Missionary Midwife: Day 1: Jet lag plus culture shock!

Wow! I am finally here and made it safely... As we walk off our airplane into Manila I realize that the hardest part of the trip has just begun. I am with the Penwell family(the people who started and run the organization Mercy In Action.) so it is Vicki, her son Ian, his wife Rose and their 3 children who are 7, 2, and 3 years old. First we all had to go to the bathroom(comfort room is what it is called here, even though it is not the least bit comfortable) They are very different from the states because the philippinos do not use toilet paper. It is too expensive and clogs up their sewer system. So instead, right beside the toilet is a spray nozzle like what you would find by most peoples sinks in America that one rinses off with when they are done. I still have not figured out how one would get clean by doing that or afterwards how to dry off, so I bought toilet paper for myself right away lol. Next we had to go through immigration, and customs, then baggage claim, all in all took over 2 hours just to do that. As we walk out of the Manila airport under the sign “bay 7” waiting for Scott (Vickis husband to spot us and pick us up) it was like we had entered a different planet. The smell is horrendous, garbage everywhere and pollution so heavy that there is a smog/smoke cloud everywhere you go. It is very humid and hot which just makes the smell so much worse. The philippino people are very kind but also VERY nosy; we are stared at and followed constantly because of being white (they love white people.) As we wait with a sea of people around us taking in the sight, sound, and smell of Manila, I start to wonder what I was thinking even coming here and if this was a good idea. But deep down I know that this is where I am supposed to be and is what God has planned for my life right now.

Finally Scott found us, loaded up our bags and we hopped into Mercy In Actions ambulance, it is a 3 hour drive from Manila to where we are living which is in Olongapo city. Rose and Ians little ones are so excited that they don’t have to be in car seats or even buckles because there are literally no traffic laws here, not even a set speed limit; What was meant to be a 4 lane road turned into six lanes. I could literally shake hands with other people that were driving beside us because of how jammed it was. Also pedestrians do not have the right away and one will get hit if they cross the street when there is a car coming down the road. It is about 5am Philippine time when we arrive to our apartment complex. We are dead tired by now and are very excited to finally be here. The apartments are actually pretty nice, I am living in one with cecille(a philippina midwife) Jen(also a philippina midwife) her husband Jokes and 2 children 71/2 month baby boy and 11/2 year old boy. I share a room with Cecille and the other 4 all share the other room and one “family bed.” The first thing I did was put my sheets on my bed and crashed waking up 2 hours later to start my first day in the Philippines...here some pics, I cant figure out how to flip them the right side up though...