one of the midwives, ate helen, cooks lunch at the birth center 6 days a week. we pay her daily or weekly, before she goes to market.   always fresh home cooked filipino food.  it is P75 ($1.81) per meal, totaling P450 ($10.91) each week.

this was the scene today.  that is isabell on the left, then kim on the far right holding a baby from the baby home, and katherine near right.  isabell is from germany, came here in may to work doing admin for the baby home.  kim, also from germany is a midwife student who is heading  home next week to return to school.  katherine is from weaton college in illinois, she is here until december, with a program thru her university dealing with hunger. she lives with ate helen and her family.

that is my place setting on the end with the bottle and pacifier, i have baby joy in a sling because when we headed over she woke up deciding she needed a bottle, so she joined us for lunch!

i know, the only sling here that fits me would have to be the stars and stripes forever.  like i'm not sticking out enough.  :o).  after lunch, i walked over to the school next door where our kids were in a program.  a lady remarked, oh, there is a baby in there?  i thought that was your bag.  sigh.



this is a very typical lunch.  some kind of meat, veggies, little beans like lentils that are full of protein, a bitter leaf that is full of iron and some okra that is really so much better than what we have at home.  always with rice.  

it has been raining off and on all day today, it is the rainy season here.  but, it's cooler and not buggy.  

here are a couple photos of ezra and nicole that i told you about.  isabell took these to include in their life books when they leave.  they share a crib and two two week old babies keep you hopping.  along with a 5 week old, a 4 month old and 3 others under a year.  one worker.  gosh.  

cutie patooties, right?!

thank you to everyone who has been remembering me and especially these sweet babies in your prayers.   

i feel lucky and blessed every day.

xoxo     jo