....around the World.

Art evangelism in India.

2010-05-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

This took place in India, sometime in March 2010...
Written by Orissa Mora-Kent in the Philippines May 27, before returning to Perth, AU.

The heart of the Birth Attendant School is to see God’s Kingdom extended to women and children everywhere. We believe we can see His kingdom come in many ways, whether that is comforting a woman in labor, catching babies and praying over them or teaching about women’s reproductive systems under a mango tree. His kingdom is real, and it comes when women who have been considered not valuable enough to educate are given value through a teaching about their bodies or shown love and respect during the process of giving birth instead of being slapped and yelled at. Kindness sends a powerful message that the one receiving is valuable, made in the image of God and loved unconditionally.

As students of the BAS we also make intercession a regular part of our lives. Waiting on God and hearing Him speak is what stirs us up to take action and live lives that are obedient to His will and purposes.

One particular day God spoke some exciting things for us to do using our gifts of art and storytelling as tools to draw people in to hear about Jesus. And so it was on this particular day that we left our blue hospital uniforms at home and donned our colorful Indian punjabis to have an adventure day with God.

God spoke to us about “filling up the buckets“,
We got the idea from that to draw a picture of an Indian woman filling up buckets at a well. Someone drew the picture and we set out for the park. Settling down on the grass we spread out our art supplies and started doodling away..
Soon the sight of us caught the attention of two young Indian women. They giggled, pointed, smiled and hesitated to pass us by.. one pulling on the other’s arm to stop. We called out to them that they were welcome to come and sit with us. Excitedly they hurried over and sat down - becoming our fast friends. Having prepared for this moment beforehand in prayer we knew it was not a coincidence that these girls so easily began to share with us the personal details of their lives. The girls offered me a drink from their water bottle, which as you will later see, is very significant. Soon an opportunity presented itself for me to take out the picture that was drawn earlier of the Indian woman filling up buckets at a well. I asked the girls, “Do you want to hear a story?” they said yes.

I told the story of the Samaritan woman who met a man named Jesus at a well a long time ago. I was able to refer back to the water they had offered me earlier, and say how even though it had quenched my thirst temporarily, I was naturally thirsty again and I would always be thirsty for that kind of water. Just like that Samaritan woman. I told them about the water Jesus had offered to her and wanted to offer to them too. Living water, that if you drink of you will never thirst again. The story amazed them and they said.. “All of this, from one picture?” “Wow.”

They stayed and drew pictures with us, and we were able to continue speaking truth into their lives. In the end we prayed with both of them. One of the girls, touched by a picture that was drawn of her dancing with Jesus, exclaimed with obvious joy, “This is really from Jesus, I know it, because I love dancing!” All I can say is, praise God! It was an unforgettable day. We still have contact with these girls from India and our prayer for them is that they will choose to drink the water Jesus offers to us all freely.

Thirsty?

at work :)

2010-03-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sudden rainfall brings refreshment.

2010-03-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent my last day in the labour room of the hospital in India.

It was a nice calm day.. I spent it sitting by a labouring woman's bedside talking to her through signing because neither of us understood each other's languages. She did not deliver her baby during my shift so I was not able to assist, but we did have a nice day together.. laughing, and feeling her baby kick, and listening to the baby's heartbeat. It is so nice to share those moments with women as they prepare to become mothers :)

It started raining hard as we were leaving the hospital so we all got soaking wet as we ran to the street from our building - I stood by the curb trying to catch a rickshaw (transport) in the pouring rain just laughing, so happy because I love rain and laughing because I was getting SO wet due to the fact that the rickshaw drivers were being difficult with the price; I kept getting wetter as we couldn't come to an agreement.. Then finally one man agreed to a fair price to take us home - and we gratefully squished ourselves into his rickshaw dripping water everywhere!!
I snapped a couple pictures as we drove through the streets as they were quickly filling up with water that was ankle deep.

I leave India on Good Friday and will arrive in the Philippines to continue studying antenatal, labour and delivery, and postnatal care for pregnant women.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our team!!

2010-03-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

I snapped this on the drive home from my last day at the hospital -
I am leaving India in two days.
Someday I hope to come back to India...

Fear of the Lord

2010-03-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

Hello to all,

Yesterday I had a great day in the hospital -
I felt so happy being there, and being able to help.
I will miss India so much when I leave in two weeks to head to the Philippines with my team.
Being here has been a fulfillment of a long held-in-my-heart desire..
This place has been intense in so many ways, and being in the hospital has given me a clear picture of what India is like.

I attended a birth on Tuesday for a first time mother who delivered a beautiful baby boy in the early afternoon.

I cut my first episiotomy for this mom and then I did the suturing too.

Today she went home with her family and newborn son, and as I passed them all in the hall she smiled at me for the first time! I think she was so happy to be leaving the hospital!

Yesterday was an interesting day..
I was in the post-natal ward (that is where women go after they deliver) following up with the mom whose birth I had attended on Tuesday - and while I was there I noticed another woman laying on a bed in the corner of the ward near the wall..
she smiled at me and then I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to go over and meet her; so I walked over to her bed and said "Hi".
Surprisingly she spoke very good English and started telling me immediately about the pain she was feeling. After talking with her for awhile, and reading her case notes - I decided to get permission from the doctor on duty to examine this woman more thoroughly. I was concerned that the episiotomy she had may be infected. I got permission to examine the patient and this is how I discovered that the stitches were actually loose and some were coming out; there was a gaping bit where the skin wasn't connecting. It was opening up even into the muscle. I reported this to the sister on duty in the ward who then gave me permission to bring the woman downstairs for re-suturing. I brought her down with the daima and was able to clean the wound and stitch it back together. Then I taught the mom how to clean the wound with clean salt water twice daily to prevent infection.
This experience is important to me because God helped me to find her.. in a busy room full of women, alone I would not have known that she needed immediate attention, but with God helping us, my team and I are learning that fear of the Lord is an essential principle that we must build our midwifery practice upon. Being sensitive to obey the Holy Spirit's prompting; we will be better midwives.

I am thankful that God used me to help that woman and teach me a valuable lesson about hearing His voice in the hospital. God is able to see what I cannot -

Today I checked up on the woman who needed the re-suturing and she is doing much better. She said her pain is less today and she would be going home soon. Then I got to share God's love with her in a story about the lost sheep and the Good Shepherd - who I introduced later on in the story as Jesus, God's son. I told her how much Jesus loves her, and how valuable she is to God.

Thank you all for all your prayers. God is good.

Crying with them.

2010-02-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

It is uncomfortable to write this. But I want to share it with you, because it is real. Some days are harder than others. Some days don't call for smiling and hugging to celebrate life -

On these days, there are deep moments of connecting with strangers in desperate grasps and holding on when all you can do is cry with them.

A child of 12 years old was brought into our ward after having been attacked and raped by three men. She was so small. The police came in to get a report, sitting by her bed, asking her questions.. she lay there still, answering them without looking at them. We wanted to scoop her up into our arms and speak comfort to her. I wanted to hold her, but some family was there by her, around the bed. So we could only watch from a distance. Her hair was stiff and dirty, so were her clothes and she wore no shoes on her feet. She was wearing a green dress and gold arms bracelets.
At one point, one of the women had to carry the little girl to the toilet because she was in too much pain to walk by herself.

At the same time,
on the other side of the room a young woman laboured to give birth to her second child. Her first one had been a stillborn.

We walked over to her, where her mother was speaking to her -- encouraging her to keep going, keep pushing. We saw two feet come out first.. breech babies usually deliver themselves.
So we waited -

Then the madam (doctor) came over..
The breech wasn't delivering by itself this time. It was a little stuck. So she began to pull and coax the baby's head out. The three of us stood around the bed, clutching the mama's hands, and the grandmothers hands in ours..
Those were tense moments, of praying and waiting to see --
Then the baby came out, lifeless.
A baby girl of 28 weeks.
The grandmother wept in our arms. The mother wept on the table. They held our hands and we cried with them.

"God is near to the brokenhearted." We prayed for His comfort to draw them close together. Hope will rise -

learning an important skill

2010-02-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

A woman tore very badly giving birth today. My teacher and I sutured together - I was able to suture 10 stitches. Then we prayed that the sutures would hold up nicely while she is healing. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy that she named Aneel. He is her first child, she is 18 years old.

- Orissa

It is near to us, in our hearts, today

2010-02-04T03:55:00.000-08:00

What book can transform a nation? - The answer is, the Bible.

There are certain books in the Bible that I just haven't read straight through;
books like 1 & 2 Samuel -- well, that all changed yesterday..

Maybe you have wondered what a group of midwives do with their free time while they are settling into a new country awaiting permission to work in the hospital?

We decided to read through the whole Bible together as a team!! It has been so incredible, so so so amazing!!

Starting yesterday we made small groups and took different books from the Bible to start reading. The purpose of this is to read the whole book in context and get the full story. And to read the Word out loud, which is an important part of the whole thing because hearing the Word of God does something, something radical.. like bringing revelation - and transformation, which is why I am convinced, it's living and active, sharper than any two edged sword..

I feel so grateful.

My small group read outside in the courtyard yesterday for about 4 hours. We didn't do anything else during that time - we just read. We started with the book of 1 Samuel, then 2 Samuel, and today we began reading the gospel of Matthew. Tomorrow we hope to start reading the book of Acts, which is about the early Church.

Samuel is a book about wild men. Matthew is the beautiful account of Jesus, a 14th generation descendant of the great king David ( who we just read about in Samuel ) and how Jesus brought a message to the world that had never been preached before..
love that turned the world upside down.
I am eager to get into the book of Acts tomorrow and see how the early Church lived life together.

getting the Word in my heart,
Orissa

PS. Today we made some friends on the steps of the Church where we live. The children were outside after school waiting to be picked up so we stopped to talk to them --
They said their national anthem for us in Hindi; and then I had to sing the American anthem with Bek for them! I do think we croaked as we strained to reach the high parts, but o well - it made the children laugh!
In the end we sat around with them discussing the Bible and how much Jesus loves.
It has been a full day - full and wonderful.

O beautiful land, at last, in India

2010-02-02T02:08:00.000-08:00

our eyes are adjusting to being open after a long flight,
the click and whir of another airport fills our ears, and we gather together

with our backpacks
bibles
and water bottles,
we are an interesting group of 26
women, children, husbands, mothers, daughters, and a son

bright colours, splashes of bright, soft and light -- we don our punjabis and breathe in deeply!

O, we are here!
O, we are in India!

the outside air is cool
I think this place is amazing

it seems that all of my life i have been waiting for this moment, for this feeling, of being here..
i had been hoping and praying and wondering about this since childhood,
dreaming of going to India, that far away land -- where my name Orissa comes from

it feels good, and full
to finally be here

walking here, breathing here, talking to them
to them in their bright colours, selling fruit on the corner
or zooming past on their fast motorcycles - a whole family on one bike!

near us i notice a group of deaf people signing to each other,
i am captivated by their animated conversation and wish to join in
later over dinner i sat next to one deaf man and we signed to each other!
they are so beautiful, their speech movements so captivating

standing in the courtyard, in the hallway, on the stairs..
i love them, these deaf men and women who i watch,
and i want to learn more so that i can join them in laughing over the joke that's just been told -- this is my welcome to India!

Malaysia

2010-01-30T19:15:00.000-08:00

hi friends!
it's been awhile..
well, our time in Perth was so refreshing, i am so grateful.

currently we are waiting out a 24 hour layover in Malaysia
we have been exploring what the airport has to offer, plus enjoying the free internet!!

soon we will be in India!!!
assisting in more deliveries, welcoming more lives into this world :)

we also found a cool spot in an upper room that is carpeted and quiet where we have spread out our tribe of midwives, husbands and children..
it's a real blessing to have found that spot and so far we are the only ones who know about it :)

bless you guys,
orissa

Bangkok, Thailand

2010-01-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

We are on our way to "Oz" also known as, Australia
I am in the Bangkok airport with my team waiting out the 18 hour layover we have here
When we arrived, the airport gave us all 15 minute internet vouchers
Upstairs we are internet'ing and sippin' coffee while some of the others sleep in chairs downstairs near the gate
The flight from Kenya to Thailand took 9 1/2 hours, just now I am starting to feel the difference and mixed up 'ness of traveling :P

It's nice to sit in air-conditioning again after living without it for 3 1/2 months :)
Not that it was too bad ;) We made it through.
Walking around the airport is strange, everything is so NICE, everything is so pretty and clean and expensive

A soccer match is playing on the telly and I can hear the cheers as I type with my back to the screen..
the game sounds intense!!

I'm thinking of you guys
And feeling so thankful for your love -

We said a tearful goodbye to our friends at the hospital on Friday,
And my heart aches thinking of what we have left behind, because the need is so great for midwives, doctors and nurses
Temeke Hospital, with all of it's challenges, will always be a very special place for me, for all of us -- Many of the skills that we have at this point as midwives, we learned first in that hospital

Please pray for the doctors and midwives of Temeke Hospital who remain here as we go; they are amazing women and men who have dedicated themselves to serving their nation -- God is bring healing, yes, it will come!! Keep praying!!

Much Love, from Thailand, Orissa

PS. Marijah, dearest
I wish you could be here with me in this place because I know you love Thailand and the people here. I have looked outside at the gardens around the airport and think of how nice it would be to walk in them. But we have to stay inside the airport. As I browsed the bookshelf, and looked at Thai cookbooks, I thought of you. As I ate chicken pad thai for dinner, I thought of you. And I am looking very hard for a cool birthday gift xxx love, your sis Ori :)

2010-01-09T03:24:00.000-08:00

We are leaving Tanzania in 7 days!! Wow.

It looks like it will rain today. It did rain on us yesterday as we were leaving Mama Witnesses's house. Mama Witness is a Pastor's wife that we met here, and we have been going to her house every week for a few months now to give healthcare teachings to the women who live in her village.

Yesterday we went to say goodbye - and instead of a healthcare teaching, we did a scene from the nativity play and then we prayed with all the women - it was so much fun because we were outside and there was a cow :)
It gave a realistic flavor to the part where Mary gives birth to Jesus among the animals.

I was really touched anew as I listened to my friend share with these women about our King who came into the world in such a humble way. Jesus was born in a low place, but God lifted Him up! God's ways are beyond amazing.

Jesus truly does understand us. He even understands what it feels like to be far away from home.

you reached out your hand and touched him
you touched a leper
the unclean, diseased and despised

near to death,
near last breath,
near to breaking from the ache of isolation

you sought him to offer salvation
better than life lived completely

you touched him who had not been touched
and brought healing
Jesus, you are good.

by orissa

A Miraculous Heartbeat

2010-01-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Bekah Dinneen

January 5, 2010

A student and I were conducting a delivery with a case that had been labouring since morning. As Birth Attendants, we learn and put into practice covering each delivery in prayer, saying aloud a prayer for the woman and welcoming God’s presence in that exact moment. All seemed to be going normally when the baby delivered and appeared lifeless. Seconds later the placenta delivered as well.

The placenta is the baby’s sustenance, with it delivering so shortly after the baby we knew this baby was not getting any oxygen and asked ourselves “How long has the baby been without oxygen?” When we laid our hands on the baby it miraculously had a heartbeat and so we quickly separated the baby so that it could be stimulated and resuscitated. We knew we were experiencing a miracle, how was the heart beating if there was no source of blood?

At the exact moment that the baby was being delivered, a doctor was bringing two med students around for a tour. When the placenta came so quickly, he commented to the effect of, “too bad, the baby is dead” and when he heard our exclamations that the baby was alive, he shook his head and said “this is because the followers of Jesus are here”.

We have had many conversations previously with this Muslim doctor about the power in Jesus and in this moment, he gave glory to God and rightfully acknowledged that the miracle of this baby’s life belonged to God.

"Jesus loves these women!"

2010-01-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Orissa Mora - Kent

Monday January 4, 2010

I was working in the hospital last Monday taking care of women in the postnatal (after they deliver) ward. One woman caught the attention of another student who then called me over to her bed. We checked the woman and discovered that she had been sent over from the labour ward with an unrepaired tear that looked quite bad. We called for one of the doctors to come who had experience repairing tears.

“First, she will need a catheter to empty her bladder, and the hospital doesn’t have any more,” said the doctor. This was a serious situation; her tear needed immediate attention. By saying this, he meant, “There is nothing I can do right now.” She didn’t have any money, so she would have to wait for until her family came and brought a catheter.

It was at that exact moment that Emily walked by and said “I have a catheter, she can have it!” the doctor looked at her a moment and then asked “Did you buy it with your own money?” rubbing his fingers together.

She smiled and said, "Yes, Because Jesus loves these women.”

And then she left to get the catheter. I was still standing there with the doctor and he was obviously very touched by this act. I looked at him and he looked at me with moist eyes as he shook his head saying, “I would never expect someone like you to do something like this for one of these women."

Breathing in the beauty of this moment, I echoed Emily’s words, “It is because Jesus loves them, and we love them.”

This man, a doctor and a Muslim looked at me and said, “I know – and that is what I appreciate about you; you love.”

In the end, the woman got the catheter and her tear was successfully repaired. It was so cool to see how a simple act, done in love, at the right moment, could have such a tremendous impact on a doctor and make such a difference for that woman. That is how Jesus is; His love changes people’s lives.

More Testimonies

2010-01-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

December 21,2009

by Taylar

During a health care seminar this week, I noticed an elderly woman peering through her fence and welcomed her into the church. She eventually came and listened intently until the teaching finished.

She turned back to thank us yet another time, and I felt such an urgency to ask her if she knew Jesus. The translator told me that she had asked this woman many, many times if she had wanted to know Jesus, but the old woman was Muslim. I persisted to say, please ask her again.

The translator relented and asked her if she wanted to know Jesus; to the surprise of our translator and everyone around us, she said yes.

January 3, 2010

by Synnove Lie

Some time ago, I had a conversation with a Muslim intern doctor at the hospital about how many kids he wanted. He shared with me that he and his wife had been trying for a long time to get pregnant but nothing had happened. He said that it was the will of Allah, but as I looked into his eyes, it was clear that he wasn’t settled about it.

As I was standing with him I asked God, “What do you want me to say?” …and God whispered; “Proclaim my healing power. Tell your testimony.” And so I did. I told him about my own journey with the questions, the hurt, the loss and the fear I myself had gone through as doctors had diagnosed me with an illness and stated that I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant. I shared my process in dealing with that fact, and at the end I could boldly proclaim God’s healing power that was manifested in my own life during lecture phase in Perth. Supernaturally.

As the intern doctor heard about this, he asked me: “Can you please pray for me and my wife?” And so I did. I felt God putting the words in my mouth, and as I ended I said: “when you and your wife get pregnant, you will know that God did this. And that He was the one that healed you and the one to give glory to”.

After that day the subject never came up again, not until last week where I heard that they are now pregnant. HALLELUJA! I didn’t get to talk with him myself, but I’m curious to have a follow up about our talk and our prayer to see where God will take it.

So what started off to be a random conversation, ended up with being a powerful talk about God!

He works in mysterious ways and nothing is impossible for Him!

SUNDAY

2010-01-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

The sky was darkening above us,

Our careful footsteps matched the soft pitter patter of water falling…

Loosening from the clouds;

The rain fell with a soft cool breeze

We continued walking, the group of us

Beside me she prayed for the heavens to hold back

But I spread my arms wide open and turned my face to embrace the impending downpour

The Church on a hill was nearing our view,

At that moment, all at once, the sky poured out a heavy burden on us

We ran for shelter wherever it could be found;

Some under trees,

While others pressed close to the side of cement houses,

I found my way shrieking and laughing into a small room, perfect for waiting out a storm

I met others there,

And we sang together in the rain; the spray welcoming itself in through the open window

In the distance we could hear drums

Drums coming from that little Church on a hill…

As we peered out the open window,

We saw steam rising from the rolling green hills,

Bending and swaying in the wind, the palms stood strong in the beautiful landscape set before us

Also there, we saw two young African boys were enjoying the rain as well

We saw them take off down the muddy road, wearing nothing at all as they ran with their backs to us

They quickly disappeared into the greenery…

And we decided to run too,

We stepped out of our dry shelter and ran,

Down the slippery, water washed dirt hill we ran

Into the plastic chairs of a beautiful Church with a roof but no walls,

A dirt floor,

With puddles of water,

With so much joy – we entered

We let our voices rise with theirs as our hearts lifted up praise to God,

“Thank you for the rain, Lord.”

Together we prayed that our own lives would be like that rain,

Bringing refreshment to our communities, and to the land we live on, in the name of Jesus.

It's a new year,

Orissa

January 1st 2010 – Tanzania, East Africa

2010-01-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

When you put me under the soil,

I was so scared;

I didn’t know what was happening to me.

My whole self began breaking,

As I opened up --

And something new pushed itself out.

This thing knew its way,

It stretched and grew ‘til it broke through.

Out of my death,

Hope was conceived --

And there in the secret place;

Life grew.

By: Orissa Mora - Kent

Your questions answered...

2010-01-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

I wondered about the birthing center or is it a hospital?
The condition at the hospital is very different from what any woman living in the West would be accustomed to.

Before we left Australia my school and I took a tour of a private hospital's maternity wing and they showed us one of their private rooms where a woman could come to give birth. It was a nice clean room, with a private shower, a tv set, chairs, a table, a comfortable bed, and big enough to have friends and family around. The room was equipped with everything. And it was just across the hall from the OT in case of the need for emergency C-S.

Now I will contrast that picture with the conditions for women here in Tanzania.

The hospital where I work does not have private rooms for anyone. All of the pregnant women labour together in one small, crowded ward. There are not enough beds for every women to have their own, so they share - sometimes with 5 pregnant women on one twin sized bed. And even then there's not enough room for everyone. Some women just sit or lay on the floor. Often the women labour alone, because there are not enough staff to give individual care to each woman.

Can the ladies have their husbands with them in labor?
No. The husbands are not allowed to come in with their wives into any of the wards. And even if the hospital policy allowed this, many of them would not do that simply because it is not something culturally normal to do.

Are most of the ladies married? Many of the women are married. However some are not. A few weeks ago I was in the labour ward standing by the bed of a young girl, 16 years old who was a Christian living with her Muslim boyfriend. She spoke English very well and so we were able to talk in depth, which was one of the first times I had a conversation with a woman at the hospital. She told me some of her story. A difficult one to hear. She was raped by her father at the age of 15 and had run away from home. Since then she has not spoken to her mother or seen any of her siblings. She told me that she was ashamed to be pregnant. I asked her what her dream was and she said her dream was to be a pastor and tell people about Jesus and God's love. As this young girl lay there labouring with her first child she quoted John 3:16 to me. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."

She talked to me about her fears. And in fragments of speech she conveyed her emotions about this pregnancy. How she decided she could not choose to have an abortion because in her heart she knew that the baby growing in her womb was valuable. - "This baby maybe has ears or a nose, and it is valuable to God just like I am." She understood something very important, and even in her distress and heartache she recognized that Her Creator loved this baby in her womb. She chose life.

Can you give the ladies any medication during labor?
If you are wondering about medicine given to relieve pain, we do not give any. There isn't any available to give. However, the women are sometimes given oxytocin IVI ( intra-venous infusion ) to augment their labour. And it is protocol to give every woman oxytocin IM ( intra-muscular ) after the birth of her baby to contract the uterus and deliver the placenta by controlled cord traction. For eclamptic women we give magnesium sulphate IV and IVI to control the fits. And for women with hypertension we give hydralizine IV slow push. I have done this once.

Is their a doctor always available or are you on your own sometimes?
We usually always have our staff with us. They are trained midwives who have completed this school before us. But there is rarely a doctor available; due to the shortage of staff. For the first delivery I was a part of however, I was completely alone. The story explaining why that happended is in another blog post.

Can you freely share the gospel with the ladies? Yes!! We do freely share with the women and the nurses, midwives and doctors whom we work with. We are able to pray with the women during labour and after their babies are born. Birth is a beautiful and unique opportunity to share God's love and character with the women. Think about Psalm 139.

Do you work a certain shift? We work in teams from 8am - 3pm Monday through Friday.

Do you have indoor plumbing? We do but we are only allowed to use the indoor bathrooms at night or if we are sick because it is expensive. On the base there are two outdoor pit latrines for everyday use. And there are three stalls with buckets for showering.

I hope you enjoyed reading. I am sorry I did not have time today to finish answering all the questions, but we need to start heading back home from the city before it gets dark. I'll try to finish answering the questions soon. Thank you for asking, they are all very good quesions.

May your new year be filled with joy from knowing God's love.

Love, Orissa

Ask me questions :)

2009-12-13T04:22:00.002-08:00

Last week I had the privilege of being with one woman for the whole day. I was able to pray with her, care for her and be with her from the beginning of her labour until the end of labour and it was so calm and beautiful. She was so happy sitting on the bed with her newborn little girl.. just exclaiming "I can't believe it, I can't believe it." She was so happy to be a mom, so happy to have a healthy baby girl in her arms after 9 months of carrying and hours of labouring. At last, the life God created in her womb was living and breathing in her arms! :)

I have been learning so much, and there's always so much I want to share with you,
but sometimes it's just hard to know what to say.

I want to ask you, the readers for your help with something...

ask me questions. questions about anything...
questions about the hospital. about the culture. about daily life. about church in africa. about little villages. about what it's like living with 27 other people in community who have come from 8 different nations. about the joys. about the struggles. about the injustice. about the hope.

I look forward to your questions.
I have been enjoying the sunsets :)

Love to you all,
Orissa

"I'm dreaming of a white christmas..

2009-12-13T04:22:00.001-08:00

enjoy the pictures!

2009-12-04T23:24:00.000-08:00

a green mamba - he was in the mango tree outside our window

this is how we get to the hospital from our village each day

that is my friend - that is where we hand wash our clothes

my team sporting the african khangas outside our classroom

One students experience of hearing God's voice..

2009-12-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

The update posted below can also be found on the YWAM Perth website - ( http://www.ywamperth.org.au/ ) Thanks for reading!
P.S. the girl who wrote the update below is my classmate and fellow midwife :)

29/11/09
NOVEMBER UPDATE FOR THE BAS IN TANZANIA
By Katrina Roraff

One students experience of hearing Gods voice and drawing closer to Him in the midst of suffering and sorrow.

The month of November has come and gone in the blink of an eye, with so many memories and images imprinted in my mind forever. I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent November. Our team has assisted in over 60 deliveries already! As the primary deliverers we act as “gatekeepers” and pray for the future of the child. Last week, one doctor friend of ours became our ‘brother’ during a lunch break! He has been joining us in our early morning prayers before we start work. We are hoping and praying for more to join!!!! Our school has been busy! We have been providing healthcare to an average of 80 women and babies per day! It has been such a thrill to be learning more and more skills: taking blood, setting up IV’s, taking blood pressures, giving shots, listening to fetal hearts, etc. It has been even more rewarding to be with the mama’s. Smiling, saying what little Swahili I know, praying with them, holding their hand as they cry over the child that didn’t live, comforting, and reassuring them. As I walked through the Postpartum (after birth) Ward, I smiled and rejoiced with one mama, then I turned around and took three steps and there stood a mama who had no child. In ICU there were two mama’s who had gone in for C-section. One had two beautiful babies, and the other sat empty handed. I was asking God about this. All I kept hearing Him say was that He sees. He is not ignoring. He has not forgotten. He is crying. He is calling. He is there. He sees. He sees. I saw 2 C-sections within 7 days. Both were urgent, emergency procedures. Sadly, neither child even had the chance to breath. Both were declared stillborn. Both were beautiful little girls. The last C-section was just this past Thursday. She weighed less than 1 kg (less than 2 lbs). As I held her in my arms all I could hear, over the discouraging voices of those who had seen so many deaths before, was His voice. He saw her. Being the hands and feet of Christ took on a whole new meaning for me in that moment. ‘The other night I watched the sunset with God. They are so beautiful, yet it is quite sad to see another day melt away. It is also sad to think that sometimes you miss the sunset because you are too busy. However, the beauty and subtle sadness of sunsets gives me hope. If one can find extreme beauty in the simple moment of a sunset, how much more beauty can be found in the simple moment of a life. We may miss it, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t there. He sees. Hope inside of pain. I suppose every person is like a sunset. You never see the same sunset twice. No one sunset is ever the same. Those girls were like sunsets. There will never be another like them. I can’t believe that I had the incredible opportunity to see them. ‘ It has been such a blessing to get to know the doctors and nurses. They work so hard, and they are searching for answers to their questions. Please pray that the doctors and nurses of the Hospital find Truth. Pray that we will have boldness to tell them about the Truth. It is a constant prayer of ours that our fellow co-workers will come to know Him. We have already had so many moments where we have been able to pray for them and share stories… please pray for more opportunities!

Bwana Asifewe!!! ( Praise the LORD!!! )

2009-12-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and dear friends :)

I want to share a couple testimonies with you about what God has been doing and how He has been using us in the hospital where we work.

First Testimony:

In the packed ward, a tiny 15 year old girl was waiting to be seen. When they eventually examined her they found the cord and a little foot were out. This is life threatening for the baby, the cord is its source of oxygen. She was rushed to the labor ward, three of us went with her listening to the Spirit, praying and cutting off death and praying life over her and her baby. To save its life, the baby had to be delivered rapidly, but with such force that it led to a dislocated knee and a twisted neck. He wasn’t breathing and his heart was barely beating so I did chest compressions, whist the nurse gave him oxygen, his little chest began rising, gasping for air. The nurse handed me the blue, floppy, broken baby to continue resuscitating. I prayed speaking the name of JESUS over him, asking for healing so he wouldn’t have any affect from lack of oxygen, and for the side of his body that was floppy whilst the other side had reflexes. I wept to GOD and the baby let out a cry moving both hands. As his mum heard this we smiled at each other. My prayers continued, mingled with tears, speaking words of hope for the future over this precious little one. The nurse said they would have to be transferred to a special care facility. So I went to say goodbye to his, she smiled at me again and thanked me. The prayers in intercession built expectancy for complete healing. The next day when we arrived at the hospital, they were both there. I knew in my heart he was ok, we checked his body, his knee and neck were totally normal, there was no sign of any trauma. I know GOD did a miracle and heard the prayers, this little one and his mum both have a hope for the future. Her name is Hadija please pray for her and her precious one, that they will come to know the LORD JESUS.
Thank You JESUS.

By Emily Wells - midwife missionary

Second Testimony:

Usually babies are born,
but on Thursday in the hospital where I work we saw a grown man born again!!!

Everyday in the labour room we work side by side with Dr. Godfrey who sees what we see.
He sees when we pray together in the morning.
He sees when we pray for the mamas in Jesus' name; asking God to give them strength to deliver their babies.
He sees when we stand as gatekeepers over the lives of little ones at the resusitation tables and he hears us call on the name of Jesus to give them breath and life.
He sees us living out our faith in God every day. And he sees the difference God's presence is making in the labour room.

And on Thursday, November 19, Dr. Godfrey came to us and said he wanted to be born again! He said he was ready to follow Jesus' footsteps and listen to God's voice.

Sitting outside at the hospital canteen, Dr. Godfrey asked us to pray with him and we did.
We prayed with unsuppressable smiles lighting up our faces as this man accepted Christ into his heart. After praying, we talked to him about discipleship and hearing God's voice.
We encouraged him to read the book of John over the weekend and he said he will talk to us about it when we see him again on Monday at the hospital.

Now that this doctor is born again - this hospital will never be the same. The labour room where he works will not be the same.

He looked so happy as he wrote down on a little note "This is the day that I decided to follow Jesus. Help me God." Praise the Lord for salvation!!!

By Orissa Mora - Kent - midwife missionary

waiting for their children to be born..

2009-11-14T00:50:00.001-08:00

this is where i work.

Welcome to the world baby!

2009-11-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the privilege of welcoming life into the world with my own two hands!!

Hello.

I've been in Africa for six weeks now with the birth attendant school. We are fully engaged in the applied lecture phase - volunteering as midwives at a busy referall hospital in the coastal city of Dar es Salaam.

Life on the base where we live in Mwandege is simple. Very different from home - like meals being cooked everyday over firewood. The people on the YWAM base work hard and sing beautifully! I have noticed one woman, named Martha, who is YWAM staff at our base --

Martha works hard all day and into the night too. Everytime I see her she is smiling and it's obvious she does her work to please God and not men. I am thankful for the daily living example I see in her.

The songs they sing in Africa! Oh my! Often in their worship songs, they will repeat a few verses over and over and over. Songs about the character and nature of God. It's awesome!!

To see the nations of the earth coming together in unity and loving Jesus as one body is beautiful and powerful.

In my team alone we come from all over the world -- U.S. ,Canada, New Zealand, Germany, South Korea, Denmark, Australia, Holland, and Belize. It's awesome to meditate and reflect on God's character as you sing. Over and over and over.

Every Friday we stay home at the YWAM base to worship in the morning together as a class and afterward we have midwifery lectures from our WHO ( World Health Org. skills books ) -

One morning during worship, we split up into five groups and each of us wrote a little song choosing one characteristic of God as the theme. Then we came together and taught each other the simple songs and spent time worshipping God with these new songs!!It was so cool!!

I wish you could hear them!! We sang about God being the King, Healer, Anchor, Protector, and Holy. Since then we've had opportunities to keep singing those songs -- at the base where we live, in Churches here in Tanzania, and even as we drive to work - we sing.

TEMEKE HOSPITAL

Monday through Thursday,

8am - 3pm every week my team volunteers at Temeke Hospital.

The first week I was in the antenatal and postnatal ward with three other girls from my school and one staff member. Our ward is before the women go into the active stage of labour and after the women give birth. Second week I was in the ICU. Alot of time was spent cooling off babies with high fevers and teaching new mothers how to breastfeed. Some of them need help because they are recovering from C-sections. Next week I will go to the labour room --

I want to communicate the need.

There is a great need here at Temeke Hospital for more trained birth attendants.

It is a need I see every day I go in to work at the hospital.

This morning out on the street of the city I picked up a local newspaper. The front page caught my attention...

It was a picture of the antenatal and postnatal ward where I worked my first week in the hospital.

- From this article I will quote a statement made by WRATZ coordinator Rose Mlay, stressing that "the single proven approach that has reduced MMR ( maternal mortality rate ) and NMR ( newborn mortality rate ) worldwide is the presence of skilled birth attendants or health professional at every child birth. "

According to WRATZ, every single hour in Tanzania a woman dies needlessly in childbirth or from complications in pregnancy. For this reason, the organizations nationwide stragety focuses on encouraging policy makers and society as a whole to train, employ, deploy and retain adequate numbers of qualified health workers in a bid to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

an E-MAIL that I wrote to a friend that I will share with you all.

Because I wanted to write more, but I am running out of time today..

I'm going to include an e-mail that I sent to a friend of mine with a little more information.

Enjoy!

"Oh dear Liz!!
SO happy to get an email from you :)
I'm in the city today with my team, it's our day off so we're all busy writing emails in the internet cafes. I miss you too!!
I saw a picture of zach and juli's wedding. they look so happy and beautiful together!!

I am learning so much. And not only growing in my skills as a midwife, but also growing spiritually in my relationship with God. There are challenges here, and we see hard things sometimes.. but the joy we have is so big too. and seeing the hope that jesus can bring to women in labour and the comfort he can give is awesome.

Pray for my heart liz, I want it to remain soft and hopeful. To keep joy even when the pain we see is so great. To be able to weep with the women who lose their child. Comfort and hold and pray over the baby whose mom died after labour. and keep trusting God with all my heart. Deeper and deeper I want my trust in God to go; and I want to be a midwife who makes Jesus known to the women in labour and the child that is born. Pray for more labourers to be sent into this harvest!! There is such a great need here in our hospital for trained birth attendants. The need is so great liz. The hospital is so crowded. with 4 -5 women on ONE bed, and even lying on the hospital floor. We have seen life here and we have seen death here too.

We have seen babies live that were pronounced stillborn, praise the lord!! He is able to give life again!!

I love you so much liz, my sister in Christ. Keep strong, and follow the leading of God wholeheartedly. I know God will use you in mighty ways with the deaf people. You've got such a passion and it's beautiful. I can't wait to hear YOUR stories too!! I have to go now.

Love ya' "

In Closing.

Thank you all for all your prayers and support. It means so much to me.

Perhaps God will call some of you into this harvest field. Wherever you are, remember there is HOPE. God is the author and giver of life.

Living and learning, Orissa

Miji FINALLY posts that update.... (;

2009-10-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, heylo people. I am very sorry for not posting this update sooner. But, here I am, at long last, posting it! Hurray(:

So, my dear sweet Ori has been in Tanzania with the rest of the Birthing Attendant School for over three weeks! They have been waiting on their work visas all this time.........and finally were able to work their first day in the clinic on Monday! Yay(:

Well...I'm not quite sure what else to say at the moment, so I'll just post parts of Orissa's email to us when she first arrived in Tanzania. (:

Orissa's email:

We are in the country on 81 acres. They have a farm and grow food. There are a lot of mango trees here and the season for them is December. They also have pineapples and coconuts. ( Miji, how did you make haupia in Hawaii? ) We are very blessed here to have clean water. They have a well and have tested their water, it tastes good and it’s a relief to be able to drink from the tap without worries.

Today is our first day free and some of us are taking a trip to the city; to get out money, send our emails and buy fruit. By the way, it is Saturday.

Breakfast here is usually a piece of bread with peanut butter or sugar and to drink we have tea and coffee. For lunch we eat Ugali ( look it up ) it’s a staple food here. With the Ugali we have beans and sometimes a little vegetable or boiled potato. Last night the meal was delicious! For two days we have seen someone scraping the white meat out of coconuts and then they put water over that and squeeze it to extract the milk. They took that coconut milk and cooked our rice for last night in it. With red beans and a little salad of tomato and onion.

I had a hard day yesterday, and cried a little but I finally talked with someone and felt better. We shared testimonies with each other yesterday.

I am typing up this email in my room at the base and then I’m putting it on a stick to take and send quickly in town.

We wash our clothes by hand here and dry them on a line. We have a classroom with a concrete floor, windows and desks that seat two. In my room there are three bunk beds. We have one shelf that we’ve divided among the six of us. We keep our books in the windows and we have two chairs in here. I am the daily storyteller here and we have been reading ‘Little Women’. We hear the call to prayer here; the first one is at 5 a.m. The village surrounding this base is mainly Muslim.

If you want to pray for the base, you can pray for rain because they really need rain.

PS. UPDATE!! I bought a cell phone today!! I bet you’re smiling about this news as you read it!! My cell phone number is 011-2557-5-846-4573.

(NOTE: Tanzania is 8 hours ahead pf Central US Time)

I can’t wait to get a call from YOU!! I love you. (Mom's note: if you have at&t mobile you can add global world for $3.99 month, and then calls to Tanzania are only 55 cents a minute. You can cancel the plan form at&t at any time)

· We might get internet here on the base. But we could ONLY use it for sending emails and no pictures.

I want to write more Mom, but we’re leaving soon and I need to finish this e-mail before we go. Please give my love to the family. I love you soooo much. Thanks again for the wonderful box you sent. And for the card. I brought it with me to read in Tanzania. And I have the ‘Oh the places you’ll go’ book here with me too.

Love, Orissa

I'm in Africa now :)

2009-10-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!

I'm sorry there haven't been any updates in awhile...

I am in Tanzania now. We are going to start working in a hospital in Dar es Salaam next week.

On the bus today into the city I met a woman who is an assistant pastor. I was singing a song in Spanish about having faith like a grain of a mustard seed that can move mountains and she heard me and initiated a conversation. She is a born again Christian and we had a nice talk as we drove along. She said their Church is going to be praying for us midwives who are here to bring healthcare and God's kingdom.

If you want to hear testimonies from our team, check out the website we have ( http://www.ywamperth.org.au/ and look under the BAS birth attendant school and read our outreach testimonies each week! )

Keep praying for us!

Lovin' Jesus,
Orissa

2009-09-21T01:46:00.000-07:00

My friend and I went to a park last Saturday and we saw kangaroos. We were there that day celebrating two wedding;

Marchien's friends were getting married in Holland and my friends were getting married in America. Since we are both in Australia and couldn't be with them on their special day we decided to have a little party here in thought of them.

These pictures are from that day.

" Congratulation Luke and Katie!! " Love, Ori

2009-09-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a little field trip to a local private hospital. We were given a lecture and we got to examine a placenta that had been delivered earlier that morning. So cool!

I hope none of you mind the sight of a little blood.

We leave for outreach in 11 days! Peace out.

HI :)

2009-08-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends,

I am really sorry that my updates have been few and far between. I think about you all alot and wonder how everyone is doing... Mom says you all wonder about me too and that's why I really need to write more when I update this blog and write more frequently. So, .. yes - I'll keep trying. Sometimes there's so much happening here I'm just not sure what to say.

I'd love to hear updates from you too, about your lives.

The sausage sizzle fundraiser went really well. I'll have to check again on the exact figures and then I'll post how much we raised!

My school leaves in one month for Tanzania.

It's late here and I don't have much time for this update because the skype callI made to my family lasted for almost two hours! That is a good thing - it was wonderful to see them ( video ) and talk to my mom and sisters.

I'm going to bed now - Goodnight ( really goodmorning to most of you! )

Sincerely, and thanks for checking in.. come back soon, love...

Orissa

Sausage Sizzle with a mission...

2009-08-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

G'day mates!

We, the Birth Attendants are standing at a sausage stand sizzling for a cause.. India, Tanzania & Philippines - those are the nations God is calling us to go to with our midwifery skills and serve.

My school is doing a fundraiser this weeekend. We're selling sausages and all the profit money is going towards the cost of our 8 month outreach. Pray for us this weekend. Pray for heaps of hungry sausage lovin' people to support us in our endeavor...

Picture to come soon.

If you've been waiting for an opportunity to support mission's work in developing nations, this is your day! Take this opportunity and don't let it go. You can give towards our outreach. Contact me to find out how.. orissamora@yahoo.com I'd love to talk to you!

Bless you heaps.

Sister Love.

2009-08-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Brave. This is someone whose servant heart has been a constant reminder to me of what love looks like the way Jesus loved. This is someone who will not just give someone a fish, she will teach them how to fish. She is loyal to the truth and values family. She speaks her mind and she's got a good mind. She really pays attention to people; she's observant and articulates those observations into words that have creative power to encourage actions. She's worth getting to know. Her opinion is important to me and I value her words because I trust her to speak the truth. She is becoming even more beautiful each day. This is someone who will go the extra mile. She'll get her hands dirty and get things done.

She is a natural born leader.

She is loved by God and she is fearfully and wonderfully made.

This is Marijah Erin Nitai Dasi, she is my sister.

We are separated by an ocean right now & I want her to know that my love is reaching out to her all the way from Australia!

Miji, I love you to bits, crumbs and pieces of apple pie,

Your big sister - Orissa the missionary.

August 4th

2009-08-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

It was one year ago today that my friend Joshua Aaron went to be with Jesus. If I had to tell you in five words who Josh was;
I would say ... a man after God's heart.

Now on this very day one year later;
another good friend of mine, Christah Cato - has given birth to her first child!
A baby girl named Stella-Grace Adair.

Praise God "he makes all things beautiful in their time." Just wanted to post as I remember the life of a dear friend whose love changed my life and rejoice with another over the new life of her first baby girl! Life continues for Josh in heaven and one day we'll all be rejoicing forever!

I can't wait to meet you Stella-Grace. I love you heaps already.

Lovin' Jesus and people too,
Orissa

another late night..

2009-08-05T08:46:00.001-07:00

I went to the doctor today after morning lectures and found out that I have an ear infection and a sinus infection. I am now taking antibiotics. But they don't help with the pain. If you want to you can pray for my ear and sinuses. Thanks.

I've been editing statistics and writing a research paper on Tanzania for the past few hours. My group is three people and we've all had our sick days -But we're making it with God's help and getting the work done. It's due tomorrow! PS> tomorrow night is evangelism - I am so excited because I shared with a man named Alex two weeks ago at the mall about God's love and now he is beginning to believe in God. I may get to see Alex again tomorrow night and talk to him more. I will post the whole story later.

and in class today we heard a few more birth stories. and watched a birth video.

G'night ya'll.

Second Month

2009-08-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

These are my friends who are doing the Birth Attendant School with me and our staff.
Top left: Paula from NZ (staff) , Robyn from Australia (staff) , Priscilla from Canada, Kali from Texas, Katie from Wisconsin, Cara from Florida, Hyn Suk from South Korea, Bek (staff) , Taylar from Canada, Me from Louisiana, Synnove from Denmark. Second row from left: Melissa from Canada (staff) , Emily from England, Corinna from Germany, Darcy from the States but her home is now Perth.. she is our school leader, Fia from Canada, Marchien from the Netherlands, Alana from NZ, and sitting down in the pink and blue are Daphne from the US and Reinette who is from South Africa.

We found out that we are going to the Philippines, Tanzania and India. We are all very happy!!!!Midway through our outreach we are coming back to Perth for two week for YWAM's 50th anniversary and YWAM Perth's 25th anniversary. Loren and Darlene Cunningham will be here at our base.

Last week we had Leslie from the Philippines with us teaching us about antenatal care. On Friday our classroom was set up like a mock clinic; some of us were the "midwives" and some were "pregnant mom's". It's now the beginning of my second month being here in Australia. We will be taught about labor and delivery next week.

I've had a little cough and sore throat for over a week now and it's been going around - then last night it got worse and I was running a fever of 38.8 degrees celsius..
I slept most of the day and was drinking water and took something to reduce the fever which finally did come down at 2:30 this afternoon.
Right now the other girls are at a kangaroo park but Marchien and I are home because we're still a little weak from being sick and we both have homework to catch up on that is due tomorrow morning. Before I got really sick last night we had a dance at our base and my school performed a dance from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. One of the girls got a video of it and so I will try to post that video soon.

One of my good friends from home is due to deliver her first baby girl within the week! I so wish I could be with her. I am so excited!

Hingles I don't know if you read this blog, but thank you so much for the birthday package! That was so sweet! Mom, it was great to skype with you the other night!

I'm walking back home now with Marchien. We're going to study. Thanks for reading. Check back soon for more updates =)

- Orissa

IN AUSTRALIA

2009-07-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends, I have settled in well to my first week of living in Perth at Youth With a Mission. I felt to share this verse, it's been really important to me since coming here.

"God's way is perfect, and All of the Lord's promises prove true."

Lovin' Jesus,
Orissa

Missionary Midwife to be

2009-06-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

*Update! The letter below was written a couple of months ago.
I want to let everyone know that God has been faithful and the money I need for the cost of my 8 month mission/outreach has been coming in! I trust that God is going to provide the rest! Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support! I love ya'll!

Okay, so this is my second post. But, perhaps it should have been the first! Below you will see the letter I wrote to explain what I am going out to do this year. Many of you have already seen this letter, and so I overlooked to post it here, but someone reminded me today that it would be a good idea to put it up for those of you I have never met - or maybe you know me, but you have not read it yet!

Now you can read on and see where my journey begins as I embark on this adventure with God.. I am so excited to be called to serve women as a midwife; I believe it will be an amazing year!! I expect to see Great things happen. It is humbling, and beautiful, just to think of being that first one to touch their lives, to pray for them and show each family I am a part of; the awesome, redeeming, strong, faithful, healing, life-giving LOVE of God. Pray for me! Pray for the families I will meet! That God's love would change them forever! That these children would grow up to serve God faithfully! That is my prayer! Oh that they would taste and see that God is good!

May God bless you. " Delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37

Without further ado, here is the above mentioned letter that I wrote.. My name is Orissa,
I am going around the World.
Read on to find out why...

My dear friends,
Knowing you has blessed my life! I will miss all of you! But, I'll be back in a year!

Many of you know that I recently sold my car. I sold it because this Summer I am going on the foreign mission field. I have been accepted into a year long Birth Attendant School that is based out of Perth, Australia. I will be training and serving as a midwife in developing nations with an international Christian organization called Youth With a Mission. I depart for Australia at the end of June. In the past, the BAS School has taken teams of midwives into such places as Uganda, India, Sudan, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines... just to name a few. For most women, pregnancy is a happy time, but for many in the developing world it is life threatening. Almost 600,000 women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth each year - 98% of these women are living in developing nations. The vision of the school I will be attending is to establish mother and child health clinics in developing nations and to teach and train women in maternal and child health care.
Youth With a Mission is a movement of Christians using their God given talents and abilities to create bridges into people's lives for the purpose of reaching those who have not heard, with the Good News that Jesus died to set them free and that He rose again to give them hope for their future. And when I speak of bridges, I speak of bridge builders; these are surfers, skateboarders, musicians, dancers, nurses, doctors, midwives, artists, athletes, teachers, singers, and the list goes on... each of them carrying out the Great Commission. We are united in our purpose; we are united in our love for Jesus. As I embark on this journey to become a midwife, I am committing this year wholeheartedly to Jesus! I exhort you to do the same in your own lives! Whatever you are doing, whatever your talent or ability, commit your life to God and serve Him with your whole heart!

From the sale of my car, I have already paid for my classroom/lecture fees, a few pieces of medical equipment that I need for school, a hiking backpack, and my round-trip airfare to Australia. Because I will be in full time study and ministry this next year, and I will not be working to support myself, I am in need of support financially. I am asking you to prayerfully consider giving towards my mission trip. Know that as you give, you are "going with me" because your support enables me to go. You can mail your support to me at Orissa Mora-Kent, 410 E. Park Ave, Hammond, LA. 70403.
If you are not able to give financially; will you give of your time and pray for me as I go?
Above all, I earnestly need your prayers!
If you would like to write, I'd love to hear from you! e-mail me: orissamora@yahoo.com
And for more information about YWAM check them out online at http://www.ywamperth.org.au/

Thank you for your support,
Until all have heard, Orissa

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, " How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15

God is a lover.

2009-06-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

It's 1:34 am - it's my first time to post on here.

To be honest,
I have struggled with what to say first - the words just aren't coming! I sat here, and thought and sat here and stared at the screen..

I decided to share something with you that I wrote earlier today.
Hopefully you will get a glimpse of where my heart is as I prepare to leave home for a year of midwifery and missions.

I said, "O, God I hear the rumbling, the clamor, clash and distant thundering.... I am afraid."

He speaks to me in a gentle breeze, and washes me in perfect peace.
"Do not be afraid; I am with you. Be strong, Be strong - I will lead you on."

"Yes, lord." I'm yours! I love you!

Like an Oak Tree planted by streams of water, you are my Abba, Father!
Each word of His in perfect rhythm, kept by wisdom.. learned by faith.

I utter, "Thank you Jesus for your Grace!"

And when fears surround me to imprison, I hear His Spirit offer wisdom - " listen, listen."
I stand to say that "Christ is risen!"

Of whom should I be afraid?
When by a call upon God's name I am kept safe. - Proverbs 18:10

O, lead me to a stream,
To a rippling stream of laughing water!

I delight to be with you, delight to be near you...
I was a stranger once but now your daughter,
You were unknown to me before I knew you as my Father. - 1 John 3:1-3

My heart is beating for one reason, my King, my Love.
You are.

I said, "O, God I hear the voices of angels singing, the strong and steady call is ever rising, of light and color now colliding!"

God thunders from Heaven and I smell the sounds of His voice in the fragrant honeysuckle-drenched rain.

I am woven in a love, so swept up that it's movements change me...
Away from the old things, alive to everything. God is my God. He is Beautiful above all things.

Written by Orissa M. Kent