Full Circle

As a parent of grown children, there is nothing better than the sense of satisfied wholeness that floods the heart when your children return home to visit. A similar sense of completion ensues when tlc families return home after many years to visit the birth country of their
children, to visit their roots at the little children's home.


These past two weeks we welcomed two wonderful returning families; from Norway the Fossey-Sandbakks with Jonas, Jostein and Maria Ellaine, all tlc kids, and son Daniel. They brought beautiful pictures of their lives in Norway, sports, friends,
mountains, family, and snow!













And from the Netherlands, the Bettink family bringing their son Samuel who had been with us at tlc nine years ago. Also with them was son Bryan from another home in the Philippines. They are on their way to Leyte to pick up their new daughter.




On both of these happy occasions we shared lunch in our home as we had so many years ago when all of our kids were younger and some, grandsons Aubrey and Auden
weren't yet born.

A Shiphrah Morning

Welcome to a typical morning at Shiphrah Birthing Home. Women begin to arrive for
the Childbirth and Motherhood classes sometimes as early as 7 am.

Shiphrah Home Manager, Helen leads her "Cheeky Girls" exercise session. It wakes us all up...gets the blood flowing and best of all, brings smiles.





Each class is a response to questions the women have asked at the beginning of the course. In these pictures, you're seeing our class on Childbirth. In the skit, we're answering the questions that the women have asked earlier. I play the mother-in-law who is full of superstitious beliefs which reflect many of the women's questions. Helen is the pregnant mom, and midwives Lornie and Bhel play the parts of the midwife and the husband respectively.








Following the class we move inside. New women are interviewed, a practical welcome to Shiphrah during which we can begin our care and friendship.










For ladies who have prenatals scheduled, it's weights and measures time.














Natalie is a missionary studying to become a midwife. All of our midwives serve as instructors.
Dina is the teacher on this day.









Meriendas (snacks) are sold by some of our former "buntis" (pregnants)and friends. The fishball vendor pushes his "meals on wheels" up the hill every prenatal day. He does a brisk business.



Morning at Shiphrah. Mothers, babies, families.

X-Tra Special Kids

Francis is our first X-tra Special Kid.
He has glomerulonephritis - kidney
disease. We met Francis when he was 2
and in a charity hospital with a huge foot
wound that would not heal. With the help
of the U.S. Embassy Club, American Women's
Club and many others, we were able to get
needed surgery and, in the early days, help
with frequent hospitalizations for Francis. His kidneys are fairly stable
and now, 11years later, he leads a pretty normal life with
minimal help. Without huge help in those early two
or three years, Francis would not have survived. In the picture,
he's with his mom, Annie, and his baby sister, Pauline. His
Dad, Roger, works as a taxi driver. Francis
loves to draw and hopes to be an engineer someday.



Twins Grace and Mercy have been our X-tra Special Kids
for the past 5 years. Now 14, they were diagnosed with
lupus....Systemic lupus erythmatosus...SLE when they were
only 9. Many around the world have helped us stand with
their family to help with the impossible costs of care. Their
father works as a janitor for less than $100 a month. Their
mom sells vegetables door-to-door for $2 a day. These are
good people.
Recently Grace was admitted to a medical study program
that will pay for her medical costs.We are waiting for news
of Mercy's acceptance. We will continue to help with the transportation to get the girls' to their treatments. I'm including two photos, one, when we first met the twins, and the most recent, with their mom, Letty. Grace is always on the left and Mercy is always on the right.

Carmina (Carmi) Macaventa is our neighbor. She is 16 and
will be graduating from high school this year with honors. A
wonderful girl, Carmi has dreams of going on to college and
becoming a businesswoman. She spends hours at our kitchen
table working on her homework with her best friend, Jhing,
our cook, Belen's daughter. All those dreams are now in question.
Carmi was diagnosed with retinal pigmentosa right after Christmas.
She will be blind before she is 25. We are determined to walk
with Carmi and her family, finding ways for her to go on to
college, fulfilling her dreams. Her dad is a tiler and her mom
a homemaker. They have very little income, but are, again,
great people. We celebrate New Year's together every year as we
gather in the street that runs in front of our homes and welcome
in the New Year with all sorts of rockets, firecrackers, and sparklers.
She is our newest X-tra Special Kid.