Some pretty exciting news!

So we have some pretty exciting news to share! 

I (Edolbina) have officially been accepted to go as a missionary with Newlife International School of Midwifery in the Philippines! 

(This is the exact moment I sent in my application! We were in Cambodia.)

I am so excited to have been chosen for this very challenging and selective program! Many of you know about my passion for birth and all things related. God has really brought it out in the past 4 years. While it was certainly an unexpected passion, we both feel very strongly about following this calling. God has been leading us in this direction for a while now, but has only revealed this part of His plan in the past few months. (probably because we would have said "No way! Thats too much!" if He has showed us earlier!)

Let me share an excerpt about the ministry:

 "We are missionaries on the mission field making a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people. Most ministries in America are carefully insulated to avoid possible liability regarding multiple issues. Its not so on the mission field and many of the fruitful ministries that  are operating where the rubber meets the road. Likewise, we are fully exposed as we immerse ourselves into the chaos of rescuing teenage prostitutes, helping abandoned babies, working with pregnant drug addicts, protecting the dignity of a confused 13 year old pregnant girl who is scared to death of whats happening to her body. Newlife is not for the faint of heart. "

As a part of my schooling, I will be serving full-time in a free clinic. This clinic is run for the poorest of the poor in the surrounding area. I will be able to serve women who have no option for health care and who would, most likely, end up birthing their babies at home, without the help of a trained birth attendant. 
This is an incredible opportunity to serve! 

We are very excited that I get to do this. We have been praying about it for a quite some months now, and asked our closest friends (including our pastor) and family to pray with us about this. We really wanted to hear what God was saying, to us and those who know us best. We feel that God has confirmed so many things to us about this school. 

This means that in July of this year (2ish months after arriving back in Canada from our crazy grand adventure!), we will be packed and moving to the Philippines for the next 2-3 years!

Many of you are probably wondering "What about Andrew" and thats a GREAT question! He will be involved with many things while there. There is community development, as well as the chance to serve in maintenance at the birth clinic. There is coaching soccer, bible studies and church. Andrew will be involved as much as possible with these! Also, because I will be incredibly busy, he will be a huge support for me. 

While we are so excited for what God has in store for us in the Philippines, there is sadness involved as well. This means 2ish more years away from our family (including our precious nephews and nieces!) and that is hard. 

But we have committed our lives to the author and perfecter of our faith, our Saviour. This means that we will follow Him wherever He leads, trusting that He has all things worked out for us, because we love Him. 

If that means moving to a remote mountain town in the Philippines to catch babies, then so be it! 

We can not do this without your support. We are so grateful to have family and friends around us that pray for, support and love us. We thank God for you everyday. 

If you want too, you can check out the website at www.midwifeschool.org and see what its all about! 

This quote has been playing on my heart over the past weeks, as we were waiting to hear if we've been accepted or not. 

"Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero; better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth; better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it." 

-Erwin Lutzer

Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want. We will have a website up and running soon, which will have lots more info! Thank you!