1,802  
Babies 

Promote Healthy Pregnancy & Childbirth is in America’s Giving Challenge – Let’s win $50,000!

Hi everyone,

Our cause just entered in America’s Giving Challenge, which gives us a chance to win $50,000!

Please donate today: Glory Reborn – Causes

To win, between now and November 7th we have to get the most donations to our cause (every person can donate once per day and have it count as a unique donation). We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most people to donate in any 24-hour period. The great thing about this Challenge is that it doesn’t matter how much you give, but instead how much you do to encourage friends and family to get involved in our cause. We all need to come together and start promoting the cause if we want to win.

Each of us has tons of friends on Facebook who we can ask to donate to our cause. But let’s think big too—can you put our cause in your email signature, can you throw a party and get people to donate through the cause when they enter, can you organize other people to go out and fundraise from all of their friends? As you reach out to your friends be sure to tell them why this cause matters to you. The possibilities are endless so let’s talk about what we can do to win on the Wall of the cause or by replying to this bulletin.

I think we can do it! But it’s going to take all of us. Check out the Giving Challenge ( www.causes.com ), then visit our cause to see how we’re doing so far and get involved.

Donate right now by going to Glory Reborn – Causes

Let’s win $50,000 for Glory Reborn Organization!

This month has been especially rewarding for Glory Reborn. We have now officially delivered over 1,600 newborns! My how time flies. As I was contemplating just how quickly time flies I remembered the very first baby I delivered on my own as a midwifery student in the year 2001. I still remember everything about that first miraculous and beautiful birth. The mother, Alona, father Sagred, and their precious baby Alexandria will never leave my mind. It was the moment I knew I wanted to deliver babies for the rest of my life. I was able to keep in touch with Alona and Alexandria throughout the years and in 2004 I had the honor of delivering Alona and Sagred’s next daughter, Alouisa. Another perfect delivery and wonderful moment that I felt blessed to share in. Now, 1,612 babies later I couldn’t have been more excited to see Alona, Sagred, Alexandria and Alouisa back at the clinic for a visit one day. We enjoyed reminiscing about each of their deliveries and discovered some great news……another little one is on the way. The two girls were ecstatic to watch the ultrasound monitor as we got our first look at the next little one to come. It gives me such joy to share in these amazing moments with this precious family. With Alexandria 8 years old and Alouisa 4, it hit me just how long I have been a midwife and just how many of these precious families I have gotten to watch grow up over the years. It was also a testimony to the care, love and safety that our patients feel at Glory Reborn as they trust us with the lives of their newborns and invite us to share in their significant moment. I am so grateful that Glory Reborn exists for families like Alona’s that can continue to come back to familiar faces and a safe place to deliver their next bundle of joy. Thank you to each of you for the support you have shown to me and Glory Reborn over oh so many years which makes it possible for families to keep growing with us. We and they are extremely thankful for you!

One of our favorite patients, Alona and her family

Happy New Year from Glory Reborn!

We have already started the new year with a bang: 3 babies have been born already in 2009 here at Glory Reborn and it is only 8:00 am on January 2nd!

It has been a wonderful two weeks at Glory Reborn Clinic as we have learned to use our ultrasound machine. We have been so blessed to have four wonderful sonographers from Hope Imaging come to teach our staff and myself the basics of obstetrical sonography. We have been able to practice our skills on over 50 moms already and have found out just how useful our new machine will be in dating pregnancies and checking for adequate amniotic fluid. We even discovered some exciting news that two of our staff members are also expecting their own little ones in January and April 2009. 

Hi Everyone, I have some good news. You can now sign up to have a mothly donation on the Glory Reborn Site. Through PayPal, we can now do a recurring monthly payment, I have setup 4 amounts ($25-$100), and they can be found in our Online Shop.

Or you can select one from below:

Five Years, 1,436 Babies Later

Where has the time gone?! Glory Reborn Clinic has now been serving the mothers of Cebu City for five years. We could think of no better way to celebrate our five years of existence than to have a reunion party for our mothers and babies. We were thrilled to see that “our” babies are growing up healthy and happy. From baby number 2 to baby number 1432 it was a party for all ages. It was even harder to believe that some of Glory Reborn’s “babies” started kindergarten this year. For David and I it was a day of awe and thanks for all that God has done. As I looked out at nearly 400 smiling moms and growing babies and toddlers my heart overflowed. It started with a simple vision to help one mother who had no where to delivery her baby. The one turned into 100 and the 100 turned into 1,000 until I found myself in a crowd of so many special mothers and babies, each with their own story to tell. Stories of miraculous births, stories of twin deliveries, stories of finding hope and peace, stories of finding a safe place to deliver their little miracle, stories of hope for this generation, stories of the faithfulness of Jesus evident in each big and little life.  Stories that beat the odds of the country for maternal and infant deaths. And a story that is more than just a story….Life through a God that knows each of these little names and faces. The story of believing there is still hope for the mothers and babies of Cebu; for this generation.

Thanks to each of you that have believed together with us for the families of Cebu. Enjoy the pictures below and know that these are the faces of your dollars.
Here is a Collage of the Event:

Glory Reborn turns 5! We could think of no better way to celebrate then to have a party for the 1445 babies delivered at the clinic. So with a city permit to close the street of Cabreros and three large tents, we packed in nearly 400 moms, babies and dads for a celebration! It was a party complete with singing, games, a clown, balloons, food, testimonials and of course a raffle. We had so much fun and it was hard to believe some of our first little ones were already starting kindergarten. So from baby #2 to the baby delivered that very day a great time was had by all. (Especially our visitors who were very surprised to see so many wonderful patient’s of Glory Reborn!) Thank you all for helping to give these mothers and babies a safe entry into this world. These are the faces of your generous dollars! Happy Anniversary Glory Reborn!

Well, let me thank each of you for reading the news from the Philippines! This week I have a real treat for you! The other night, I (David) had just pulled up to the clinic, and had in my hands all the salary envelopes of the staff. It was around 6 in the evening, and it had been a long day. As I walked from my car to the clinic, I noticed a Tricycle pulling up. (A tricycle is a common form of transportation here, there are two types the Trike: a motorcycle with a side car add-on that can hold up to 4 people, then the “Trisikad” a bmx bike with a side care for 2 people.) This Tricycle was the Trisikad version and I noticed that a lot of kids on the street were gathering around it. Still nothing too abnormal for a night in the Philippines.

(more…)

Many of you know that “I am still NOT a midwife”, but that does not answer the burning question in most of your minds, “What Does David Do At the Clinic?!?”

Today is your lucky day. Below you will have a glimpse (and frankly a frightening glimpse) into my life at the clinic. You have been warned.

Obviously, poverty plays a critical role in the development of a nation. Here at Glory Reborn, our patients are affected by poverty on a daily basis. I will also admit that Glory Reborn’s decisions are affected by poverty. For example, if we have a patient who has borderline risks during her labor, we are faced with tough decisions. “Should we take her to the public hospital?” “We know that the public hospital will not do anything more than we are doing, but are we risking too much?” “We want to take this woman to the public hospital, but the doctor there will not accept her!” These are just a few thoughts that we face every week, and the situation seems to be worsening. Hilary met with the Consulting OB/GYN of the public hospital, who informed us that they (the only public hospital of Cebu City, mandated to provide free care for the general public): do not have a working fetal monitor; do not have a working doppler; have an anesthesiologist; the anesthesiologist only works Monday – Friday from 8 a.m – 5 p.m.; have not received their budget for this year due to mismanagement of funds last year.

These are the situations that planted the dream of Glory Reborn in our hearts, to help the people who suffer from these facts. Glory Reborn is doing this on a “micro” or “individual” level for every patient we have, but we are also trying to foster development on a “macro” level by advocating for human rights in healthcare. We ask for your continuing assistance in doing so, and your thoughts and prayer as we face these challenges daily!

(Although impossible to explain the poverty that grips the Philippines, I have posted some pictures that will give you a glimpse.)