Gracie's Philippines Blog

Going Back

by Grace Beougher (Sales)

Going back was harder at first then I imagined. 

I was so excited to go with the team, including my fiance, Zac, and show them my life there but part of me didn't know if returning would bring back all the stress that I felt when I was there or if it would feel like a heartbreak when the time came to return to the States again. 

Ever since my first overseas missions trip with my dad to Malawi when I was 17 yrs. old (nearly 10 years ago!), I've struggled with culture-shock and heartache each time I stepped off a plane and back onto U.S. soil. Part of my heart was left with each ministry I worked with and each seed I planted/watered. However, leaving the Philippines last year to return to the U.S. was a much more severe separation than ever before. I had been gone longer this time and I experienced stress, fatigue, and loss during my time in the Philippines. Being back home in the U.S. felt comfortable and safe which made part of me want to avoid the feelings involved in returning to my host culture (the Philippines) and then having to say goodbye to it once more. 

With my dad on one side and Zac on the other, I gained the courage and motivation to return. If they experienced what I had maybe they would begin to understand my stories. 

We returned to the small mountain village where I had spent almost a month 3 years prior. The little community of believers that my previous team had the privilege of baptizing was now ready for their first church building and they were in need of supplies to build the foundation. Our small team, my dad (Carlos), my fiance (now husband! Zac), med-student (Kenya), basketball guru (Tanner), and myself were packed onto several motorcycles for the hour trip up the mountain into the village. We spent the night in hammocks, visited the homes of the people, and hosted a Jesus film "movie night" for everyone there. After our night in the village, we hopped on a bus for 7 hours and headed toward Davao (where I had spent majority of my two and a half years there serving in the maternity clinic). There we met our ministry partners the Wicks. 

With the Wick family and their ministry team we got to:

• Visit House of Hope (a home for children fighting cancer)
• Help with their kids ministry "Buhi" (much like a weekly VBS program)
• Play lots of basketball with their basketball ministry (which instills godly principles in children and teaches them how to memorize scripture)
• Serve with a food program
• Share at a truck rally (with some of the wealthiest and most influential men in Davao)
• Attend & Encourage the Wick's church
• Distribute Love Packs (food, toiletries, & other necessities delivered door-to-door to the poorest communities in Davao)
• Pray over many many people!
• Also, Kenya and I were able to serve a couple times in the clinic that I had worked with before. It was a whirlwind of a trip and God worked mightily. 

It was a privilege to show my home to the team and I was reminded of all the wonderful things I missed about living in the Philippines. It was filled with fun memories and joy and less anxiety then I had imagined in returning. God allowed me to re-experience so many things that I loved about my previous time in my host culture.

Ultimately, I was reminded that the anxieties a person can have when traveling to another country can happen for a variety of reasons. Whether this is the first time going on a trip or whether they've been going for 10 years, stepping off a plane in a new culture is not an easy thing to do, even if you're certain it's what God has asked you to do. Mission Trips are difficult; they can be stressful and anxiety-producing but when you take the opportunities that God has given you, to love in ways that He has equipped you, He will show up. God will always reach towards us through ways we couldn't have imagined and often in ways that stretch us in our fears and anxieties. Going on a Mission Trip and following through with the prayer, fundraising, traveling, and evangelism may just be God's way of reaching towards you & His children living half a world away. 

If you see some of yourself in my story or maybe you sense God asking you to reach out, consider joining RTH on the next trip to the Philippines this summer:

Philippines Mission's Trip

Taking Root by Grace Sales

To be honest, since I have been home I have felt nervous about being a part of births, medical missions, or even missions in general. I have not felt the same desire and excitement I felt before and so I have procrastinated and said no to some of the opportunities that have come up in the last couple months. This season of returning to the U.S., has been a season of allowing roots to reach, grow, and search deeper for water. A season of abiding in Jesus and beginning to recognize the fruit of my ministry and learning to celebrate the fruit that I will not get to see until I get to heaven. 

The last couple months, I began to start feeling unexplained sadness constantly nagging at me. I kept meditating on Jeremiah 17:8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.” This verse reminded me to not be afraid of my roots that I let grow in the Philippines or to be afraid of allowing roots to grow again in the US. 

In February, about 8 months after returning from the Philippines, I went to a debrief retreat. The ability to express what I was feeling or to talk about my memories from overseas became harder and I started feeling a need to escape from everyone who didn’t understand. My parents encouraged me that this retreat would help me transition well and find the courage to say yes to God again. 

The theme for my debrief was ABIDE. John 15:4 says “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” This was exactly what I needed. The ABIDE retreat helped me begin to face and work through grief, losses, and I begin feeling renewed and excited for what God has planned for me. Since processing my time in ministry over the past couple years, I have recognized the need to honor my grief and have begun to feel renewed, one baby-step at a time. 

The Lord is leading me through renewal and I feel called to let you know about my next step. 9 years ago I went with my dad to Malawi, Africa for a trip that would change my life forever. At the end of that trip, I made a commitment to God and myself that I would dedicate my life to missions and begin preparing for a longer commitment overseas until God told me otherwise. The plan, for now, is “just keep saying yes.” Many of you have been on this journey with me and prayed with me, and over me, through all the different experiences and training He has given me along the way. I cannot thank you enough for that support. And now here I am, writing to share with you about this season of renewal God has me in and I believe that He wants to renew the passion He has given me for His people. So I am very excited to share with you that after 9 years I will be traveling full circle and joining the team on April 1st making the long trek back to Malawi, Africa. Please thank God with me as I grow these new roots!

Please partner with Gracie by prayerfully and financially supporting her to go back to Malawi, Africa! 

                                         
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If you are interested in joining us on a future trip, please see a list of our 2018 Mission Trips at www.ReachingtheHungry.org.  You can email Info@ReachingtheHungry.org, or call our office at (760) 523-0777, or click HERE for additional info. 

Gracie is Home!

	Grace Sales Missionary Midwife Update www.REACHINGTHEHUNGRY.org
	#adventuresofacalledmidwife     Please forgive me. This update is going out much later than planned. The baby's haven't been giving me a break to write lately. Coffee is becoming a good friend and I'm perfecting the art of "power naps".  But I’m getting ahead of myself. Please grab a cuppa, and settle in, this update is going to be a long one! First, I'd like to start by saying Thank You! Thank you for faithfully following my journey and supporting me every step of the way. Moving across the world to a foreign country has been very difficult but the response I get to my updates has kept me going.  I've been overwhelmed by the encouragement and support I've received from people's comments, private messages, financial support, care packages, and just letting me know that you’re praying. This was a team effort and you have been an incredible team! You carried me through the last 2&1/2 years.  Let me recap what we accomplished together…….. In January 2015, I moved to Davao City Philippines with 5 other "soon to be midwives" and one family with 2 little boys. We completed language school then began learning the ways of a midwife and serving in the maternity clinic. After assisting with many births, In July 2015, I got to welcome my first “catch”. In September 2015, I lead a team of midwives to the mountains to live, serve, and share the love of Jesus for a month. During that month we showed the Jesus film, baptized 12 believers, hosted Bible Studies, and planted a church.  You helped plant a church in a remote village in the Philippines!  I'm so excited to say that this church is still growing and flourishing. A few other teams have been sent to follow up and encourage the young believers there and I was recently told that they are beginning plans for building their first church building. I returned to Davao City with a new perspective and compassion for the women I was there to serve.  My miraculous time in the mountains profoundly impacted my walk with God and deeply rooted my trust in His provision and His faithfulness. In the midst of 2 years of prenatal checkups, teaching health classes, hosting health outreaches and delivering babies, the Lord provided countless opportunities to share His love and mercy with the people of Davao. I shared their lives and I often shared their pain. We endured the news of a horrible kidnapping, terrorist bombing at our neighborhood market and most recently martial law.  I know it was your prayers that gave me peace and strength; I never felt afraid. My commitment in Davao is complete.  However, I know this has just been another step toward preparing me for future work overseas. My long term goal is to be back serving the Lord’s treasured woman in the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Discussions with Sending Agencies have made it clear that I will need to be licensed midwife to enter many countries, so I continue working toward that goal. I moved my belongings back to San Diego, and recharged for 2 weeks before the next phase of my preparation.  I am now in Washington State for a month to serve under a U.S. midwife, practice my birth skills in English (new concept!) and meet the “10 U.S. Births”, requirement for my certification exam.  After this I will return to my parent’s home, take a few required courses, look for opportunities to keep up my midwifery skills and work for Reaching the Hungry part time. I am excited to say, that while I am preparing for my next overseas journey, I will continue to do what I love right here in San Diego. Working for Reaching the Hungry, I will be helping to plan outreaches, leading teams, learning from my father about sending teams, ideally discipling women, strategically encouraging missionaries, sending donations to missionary partners, and growing in my capacity to serve the Lord. Many of you have been faithfully supporting me financially and in prayer for the last 2 ½ years. I cannot thank you enough! I want to ask you to continue to partner with me. I am not done.  I am really just ramping up and I need your support more than ever. The financial support will be used to help with expenses specific to the Midwifery License Exam, Courses and Training for my next assignment and salary to allow Reaching the Hungry to hire me part time.  I pray you will consider me an investment worth continuing. It has been a privilege and an honor being sent by you to serve in Davao City, Philippines, I hope our relationship will continue. When I return from Washington my parents will be hosting a reception for my Team.  Please watch for the invitation. I am astounded that I got to be a part of almost 200 births and I got to personally deliver 49 beautiful babies!  You were there with me! With love, Grace Sales P.S. I delivered 9 babies in my first 3 weeks in Washington! Prayer Requests: It's such a mixture of relief and grief being back in the US, while missing my Davao family. Please pray for my transition off the field.  This is usually very difficult for me.   Please pray for my time with my brother Chase.  It’s very important that I invest in this relationship before I make my next commitment overseas. I am praying that he might go with me some day.   I will need to observe 2 U.S. Hospital Births, I will offer my services as a doula.  I have no agenda other than the chance to observe. Please pray for 2 willing families. ​ I will be moving back in with my parents and they are downsizing to a much smaller house.  Please pray for all of us as we adjust to living together again.   Please pray that this time of rest and preparation will be blessed by the Lord. Especially pray that I will discern His will and be ready when the next assignment comes.
	Grace@ReachingtheHungry.org       ~    www.REACHINGTHEHUNGRY.org    ~      (760) 310-2324

Birth Story - Strength By Gracie Sales

Slender, quiet, and composed she labored. As I checked the baby's heart beat the scar on her abdomen was unmistakable. It was large, taking up a long stripe from her lower chest to a few inches under her belly button. You could see the places the stitches used to be and how huge the wound must have been. When she was only 8 years old her brother was playing with a gun and accidentally shot her in her stomach. What pain she must have been in. I wondered how that compared to the pain she felt in her stomach now. She labored for over 25 hours and at 22 years old she had such strength and self control that I have never seen in a first time mom before. She silently cried at times but that was one of the only signs that she was in pain up until the last 15 minutes where she proved her strength even more. She held onto me as we both squatted on the floor and together through lots of blood, sweat, and tears guided her baby out. I wish I had a picture of her as I handed baby Kenji to her as she was still squatting there next to the bed. Pure exhaustion and exhilarating relief as she embraced her baby.

Baby Kenji you are blessed. You have been born to a fighter, a strong strong momma who already adores you. I pray you will know this strength as you grow and will know where it comes from. I pray that the Lord's strength will continuously be made known in your times of weakness. 

2016 Year in Review - By Grace Sales

Well, here I am in the final stretch of my commitment here in the Philippines. I can hardly believe I have been here for two years now. 2016 was one of the most challenging years of my life: physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Since being here in Davao I have been at over 150 births, hundreds of prenatals, and spent countless hours reading and studying midwifery books.

2016 has been full of surprises, here are a some highlights:

January

I welcomed babies and a visit from my parents and brother Chase :)

February

I got to welcome my friend’s baby and spent Valentine’s day with big brothers and my roommate Emily <3

March

I got to visit home for the month where I enjoyed cooler weather, lots of “Chase hugs”, and a ‘Birth Without Fear’ conference with my momma.

    

April / May
I was back in the Philippines with this wonderful group of girls and meeting new patients and babies. Throughout April and May we had many power outages sometimes lasting for a majority of the day.

       

We drank lots of anything we could find that was cold and tried to stay out of the house as much as possible as no power also meant no water.

June

June brought more birth room shifts and some farewells as friends returned to the states.

  

                                                                                           

July

I continued to learn and grow in my care for my patients and I celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my first catch with flowers from a “secret admirer.”  ;)

August

I got to work a crazy busy shift with my roommates and the month wouldn’t be complete in the life of a midwife of course without working a few papsmear clinics ;P

     

September

I was able to take a couple weeks to visit home for some much needed rest and filling up from my family. I also got to spend some quality time with my secret admirer.  ;)

   

October

I was back to the Philippines and busier than ever with babies popping out left

and right and finding creative ways to practice neonatal resuscitation.

  

November

I was busy with more babies, a trip to ER and week of the flu w/bad asthma, and visiting with a patient who had a stillbirth.

     
    

 

We also said goodbye to more friends who finished their commitments here and are moving on to obtain their midwifery licences.

December

I celebrated my final Christmas in Davao with my lovely roomies, worked a night shift with my favorite classmates, and celebrated my 25th birthday.

   

  

The Lord has blessed me tremendously in 2016, and I wouldn’t be able to be here serving the women in Davao without your support. Thank you all who have generously given to support my ministry and who have faithfully prayed through the storms with me this past year. I am eagerly looking forward to this new year and all the changes it has in store.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Here are some changes coming up in 2017, and some prayer requests that I’d like to ask you to pray with me:

• Please pray as I finish my last 6 months here in the Philippines:
• I have a lot of studying and midwifery assignments to finish up before I can begin my application in the US for my midwifery license.
• Please pray for the patients the Lord brings my way that they would all be ones who need me, and whom I need as well to further my experience and growth as a midwife.
• Please pray over my relationships with the girls who I study with and live with as we have all become very close over the last 2 years, and the transition will be hard for us. Pray that the Lord blesses our last few months together!

• Please pray as I begin my transition back to North America:
• In June, I will begin my goodbyes here in the Philippines.
• Re-entry back into the US has always been hard for me in the past even when I’ve only gone on short trips. I usually struggle with feeling confused, out of place, and alone in a 1st world country after experiencing life outside North America.
• After living as a missionary, fully funded by the support of my fellow Believers and church body, I will be entering back into a fast paced society as a 25 year old with no money, and moving back into my parents house. Please pray for opportunities and blessings as the Lord directs this next season.

• Please pray with me for what lies ahead with my ministry:
• Midwifery as my ministry isn’t ending here. As I have expressed before my opportunity to serve in the Philippines is a platform to further prepare me for the long term missions work I feel the Lord calling me to. After, I leave Davao I plan to go up to WA state for the month of July to gain further experience in midwifery, and meet requirements for applying for National Midwifery Cert.  After that, I will return to San Diego hopefully to take a couple classes at the community college to comply with CA state licensing, and my prayer is to have met all my requirements, and write my midwifery board exam by fall/winter of 2017.
• Please pray with me for all the requirements, and the exam for licensing that I would be able to meet them and pass, and become licensed as a midwife by the end of this year!
• Please pray with me as the Lord directs me further past my licensing as a midwife. How long to rest and recoup near family and where to serve next?