Spring 2016 update from Maria Roeber
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Maria
Mar 28, 2016, 12:07:54 PM3/28/16
to Maria Tanzania
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in Christ! Blessed Easter to those of you who celebrated our Savior's resurrection yesterday, and a blessed Great Lent to those of you who will celebrate Pascha on May 1!
It has been about two and a half years since my last update to you and much has happened during that time. I completed my graduate studies this past December and recently passed the national board exam so I am now a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). I relocated from Pennsylvania to St. Louis, Missouri, where I will be working at a wonderful in-hospital birthing center. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to begin my career as a midwife here and to work with colleagues who, like me, are dedicated to providing the highest quality maternity care. I am also extremely pleased to be working for a faith-based organization, which is very important to me.
One of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon me during this time of transition is the opportunity to travel to Guatemala to serve as part of a medical missions team before I begin my new job in St. Louis. I will be reuniting with Felice Stewart, my fellow missionary from my time in Tanzania. We will join other American healthcare providers including a dentist, a physician, nurses, and other healthcare workers to provide medical care at a health clinic which recently opened in rural Guatemala. The clinic was founded by the Orthodox Church in Guatemala to serve the needs of indigenous Mayan Orthodox Christians who live in an isolated and mountainous area where they have very limited access to medical care.
Part of my time will be spent providing direct care to patients in the clinic, but the larger portion of my time will be spent assessing the needs of women and infants in the community. The village where the clinic is located is served by six or seven indigenous midwives who have no formal medical or nursing training and who have requested training to recognize and treat obstetrical complications and emergencies. The clinic's leadership has asked that I work with the midwives and women in the community to learn about their maternity care needs and to develop a plan to improve their maternal and infant healthcare outcomes. It's not going to be a simple or easy process but I'm grateful for the opportunity to put my education and training to good use.
Many of you may remember that I returned to the U.S. to pursue graduate education so that I would be better equipped to serve as a medical missionary if and when God calls me back to long term service abroad. As a recent graduate I feel the need to gain experience as a midwife and to learn from supportive mentors for a time before I will be comfortable as a solo practitioner in developing countries. I am continuing to pray for discernment about my future as a missionary and am trusting that God is providing the additional experience I need while I work in St. Louis. In the meantime as I grow more comfortable with my skills in midwifery, I plan to continue my involvement with OCMC and with short term medical missions as I am able.
Greetings in Christ! Blessed Easter to those of you who celebrated our Savior's resurrection yesterday, and a blessed Great Lent to those of you who will celebrate Pascha on May 1!
It has been about two and a half years since my last update to you and much has happened during that time. I completed my graduate studies this past December and recently passed the national board exam so I am now a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). I relocated from Pennsylvania to St. Louis, Missouri, where I will be working at a wonderful in-hospital birthing center. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to begin my career as a midwife here and to work with colleagues who, like me, are dedicated to providing the highest quality maternity care. I am also extremely pleased to be working for a faith-based organization, which is very important to me.
One of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon me during this time of transition is the opportunity to travel to Guatemala to serve as part of a medical missions team before I begin my new job in St. Louis. I will be reuniting with Felice Stewart, my fellow missionary from my time in Tanzania. We will join other American healthcare providers including a dentist, a physician, nurses, and other healthcare workers to provide medical care at a health clinic which recently opened in rural Guatemala. The clinic was founded by the Orthodox Church in Guatemala to serve the needs of indigenous Mayan Orthodox Christians who live in an isolated and mountainous area where they have very limited access to medical care.
Part of my time will be spent providing direct care to patients in the clinic, but the larger portion of my time will be spent assessing the needs of women and infants in the community. The village where the clinic is located is served by six or seven indigenous midwives who have no formal medical or nursing training and who have requested training to recognize and treat obstetrical complications and emergencies. The clinic's leadership has asked that I work with the midwives and women in the community to learn about their maternity care needs and to develop a plan to improve their maternal and infant healthcare outcomes. It's not going to be a simple or easy process but I'm grateful for the opportunity to put my education and training to good use.
Many of you may remember that I returned to the U.S. to pursue graduate education so that I would be better equipped to serve as a medical missionary if and when God calls me back to long term service abroad. As a recent graduate I feel the need to gain experience as a midwife and to learn from supportive mentors for a time before I will be comfortable as a solo practitioner in developing countries. I am continuing to pray for discernment about my future as a missionary and am trusting that God is providing the additional experience I need while I work in St. Louis. In the meantime as I grow more comfortable with my skills in midwifery, I plan to continue my involvement with OCMC and with short term medical missions as I am able.
I humbly ask for your prayers as I depart for Guatemala. Please pray for our Mayan brothers and sisters and that God will direct my steps and guide my hands as I serve them. I am so excited to be returning to the mission field after my educational leave, even for a short time. Thank you so much, as always, for your love, support, and prayers.
In Christ,
Maria Roeber
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