Pro-Lifers Around the World Unite!

For my very first days as an EMC Intern, I had the unique blessing of attending Heartbeat International's 40th annual conference. Talk about formation! I had some hesitation about stepping out into the world of pro-life outreach (on the streets of New York no less!) without extensive training and experience, but since God was in charge, things couldn't have been arranged more perfectly.

If you are familiar with the annual March for Life in Washington D.C., I can make a comparison between the two of the overwhelming experience of unity, love, and support that attending such a large scale pro-life function can invoke. Though we didn't have hundreds of thousands at the conference (I'm not sure how the Hyatt would have accommodated them...), we had hundreds and that spoke volumes. There were 14 internationals present, representing Denmark, Spain and Uganda, just to name a few. I met some of these lovely people and received so much encouragement hearing about how they are serving the needs of pregnant women and new moms in their countries. There are new ideas and approaches blossoming into existence all the time! The Holy Spirit cannot be outdone in inspiration and zeal, especially when it comes to preserving the lives of God's most vulnerable and innocent creations.

While I was being amazed by their work however, they spoke in wonder about all they were seeing us do here in the U.S.! They were incredibly impressed and empowered by what they witnessed. We recognize the incredible suffering that is being inflicted on our country by such widespread abortion, but it is also vitally important to maintain our spirit by recognizing all the gifted servants God has raised up to work for the cause and the work that is being done. It is all truly a miracle and will continue to exhibit even more miraculous results as the battle intensifies.

Getting back to the formation, which was so much more than I could have hoped for, this conference would be hard to beat in its educational presentations! Nearly every topic relating to pro-life work and the needs of women was represented by a key-note speaker, a workshop, or an exhibition booth. We were blessed by such speakers as Abby Johnson, Teresa Tomeo, Fr. Frank Pavone, and Shawn Harper. After attending the 3 days of the conference, I feel much more equipped to step out into the streets of NYC and share the love of the Lord with those who are awaiting the light of his truth.
May God strengthen us and may we remain faithful!