electricity from 5-11p.m. the refrigerator apparently runs on a car battery. (I'm not a battery expert, but it looks like the thing I plug jumper cables on when my car battery dies.) I know i previously stated that we have electricity from 5-11p.m. but, since I have been here the city generator has only worked for 2 days. It was broken when I arrived, was fixed on Thanksgiving day, and then broke a day later. Luckily the house I live in runs a generator when darkness consumes the house until we go to bed. Having lights can be a blessing and also a burden. The light allows me to see what I am showering with... My first shower here I was able to shower with a wolf spider, tarantula, and another spider that still remains unidentified.

    Everything here takes longer. Cooking everything from scratch takes a lot more time and planning then I originally imagined. Once breakfast is made and dishes are hand washed, it seems as if we go straight into cooking lunch and then dinner. I am going to perfect the art of baking bread...With the amount we make, through trial and error, I know I will get a nice loaf of bread at least once! I have learned to enjoy the "butter" and milk. Our butter is shortening (ugh) and the milk is always powered milk. (But we have learned which brand mixes best in water.) The other day, in Georgetown, oatmeal was served for breakfast. We added multiple ice-cubes so we could have cold oatmeals since it was so hot outside. In Mabaruma, the town I live in, we don't have the luxury of ice, so pouring on cold water has to suffice. (Always proud when I end up rhyming).

    The Christmas season is upon us. We put up our tree Thanksgiving day. I am always looking forward to the current (electricity) coming on at 5 so the tree lights will turn on! We will be busy the next few days putting together Christmas baskets that we will pass out to some of the families here. This year my Christmas will definitely be focused on giving!

   I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

(p.s. being able to post on my blog is a process... I am only able to get internet on my phone right now, and even that is extremely slow and iffy. So I apologies for the lack of posts.)

Not what was planned

So, I was planning on writing a blog post on spending thanksgiving in another country. I wanted to explain how it was fun to spend thanksgiving with strangers that I only met a week ago. I couldn't help relating to the pilgrims who relied on other strangers for help! But, a more exciting story happened that pretty much wiped out any excitement I had over thanksgiving!

Where do I start?... Well, on Friday we were planning on flying from my small town, Mabaruma, into the main town, Georgetown, so that I could get my temporary nursing permit. The plan was to leave around 10. This gave us time to "sleep in" and get ready to go at a relaxing pace. At 6:30 Gregg, the pilot/nurse practitioner, came into my room and said that we had to do a medical evacuation for a pregnant lady in a neighboring town. I of course was excited, this was my first one! We quickly threw our things together and Gregg, Serena (14 year old daughter), and I took off for the airplane. We fueled the plane and after Serena and I discussed who should sit in the front seat we took off to the neighboring town called Mathews ridge. We decided that I should sit in the front seat because it was only my second time flying in a tiny plane and I could easily talk to the pilot.

Landing in Matthews ridge is a little story by itself. The airport had a cloud cover of 600 feet and working with the spare GPS they didn't feel comfortable landing without actually seeing the runway. After a few attempts to find a clearing to get below the clouds there was finally an opening and we dove down under the blanket. I of course was kind of nervous by the maneuvering, so we did one more loop in order to land softly on the dirt runway.

We picked up the laboring patient along with a doctor and nurse. The patient was having a long labor so they were sending her to a more developed hospital. During the flight I noticed the doctor starting to fidget around more. He kept asking how much longer. Shortly he started moving the luggage in the back of the tiny plane and put on surgical gloves... I knew what was happening; the baby was about to be delivered! The nurse moved to where the doctor had been sitting. Being in the very front seat of the plane I was completely useless. I could barely see, but was updating the pilot with what little I saw and could deduce what was happening. On Nov 28 at 9:31 with an elevation of 5500 feet, in a 6 passenger plane, filled with 6 passengers, a baby boy was born! Once he started to breath they placed the baby into Serena's hands. ( at this point I was REALLY wishing I had not chosen the front seat)
With about 20 mins left on the flight the placenta was delivered and everyone had to get into their seats for landing. Well, everyone except the mother who way laying down. In order to move all the luggage around the baby was passed up to me! Oh I was SO happy!!

As I sat there holding and suctioning the baby I couldn't help but giggle. When leaving for Guyana I knew I would have an amazing experience and just prayed to God that I would get at least one story worth telling. I definitely got my story!
It is amazing looking back now to see how God led this adventure. Because we had to do the medical evacuation our flight into Georgetown and from Georgetown to Mabaruma will be completely paid for. The doctor and nurse were not planning on coming, but decided to last minuet because it wouldn't hurt. I apparently didn't have to come into Georgetown to get my nursing permit but, because we thought I had to I was able to have a once in a life time experience!

Safe in Guyana

The trip seemed shorter than I imagined. It didn't go without some bumps, after almost missing my last connecting flight, I made it safely to the main town in Guyana! Landed in Guyana at 1:30am and due do some taxi difficulties (our driver had left and took a while to get back) what should have taken about an hour might have taken about 2-3... Not sure because all the timing was a blur. Got in bed at 5 and woke up at 8 to start my day of errands in Georgetown. Apparently we had a lucky day, when I went to get my "tax identification number" and drivers license I thought it was a crazy long line, apparently it was short. What took the previous student missionaries 6 hours only took me 3! My license picture was literally taken and printed in the back of a mini van!

here are a few of my first impressions of guyana
1.tropical (don't picture a crystal blue ocean)
2. hot and humid
3. trees and flowers look alot like Hawaii
4. people take "ilsland time" to the extreme
5. i have to rethink what side to get into a car (the drive on the other side of the road than US)

Tomorrow we fly (in the small plane) to Mabaruma and I will be seeing the town I will be living in for the next months.*also I found out I will not be living in a house all by myself. I will be sleeping in a tent outside my supporting families house.

 Now I am getting ready to take a nice cold shower.. and I am serious about the NICE part.. I have been looking forward to cooling down all day! 

*housing is subject to change in the future. (mostly wrote this note for my mom) 

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Well, I just finished packing all the things I’m going to need for the next six months. It seems weird to think that everything I need is in a suitcase, carry-on and one extremely stuffed backpack! Made my last minute runs to Target and Wal-Mart with Julia today…. Hopefully I got everything.. but the way I see it, if I forgot something, it will just be an experience learning how to live with-out it!

My excitement/apprehension/nervousness is building, while at the same time I have an odd feeling of peace. I honestly believe that God has brought the opportunity to be a nurse in Guyana at the perfect timing in my life. With all the curve balls I have been hit with in the past year I can now look back and see that it is because of these curve balls that I have learned to trust and lean on Him even more than I ever have!

I leave tomorrow morning from LA and will be traveling for about 24 hours. I would LOVE for you to keep me in your constant prayers, especially these next 72 hours.

This blog will hopefully keep you updated on my happenings. I am not eloquent with words or ideas, (the fact that I just came up with that word at the top of my head is a complete shocker) but I will do my best to at least keep you informed!

I do not know what trials I will face, but I will constantly be reminded of the verse in Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” I must remember that either good or bad, all things will work out! 

Want more information.

It's been a week since I "kicked off" my fundraising. I loved the response I got from my church. My church seems very excited for my opportunity. I really enjoyed trying to answer questions and talk to friends that have actually visited Guyana! There is still a lot of fundraising I have to do!
Attached are two documents that I have made to just explain a bit more about what I am doing and why!

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1b5RlvMi037S2ZWQ2ZMQ1QtTXc/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1b5RlvMi037TEpvRzFGck5rV2s/edit?usp=sharing

 

And so it begins....

Today is the day I am trying to "kick off" my fundraising for my stay in Guyana this coming school year! Somehow finishing brochures, starting Facebook pages, and editing blogs are never as easy as I  imagined. Yesterday, as I was working on designing a Word document I proved to my self, once again, that I am surprisingly computer illiterate! ( I couldn't figure out how to delete a page number) I wanted to have everything done and ready to go yesterday, but it just was not happening. My frustrations kept growing. My wonderful sister noticed and suggested we go for a night run to get out our all our built up stress from this week. It's amazing what some exercise and prayer can do. I went to bed feeling peaceful.
This morning I woke up and realized while I still have a long list of "to do's" if i keep working, I will be able to cross them off eventually! I know God has great plans for me and I must lean on Him!

"Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward. You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises." Hebrews 10:35-36