~ I know for a fact that this post was originally sent out on May 12th, but for some reason it is not showing up on the blog anymore. So I am re-posting it and getting out a new one this week as well ~
So for the last 15 weeks I have been taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class at a church about an hour from my house. Perspectives, as it is more commonly known, has been around since 1974 and experienced by more than 80,000 believers in North America. This class was something I have been wanting to take for awhile, as I heard so many good things about it but just couldn't get fit it into my schedule with school and work. Then WorldVenture made it one of my growth goals, or basically something I needed to complete before I could leave for Indonesia :)
The class is broken into four sections:
The Biblical Perspective - focuses on God's mandate for missions in the Old and New Testament.
The Historical Perspective - focuses on the history of missions throughout the ages.
The Cultural Perspective - focuses on reaching different cultures and building bridges of love.
The Strategic Perspective - focuses on strategies for reaching the lost.
Each week we had a reading assignment and homework to complete. Then on Thursday we all got together for three hours for a class. These classes were all taught by different speakers, each with knowledge and experience in the subject for the week.
Overall I really enjoyed the class and all that we learned. Some of what I learned will be tools for my ministry and some will be encouragement on the tough days. You can check out this video for more information or find more information on the Perspectives web page.
Check out this video for more details...
Perspectives Course - Seattle Loop from Overlake Christian Church on Vimeo.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Where
Well this post is long overdue! February was a busy month with lots of travel, projects, etc. I had fun spending time with friends and fellow missionaries at Partner Development Training in Colorado. We learned a lot and spent some long hours putting together our presentations. Then two weeks ago I spent a long weekend in Boise, Idaho at a training session on Midwifery Volunteerism in the Developing World. This training was sponsored by Mercy in Action which runs several birth centers in the Philippians, so they had lots of practical real-world advice that was a great addition to my previous education. My brain is full of ideas, dreams, and plans!
So one of the frequent questions I get is... where are you going? I am headed to Indonesia. Sometime in the near future I will spend some time telling you a bit more about Indonesia as a country but for this post I want to share a bit about Bethesda Hospital, which is where my ministry will be focused. One of the reasons for this is that February is when the hospital celebrates its birthday, so it seems appropriate. Course it would have been more appropriate had I actually gotten this published in February but hey it is close :)
Bethesda Hospital is located in the jungles of West Kalimantan (Borneo). It was started by WorldVenture (previously CBFMS) missionaries in 1965 as a simple general hospital. It moved 7 miles down the road to its current location in the village of Serukam in 1974. This allowed for a good source of water, electricity, an air strip, and future expansion.
In the early 1980s the hospital was officially turned over to an Indonesian foundation which runs the hospital and its ministries. This has allowed the Indonesians to take the lead and responsibility for the daily operations and plans for the hospital. Today the majority of staff are Indonesians with support from two American physicians (one internist and one eye doctor) and when possible at least one American nurse (although it has been almost 5 years since the last one left now). The original doctor and nurse (Wendell and Marge Geary) who helped to start the hospital are also still actively involved, spending several months of the year there.
The ministries of Bethesda Hospital include a 100-bed hospital that admits and cares for an average of 5,000 inpatients a year. In addition, the outpatient department (clinic and ER) treats an average of 25,000 patients a year.
The ministries of the hospital also include a Nursing Academy. The Academy currently has three classes of 50 students each enrolled. These students study theory and do practicum at the hospital. Some will graduate and work in the hospital, others will work in other hospitals in the area, and some will return to their villages and provide health care there.
The hospital also has a Community Health Outreach program called PKMD. PKMD serves over 60 villages scattered in remote areas of the rainforest where government service is scarce to nonexistent. Working with the New Tribes Flight Program and previously Missionary Aviation Fellowship, four satellite clinics have been established to serve the Dyak tribal people.The focus of this program is on the high rate of mortality of kids under the age of 5 and maternal mortality.
I am excited about how the Lord is leading me to return to serve at Bethesda Hospital. In a previous post I shared a bit about how I will be involved in each of the different ministries (read previous blog post - What). It will be amazing to see how the Lord continues to use the ministries of Bethesda Hospital to provide care and share the gospel with the Indonesian people.
Happy Birthday Bethesda Hospital!
So one of the frequent questions I get is... where are you going? I am headed to Indonesia. Sometime in the near future I will spend some time telling you a bit more about Indonesia as a country but for this post I want to share a bit about Bethesda Hospital, which is where my ministry will be focused. One of the reasons for this is that February is when the hospital celebrates its birthday, so it seems appropriate. Course it would have been more appropriate had I actually gotten this published in February but hey it is close :)
Bethesda Hospital is located in the jungles of West Kalimantan (Borneo). It was started by WorldVenture (previously CBFMS) missionaries in 1965 as a simple general hospital. It moved 7 miles down the road to its current location in the village of Serukam in 1974. This allowed for a good source of water, electricity, an air strip, and future expansion.
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| The buildings and landing strip of Bethesda Hospital |
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| Doctors at Bethesda Hospital - 2009 |
The ministries of Bethesda Hospital include a 100-bed hospital that admits and cares for an average of 5,000 inpatients a year. In addition, the outpatient department (clinic and ER) treats an average of 25,000 patients a year.
The ministries of the hospital also include a Nursing Academy. The Academy currently has three classes of 50 students each enrolled. These students study theory and do practicum at the hospital. Some will graduate and work in the hospital, others will work in other hospitals in the area, and some will return to their villages and provide health care there.
The hospital also has a Community Health Outreach program called PKMD. PKMD serves over 60 villages scattered in remote areas of the rainforest where government service is scarce to nonexistent. Working with the New Tribes Flight Program and previously Missionary Aviation Fellowship, four satellite clinics have been established to serve the Dyak tribal people.The focus of this program is on the high rate of mortality of kids under the age of 5 and maternal mortality.
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| Measles Immunization |
Happy Birthday Bethesda Hospital!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
New Year Plans
Been some busy days here! The big news is that I passed my board exam and am officially a Certified Nurse-Midwife!! It is a great feeling to put the whole school thing behind me and focus on preparation for Indonesia.
Next month is going to be busy. In early February I will be returning to Colorado for training in Partner Development. It will be good to reunite with the friends I met in November and make some new ones. After that training I will begin building a team of prayer and financial support for Indonesia. In late February I will be headed to Idaho to attend training on serving as a midwife in a developing country.
Last but not least I am getting ready to start sending out monthly email newsletters. If you would like to received them you can sign-up on the left-hand side of the blog.
Next month is going to be busy. In early February I will be returning to Colorado for training in Partner Development. It will be good to reunite with the friends I met in November and make some new ones. After that training I will begin building a team of prayer and financial support for Indonesia. In late February I will be headed to Idaho to attend training on serving as a midwife in a developing country.
Last but not least I am getting ready to start sending out monthly email newsletters. If you would like to received them you can sign-up on the left-hand side of the blog.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas
While not exactly your traditional Christmas song, this is one of my favorites. Mostly I think because it reminds me that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus came to die for our sins. Not exactly the thing we think of first when we imagine that baby in the manager. His sacrifice is the reason I live!
Christmas plans for me including working the night of the 24th and then heading to Wenatchee, WA on Christmas morning for a couple of days with my grandparents and family. Then I will head down to my family's home in Oregon for a couple of days. I am looking forward to some time relaxing and enjoying family and friends! Next year I will most likely be exchanging my white Christmas for a very green and tropical one with temperatures near the hospital around 80+ degrees and lots of rain this time of year.
The other big piece of news in my life is that on December 17th I passed my comprehensive exam for school, so I have officially graduated! Now I just have to take the certification exam in early January.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Help Needed
Explore Indonesia and Discover Serving at Bethesda Hospital from Calista Yates on Vimeo.
So the video above is a collection of pictures and videos that helps you explore and discover Indonesia, Bethesda Hospital, and being a missionary. Most of the pictures were taken during a 6 month period in 2006 when one of my main responsibilities was coordinating short-term workers who came to Bethesda Hospital. The song playing is "Here I Am" and was "borrowed" from the group downhere. They have some amazing music that you can find on iTunes or at your local Christian bookstore.
So you have seen the job description and as you you can imagine it feels a bit overwhelming and right now I will be the only American nurse there. And let's face it, I am single woman moving to a rather isolated and rural location. While there will be other missionaries serving there, they are all families and doctors. So I would love to have another single woman, preferably a nurse or nurse practitioner etc to go with me. In the past I have been there both with and without another single woman and I definitely preferred the partnership of another woman and nurse. On the good days we celebrated together and on the rough days we supported each other. We also had fun taking vacations together. This is not a lifetime commitment, even a couple of years would be a big help. Please contact me if this is something that interests you and we can talk.
Monday, December 13, 2010
What
We have talked a bit about who I am and when I will be going, so I thought it was time to tackle the question of what I will be doing. Here is the official job description:
Job Summary:
Serve at Bethesda Hospital in the areas of midwifery and general nursing. Part time teaching and mentoring Indonesian nurses and students formally and informally.
Responsibilities:
Care for patients in the obstetrics department. Assist in births. Teach staff. Improve quality control measures, establish training sessions. Care for general ward patients. Assist in disbursal of donated medical supplies. Teach several hours a week in the nursing school. Mentor nurses and nursing students. Supervise practical experience of MedGo student nurses.
To me that sounds like more than a full-time job! As always though job descriptions tend to be a bit flexible and I am sure there are things not listed as well. From my past time serving at Bethesda I know there will be also be some administrative responsibilities, helping to provide medical care for the expat population of the area, and working with short-term workers.
The two areas I think I am most excited about are providing care to women as a certified nurse-midwife and working with the nursing and MedGo students. During previous times serving at Bethesda Hospital I came to face-to-face with the tragedy of maternal and neonatal mortality in the developing world. So many mothers and babies that could have been saved with simple prenatal care and skilled care during birth. You can click here to watch a video posted on my other blog for more information about the tragedy of maternal mortality. (While you are there take a few minutes to read my other post - it has pictures of me as a kid!) I have spent the last three years learning as much as I can about how to help prevent these tragedies. Now I have the opportunity to use that education and skills to help the women of Indonesia. I will also have the opportunity to teach and help others learn those same skills. Some of the young nursers will soon be serving throughout Indonesia and hopefully one day in the world beyond through the MedGo Program (more on that soon).
So that is a whole lot of words but as they as say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here is my job description in pictures.
Job Summary:
Serve at Bethesda Hospital in the areas of midwifery and general nursing. Part time teaching and mentoring Indonesian nurses and students formally and informally.
Responsibilities:
Care for patients in the obstetrics department. Assist in births. Teach staff. Improve quality control measures, establish training sessions. Care for general ward patients. Assist in disbursal of donated medical supplies. Teach several hours a week in the nursing school. Mentor nurses and nursing students. Supervise practical experience of MedGo student nurses.
To me that sounds like more than a full-time job! As always though job descriptions tend to be a bit flexible and I am sure there are things not listed as well. From my past time serving at Bethesda I know there will be also be some administrative responsibilities, helping to provide medical care for the expat population of the area, and working with short-term workers.
The two areas I think I am most excited about are providing care to women as a certified nurse-midwife and working with the nursing and MedGo students. During previous times serving at Bethesda Hospital I came to face-to-face with the tragedy of maternal and neonatal mortality in the developing world. So many mothers and babies that could have been saved with simple prenatal care and skilled care during birth. You can click here to watch a video posted on my other blog for more information about the tragedy of maternal mortality. (While you are there take a few minutes to read my other post - it has pictures of me as a kid!) I have spent the last three years learning as much as I can about how to help prevent these tragedies. Now I have the opportunity to use that education and skills to help the women of Indonesia. I will also have the opportunity to teach and help others learn those same skills. Some of the young nursers will soon be serving throughout Indonesia and hopefully one day in the world beyond through the MedGo Program (more on that soon).
So that is a whole lot of words but as they as say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here is my job description in pictures.
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| Teaching practical skills to nursing students |
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| Providing medical care for other missionaries living in the area including "catching" their babies |
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| Teaching nursing students in the classroom |
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| Mentoring and Discipling |
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| Coordinating short-term workers |
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| Working with patients in the hospital |
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| And of course "catching" a few babies |
Saturday, November 27, 2010
When?
I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! There is much in my life to give thanks for including family and friends to being almost done with grad school and an amazing Lord and Savior!
So we have already talked a bit about who I am and what is happening in my life and now that I am officially appointed the natural question becomes when... When am I leaving for Indonesia?
To be honest it is a tough question to answer. The easy answer is as soon as possible however there are still many things to do. These include for example:
So we have already talked a bit about who I am and what is happening in my life and now that I am officially appointed the natural question becomes when... When am I leaving for Indonesia?
To be honest it is a tough question to answer. The easy answer is as soon as possible however there are still many things to do. These include for example:
- Taking and passing my comprehensive exam and board exam to officially become a certified nurse-midwife. These are two separate tests - one for the school and one for national certification. I would love to be done before Christmas but there have been a few issues getting my final paper graded and getting the paperwork processed to get listed to take the exams.
- Lots of books to read and training to do to help me be better prepared for serving long-term in a developing country. Some of these include language acquisition and cultural adjustment training. I am also hoping to take a few more classes and training to round out my education in nurse-midwifery and focusing on practicing with low resources in the developing world.
- Finally I will be raising financial support to cover my living and ministry expenses while I am serving in Indonesia. My monthly budget is going to be around $3,500. I will be sharing more about this in the coming months.
- I am going to need lots of prayer in the coming days. Pray especially for my health that my Lyme Disease does not flare up. Pray that I will successfully pass my exams. Also be praying for the long list of things I need to do in preparation for departure and that I can take it one day and one step at a time.
- If you are interested in helping out with my financial support please contact me as I would love to set-up a time to sit down one-on-one and talk with you about this partnership.
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