First Baby of the New Year
Friday, January 1st, 2010Glory Reborn is excited to welcome our first little one into the new year and the new decade. Our first of 2010 was born at 12:39PM on January 1, 2010. It’s a baby boy!
Glory Reborn is excited to welcome our first little one into the new year and the new decade. Our first of 2010 was born at 12:39PM on January 1, 2010. It’s a baby boy!
Year Six Comes to a Close. Over 1,750 healthy babies.
This has been a devastating month for the Philippines and a very busy month for Glory Reborn. As we celebrated our 6th year clinic anniversary with 1750 deliveries it couldnt have been more perfect that my patient Alona delivered her baby boy as we celebrated. Alona was the first patient I ever helped to deliver back in 2000. Her oldest daughter is 9 years old! I cant believe how time flies. I also had the joy of delivering her second daughter in 2004 and now as we celebrated six years of existence as Glory Reborn I had the privilege of delivering her baby boy!
The timing couldnt have been more wonderful as I reminisced over all the infants we have delivered and all the mothers we have gotten to know, Alona certainly stands out in my mind. The closing of this sixth year also brought about the hiring of two new social workers. We are very excited about continuing to reach the women who are desperate for medical attention in Cebu City. So it was with great excitement, and two additional staff members, that we welcomed year number seven for Glory Reborn and praised Jesus for His faithfulness over the past six wonderful years. We want to thank each of you for being a part of saving many, many precious lives and we look forward to all that year seven will bring….perhaps a new building?!?
Floods
As many of you probably know September was a devastating month for the northern islands of the Philippines with two typhoons flooding most of the capitol city and its surrounding areas. Glory Reborn was eager to help the victims of this devastation and together with our local church collected over 400 boxes of clothing and supplies. We were proud to be the first crate of supplies to be sent out of Cebu to reach our neighbors in Manila. As we saw the Asia-Pacific region be devastated by the the flooding in Manila, the earthquake in Indonesia and the tsunami in the Samoan Islands we are thankful for the safety that we have here in Cebu and the protection of a God who truly sees each and every one of us.
Holiday Cards
For unto us a child was born….1,700 times…don’t forget to order your christmas cards from us online!
Just in time for the Holiday Season, you can now spread the cheer of New Life with your friends and loved ones as we introduce the Glory Reborn Holiday Cards. Available in box sets of 6 and 12 in the below designs, you cant pass up these adorable little ones. Order now at http://shop.gloryreborn.com
Some of the Adorable Designs:
Building & Property
As many of you know, we have been looking for land to expand the clinic facility. This past month we have had some exciting appointments and have actually seen an amazing piece of land, that has some amazing potential. It is very near to the current clinic and in the area where we have been looking. We are still in the initial stages of this project, and will be meeting the owners to discuss the potential further. We did want to let you know about this, because its never too early to give towards the building and property fund.The proceeds from the Holiday Card fundraiser will also go directly to the Building fund.
We also have a wonderful opportunity in November to have a fundraising event here in Cebu City. We are very excited about the event and are looking forward to partnering with additional local professionals, corporations, and organizations to further our project.
Financial Update
Year to Date, Glory Reborn has raised 76% of our annual budget! We really need your help to meet our budget this year! Glory Reborn is a registered 501c-3 non prot organization.
We are excited to introduce to you christmas cards that will help us continue offering a safe place for mother’s to deliver their infants in Cebu, Philippines. Currently Glory Reborn has delivered over 1,750 healthy babies and we are looking forward to delivering many, many more in 2010. Holiday cards can be purchased in sets of 6 or 12. All proceeds go directly back to the program which ensures, “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies and Hopeful Hearts”. We have six wonderful designs for you to choose from, featuring precious little lives that were delivered this year at the clinic. As we celebrate the humble birth of Jesus this holiday season may we take time to make room in our hearts to help a Filipino mother in need. Wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hi Everyone,
We are coming home to the United States, and we will be visiting friends and family, below you will find a list of locations we will be and some of the venues that we will be sharing about Glory Reborn. We look forward to meeting you there. If you would like more info contact us.
Seattle, WA–April 26, 2009
Grace Community Church Bellevue
11100 NE 6th St. Bellevue, WA 6:30pm
San Diego, CA– April 29, 2009
Location TBD
Please e-mail us for more info
El Paso, TX– May 3, 2009
Come hear David speak at Coronado Baptist Church 8am-10am
501 Thunderbird Dr
Southlake, TX– May 3, 2009
Come hear Hilary speak at Grace Community Church 9am-11am
251 Countryside Court
El Paso, TX– May 7, 2009
State Line Dinner 6:00pm
Please e-mail us for more info
El Paso, TX–May 8, 2009
Filipino- Doctor’s Night
Please e-mail us for more info
El Paso, TX–May 10, 2009
Come hear Hilary speak at Jesus Chapel West 9-11am
111 W. Sunset
El Paso, TX –May 10, 2009
Come hear David speak at Crosspoint Church 9-11am
11995 Montwood Dr
Please keep the people of the Philippines in your prayers as a Typhoon (Hurricane) has just hit many of the islands. Cebu has had 100+ mph winds and rain for the last three days. Needless to say, the people here need your prayers.
If you are a woman in the Philippines, you can have a pretty tough life (Unicef Philippines data):
Glory Reborn is working to improve the quality of life for women here, your partnership can help.
Hope you all are doing well, we just had a wonderful visit with Sharon Walker. She was here for three weeks to see the organization, the family, and have a little vacation time. Unfortunately, Hilary and I had an amoeba, so most of her time here, she spent caring for us. For some reason, Moms still like doing that kind of thing.
She was also here for our annual meeting with the Department of Health, and she was a vital asset to getting our license approved! A majority of our staff members also spent time with her, and she was able to impart a lot of wisdom to all. She is back home in Texas now, but is deeply missed already!
Well it has been a long time since I posted some news on the GR blog. But just wanted to update everyone on what has been going on. We had some great visitors this first half of the year. Emily, who came from San Diego, just finished a 6 month internship with us, where she not only learned about healthcare in the Philippines, but she taught all of our staff proper Nutrition and Diet. Then she helped the staff teach all of our patients the same knowledge. Glory Reborn is now a healthier place! Thanks Emily for all your hard work! We also had JoRae and Holly visit us, and they were a great help all around. They helped with our baby parties, held babies, helped women in labor and even caught a couple of babies being born! It has been a great year in 2007. We are looking forward to an even better second half of the year. I hope each of you are blessed in all that you do!
Hilary and I are both doing well. I just recovered from a major infection in my leg, but I am back on my feet, the infection is gone and I have a clean bill of health. Hilary is doing well, she is focusing her time on getting her study going. We thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Glory Reborn is very happy to announce that this September marked the third year anniversary of ministering to mothers and babies in Cebu City, Philippines. In celebration of this anniversary all of the staff and their families shared in a day of swimming, games, and fellowship. With all of our staffs families invited, the party quickly quadrupled in size to be over 80 persons! To add a perfect ending to a wonderful day, four new lives came into the world on our Glory Reborn anniversary date; followed by two more in the wee hours of the morning. I guess the babies were waiting for the perfect day to be born. It couldnt have been a more beautiful Cebu day for swimming and enjoying the life that Jesus has given over the past three years.
Well, if you are visiting the site, I encourage you to look around and take some time to see everything here. We have had a very exciting month, and are preparing for a very eventful October! The most exciting news of the month is that our very first e-Newsletter went out! I hope those of you who received out enjoyed it, and I encourage the rest of you to sign up to receive it!
God Bless,
David
…Looking Back…
When I think that Glory Reborn has already been in operation for three years, I am amazed at what we have been able to accomplish and how Jesus has helped us grow. September also marks my sixth year anniversary of practicing midwifery in Cebu City. It was six years ago (September 2000) that I embarked on a journey to learn midwifery in Cebu and serve the poor. I had no idea that these first steps six years ago would lead to celebrating Glory Reborns three years of operation this September 2006. I am reminded of the simple Bible verse that I learned in Sunday school so many years ago, If you have faith like a mustard seed you can move mountains. I dont know that I can say it was totally by faith that I came to the Philippines in 2000, but I know now that every step of the way has been by faith and the grace of God. Being just out of high school and moving to the most dangerous area of Cebu City amongst the gangs and red light district seemed not much like a step of faith at the time but only a wonderful adventure; though Im sure my mom would say that it was more than a mustard seed of faith for her to let her daughter move across the world at 19 years old. Thanks Mom! What I didnt know was that Jesus would use this eagerness to serve the poor as a mustard seed of faith for Glory Reborn to grow from. Sometimes at 3 AM when Im watching a woman labor and my eyes are heavy and roosters are crowing and the disco down the street is blaring, I just have to ask myself, How did I get here? A smile always comes to my face because God has a sense of humor. What you may not know about me (Hilary) as a child is that I told my parents I would do anything God wanted me to do EXCEPT be a missionary! But more than a sense of humor God had a plan, a mustard seed that was planted inside that just needed to be watered. After my time in midwifery school came to an end and I was back in America, I realized that this mustard seed was growing. My heart was still in Cebu. I cant even remember a particular moment that I decided to start Glory Reborn it just always was. At a worship time in San Diego the name Glory Reborn came. With the belief that Gods Glory was placed in each individual and every nation my desire was to see that Glory reborn in the physical and the spiritual. A mustard seed began to sprout in not just me, but also in David. What did God have in store for us in the Philippines? In September 2002 I was back in the Philippines starting the paper work and finding a building for what would be Glory Reborn. I couldnt wait to deliver another baby. It seemed as though I had withdrawals from laboring women in the middle night! Strange but true. My heart was so eager. Filing the paper work and finding the building seemed to be the longest of all my journeys. It was then that I realized this mustard seed of faith. Some days the vision of Glory Reborn seemed so far away. But the Lord was ever at work burning the desire of His heart into mine. The longer it took, the more certain I was that Glory Reborn was supposed to be birthed. My mustard seed of faith was now growing! And then the day finally came in September 2003 for the clinic to open. It was wonderful to be doing births again. It was wonderful to see this mustard seed of faith transformed into a physical building filled with life. And now in just three years these two little mustard seeds have helped to sprout over 857 deliveries.
In my heart Glory Reborn always existed; it just needed some watering for me to see it unfold. This is exactly the hope that we desire to share with each of our mommies and pray over each of their babies. David and I hope that each of you will also be encouraged to water this mustard seed in your own heart and life. Just a few steps out in faith and watch what Jesus can do. He may have you running a full maternity clinic with 18 staff members and over 1,714 patients (if you count moms and babies!)
…Looking Ahead…
It is hard to even imagine what could come out of the next three years for Glory Reborn as Jesus continues to expand our vision, but we have great hopes in the things to come. David and I believe it is so crucial to water the mustard seeds of faith in each of our staff members. We are so thankful to Wayne and Carol for sharing in this vision. They will be coming to the Philippines in November to minister to many Filipinos including our own staff. My heart is so excited for what the Lord will do through them to encourage our staff as it was at their worship time in San Diego the name Glory Reborn came to me. We are believing for clear direction for the future of Glory Reborn and for the individual staff members. David and I are also eager to watch our own mustard seeds grow as we officially put our roots in Cebu by moving into a home of our own here. We are truly praying that doors would continue to open for a midwifery school to be birthed here in Cebu as well. We are believing the Lord for a fetal monitor and clinic transport vehicle in the next year to come. Most of all we are eager to continue to see the next hundreds of big and little lives that will be ministered to and birthed through Glory Reborn. One of the most wonderful deliveries Ive ever been apart of happened this month. Rose was a second time patient at Glory Reborn. She had her first baby here in 2004. Now baby girl #2 was coming into the world. As Rose was getting ready to deliver her husband, Ronald, was very interested to be apart of the delivery. Without really thinking I heard the words, Do you want to deliver your baby? come out of my mouth. To my surprise Ronald said yes with a huge smile on his face. We sat on the edge of the bed waiting for baby Trisha Akilah to be born. She emerged beautifully into her daddys hands and gave a good cry. Dad and mom held baby hand and hand with huge smiles on their faces. Later that night Ronald proudly told all our other five post-delivery moms that he got to deliver his own baby!
It couldnt have been more perfect. And after it was all over I thought to myself, thank you Jesus for being like this dad Ronald. Jesus is ever eager to see new life birthed and gently guide us through our first breaths of new air. It is the perfect symbol to our prayer for Glory Reborn in this fourth year. This baby didnt even know how to worry if her daddy would do a good job catching her. No, she just trustfully came, head first, in full confidence that Daddy was there to catch her. Father, teach our hearts to trust You, our Daddy who is always waiting to catch us and watch us grow!
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