Mercy Maternity Center
Filipino women have a saying that “a pregnant woman has one foot in the grave.” That is a sad reality in the Philippines as well as many other developing nations around the world. According to the World Health Organization, 800 to 830 women die every day due to pregnancy and birth complications. Of these deaths, 99% occur in developing countries. As you can see, access to quality midwifery care is essential to the flourishing of communities. Many countries that have a great need for midwives also have no access to the gospel.
Mercy specializes in equipping their students to meet both needs. What makes New Life International School of Midwifery and Mercy Maternity Center amazing is their specialization in equipping their students to do both. Mercy Maternity Center, located in Davao City, Philippines, was started by American Missionaries in 1996. Since the birth center started, over 27000 babies have been born. Every year, over 1,000 babies are born at Mercy. The birth Center is run by Filipino staff and Western volunteers. Patients who go to Mercy receive free prenatal, labor, and postpartum care. Mercy offers daily health teaching seminars to all their patients.
The biggest thing that sets Mercy apart is how the ministry focuses on meeting the spiritual needs of the women it serves. At every prenatal appointment, the women are invited to participate in prayer and devotions. Students coming to volunteer at Mercy learn the local language to connect with patients and share the gospel with them many times in the patients’ own homes. To date, over 200 students have graduated from the program. Many previous graduates now serve in places that are incredibly hard to reach with the gospel. The deepest desire for my husband Chris and I is that we would one day be able to bring the gospel where it has never been before through midwifery and technology like so many others who have gone before us.
Faith International Academy
FIA exists to prepare students to live for God in His world through a Christ-centered education, thereby allowing families to serve the Lord wherever He places them.“
– FIA Website
Chris is the IT Administrator on the Faith International Academy (FIA) campus. He is working alongside other Western missionaries serving other missionary families and the surrounding community to bring up the next generation of kids to know and honor God. In doing this, the families on the ground in the hard places can rest assured that their children are growing up with a great education while they expand God’s Kingdom. FIA is not restricting itself to only these families, though, and is also bringing the good news to the community. Plenty of children whose parents are not in mission work also grace the school’s doors.
The work Chris is helping with ensures the next generation of these kids have access to the best technology possible while also ensuring strict standards of safety both on the internet and within the school grounds. He is also working to unify the school’s resources and bring their internal operations up to a more modern standard. All of this will greatly benefit the kids that go here and their families, both now and in the years ahead.
