Another week has passed here at Bethany House and just when I think things are slowing down, they pick right back up. I am still learning some Tagalo, the newest phrase I have picked up, “ I love you”, is the title of this post. Looking back over my past two weeks here at Bethany, it has all been about love. This past week I have had some moments with the children here that I know will be in my heart forever.
The children had off from school last Friday because it was Independence Day here in the Philippines. I was looking forward to some fun when the rain hit. It rained pretty much all weekend here. Friday morning was spent at dance practice with the girls (I must not be getting any better because they still laugh at my white girl moves). Friday afternoon was spent in the covered area with visitors who put on a show for the children and bought yummy (masarap) food. The babies in the nursery also crashed the party…
Best seat in the house
Time for ate to dance
Gifts, gifts, gifts
Quick photo shoot after dance practice
Friday afternoon, I was feeding the new baby his bottle in the nursery. He had been really fussy and wouldn’t go down to sleep and at first he wouldn’t even take the bottle. He was just crying and seemed to be really annoyed or angry or just irritable. I finally got him to take the bottle, and as I was rocking him in my arms, there was a moment when his big beautiful brown eyes looked right into mine. He still had some tears drying up on his face and the corners of his eyes, but he looked right into my eyes. Mahal Kita, he seemed to be saying and I was saying it right back. I felt myself hoping and praying that there was going to be more in this baby’s future than Bethany House. Yes, it is loving here and caring. The children are very well taken care of, but there is nothing like the love that one feels growing up in a home with a loving family. Even in those few short minutes of me rocking and feeding him, and in the short six weeks that I am here at Bethany, I hope to give these children as much love as I can.
Those eyes
On Saturday, there was more rain. The morning was spent watching some tv, which the children try to translate so I could keep up with the show. Saturday evening, because of the rain, the children were not allowed to take out the bikes. At first, I thought they should be allowed since it wasn’t actually raining yet, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I got to show off my basketball skills…
I think its safe to say that the older boys have finally warmed up to me. At first as I walked onto the court, they were a little shy and some laughed. But they put me on a team, I tried my hardest, and we won! I, of course, had them laughing the whole time (I think that’s why the other team did poorly, they were busy laughing at me trying to play!) Sunday evening, I was asked back to play basketball with the older boys. I think they realized that (for once in my life) my height was a bit of an advantage, since I was the tallest one playing.
Sunday brought the most interesting visitors yet to Bethany House. I was sitting in the covered area talking to the girls with my back faced toward the entrance way. I turned around a few moments later to find Filipino biker-men pilling in. I don’t exactly know what to call them, other than a motorcycle gang. And they had all ridden their motorcycles to Bethany, 67 motorcycles were parked all over the front of the Orphanage. Some bikers had ridden two to a bike, so I am not even sure how many biker dudes there were. They all looked identical in their biker uniforms. The boys had a blast trying to climb on the bikes and get them to start. And, to add to the stress of Sr. Analyn, who was the only sister at Bethany on Sunday, they would not leave! Three more parties of visitors had arrived with no where to park, and no one to entertain them while the children were trying to be round up and sister was trying to kick the bikers out! I got the job of entertaining them, which I was happy to do since they spoke English.
This weekend, one of the baby boys in the orphanage had surgery to fix his cleft pallet. It was sad saying goodbye to him, but it was even worse seeing him in the hospital when I visited with Sr. Emiliana. There was an international agency there called “Smile”. It was teams of doctors, nurses, and volunteers who travel and set up in hospitals around the world for a couple weeks to do cleft lip and cleft pallet surgery. The staff seemed all very nice, and some even spoke English. But the hospital was nothing like I had seen before. It was very small and dirty. The room was no bigger than any normal size bedroom, maybe even a bit smaller, but there were six patients in that one room plus one family member each. And there were only five beds. Our baby was sharing his bed with another baby. As I peered into other rooms, it seemed as if every room was like that. IVs hanging from a rusty hook in the ceiling. No sink or soap or hand sanitizer to wash your hands before entering and exiting the room. No privacy. I am pretty sure as we walked through one of the hallways there was a mini procedure going on right in the hallway because there was a crowd of nurses and a doctor around one of the beds, and they were all talking and trying to hand the doctors supplies. I could not wait in the room for sister to visit, so I waited outside with the social worker of Bethany. The waiting area and check in area for the hospital was outside. So, at first we were sitting and waiting in the hot Filipino sun, but more and more patients began to arrive so we gave up our seats so a family could sit.
Being a biology major and having had an internship in a hospital, I was taken aback by the state of the hospital. I did not even want to know what that hospital’s infection rate was- or if they even kept a record of it. I spent last summer at a hospital working with the vice president of quality. She made sure the hospital was compliant on every level. She made sure falls were low, infection rates were low, and so many other things that go into a hospital getting accredited. I was sad that that long line of people was going to wait outside in the heat only to get inside to be jammed into a room with ten other people. Oh, and I forgot to mention, there was no air conditioning in the hospital. The patients had to bring their own fans if they wanted one. That is why we went to the hospital in the first place, the caretaker and our baby boy did not know that and spent a night and a day in the hospital without a fan. It is funny because on the car ride home all Sr. Analyn talked about was how clean and how ordered the hospital was. She said it was one of the nicer hospitals because it did not have a bad smell. I will give it that, this hospital did not have any bad smells. But, it was nothing like what we have at home and what we are used to. I had never experienced healthcare, clinics, or hospitals in another country besides the U.S., before Monday afternoon. I had never felt so lucky to have grown up where I did.
The rest of the day and the ride home, I just kept thinking about our little boy in that jammed room after his surgery. I was so happy when he came home on Tuesday. He is doing good after his surgery. He looks very happy, and he tries to sneak around the nursery sticking things in his mouth and drinking from the other babies’ bottles, but we all have a good eye on him.
Perhaps my favorite moment through out the week, was holding the baby boy with cerebral palsy for the first time. At first, I was nervous to hold him because his body movements are fast and I did not want to hurt him. I asked the nurse to show me how to properly pick him up and lay him back down. I am so happy I asked because I cherish my time in the mornings with him. He loves to get picked up and held as if he is walking around the nursery. And he loves when his tummy gets tickled! There is nothing better than seeing a smile brighten up his face.
Love from the Philippines,
Gabrielle
p.s. Bethany House got six new children this week. Four new boys and two new girls!
gabriellebarbera 