Life in South Asia: April 2013

Learning from those with "less"

Life here is not as convenient as life in America. It is necessary to sweep and mop the floors every day, we have no dishwasher, no clothes dryer (so thankful for a washing machine), all food is made from scratch (pretty much)... For this reason, I have been praying for a while that God would send us a reliable house helper who could do some cooking and cleaning so that I could focus on my children, learning language, and doing other ventures (because I could seriously spend all day just cleaning my house and cooking). And God has answered this request and she was worth the wait! She is not only my house helper, but she is my teacher in so many ways. We spend about 2 hours a day speaking in Hindi about all different things and during this time she teaches me not only language and culture, but how to see our world differently and how to appreciate God more.
Sangita doesn't have much. She lives with her husband, father-in-law, son, and two daughters (all teens). Her husband used to work to support the family, but he was injured about 5 years ago and has been unable to work since then. They have been living off of the father's pention, government rations, and whatever income she brings in. While the government gives flour and rice, the flour is mixed with dust and the rice is full of bugs. They have a house, but electricity is limited, they pump their water from a well, and she cooks part of their meal outside over a wood fire. But she knows that for everything she must give thanks to God for his goodness and provision for them. She has told me stories of those with less. People who work out in the sun all day long carrying dirt on their heads...and yet they praise the Lord. They praise him because He has recently saved them out of darkness and into his glorious light! They know what it is like to live life without God and they are so thankful for the hope, joy, peace that they now have. They know that even though they have so very little, they have everything they need!
And so I think about my own life. I think about how it is easy to complain when the power goes off while you are taking a shower, or when you come home and no water comes out of your faucet, or when your a/c drips water...and yet there are so many things to be thankful for in that sentence. God I am so thankful that I have electricity most of the time to run lights, fans, ovens, a/cs... I am thankful for a warm shower that is inside my house and has water coming from it 99% of the time...I am thankful for clean water that comes through a tap and pure drinking water that comes easily through my filter...I am thankful for an a/c in 100+ temperatures. And even if I didn't have those things, I am thankful for a family to spend time with by flashlight, neighbors who generously give us their water, food to eat, good health, friends who pray for me...
And even if I didn't have those things, I am thankful that I have hope. I have hope of a future glory far beyond anything that I can imagine on earth. Hope of spending eternity with my creator, sustainer, redeemer, God who loves me so much that he gave his son for me. So thankful that my sins are forgiven and that I am at peace with the almighty God!

Content to Angry

I just love the progression of these photos from content, to annoyed, frustrated, and down right angry.

"Kiss me and I'll whack you in the face"

"The hat is the last straw"

Picture Dump

We are finally headed home. Our flight was delayed so we are standing around waiting for Evelynn's first flight.

Back home! Walking to baggage claim.

Play time with dad. This is our upstairs landing that I turned into a playroom. I have wanted to post pictures of our house, but I still haven't really decorated after almost a year. I designed the storage unit on the left and had the bins brought from the USA.

Our adopted "aunties" painting Evelynn's letters to hang on the wall. This is the living room. Notice the completely blank walls.

Evelynn sleeping under her mosquito net. In this heat I am so thankful she doesn't need to be swaddled to sleep.

Bath time!

Hangin' with daddy on the bed. E sleeps in our room right now.

not such a great picture of Evelynn, but it works.

While Baby Sleeps Continued... labor story

It seems these days that the only time I spend on the computer is with baby in one arm, and typing with one hand just takes forever. So I am finally getting around to the birth story and some pictures if Evelynn keeps sleeping.
I got to the hospital at 8 in the morning and it seemed like it took forever to get through the admissions process. When I got up to the labor and delivery area they told me (using my middle name) that I could just go wait in my recovery room since my c-section wasn't scheduled until 10:30. I firmly told them that I was not having a c-section, but an induction and my name is not Elizabeth. To which they said, but you are on our list as scheduled for a c-section... and then they finally figured out that my name is not Elizabeth and they got me settled into my room. By this time I was crying because I just wanted to have the baby and was frustrated with the confusion and the nurse was concerned that I was in pain and didn't like that I was crying.
So they started the induction around 9am but implanting a little tablet, and some very minor contractions started, but I was walking around and feeling pretty good. They checked me around noon and I had progressed a little, so they gave me another tablet to "increase my pain" as the nurse said. Shortly after that the doctor came in and she informed me that the baby's heart rate had been too high since the time of my admission and she did not like it. If it didn't come down within thirty minutes I would have a c-section. I thought, "oh great, I waited a week past her due date only to have to have a c-section!"- but we prayed and called my parents to pray. Unfortunately they started prepping me for a c-section (hooked me up to an iv, shaved me, made me stay in bed with the monitor hooked up), and then we started to see the heart rate slow down. The doctor came in again and noticed the decrease so she gave me another 30 minutes. At this point my water broke and the contractions really started to pick up. I always seem to be stuck in bed when I am in labor so I don't know what it is like to try to manage contractions the normal way. These contractions were unproductive (still at 3cm) and since it seemed like I would continue to be stuck in bed, I decide to get an epidural to move things along.
I actually think all I would have needed to do was go through the process of getting an epidural without actually getting one. Unlike in America, they made me move from my bed onto a another bed so that they could wheel me over to the Operating Theater where they then moved me to the operating table. There I had to sit up straight with my legs Indian style while they cleaned me and implanted the catheter. I was having contractions all the while, but they were much less painful in this position than laying down in the bed with the monitor on. Once the catheter was in place they moved me back to a different room (they had moved us) where I went back to the bed got the monitor hooked back up, and the medicine started flowing. By this time it was 4pm. The epidural did not numb me as much as the one in America- though I did not feel the contractions, I could still feel my feet tingling and other things that I won't write about here. The doctor came in to check me at 5pm. I was fully dilated (probably had been for a while since I had been feeling an urge to push almost the entire time I had been back in the room). So they doctor just said to lay there and push if I felt like it while she went and got changed. I thought, "this is strange/different". So I laid there and pushed while only slightly propped up and my legs flat. About 10 minutes later the doctor came back and said, "we have to act fast, the heart rate is falling". So they finally propped my legs up a little (i couldn't do it myself) but they didn't prop my back up at all, and then I had two or three nurses pushing down on my belly while I tried to push, though I couldn't really feel they contraction and they weren't really telling me. The doctor gave me a rather large episiotomy because she wanted that baby out fast, and in 10 minutes she was.
They whisked her away so fast that they doctor didn't even look to see if it was a girl or a boy. I told JP to run after them with the camera while sat in bed get stitched up thinking, that wasn't a very satisfying labor, but praise God I have a healthy baby! I still wonder if the rush wasn't just so that the doctor could go home at a normal hour.