Oh the Joys of Algebra....

For the past month, we midwives have been saturated in algebra--3 hour classes, quizzes, tests, never-ending homework. Our poor baby-minded brains are fried--not exactly used to: "solve the equation 3x2-4x+17=0 using the quadratic formula." And what's up with imaginary numbers??

My brain on algebra------------------------------------>
Not a pretty sight in the least. :P

Anyway, Manny (husband of our new supervisor) was brave enough to face 25 midwives-in-training and teach a not exactly beloved topic. At our first class, he came armed with reasons why midwives need to know algebra:

1. You can really see God's glory in math. Just think about it for a minute--without math, how would we know the grandeur of the universe or the minuscule detail of a cell?

2. Math is one of the only things that builds the logic part of your brain. And yeah, midwives need logic too--especially at 3am with a complicated emergency birth.

3. The National College of Midwifery in the States requires it for graduation.

Hmmm...good reasons.....we'll buy that. (Manny sighs with relief.)

I understood and even (gasp!) enjoyed every class......until the very last one: graphing linear equations. Ooooh, my weakest point. My nemesis. The homework soon stumped me. BUT, praise the Lord for Skype and brothers who didn't even have to take college algebra--the math whizzes just CLEPped out of it. I pulled up the Skype chat box and begged for help.

I got my mom first. She may be a fabulous Editor Extraordinaire...but her math skills are questionable. Let me explain. The chat went like this:

Me: ok...i need help.....I don't understand this. It's the last thing before our final algebra exam today. What is x and what is y when I'm graphing the linear function: f(x)=x-4??
Mom: x is the female chromosome. y is the male chromosome. so this means that there are 4 girls in the room, minus four if the chromosome is present. Got it? And the f stands for female, but they put the X in parentheses just in case you didn't know that and needed more explanation.
Me (being the blond that I am, fell for it): so....y = 0 and x = 4?
Mom: exactly 0 boys and minus 4 females

Thankfully, Jacob (one of the math whizzes I mentioned above) took over at this point. And with a little more chatting and a couple calls, he pulled me through.

I'm pretty sure I cried through every single algebra lesson for the 3 years I had to take algebra in high school (btw, I'm very glad my parents made me stick through it anyway). But, I can now say I got through college algebra without a single tear trickle. And, I'm now a little more enthused about putting my own kids (someday) through the tortures..ahem...I mean, joys of algebra.

Evangelism or Medicine?

A good friend gave me the link to this blog: Word and Deed --a group of 3 families on their way to medical missions in Africa. One of their posts asks a question I've been asked several times,

"Are you first a missionary and second a [midwife], or is it the other way around?" In other words, "Is proselytizing (a.k.a. evangelizing) or medicine your primary goal?"

Should you combine the two? How do you find a healthy balance between medicine and evangelism? The writers state,

"For many years, Christians have chosen between the categories of Word and Deed. One group chose to spread the message of Jesus, and the other to do the works he commanded. But these are inseparable. The Gospel (which simply means "good news") is to be in Word and Deed. The good news is that Jesus is your salvation for all of time and that His kingdom is bringing you medical care here and now. Word without Deed would be an incomplete Gospel. Deed without Word would also."

Healing and witnessing go hand in hand; you cannot separate the two. People know us as Christians by our deeds and actions. One of the ways Jesus reached out to others was through acts of service. If you can reach out in physical ways that people can recognize and appreciate, you can open doors to evangelism that wouldn't otherwise be opened. Jesus was our example of service. He came to serve us, and we need to serve others. This doesn't mean medicine is the only way to reach out to others (there are many acts of service)--medicine is just one of the things that can be used as a tool for evangelism.

At last year's commencement speech, Matt McNeil, one of our directors, said:

"God affords a midwife the opportunity to preserve life. They are given the power to help turn a possibly negative experience into a positive one. They instruct novices, educate the disadvantaged and gain respect in the community. By ‘missiologically’ I mean that midwives have the ability to transcend all religious, cultural and political barriers to the Gospel message."

There needs to be a balance between medicine and evangelism:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

James 2:14-18
So, evangelism or medicine? I say, evangelism and medicine.

Hmmm...

Last month, Timesonline.co.uk put out a super interesting article, written by an atheist, about why Africa does need God. If you don't have time to read the whole article, at least read the first 6 and the last 2 paragraphs.

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

"Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset"

*Don't want to forget Uncle Scott Nelsen who always sends us the best links :)