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Our Charis Family
Karen Yoder
Karen Yoder cuddling with four year old Maria.
Hi! My name is Karen, and I'm one of the newest
Charis doula students. I just started in April!
I live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania-- the land my
parents grew up in. I was born and raised in El
Salvador where my parents moved right after they
were married about 45 years ago. After having four
sons, my mom gave birth to me when she was 41 years old. Because of
having no sisters, Mom and I were very close as I was
growing up. She instilled in me a love for birth
and motherhood. She is a great storyteller, and
one of the best stories is about the birth of my oldest brother.
She describes her very easy labor and delivery in the
hospital in Santa Ana, El Salvador. Lamaze
breathing techniques really helped her, and she could
hardly believe it when the doctor told her that she
could push. When my dad was allowed into the room
after the birth, he asked how she was doing. She
looked at him, and said, "I'm fine. I'd like to do
it again!" This is the influence I grew up with.
Mom was also a missionary nurse and delivered babies in
a clinic in our front yard. She also taught
childbirth classes, using her traditional birthing
wisdom! I barely remember this, but Mom tells me
that when I was young, I would read her midwifery and
breastfeeding books. So I grew up understanding
that birth was a wonderful and exciting event.
When I was 17, my sister-in-law invited me to the home
birth of my nephew. I stayed with her while Mom
and my brother went to 'get the midwife'. It was a
rather fast and easy labor, and I was just so amazed at
the miracle of new life, and the way God designed birth!
When the midwife asked me to hand her the scissors, I
felt so privileged! As Mom and I returned home in
the dark, I remember thinking what a thrilling job
midwives have!
About a year or two later, another of my brothers
traveled here to PA with his wife to birth their baby.
She is a Salvadoran, and they wanted their children to
be U.S. citizens to make for easier travel.
They chose to have their baby at a birthing center.
That was when I first learned about birthing centers, I
don't believe they exist in El Salvador. I thought
it was so neat that a woman could go to a place almost
like a bed and breakfast to have her baby!
So of course, when I got pregnant several years later, I
didn't give the hospital hardly even a thought.
Why would I want to go there? I wasn't sick, and
birthing centers just seemed so appealing to me! I
loved reading during pregnancy about childbirth. I
remember reading Pregnancy Week by Week, Gentle Birth
Choices, and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Looking back, I don't remember reading much about
interventions, or maybe I just skipped over those parts
because I was planning on a natural birth.
So I was actually rather naive about epidurals,
induction and interventions, and since I was at the
birth center, they weren't topics I needed to be
concerned about. Except for induction. I was
induced because of testing positive for Group B Strep,
and received two doses of IV antibiotics. The
labor was intense and lasted about 8 hours. I was
sent home after being induced, with instructions to
sleep. But I couldn't sleep because of hard
contractions. I remember feeling panic, thinking
that if this is early labor, how would I be able to get
through active labor and transition? I convinced Merle, my husband, to take me to the birth center sooner
than they suggested. Upon arriving we discovered I
was about 5-7 centimeters dilated! What a relief!
I labored for the majority of the time in the tub, and
then our precious daughter Maria was born in the tub!
What an amazing moment!
Maria just turned 4 last week. A few months ago,
after I had surrendered a certain area of my life to
God, I clearly felt that I needed to look up on the
internet how to become a doula. After dreaming for a few
days, I approached Merle about it, and he really
encouraged me to go for it! I googled doulas in
Lancaster, PA, and found Charis doula student Maryann Stoltzfus' website.
That is how I first learned about Charis. I am so
thankful to God that I found Charis. I know that
this is the ministry God is leading me into, and I
believe Charis is a great organization to train me for
this. With my Central American background, I
especially desire to reach the Hispanic community here
in Lancaster. I'm praying God opens the doors!
Besides being a mommy and wife and learning about birth,
I enjoy reading, traveling and digital scrapbooking.
Thanks for letting me share my story. May God
bless you all!
Karen Yoder
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Charis
Cuisine
Raw Sunflower Seed Ranch Dressing
1 cup of soaked and drained sunflower
seeds (soaked for 2 hours)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chilled water (more or less to
your liking)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt or mineral salt
Sprinkle of finely chopped onions
Blend
Add
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbs dried dill
Quick blend
Pour over your salad or dip your
favorite veggies in it and enjoy!
Nutritional Value of Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are very low in
Cholesterol and Sodium and a good source
of Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Magnesium,
Phosphorus, Copper, Manganese and
Selenium, and a very good source of
Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol).
There are 5g of protein in a one-ounce
serving.
Micronutrients
Sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E,
with 7.3 mg, or 37 percent of the daily
recommended intake per ounce. A
serving of sunflower seeds also provides
17 percent of the daily intake of folate,
20 percent of daily pantothenic acid
requirements, 11 percent of your daily
vitamin B-6 needs and 10 percent of the
daily niacin requirement. There is
32 percent of the recommended intake of
both selenium and phosphorus as well as
30 percent of manganese requirements and
26 percent of the copper a person needs
each day. Other vitamins and
minerals present in smaller amounts
include calcium, iron, riboflavin,
thiamin, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin
A, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Phytochemicals
Sunflower seeds contain compounds called
phytosterols that may lower cholesterol
and protect against cancer, explains
World's Healthiest Foods. The
phytosterol content in sunflower seeds
is 270-289 mg per 100g, higher than most
other snack seeds and nuts. According to
the National Sunflower Association,
sunflower seeds contain the
phytochemicals phenolic acid, arginine,
betaine and lignans.
References
Nutrition Data: Sunflower Seed Kernels
Worlds Healthiest Foods: Sunflower Seeds
National Sunflower Association
The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
Happy Fathers Day
Charis wants to take this opportunity to shout out a BIG “Thank You!” to all the
dads out there who have stepped up, been “The Man”, embraced fatherhood, and
walked lovingly alongside the mothers of your babies throughout pregnancy,
birth, and beyond. You are a blessing to your families and your
dedication, commitment, time, effort, sacrifice, and love will have a ripple
effect throughout coming generations as you provide such a strong, powerful
example of fatherhood to your children.
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