Glory Reborn

Expansion of Hearts

David Overton — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:30:05 +0000

Glory Reborn was honored with the delivery of some very special baby girls this past month! Our first wonderful double duo of twin girls made their joyful appearance at the beginning of the month.

A cute baby a few hours after birth!

Both little girls were delivered in the clinic normally and both were healthy little ones, baby Sieltiel and baby Judiel. The timing could not have more perfect for these little ones to be delivered at Glory Reborn. We have begun to renovate and expand our current facility to cater more comfortably to our mommies and babies. The first priority was the expansion of our post-delivery area. The day the expansion was completed with four recovery beds and four baby bassinets we said the opening prayer and in came the twin mommy in labor. It was so beautiful to have our first mommy and her twin girls fill the room. Just hours later another special delivery arrived. It was our mommy who is a street-dweller. Having no where to stay she and her partner live on the streets of Cebu and sleep wherever they can find a dry slab of cement or sidewalk. We had met her and her other pregnant friend on a feeding outreach in downtown Cebu. Since then the two became part of the Glory Reborn social work program. She and her beautiful baby Rejoice were the next patients to fill the room. I could not have thought of a more perfect scenario that so perfectly summarizes what Glory Reborn is about. The overflow of a double blessing of life and a clean, new place for a little princess to be born safe from the harsh streets of Cebu. Truly these are the lives that Glory Reborn exists to serve and in doing so we are blessed beyond words.

A baby receives a Christmas gift

As we all just celebrated the Season and spent time with loved ones and family, and look forward to a New Year, we hope that these stories will warm your hearts. It is amazing for us to see such Hope in the eyes of our moms and as we reflect on all the lives that have been touched, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to those who have supported us in prayer, encouragement and donations. We could not have saved 4,224 lives without your support, thank you so much!

Speaking of lives that we are thankful for, Glory Reborn also welcomed into our family baby Kazumi. Our staff nurse delivered a healthy baby girl named Kazumi in just a few hours after a prayer for a quick and pain-free labor. God is so good and we are so thankful for another healthy little life in our Glory Reborn family! We’d also like to thank all of our new friends we met at the Phoenix Women’s Expo – we setup a booth for our cause to raise awareness!

As we look to 2012, we are looking to continue our growth and expansion – by continuing to continually improve our care, expanding our services and providing Hope to the hopeless. We need your help to do so, as you can see in our budget update below, we still have $44,461 to raise for our 2011 budget. While that seems a little intimidating, especially from here, we’d ask that you consider what a big difference you can make:

You can help us save 2 lives

- 1 mom & 1 baby -

for just $1 per day!

For only $365 you can give 2 Lives a chance to be Healthy & Hopeful this New Year!

For only $1 a day you can save 2 lives! Use the buttons below to make a one time donation of $365 or a monthly donation of $30.

Expansion

David Overton — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:50:53 +0000

our "Christmas Tree"

When Hilary and I moved to Cebu 8 years ago with our vision to start Glory Reborn, we rented a small apartment and began by simply providing prenatal checkups and health teachings on Friday mornings in our kitchen/living room. Our very first delivery was in this apartment’s spare bedroom and we quickly realized that Glory Reborn needed to grow. Our landlord had just completed an apartment building beside ours, so we agreed to rent out one unit for our clinic. We continued to grow and took a second apartment in the complex for our prenatal area, ultrasound room, supply room and our office. In July we took over the third apartment in the complex and began some major renovations to all three apartments. We wrapped up the renovations in October, and the results were wonderful: we doubled the size of our labor and deliver room, postpartum room, and our newborn area. We were also able to expand our prenatal areas to better accommodate our growing patient base. New paint, curtains and decor have really transformed Glory Reborn into a whole new clinic! We had some amazing help from a volunteer interior decorator and we finished just in time to have 5 boys delivered on the same day – something our previous setup could not have facilitated. Not to be outdone, the month of November brought us 6 babies born in 24 hours, a new record and thanks to the expansion, everyone was able to fit. Hilary and the staff handled it marvelously, and I am glad to say that I, David, didn’t need to be called into assist. For those of you keeping track at home, I am still not a midwife, and believe me, that is something to be thankful for.

It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do! This renovation has really revitalized the clinic, and brought us all back to our origin – a vision to help save lives & bring hope. In eight years we have delivered over 2,122 Healthy Babies in the clinic, seen over 2,122 Healthy Moms and helped created 4,244 Hopeful Hearts and counting! It is difficult for us to fathom that this vision, with its humble beginning in an apartment has saved over 4,244 Lives. We give all the credit to whom it is due: thanks to each of you who have donated to our cause, thanks to our amazing team at Glory Reborn who so faithfully serve with us, and we give all the thanks to God – the author and giver of Life.

As 2011 has just ended, we are not only reflecting on our origin but also looking forward to further expansion!

The Phoenix Women’s Expo

David Overton — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:41:45 +0000

Glory Reborn had a booth at the Phoenix Women’s Expo to raise awareness about our cause! We had a great time and we were able to raise awareness and connect with some amazing people. We want to thank all the new connections that we made there!

It is so encouraging to connect with women who are passionate about helping other women around the world! (We appreciate men who are passionate about that too!)

Hilary and I would also like to thank our board members for supporting this booth and promoting our cause! Don’t they look great in their scrubs?

Pink October

David Overton — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:31:15 +0000

October is breast cancer awareness month, and we fully support this cause! We encourage you to look for ways to help within your local communities.

If you are in Cebu City, join us at the Pink Bazaar: 14-15 October 2011 10am – 6pm @ The Marriott Hotel. You can pick up some fun items at the Bazaar, and all proceeds will go to benefit the iCanServe Foundation.

Be sure to drop by Glory Reborn’s booth for a chance to win an amazing prize with a donation of PHP 200!

The Abacá Group has donated an amazing prize to be raffled: a 1 room – 2 nights stay including breakfast for one lucky winner. Here are the details:

Open Minds & Big Hearts – a Visitor’s Experience

David Overton — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:36:08 +0000

We wanted to share with you a little story from a volunteer who recently came and worked with us in Cebu:

This summer, Martine and I were so lucky and privileged to spend one month at Glory Reborn Clinic in Cebu City. Both of us had just graduated from high school, and were looking forward to getting some new experiences and inspiration that would bring further in our lives. And sure we did…

Working at the clinic with the GR staff really had an effect on us. By closely watching and following the clinic’s work for one month, we saw a staff loving their jobs; taking good care of the mums and babies before-, during- and after the birth. We could easily see how essential and what a big effect they’re sharing of knowledge and their big hearts has in the society! Admiring and very inspiring to see how they promote healthy mums, healthy babies and hopeful hearts, because they really do a wonderful and important job!

Keep up the good work, you are making a big difference! I feel really grateful to get to know your open minds and big hearts; you are wonderful, Glory Reborn Organization.

- Helene, Norway

the Coffee Challenge

David Overton — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:31:36 +0000

our crazy idea about being able to change the world with the cost of a cup of coffee.

We <3 Coffee. Seriously. So it happened in fact that while we were in line at our local coffee shop we got to thinking about this: Rather than sipping on our delicious one pump Almond Soy Lattes (insert beverage of your choice here) every day, could we really make a difference with the $3 (or let’s be honest- MORE than $3) we spend daily on our caffeine fix.

So we started doing some math…well actually I (David) did, because you should all know I am still not a midwife, but I am an Economist, and well we found some pretty interesting results:

Our total cost to provide everything for both mom & baby, from prenatal care to newborn care is $400.

If we spend $3 on our daily latte, times 365 days a year that is a grand total $1,095 on coffee or around $100 a month ($91.25 for the accountants out there). Before you freak out on how much money you are actually spending on coffee every month, remember that you are going to change the world with this money!

If you divide the total annual coffee budget by $400, we could help 2.74 women have safe and healthy pregnancies at our clinic with our daily coffee budget. 2 women & therefore 2 babies for a total of 4 lives saved. Now that is amazing! Now you have the opportunity to really make a difference with that coffee budget and choose Moms & Babies over Coffee.

We’ve setup some monthly donations that allow you to easily sign up and continue to make a difference all year long, they even come in 3 convenient sizes:

Nowella’s Story

Hilary Overton — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:54:45 +0000

Nowella was like any young girl – she spent her days playing house, going to school and enjoying life as a child. However, when she was nine years old she became ill with the measles. Having never been vaccinated against measles she became extremely sick and was hospitalized. She spent many days in the hospital fighting the measles and with each day her vision began to fade. After several weeks Nowella recovered from the measles, however tragically her sight continued to decline. Later that year Nowella lost all sight and was diagnosed as clinically blind. With her loss of sight, she was forced to drop out of school and was unable to complete her education. Years later, Nowella was able to enroll in a skill training program and after completion she began working in the airport as a head and neck massage therapist. She met her husband and both continued to work at the airport. When Nowella became pregnant her sister, who is a little person (dwarfism), brought her to Glory Reborn. While she was able to get the normal care that every mom receives at Glory Reborn, we wanted her to be able to interact and bond with her baby. So we taught Nowella how to feel her baby moving in her ever growing womb. Everyone looked forward to Nowella’s check-ups. She was so eager to learn about her baby and carried so much joy and excitement with her. When Nowella was in labor she was so calm and peaceful – embracing the process knowing that she would soon hold her baby girl. After a perfect labor and delivery Nowella embraced her baby girl and held her tight as she kissed her face. There was not a dry eye in the delivery room watching Nowella fall in love with her baby. Feeling every detail of her beautiful baby girl the joyous, peaceful expression on Nowella’s face spoke louder than any words this mommy could say. As her perfect baby girl began to feed, the room was filled with a heavenly joy while mother and baby connected on such a beautiful and intimate level. These are the moments we live for! This seemingly “unperfect” family (by our world’s standards) of a blind mother, a handicapped father and a little person sister all oohing and aahing around this precious life couldn’t have been more perfect! In the days that followed Nowella, her husband and her sister all learned quickly how to care for this precious baby. With the proper vaccinations started, Nowella’s baby girl will not suffer the same tragedy of blindness from measles as her mommy did. Many thanks to each of you who are helping us not just save lives but help to ensure a bright future for these precious little ones.

August Outreach

Hilary Overton — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:48:06 +0000

Glory Reborn partnered with an organization committed to stopping human trafficking for an outreach this month to provide female checkups and ultrasounds to over 40 women who had been rescued from trafficking situations. After starting the afternoon with games and a health teaching we began with ultrasound checkups on those who were pregnant. Our first woman who received an ultrasound scan was a beautiful young girl who was only fourteen years old. As we explained the ultrasound procedure she began to look a little worried. We pulled out a picture book and showed her what she could expect to see and with each page she began to get more excited. Once we started and she was able to see her own baby on the screen, she was overwhelmed with excitement. We discovered that she would be delivering her baby by the end of the month! We continued to scan pregnant mommies and provide healthcare checkups to these women in what turned out to be a very emotional and successful afternoon. It truly was an honor to be with these amazing women who are beginning their lives all over again. We are eager to continue to serve this community with healthcare services that provide them with a safe, private and hopeful place. I never imagined all that the Lord had prepared for Glory Reborn when we began over eight years ago, but I feel so blessed to have met amazing women like Nowella and these brave women who are getting their lives back. What a joy to be a small part of these precious lives! Thank you supporters for continuing to be a part of reaching the women in the Cebu community. What a blessing and a joy, as we together live in love and unity as the body of Christ reaching out to one another. Many, many thanks!

Clinic Expansion & Renovation Update

David Overton — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:22:17 +0000

This month has not only brought us some amazing opportunities and patients, but it also marked the beginning of our Clinic Renovation! Those of you who have ever remodeled your house can relate to both the stress and the joy that comes with this type of project. However we’ve had some amazing volunteers and partners pitch in on all fronts and I am happy to say that the first phase of the renovation is complete! We expanding into an adjacent apartment building, knocked down a wall between them, and have a lovely archway that now connects the new postpartum area. The new area has remodeled beds, new baby bassinets, a separate bathroom & kitchen, and a great layout that can accommodate even more moms! This is only the first phase of our renovation & we need your help to continue on with our renovations! Be sure to visit our Renovation Photo Album or our Facebook page for the pictures!

Glory Reborn on Facebook

We are still working on our bigger expansion and building, but this will help us in the interim!

Partner with us as we expand our operation, we really need your help this month! Donate Online Today!

Support Glory Reborn by Shopping

David Overton — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:23:31 +0000

Great news, on August 27th, 2011 you can support Glory Reborn by shopping!

find the magic of giving back!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Shop For A Cause gives you the opportunity to give back to your community and to help our organization. Purchase a $5 Shopping Pass* for exclusive savings in every Macy’s store and online at macys.com on
Saturday, August 27th, and we keep 100% of the proceeds. Plus, you can enter to win a $500 Macy’s Gift Card.

For more information, please email us.