And this is it!

And this is it! I arrived on April the 24th and just leaving tomorrow, July 21st.

Excited about going back, but not that excited to be leaving this. It hasn´t been easy, but it hasn´t been that hard. Someone a while ago said "Don´t give me easy, give me possible". And this has taken me through. There´s no impossible to God, so if you want it , you can make it! Always with His help. As Cristina, the other intern says, "I have come to realised how great the Providence is, and How much He works and intercedes for us in this internship". And you would ask why??

There´s been Brooklyn, and the girl who wanted to abort, whose child calmed her down and made her change her mind.

There´s been Queens, and this 18 year-old couple who already had a one year-old  and after having him realised they were not ready to be parenting. Already pregnant again, another unwanted baby who after an hour became an actually loved one.

There´s been Bronx and the seventeen year-old crying just because of having considered abortion.

There´s been Emily´s and the girl who was going for the abortion but decided to take an ultrasuond with us to see her beautiful baby;

 And there´s been Miami with no house, turned into a beatiful home next to the beach with great views of the Bay and a swimming pool. There´s been Miami with no contacts turned into a lot of people willing to help however they could. There´s been Miami with no appointments, turned into five appointments per day. And there´s been Miami and this beautiful 15 year-old crying for the abortion because everything had been a mistake, turned into a beautiful baby girl who is going to be looked after by her mum´s whole family! They all already adore her!!

So let´s  Thank God for all the things that He does through us,  for people like Chris Slattery, who are brave enough to step out of everyone´s usual life, from comfort, from a "normal" life happily lived with your family. Let´s give Him thanks for this man who has offered his whole life for the sake of all the unborn babies, and thank Chris for the opportunities that he´s bringing to all of us.

And that´s it! That´s the end of my internship in the States, but surely not the end of my prolife work.

Smiles, that´s it!

You can identify smiles with babies, animals, friends, family... or Prolife people.

One of the things I´ve learnt here so far, is that prolifers can be tall, short, more shy, less shy, skinny, a bit overweight, old, young, but what differenciates and characterised them all is a big smile on their face.

And that´s what I´ve had today. A "Goodbye!" in Miami, a "Welcome back!" in New York, and smiley faces waving their hands for two very different reasons.  All prolifers, what else could it possibly be?

Mistake... maybe not?

A few days ago, a 15 year old came with her mum looking for an abortion. Her mum was 30 what means the story was happening just the same way it happenned exactly 15 years ago. But this time, there was going to be no mistake. She was coming for an abortion. Her mum was with her, and she would not make her poor little daughter go through all that she had to go through. It was not happening again. They were coming for an abortion. No mistake this time.

Today, I´ve just talked to her. There´s been no mistake. She is keeping her baby, she is seventeen weeks old, and I said she, because they already know... It is a girl!!

And these were the words of the grandma´s new baby: "Everything´s being much simpler than we thought. WE ARE HAPPY"

Just a few more days in Miami but every single second´s been worth it. Congratulations to the brave 15 year-old, and lots of prayers for them.

Life lover

"She loved to dance, bachata salsa, merengue... It did not matter to her! She just loved dancing. And she used to go to the park to feed the ducks. She loved feeding the ducks, but not that big brown one! She would try not to give it anything, as he would always try to get everything and leave nothing for the baby ones."

Those were the words of one of Magaly´s sons at her funeral.

Everybody talked about the millions of babies that she saved and about the Mission that Magaly had started all over South America, and how much she fought for the culture of life. But he just said those words... The most tender and sweet words of a son that just lost her mum.

And those were the words that touched me the most. She was a life saver, a real life hero, but if she got to save so many lives, it was just because above all she was a LIFE LOVER. She loved life and all that came with it.

I was very lucky to get to meet all her family, friends and companions being there at her funeral, but I would invite everyone to just spare 5 minutes to read about this incredible woman and feel the inspiration. God talks through people, and this is a clear example.

Magaly Llaguno, Rest in peace. Thank God for the blessing she´s been for everyone.

Very two different "A" words

It´s sad how when you tell girls that are thinking of abortion to consider adoption they say, I would never give my child away. I would always rather having an abortion...

You ask them why, and the answers are usually... How do I make sure he/she is living with the right family? How do I know she is fine? How is he/she going to come to me when he/she is all grown up ? What am I going to tell him/her? ...

Well, let´s forget about that, shall we? Here is what a little girl said when a classmate asked her what abortion was:

"Being adopted means, growing up in your mum´s heart instead of doing it in her womb"

Let´s listen to her.. She knows it all about adoption, and children do always tell the truth.

Good night

I was in front of the computer, drafting in my mind the blog for today without setting fingers to the keyboard when my roomate, workmate, colleague, best friend, sister, mother, assesor... said "Good night". She said it really softly as she did not want to disturb our flatmate, to which I replied back even softer saying, "Good night". Thirty seconds later she said "I said Good night" what I heard roughly and didn´t even reply. Minutes later she said, this time with a louder voice " Lorena! Good night!!!!!!"  to which I finally replied with a loud "Good night". She went to sleep.

And that is what this is about. That´s what this internship has been about and is still being. Not only saying good night, but living a family life. Building great relationships with amazing people we get to share our lives with. It does not matter how different you are, where you´re coming from, what you´ve studied or even your age. It does not matter because something stronger is joining you together, and the experiences we are sharing here can´t be compare to anything. There´s nothing like a good day, but there is really nothing, and I insist, nothing like a bad day here. And who do you share all these with?? I share it with Cristina now, a great girl full of energy and power, capable of fighting anything that goes on her way, who knows very well her limitations but has no fear because she knows  there´s "Someone from up there" (as she always says) looking after her to make the impossible, possible. And before being just with Cristina, we shared experiences with Carlos and Miguel and I can not start talking about everyone, because I would never finish writing....

But the point I want to make here is that there´s a lot behind saving mothers and babies from abortions. There is great people like Carlos, Miguel or Cristina, supporting you every time you come home with a sad face, celebrating with you when you had a turn around, praying with you when you´re talking to a girl, wishing you good night and waiting for your reply,  or just showing you the way to the office. All these, with the tender love of The One who inspired them to come to the States to do a pro-life internship, The One who joined us together and The One who will never let us forget these what we´re experiencing here.

Blindness

Today we were there again, praying and trying to help some poor girls who go in the clinic looking for a solution, not knowing that the only solution they´re going to get there is, if you want to consider it as a solution, a future built on a death.

They go in, they always use a car, they don´t want to be seen. They don´t want to be seen neither want to see us. They go in always looking front, looking in, they are desperate to get rid of their "problem", and they look right ahead of them trying to ignore everything arounf them. Trying to ignore a reality that is concerning
them, that is being bothering them for a while and is going to bother them no more (they think).

There´s no one there for them, there´s nothing else they can do, they´re not ready.... Scared, they are just scared!

And what impressed me the most today was their blindness. Not that they are blind, but there´s no better blind than the person who does not want to see, and that´s how they come in and go out, just looking away, ignoring all the help they could get, and ashamed after they realise what they have done.

I wish there was some other way to let them know all we are willing to do for them.

Just a lift

Two Saturdays ago I attended a retreat at the Parish Church "Saint John Neumann". They were all really nice to me and it is amazing how interested they all were in the work we´re doing here. It´s amazing how much they said they admire the work we´re doing and how much help they offered us.

I met a very special couple there. They offered me any lifts we needed with the car. They said that´s what they had and so that´s what they were offering. Great people willing to help in whatever they could.

And there they were yesterday, taking us to Boynton Beach, nearly two hours from the place where they live, but they spared the whole day just for us. The whole day, not asking for anything in return, nothing at all and what´s more important with the most beautiful smile on their face.

I´m writing this here, because some people would consider it just a lift, but it can not be consider just a lift. This is the reason why when something goes wrong, that unfortunately happens very often, you think of these people, of how they believe in you, of how they trust you on the work you´re doing, and you just smile and keep doing your best, because that is all you need to do. God looks after you through all these different people and there´s nothing impossible to Him.

The fight

Today we´ve been at one of the most "popular" abortion mills here in Miami.
 When we got there, we started walking the path that leaded us to both, the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers. We walked on the pavement and there they were,
standing with blue signs saying "Keep abortion legal", the pro-choicers. When we reached them, they asked us the question: " Are you one of them, or are you with us?"
Something we thought obvious was not so obvious for them, they were wondering in which side we were...

We continued on the path and as soon as we reached the prolifers, they greeted us  and they invited us to pray the Rossary with them but what impacted us the most was that as soon as we defined ourselves as prolifers, they said we could stand on the pavement no more. Now we were part of the fight, and the prolifers can not stand on the path. There was just grass, we could only stand on the grass... And it is not that I don´t like the grass, what I actually link with nice weather, life, happyness... but is the sadness of thinking how the human society is divided into two. Them, the pro-choicers standing on the pavement. Us, the prolifers, standing on the grass, and now you tell me which side would you go for?


The pavement, dry,  heated up by the hot weather, hard, black, dead, human´s creation... Keep Abortion Legal.

The grass, natural, fresh, soft, green, alive, God´s perfect creation... Life Is Precious.

Someone´s watching out for us

A few days ago, I went to talk to one of the prolife leaders here in Miami and after a three hours trip by bus, twenty minutes walking under the burning sun, getting lost for another ten minutes, praying the Rossary asking God to show me the way and ten more minutes walk I got there. Exhausted but there I was.

There I was with a lady that as soon as she saw me, brought me a bottle of water, gave me a chair to sit, and let me relax for a while. I have to say she had no idea of who I was. She had no idea about EMC or anything related to our work. She barely knew my name and she had just a rough guess of what I was there for.

We talked about everything. We talked about our work, about their work, about the situation in Miami, about and about and about...

And after two hours I was leaving their office and she said she would not let me go by myself again. She was going to take me to the closest bus stop she could, and so she did. Twenty minutes in the car. Twenty minutes were enough to hear a few words that would encourage me for the rest of my summer here.

"You´re a very strong spiritually supported girl. God watches out for you. "

And indeed He does, and I know because everytime I repeat the story of how I got to Miami, of how we are starting the EMC work here, the Providence´s work is palpable every single second.

So if this is God´s work, let´s continue with it, and let´s do our best because He is supporting and watching out for us.

Choice at risk

A few days ago, I was working at one of our offices when a very nice couple came. 

I was busy with some others so I just offered them to take a sit and wait for a little bit, and very politely they did so. Once I was free I went back to them, and they explained me their situation. They were coming for an Abortion, yes an Abortion, and that´s not the strange thing, the strengest thing was the fact that she was smiling.

We kept talking and in the end what it turned out to be, is that she didn´t even know what an abortion was. She was just going to have a pill, that was it!

I started talking to them about the risks, about everything that was going on, and suddenly her boyfriend got quite upset and said "Look, we´re leaving". The poor girl begged him to let her listen, she wanted to know what was going on, what an abortion was, what was going to happen to her and her baby. But he would not let her listen. They were going. No choice.

And so they did. Helplessness. 

And since then I can´t stop wondering... Is that being pro-choice? Is she really having a choice? 

They talk about their rights, their bodies, their choices but what about her?

I wish she did have a choice, I wish she was aware of the choices life brings us, I wish she was aware of the choice life brought and is bringing her. 

Brave enough...?

Two friends. Two pregnancies. Four choices. Two decisions. One opportunity neglected. A chance to live given.



Fear, sadness, shared feelings...


Easy way out, no one will ever know, problem solved, out of the way. Relief...?


She is sitting there, with her baby. She is going to have a beautiful baby, but she is scared.
Scared because is something new, scared because something has changed, and there is no going back.

It´s going to be difficult, she knows, but she is brave.
 Brave enough to hear God´s subtle whisper, brave enough to step out of her friend´s way, to face her own life, her new life, a life with a baby, her baby, and brave enough to face it in a different way because that what she feels is already love for her child, Mother´s love in its pure and early beginning. God´s most sincere and powerful love.

Let Him make you His

A touch of hands. Stretch your fingers just enough to reach Him. That is all you need. That is all He wants you to do. Because He is there, wanting you beside Him, wanting you in His arms, feeling loved, happy, calm, safe and sound...

This is Lorena, a new Spanish intern in the Lifehouse of the Bronx, NYC, and this is one of the first experiences that I have had during my first week here.

Today, Saturday 27th of April, Carlos and I went to Emily´s to try and save some women from making a decision they will always regret, to try and speak for these babies that are crying out  begging for a chance to behave as children,  to try and help them with anything they could require or simply to try and just BE, and I mean the capitals, be there for them.

I´m not going to describe how aggressive the security guards were to us, how they shouted, provoked, and tried to make us leave. I have to say that all that is the least important thing. The most important  are these poor women that are just being led to an abortion not being given all the alternatives that they have,  and that are being literally pushed in the clinic making them believe that is their own right, their own body. These women that, believe it or not,  are surrounded by the security guards´ arms at the entrance of the clinic so that they can not listen to us just in case a Miracle happens and we can celebrate a Turn Around. This women, sooner or later, will come back to their Father in Heaven, and so will the security guards. Now we just have to stand there showing them  how great and merciful is God´s love and if it is His will, it will come.