Here is an excerpt taken from Tara Jones’ newsletter sent to her supporters and prayer partners. Tara has been on a short-term mission assignment at the health clinic in Vanga, in The Congo, as a nurse midwife educator. She is a short-term volunteer working along side two IM global servants, Dr. Tim & Kathy Rice. Thank you for keeping her, her colleagues, the students and all who come to the clinic in prayers.

“I can’t believe that August is already over!  This has been the busiest and most overwhelming month for me so far, but it’s also been the most exciting because I started teaching last week.  I’ve had the privilege of assisting with five births since we started our stage de perfectionnement (SDP) last week, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to finally be back in the delivery room again. We are using three health centers and the maternity and pediatric wards at the hospital for the SDP.  Currently, there are 7 sage-femmes spread throughout those locations during the day and at night. I am tired and have done a lot of walking in the last ten days (up to 10 miles a day!), but I am really excited to be teaching the sage-femmes and health center nurses safer ways of managing care for women and their newborns.  It has been over a year since I have been in the delivery room as a midwife, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be practicing here in the DRC. I witnessed graduation this past August 4th for the midwives who completed their training programs and now have started their “stage de perfectionnment” (final internship rotation).

Prayer requests:
+ Health and rest:  Please continue to pray for my health and for rest as I am working longer days and walking a lot of miles in the heat.  Trying to figure out when to sleep is hard when I’m on call 7 days and 6 nights a week.  There are about 60-70 babies born each month between the three health centers and the hospital, and my students are supposed to call me every time there is a woman in labor.  I will not and cannot attend to every birth, but I would appreciate prayer for wisdom as I decide when to attend a birth and when to rest.

+ Teaching:  The sage-femmes and most of the health center nurses are open to learning and being taught new ways of doing things.  Pray that those that are currently closed off to learning will begin to trust me and become willing to learn new ways of doing things.  Also pray that they will see the things that I am teaching as safer ways of providing care period and not just the ‘American way’ of providing care.  Pray for me to continue to be patient and understanding in these situations and also willing to learn from the health center nurses and the experience that they have as well.”

To partner and/or read more about Tara’s journey, please go to this web link http://newcity.org/universitycity/tara-jones-vanga-congo/