Saturday, September 7, 2013

Mi última semana

Han pasado dos meses desde que llegué a Nueva York...con muchas ganas de aprender y sin saber muy bien con que clase de trabajo me iba a encontrar... Ha sido una experiencia increible, he conocido a tantas mujeres con casos únicos que es imposible hacer un blog para hablar de todas ellas pues todas tienen historias increibles...

He tenido la oportunidad de vivir con una chica embarazada a la que sus padres habían echado de casa, he conocido a parejas que se peleaban, a parejas emocionadas con sus bebés, a madres homeless que no tenían donde cuidar a sus hijos, a niñas asustadas ante un posible embarazo...

He llorado de emoción con los sonogramas, con el latido del corazón de un bebé de 5 semanas, con bebés que se chupaban el dedo, con madres agradecidas por la ayuda...y me han dado abrazos de verdad, abrazos de auténtico agradecimiento...

He conocido chicas blancas, negras, chinas, indias...¿que importa de donde fueran? Todas ellas me han enseñado un poquito, me han enseñado las cosas importantes de la vida de verdad, del mundo real fuera de la burbuja paterna en la que vivo, y más que ayudarlas, he sentido que ellas me han ayudado muchisimo.

GRACIAS POR TODO

Friday, September 6, 2013

There is light after the tunnel


I arrived to NYC two weeks ago. How can I summarize all the things I have experienced until now? There are no words to define how amazing working at EMC is being. Yesterday, a young girl came to the Queens office looking for the abortion pill. She was only 17 years old. Pamela was scared and confused. She was worried about her parents because they didn’t know that she was pregnant. She was the youngest of a big family with ten brothers and sisters. Her father, actually, had passed away several years ago, and her mom was 72 years old. She didn’t feel good about what her family, specially her mom, would think about her… We talk to her, we tried to calm her and we encourage Pamela to talk to her mother. We encourage her to keep the baby.... She was catholic, so we also explained her that the baby was a son of God. She went out of the office with the propose of keeping the baby and talk to her mom about all. This is the best gift I have had until now.

TELL ME…WHAT DO I DESERVE?


Here's a story that is worth reading... 
Abby Johnson

I am vehemently against the death penalty. Now stay with me…this is not a post about my opinion regarding that. You can disagree or agree with me on that some other time. I did want to share a little bit about why I take the words of prolifers so seriously. I have heard so much vitriol spewed from the mouths of “Christian prolifers” since the Gosnell trial has concluded. I feel like I must address it.
When I was confirmed as a Catholic, I chose Mary Magdalene as my confirmation saint. I felt an immediate connection to her. She had sinned so much…and was forgiven in even greater amounts. She knew she didn’t deserve forgiveness…but she received it anyway. And because of this, she clung to Christ. She knew she was nothing without Him.
I have also done my fair share of sinning. And I have also been forgiven much more than I deserve. I abused and betrayed women in the worst possible way. I convinced them to kill their children. Did I slit the necks of children after they were born? No. But, I was an accomplice to murder. Thousands of times…women I knew, women I didn’t, my friends, even my family. I lied to people. I lied to women when they came to me for accurate information. I was among the worst sinners…those that help to take and destroy life. I am no better than Kermit Gosnell.
I took my own children’s lives…twice. Not because I was coerced. Not because I didn’t know better. But because I thought children would be an inconvenience to my lifestyle. I am responsible for their deaths…no one else.
So when someone talks about Gosnell and says things like, “murderers and people like him don’t deserve to breathe the same air as I do,” or “I hope he burns in hell,” it hurts a little. Because that was me. But I am still here…breathing that same air…and trying to spend my life righting my wrongs. And it’s not just me. I know they hurt others like me, as well. People who have left the abortion industry and will work every day to recover from their sins. People who are still in the industry and think they will be shunned by the pro-life movement…maybe they would reach out to us if they knew we would accept them. I am always terrified that clinic workers will see some of the words from prolifers. I have been told by several former workers that they will NEVER come forward with their stories because they are so scared of how they will be treated by us…by US…the supposed “Christian” movement. Their fears are real AND legitimate.
I know some will say, “but you repented, that is the difference.” But what if I hadn’t…not yet. What if I was still inside the abortion industry? What if I was still an accomplice to murder? What if it took me longer to realize the truth? Do I deserve to die? Are we saying repentance is about our timing? Certainly, it is not about us. It about God and His perfect timing.
Right now, I shouldn’t be in this movement. I should be the COO of the 4th largest revenue generating Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country. I should be overseeing the largest abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere. I should be making 6 times the amount of money that I make in the pro-life movement. But I’m not. Why? Because of forgiveness. Because of mercy. Because of grace. Because of God. And because of REAL pro-lifers. The people I turned to accepted me for me…baggage and all. They knew that I was a broken person, and they loved me anyway. They knew I needed significant healing, and they helped to provide it.
I remember one story in particular which always makes me tear up when I think about it. One of the ladies, Karen, that immediately befriended me after I left Planned Parenthood was asked a question by a reporter. He asked her, “So, what was Abby like before she became pro-life? I mean, how nasty was she?” Karen’s answer was so genuine, and so Christ-like. She simply said, “I don’t remember that person. She is a new creation in Christ. I won’t talk about her past, I only want to talk about her future.” Wow. What grace. What forgiveness. She could have really spilled the beans on me, but she chose not to. Why? Because she truly loved me…and she always had, even while I was working at Planned Parenthood. She always believed the best in me, always believed that my conversion would happen.
It was Christ who changed me. It was the merciful and compassionate words of His people. It was no condemnation. It was not prayers that I would burn in hell. It was not those who yelled and called me names. It was the words of people like Karen. Those who prayed that I would, one day, walk out of that clinic. Those who had constant faith…even when that faith was a struggle to have. I am here because of THEM and because of their Christ-like witness.
Don’t we want that for every abortion clinic worker and abortion provider? Don’t we want that for Kermit Gosnell? I smile every time I imagine his conversion. What a heavenly victory that will be! Can it happen? If you say no, then you do not know the God that I do. My God is in the business of miracles. And my God does not want anyone to suffer in hell. He wants ALL of his children to come to him…yes, even those of us “monsters” that are in or have been in the abortion industry.
Hate comes from hell. Mercy comes from Christ. When we have hate in our hearts, our spirits are damaged. Be careful with your words. Not only are you a living witness of Christ and His truth, but you could put your own soul at risk. “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” 1 John 3:15 When we hate, we are no better than those who kill.
I am not the sweetest person. I’m not the one who catches all the flies with honey…sometimes I am all vinegar. What do you expect? You expect the most tender hearted to work in the abortion industry? Maybe we aren’t like all of you. Maybe we aren’t the most kind-hearted. Maybe you don’t understand how we could do what we have done. But those of us that leave…we are fighters. We are willing to take hits for our former sins. We are willing to stand up in places that are uncomfortable. We are willing to be bruised by others because we know that we have to…we know that will be the price we pay…it just hurts more when the bruises come from those who should be rejoicing in our repentance. We are passionate. We don’t waste time beating around the bush…not when it comes to life…especially the lives that we helped take.
Those of us that have worked in the industry all live our lives with a constant burden. One that will not be free from us until we reach heaven. We can’t let our burden slide off of our shoulders…it is what keeps us on fire. It reminds us of why we fight so hard. We have seen death and evil in a way that most haven’t…and we participated. We are forgiven.
So, should I be able to “breathe the same air as you?” That’s not really up to me to decide. But if you say things like that, know that a small piece of our heart is broken, and I have to believe that it grieves Christ. But even if you break our hearts, we forgive you. Even if you bruise us, we forgive you. He who has been forgiven much, loves much. And we love a lot. I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can call Kermit Gosnell a former and REPENTANT abortion provider.
by Abby Johnson

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Now my tears are tears of joy



I have two more weeks left in the United States and now it’s time to think. What have I learned from this experience? How am I going to get to the others this message of life?

I already know that   some friends will ask me about what I have done here and if I think it is worthy to spend two months of my summer doing prolife activities. Possibly, I will answer them with this story.

One day we were at Stanton arranging things to close the office because it was the end of the workday. Then, a young girl arrived. She said that she had been that morning in Planned Parenthood (right next door to us) asking for an abortion but she hadn’t 600$ to pay for it. She also said that in her way back home, crying because of her situation, she decided to come to Stanton asking for help. At the middle of this story she started crying. We could only offer her some counseling so that’s what we did. After some time talking she ended saying:
“I know that abortion is killing my baby. I know that it is not right, but truly everybody is encouraging me to take an abortion and I don’t have any support. Until now I thought I was alone. Now I know that I was not right, in fact, God is with me. And I won’t let the evil to win this battle, to win this baby."


This young lady went out of the office really happy and giving a lot of thanks and saying: Now my tears are tears of joy. 



Tuesday, September 3, 2013

¿Recomendarías el aborto?

Que recomendarías o pensarías ante los siguientes cinco casos?
  1. El padre es asmático, la madre tuberculosa. Tienen cuatro hijos. El primero es ciego, el segundo es sordo, el tercero está muerto y el cuarto tiene tuberculosis. La madre está embarazada de nuevo.
    ¿Recomendarías el aborto en esta situación?
  2. Un hombre blanco viola a una niña negra de 13 años y esta se queda embarazada. Si fueras el padre de esta joven.
    ¿Le recomendarías el aborto?
  3. Una señora está embarazada; ya tiene muchos hijos, dos de ellos han muerto, su esposo está en la guerra y a ella le queda poco tiempo de vida.
    ¿Le recomendarías el aborto a esta señora?
  4. Un ministro y su esposa quienes enfrentan problemas económicos muy fuertes, ya tienen 14 hijos, son realmente pobres. Considerando su extrema indigencia.
    ¿Recomendarías que la esposa abortara su decimoquinto hijo?
  5. Una joven está embarazada; no está casada y su prometido no es el papá del niño que está esperando. 
    ¿Le recomendarías que abortara?
 Si contestaste que (SI) en alguna de las situaciones anteriores, lee lo siguiente:
  1. En el primer caso hubieras matado a "Beethoven".
  2. En la segunda situación hubieras sido el responsable de asesinar a "Ethel Walters", una de las cantantes negras más famosas.
  3. En el tercer caso hubieras matado al Papa Juan Pablo II.
  4. En la cuarta situación hubieras aniquilado a Juan Wesley, uno de los más grandes predicadores del siglo pasado.
  5. En el quinto caso hubieras sido el asesino de nada menos que JESUCRISTO.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Mi última semana



Durante la semana pasada Bea y yo hemos estado acudiendo a la oficina del Bronx junto con Kathy y una nueva interna americana, Iesha, ¡bienvenida!.
 Al ser la última semana de agosto fue especialmente tranquila en la oficina del Bronx, pero no por ello menos fructífera. El jueves vino una chica puertorriqueña, tenía 23 años y dos niños pequeños, y ahora estaba embarazada de un tercero. Tras realizar el test de embarazo y mostrarle el video de los diferentes tipos de técnicas de aborto, estuvimos hablando un rato de su situación. Aunque económicamente se encontraba en un buen momento, decía no sentirse anímicamente capaz para afrontar un embarazo, y le explicamos los daños no sólo físicos, sino también psicológicos que un aborto trae a las mujeres.
Finalmente le dimos cita para hacerse un sonograma, ya que quería saber con certeza de cuántos meses estaba embarazada.
Se marchó, y al cabo de unas dos horas llamó a la oficina para decirnos que había decidido quedarse con el niño. Parecía muy feliz. En mi opinión, buscaba alguien que le animase, que le recordase que si había sido fuerte para sacar adelante a sus dos preciosos hijos también estaba preparada para tener un tercero. Que ella valía tanto como persona como para ser madre, y que por muy mal que le trate la vida siempre habrá gente que esté junto a ella cuando necesite ser apoyada y escuchada.