Grace counselling

Intern Grace Lape pictured with a 12 week Fetal Development Model, talks about the child in the womb.

THIRTEEN TURNAROUNDS!

Last week at the Brooklyn office we had thirteen turnarounds! We started the day with serious prayer and then proceeded with confidence to counsel the girls and give them sonograms. The use of sonogram once again helped many scared mothers connect with their children and find the strength to say yes to life. Mother after mother walked into the sonogram room looked at her baby on the screen and had her heart melt with love for her unborn child. There were many tears and smiles. I even remember one young mother screaming for joy as she was told she was going to have a boy.

There was one mother I was especially happy to see turnaround. I saw her earlier that week at our Manhattan office in the waiting room. I remember feeling for her very much as I could clearly see the pain and worry on her face. She turned up at the Manhattan office a few days later for a sonogram. She only spoke Spanish and since I was the only counselor who could speak with her I sat down with her right away and made sure she was doing alright.

Her situation was hard, she was only twenty two years old supporting two children in Mexico on her own after the father had left them. She kept saying there was no way she could keep her baby. She was eighteen weeks and dead set on the abortion. I did not feel very hopeful but I could see she had such a loving soul I knew there was a chance. I asked her what God thought about it. She smiled and said she knew he did not like the idea of her abortion. Well then, I said...you should start talking to him about it, he loves you more than I do. I continued to check on her as she waited for the sonogram asking her how her conversation with God was going.

By the time it was her turn for the sonogram I did not really think she would turn around...THANKS BE TO GOD I WAS WRONG! She changed her mind out of nowhere and seemed to be completely at peace with her new path in life. I asked her if she was happy afterwards- she smiled and said of course she was very happy, how could she not be? A friend who was with her and did not want her to get the abortion was also very relieved. He said it is much better to have a mother with a baby than a mother without a baby and only with regret.

She called me today and she is doing wonderfully!

One more baby!

Friday I was able to experience a classic turnaround at Dr. Emilys! There was a young woman about to enter doctor Emily's. I was able to get her to stop and talk to me right at the entrance of the gate. The only thing I had to do was ask her if she really wanted to be her and that we could help. She told me about her concerns and how she did not really want to be there but she did not know what else to do. Jose and I spoke to her and assured her there were other options, we were there to help, and this abortion would do her no good. We exchanged numbers, she promised she would stop by Liz' office, and she walked away from Dr. Emily's. I texted her later that night and she told me she and her boyfriend were very excited about keeping their baby and thank you so much!

Facing the Culture of Death

I sidewalk counsled yesterday at Dr. Emily's. Unfortunately, we were joined by some friends who did not like us very much, in fact I think a few of them hated us and if you had asked them they would have agreed. They did interfere a lot with our sidewalk counseling but I think we were doing more than sidewalk counseling yesterday, and it was just as important. We were being witnesses.

The difference between us and the militant pro-choicers was clear- they yelled, intimidated, and belittled. They were full of anger and I soon realized how horribly ignorant they were about what really goes in inside of Dr. Emily's and abortion mills across the country.

Sadly enough, most of the attacks they uses on us had nothing to do with us but what kind of people we were. Many of them had been lied to about the work we really do. However, I could tell that I was challenging many of the protesters notions of pro-lifers and the work we do. Part of the work is not just to stop individuals from getting abortions but also to evangilize and convert the culture of death to life.

Genuine community care

It's not uncommon for girls who come into our centers to have heard about us via referral. Usually that referral comes from a sister or friend, but, inexplicably, we get the occasional referral from a Planned Parenthood or other local abortion clinic.

Today Grace and I met a girl who needed a pregnancy test. The last time she had needed a pregnancy test she'd gone to Planned Parenthood, but after hearing about us from a friend she decided to see us first. Grace and I chatted with her as we filled out the intake form and she took her test, and after her test result was negative, talked to her a little bit about abstinence and the consequences of sex. She was smiling and laughing with us, listening to us and trusting us. At one point she told us, "I'm so glad I came here . . . You guys are so much nicer than Planned Parenthood!"

An important part of our work is building this level of friendship with the girls, showing them we are not just doing a job or dealing with them when they're right in front of us, but proving that we care about them tomorrow and next week too, that we care about their other children, their families and their friends, these communities. It's been good to see that these deeper relationships are not uncommon at EMC.

A Warning

Many of the girls who come into our center do not know if they are pregnant or not and take a pregnancy test with us. Consequently many of these tests are actually negative. However, that does not mean we are done with these girls. These girls are actually my favorite to work with. It is important that we make sure they are not in the same situation again which could result in a potential abortion.

Bring in the abstinence talk. Surprisingly, the chastity talk actually makes a lot of sense to the girls but no one is telling them the truth. I talked to a women yesterday who was absolutely shocked that I would even suggest she stop having sex, was that even a real option?

I managed to talk at least three girls into a changed lifestyle of chastity. The funny thing is it wasn't even that hard, they just needed to hear the truth from someone. Sorry, MTV- young people do not in fact need sex to survive

Second Chances

The other day I was counseling a young woman of twenty. I could tell right away that she was a warm and sweet girl but I started to grow discouraged when I saw she had already had an abortion a year ago. Having one abortion greatly increases your chances of having another abortion and it is very easy for a girl to develop a hardened heart. I took a deep breath and continued with the session reminding myself that there is hope for each girl.

I put in the abortion procedure video. She said as we started to watch she said to me "I also wondered what they did to me when I had the abortion." I thought of how sad it was that she had no idea what they had done to her. She started making shocked noises as the movie continued and commenting she didn't know if she could do anymore. Thanks be to God we did not even finish the movie before she yelled stop! stop! I'm keeping my baby!

She told me she had promised God that if she got pregnant again she would not go through with another abortion. She told me she knew she deserved a decision she could be proud of and live with. She knew it wasn't right to deny someone life and especially her own child.

Her eyes filled with tears as I told her how far along she was and when her baby was due. She was left with joy and peace as she walked out the office taking the second chance God had given her. She was proud of herself and so was I!

Courageous Love

A few weeks ago while I was working at Linda's I counseled a girl named *Maxine. As usual when I first saw her I was afraid she would have a hard time opening up. She seemed to be putting on the front most girls do when they come in- the front that they don't really care they are about to get an abortion. Maxine went in for an ultra-sound and I was proven wrong as usual.

The moment she saw her baby on the screen she broke into tears. I talked to her afterwards and it was clear there was no turning back now that she had seen her child and discovered her love for them. Maxine is just about to start highschool and an unplanned pregnancy will no doubt be difficult. However, how refreshing and inspiring it is to see someone who saw the truth plainly put in front of them and chose to accept it. How lovely it is that Maxine was able to see the humanity of her child in one instance and was brave enough to make the sacrifices not to betray the truth she found.

I keep in contact with Maxine and it always brings me so much joy to see how much she loves her unborn child and how brave she is in making sacrifices so that they may have the gift of life. Pray for her!

Silent Graces

I am the unfortunate intern who recently contracted swine flu and is currently being quarantined in the Lifehouse attic (which I'm sure chris would like me to point out is finished). A part of me is really frustrated and a little angry that I am stuck in the house for a whole week while I could be out on the streets of New York doing my regular pro-life work. But I also know that even though I'm stuck in bed and I cant do any active pro-life work I can contribute to the work through dedicated prayer. It is easy to feel like your prayers do little to help the movement or save lives- but trust me- without the prayers of people we will never even get to see we know our active work would be fruitless. We see the effects of strangers prayers on lives every day and they are absolutely the foundation for all the work we do. Keep up the prayer!

Hope!

On Friday I counseled a woman in her early twenties who already had two small boys. At first I did not know what to make of her because she seemed nice but fairly distant and cold. I was afraid I would not be able to connect with her and get her through to her heart. I was wrong, I soon found she was a woman who possessed a beautiful selfless soul that I respected very much. She was raising her two young sons by herself, one of whom has autism. The father of her baby was not being supportive and she feared she would be unable to care for her two sons she loves so dearly if she had the baby. However, I could soon tell she was very upset underneath the surface.

She was nervous and seemed extremely uncomfortable, she kept saying she just wanted to get it over with. I realized she did not want the abortion but instead felt it was her only choice. She tried to pretend what she was about to do did not bother her but as I continued speaking to her she became increasingly emotionally and her eyes started filling with tears. I knew the abortion would break hes heart and leave a scar that would stay with her forever. I not only felt desperate for the life of the child but also the beautiful women who was sitting next to me.

As she sat there crying she said she could not talk any longer she just wanted to get it over with and she had no other choice. I could tell she was starting to crack so I got her to come in for a sonogram. She wanted me to call her the next day to check on her. Thanks be to God, when I called her back she told me she was confused and was rethinking everything. I prayed for her and told her to talk to Kathy about the sonogram. A little while later I talked to her again, she said she spoke with her mother and her mother had told her she wanted her to keep the child. She then said she thought she would keep the child.

Please pray for her and her family! She confirmed once again what I already knew, that women do not want abortions, the feel they have no other choice. Abortions break women's hearts and leave a lasting scar on their soul. What women need to keep their babies is hope. Please help to give them hope!

One baby is worth everything...

When I decided to do the internship this summer I knew I would have to learn to accept and let go of failure. I decided that I could do this as long as I remembered that if I was able to save just one life all my efforts and failures would be worth it. I'v been here a week and I have already met girls I was unable to save from abortion. Some of them I met briefly as they brushed me off on their way into doctors Emily's others I'v had long conversations with in one of the offices. They all managed to touch my heart and allow me to feel but a small portion of the pain and sadness I know they are experiencing. This part of the job is hard even though you know in some way God is using you to bring grace you cannot see into the situation.

However, there have been girls, numerous girls, I have seen turnaround and decide to give their babies life. I cannot say we have failed when I know there is at least one baby who will someday soon be born into this world, when I think of the joy that mother will feel when she holds her baby for the first time and knows all of her struggle to keep her baby was worth it all, when I think of the many people who will someday love this child and the many people the child will some day love themselves. It is more than enough of a reward for the work and I know there are even more babies left to be saved!