The Native Indian women are very diligent in their learning.

Here is one of my favorite pictures.
Sheraya and I are staying in a house that we share with 2 of the teachers in their twenties.  We just got hot water yesterday, so I was very glad to get a shower. A few days ago I did wash my hair in the little sink they have, but the water comes only a trickle.  It was the best trickle I have felt for a long time, even though it was coolish.

There have been an excellent turnout on all the days I have been teaching.  More and more are coming each day. (15) Today we worked on review of taking vitals, going through a prenatal scenario, NNR and a dramatization of a mom in labor and coaching her.  A doula from the states arrived yesterday.  She and I enacted quite the show, complete with sound effects. I had a pillow under my shirt and came in the room about 8 centimeters, and roaring toward the finish line.  Doing it was almost as fun as watching their faces!

The little town of Mitla that we are staying in is very safe.  They are having their yearly town party, celebration or what ever, sort of like our fair at home. It is starting tomorrow.  Lots of very loud fireworks.  Each neighborhood has an annual celebration.  Some of them are very dramatic or fancy, with the neighbors parading with music, flowers, and loud things going boom.

My favorite part in the evening, is the shepherd bringing home his herd of village goats.  Every night I walk 2 kilometers to eat and that is also the time he is bringing home the flock from the hills.  Mitla is actually a valley, with high hills around 360 degrees. (Well, not as high as our hills).  I took a picture tonight.  Hope he didn't mind.

Yesterday, I went over NNR, shock treatment and worse case senarios.  I was afraid I scared them all away.  It was pretty sobering.  But this morning, there they all were, smiling and giving welcome kisses on the cheeks.  And even more are coming.

Today we did review of prenatal skills, including vitals.  We also did postpartum care of mom and baby.  A Doula from Oregon arrived last night, so she and I did a very dramatic reenactment of a mom in labor.  Complete with sound effects.  I came in the door at about 8 centimeters and roaring toward the finish line.  I make lots of "out-of-control" sort of emotions, with the Doula doing a great job bringing me back to focus.  Another expereinced homeschooling mom that has had 8 is there helping out.  She was the midwife, and did a great job catching the baby... which we could not find at the last minute and ended up using a water bottle instead.  Yeah!  Baby is born! My throat hurts from pushing so hard.  My own fault for being so dramatic.

This evening we had dinner and there was just enough.  We'll there was enough, because those who were full, let others finish what they did not want off their plates.   We had a meat stew, with paan (bread) a flat bread baked by a native woman that was whole wheat and very flavorful.  Very chewy. It was good dipped in the stew.  We also had mashed potatoes (yes they have a lot of potatoes here). cauliflower and a custard make by the hostess.  It was good.

I am getting a snap shot view of the lives of the linguistic missionaries here.  They are a fairly large group here in Mitla, with families scattered into the hills learning and translating the Bible into the many different tribal languages of the natives living in the area.  Some missionary families go into the mountains for weeks at a time and leave their children here in Mitla, as they work at the language translation.  This is so that the children can get schooling.

The Mexican that is spoken here is sort of different than the Texas Spanish.  I think that the twang is the native Indian versions and harder for me to understand.  Some are easier than others.  I think I am getting about 1/3 of what is spoken to me.  Most of the time.

The native Indian midwives-to-be/Doulas work very hard and take their classes very seriously.  They write well and are constantly taking notes.  One of the women is a mom who has had two c-sections.  Her mother is a midwife in Southern Mexico.  The Older OB nurse that comes is just fascinated with our perspective.  The one MD that is coming, her mother was a nurse midwife and lives right next to where I am staying.  Her dad was a surgeon.  Some how we have all found one another, through the grace of God and are here together with a vision of making this birth center a house of compassion.

This is a woman that I really have enjoyed getting to know.  She has a real heart for helping other nationals and is very ready to jump right in.  She is steady and has a good understanding of birth already.