goodbye Israel....

My time in israel is coming to an end....   :(

i return to Oklahoma Monday, March 1st

i have spent the last several days saying goodbye
to the many friends i have made here in israel...

its hard to believe that its been almost 7 months
since i first arrived in israel last august, 2009...

my time here hasn't always been easy...
...but God has been with me every step of the way...

...i have learned many lessons,
- some good, some hard,

and i know that right now i can't even really
comprehend the impact that this amazing time has
had on my life, on my thoughts, on my heart...

as i prepare to return to Oklahoma, i have questions

but i know that God has the answers...

and that since this is the way He is directing me,
i know it is best....

for more pictures of me saying goodbye
to my friends here in israel,
click on the link below...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034908&id=1308642579&l=7a893f2499

i still have many, many pictures from my time

here in israel that i hope to post in the coming weeks...

...as well as posting about whatever the new opportunities
are that God plans to bring my way
after i am back in Oklahoma ~ !!  :) :) :) :)

Stay Posted!!!

Eilat...

The boys and I went down to Eilat for a few days...
Eilat is on the southernmost tip of Israel,
on the shores of the Red Sea,

and is a popular vacation spot for Israelis.

It is about a 4-hour drive through the
Negev Desert to get to Eilat.

We drove down in the little car that I
bought here in Israel...

Seth, Josiah and I enjoyed scuba-diving
in the Red Sea.

None of us had ever scuba dived before
and we enjoyed it very much...

The coral and fish were amazing...
as well as all the shades and colors of the water...

We also enjoyed looking at the ships in the harbor...

For my compete album of Eilat, click the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033808&id=1308642579&l=92d2326107

haifa and akko...

The boys and i went north to the cities of Haifa and Akko
to visit friends and see some sights up there..

Me with Benny and Emmanuel,
two cute friends of mine :)

Seth in an ancient secret tunnel that runs beneath
a huge fortress in the city of Akko

Jo and I at Rosh Hanikra...underwater sea caverns
at the very north of Israel, on the border with Lebanon

to view the complete album, click the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033138&id=1308642579&l=98bad7a7ca

babies...

Since being here in Israel, I have been blessed to attend about 35 births.  Most of these have been natural births with Ilana Shemesh, the midwife that I am living with here in Israel.

with Ilana

Ilana does home birth, as well as having two cabins behind her house where women can receive the same care as in a home birth, but be able to have more privacy than they might be able to in a small apartment, or if they live too far from a hospital in case of a need to transfer care.

with Ilana in front of one of her Tzimmers (Birth Cabins)

In the last few months I have also been able to volunteer at a clinic in Beit Sahor - a small town next to Bethlehem, as well as a religious hospital in the center of Jerusalem called Bikur Holim.

Both of these experiences have been really interesting, educational, as well as tiring ~ !!  :)

a road sign on the way to the Jerusalem hospital, Bikur Holim

The hospital is one of the oldest in Israel, and is still in it's original building...

Bikur Holim Hospital, Central Jerusalem

for more pix of the babies and families I've been able
to work with here in Isarel,
click on the link below...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033074&id=1308642579&l=c90f3c9069

by the galilee...

the boys and i traveled in the north eastern part israel

along the shores of the sea of galilee...

on the mountain of beatitudes...

the boys...

click on the following link for the complete album:


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029965&id=1308642579&l=aef80ad2d0