January-February 2014 UPDATE

Hello everyone! 

We hope that this update finds you well and that you have all enjoyed the last of winter before a new season is upon us! We miss you all back home so much and think of you everyday. Your support, emotional, spiritual, or financial has meant more than you could ever know. Just know that when you see pictures of these beautiful faces (no, not ours) of these mothers, babies and children, that it is because of you and your generosity and love that we are here and able to share the love of Jesus. We may be physically here in the Philippines, but it does not mean we are any more important in this work then you. There are senders and there are goers. We can not go, without being sent. We are but one SMALL part of the Body of Christ. All of us play a part in reaching the world for Jesus! 

I know we have been writing a few updates on facebook between Colby and I, but we wanted to share a more detailed one with those of you who were interested in sharing what the Lord is doing here in Rizal. 

The last week of January (when we arrived) was a blink of an eye. Between adjusting to new sleep patterns and moving our entire life into a new place, it was here and gone before we knew it. Filled with new mother and babies, new faces and new friends, and a new language. Lots of newness!  And February has been an amazing month. Filled with so many blessings and so many “can you actually believe we are here?!?” moments. God is so so good. It seems that those words don’t even do His Goodness justice anymore. We are just in awe of Him. Seriously. This experience has been so beyond us. The fact that He has called us to serve here, in this time, is such. An. Honor. 

Praise You Lord. 

So..... February has looked a little bit like this...

I have been finding my flow in the birthing home, learning the way they practice here and do things. Some things VERY different then what I’m used to, others, pretty much the same as the States. Prenatal check-ups are every tuesday, wednesday, and thursday and we see around 30-50 women everyday between about 6 midwives, so needless to say, they are VERY busy days. On those days, Colby and Lily have their bonding time together and take a stroll down to the local fruit market or take a bus ride down to the mall. Then after prenatals are over, we all reunite in the birthing home again for lunch that is made 5 days a week for us by Ate Helen,  a wonderful woman and a fabulous cook! She cooks traditional filipino dishes and then always lots of rice on the side. Today, after a long day of check-ups, Colby came walking in with Lily in her stroller. She had a ‘double fudge’ milk shake (with whipped cream) in her hand and all over her face and dress, happy as ever! Not too long after she crashed fast asleep. Wonder why! ha.  Its so precious to see them bond so much. He is always reading to her, watching movies or running around the house playing hide and seek. I am so thankful for such an amazing man who has sacrificed so much (even though to him he doesn’t see it that way) for us to be able to come here and serve and for me to finish school. It would not be possible otherwise. He is seriously amazing. 

So after our days of prenatals, life seems pretty normal (?). We walk down to the market, followed by a mob of street children. All of them calling out “Hiiii Lily!!!” She draws lots attention here and the kids get a kick out of her “zombie” impersonations. Colby loves these children and his heart has really grown for them more and more as we have been here. Especially after seeing them, some as young as 8 years old huffing paint and melted rubber out of plastic bags. We came to learn that they do this all day, every day, because it suppresses hunger pains. They huff until they can longer stand and then lay in the dirt, high, drooling and still hungry. Hungry for food, but mostly hungry for love.  We tossed and turned that night. And Colby woke up the next morning inspired to do something. He now carries a huge bundle of bananas and snacks with him as well as other medical supplies in a back pack as lots of the children have open sores on their bodies from lack of hygiene. They live right along a very dirty creek, filled with stagnant water and trash and is used as a bathroom and as laundry water. The smell is indescribable.  Most of these children are not orphans. They have either a mother or a father, sometimes both. But most of the time the father is an alcoholic and beats them, so they don’t want to go home, and the mother is busy either working all day, or selling herself to try and feed her children just enough to keep them alive. It is heartbreaking. No other words to describe. Only, Only the Love of Jesus can overcome such hopelessness! He can and He will and He is! One child at a time. One smile at a time. One hug at a time. One small, broken tagalog/english conversation at a time. One banana at a time. 

The other interns (3) and I, rotate for on-call births. I just caught the last baby, so the next up is Alex, and then so on. Most babies come at night (like always) so when one of us is on call, we know there is no sleep that night. Two nights ago, was a funny experience. Just as I was laying in bed, I received a text from my preceptor midwife who said “labor, 4-5 cm”. So I calmly and quietly got out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my birth bag and kissed Colby and Lily goodbye. I figured I would have some time having known that this was a first time mother and generally their labors are a lot longer then mothers with multiple children. As I walked into the clinic, I could hear her groaning, grunting and crying out in pain, sounding much further along in her labor then expected. So I decided I would go straight in the room and throw on gloves, just in case. Before I could introduce myself, her water broke suddenly and I apparently was in the soak zone and was baptized in amniotic fluid (ahhhhhh!!)!!!!. So, after whipping off what I could, I did an internal exam and found her to be fully dilated and baby’s head descending. An hour and a half of pushing and then finally, a beautiful birth!! A precious baby boy and two very happy first time parents. Also, a whole waiting room filled with anxious/excited family members and friends from church waiting to hear the news and celebrate! It was really precious! Every birth is so different. Some a little more difficult then others, but all beautiful in their own way. They all have a story. I wish I could tell more birth stories, but I would never shut up, so I’m cutting myself off here. :) 

If Colby and I have learned one thing since being here, it is this: we absolutely can not do this. We can not “save” anyone from their situation or pull anyone out of poverty. We can temporarily fill an empty stomach with a banana, but we know tomorrow they will be hungry again. We can not cause anyone to “change” or to all of a sudden realize the value of their life and begin to change the devaluing culture practices that have been practiced for generations. We can not convince a father to stay with his family rather then spending his nights at the bar. We can not get the words out right to get across to a laboring woman who is crying out in pain, that “You are LOVED daughter! This will soon be over!” How do we tell her of His loving compassion? Sometimes there are no words.  We can not heal the man who is in a coma from a drunken accident, leaving behind a wife and baby girl. We can not control the behavior of the street children and change their behaviors of stealing, cursing and fighting. The only way they know to survive. How do we love the young woman enough into convincing her not to sell her body for food for her hungry children? We can. not. do. this. 

There is too much. Too much suffering. Too much sadness. 

Their suffering is so big. 

And we are so small. 

Nothing. 

We sat together on our couch one night as Lily had just fallen asleep. We were both heavy with burdens and hopelessness. The weight of compassion leaking from our hearts with no direction. Their faces. Their names. Their wrinkled hands. Their heavy hearts. Their open sores. Their hunger for food. For attention. For love. Their souls. 

We sat for a while in the silence of the night and I began to cry. And cry. 

We cried out. 

And the Lord began to speak...

“Yes. You are right....you can not do this.” 

“Yes. You are right...it is much too heavy.”

“Yes. You are right...you do not have enough money to feed them all, everyday.”

“Yes. You are right...you can change no one.” 

“.....But you know who CAN!!” 

“My children, it is not your job to change the world. Or even a person.  That is my job, my loves! Just be obedient in the very small ways of love. Start with a smile. A visit.  A hug. A shoulder to cry on. Forgive the child who stole from you. Give a cup of water. Give a hand to hold. And yes, even a banana. Do what I do, and leave the rest to me.

You can not do this. But I CAN. You don’t know, but I DO. You don’t speak the language, but I DO....give them to me. 

“Bring them to Me.” 

The hope began to rise up inside of us and His Joy and Peace began to fill us up. We hugged and agreed to never again trust our own ability to do the Lord’s work. 

What a relief. What freedom. The Creator of heaven and earth gave us permission to lay down these precious people at His precious feet. He knows what they need. We do not. But we trust He will show us, and He will meet those needs. Either through us, or through another way. Whatever way He chooses. 

His Heart bleeds with compassion for His children, and we can trust Him with them. 

They are His.

Please keep us in your prayers as we start language lessons next week and continue to try and build relationships with these new mothers and families and the street children and their families. Pray that we would be continually reminded, NOT to relay on our own strength or resources, but that we would bring with us, the One Man and God, who can change everything, JESUS. 

Please tell us how we can pray for you as well. You are all so important to us and we want to stay updated on what the Lord is doing in your live’s as well. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you!!

The Rodgers 

A new mother bonding with her baby just a few hours after a birth. 

Lily in her new room, even though she sleeps with us every night. This has sort of turned into her play room. And these are all the things she has gathered as 'toys'!