Emily Cressman is currently serving as a Missionary Midwife Apprentice in the Philippines. This is made possible because of the partnership between Katalyst and the Newlife School of Midwifery. Here is what Emily has to say about herself and her journey to become a Missionary Midwife. 

I grew up as a pastor’s kid in rural Minnesota. Although being a pastor’s kid has many challenges, I don’t know if I would be a missionary today had I not been born into the family I was, because we were able to have meals with many missionaries who helped to grow a heart and desire to pursue missions. I was always a part of the missions trips in youth group and knew I would be a long-term missionary from a young age. After high school I went to a missions school in Kona, HI, called Youth With A Mission. While serving with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for two years, the Lord planted a seed in my heart for women and infant health. As I was serving as a staff member of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as a staff member of a “women and infant health” track within the DTS. Here I was able to meet and talk with several doulas, midwives, and women involved in maternal care. This really fostered the heart for women’s health the Lord had already started to grow in me. It was at this time that one of my friends, Drew, said that he felt the Lord speak to him about me pursuing midwifery. God is so good! I was already thinking about pursuing midwifery and then God spoke to someone so clearly about it. I finished out my staffing commitment and then found Newlife International School of Midwifery in the Philippines. This was the perfect fit for me because I was already contemplating moving to the Philippines. The Lord had really spoken to me when I was leading a team there, and I felt like the Lord was leading me to move there, but I was unaware in what capacity I would be there until I found Newlife.  

I am now serving as a student midwife in Davao City, Philippines. I work in Mercy Maternity Clinic doing prenatals about once a week, and I work in the backroom during the rest of the week. I am also doing midwifery classes online through an accredited American school called the National College of Midwifery. I will be in this program for the next two years until I have all the clinical experience and educational requirements to sit for the NARM (National Association of Registered Midwives) exam and be a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). After this, I would like to start my own clinic somewhere, preferably where people have no access to healthcare.