It takes two

Today I counseled a man who desperately wanted his baby.
He showed up in the 149 office with a check ready. He thought that he was walking into an abortion clinic. He was totally convinced that the life of his baby was going to be snuffed out today.
When I spoke to him, at first the only thing he said was he would be ok with it if she kept the baby. As I talked to him, I slowly came to the realization that he wanted this baby.
He told me that he believes that abortion is wrong and that it is killing a living baby. He told me that he has to be supportive of his girlfriend because he loves her so much.
Then I posed this simple question:” If you saw a blind man walking off a pier into the ocean would you stop him?” He naturally answered that he definitely would stop him. I then asked, “If you would stop a blind man from walking into the ocean, then how could you allow the person on this earth that you love the most to walk into the biggest mistake of her life?” “How could you allow her to have your own flesh and blood ripped out of her body?”
He cried and asked me to let him talk to her.
They walked out about a half hour later, he still hadn’t convinced her to keep it. So, could you please pray for this couple, I will name them Brian and Tina, that they make the right choice, and choose life.

Life

Today was a busy Saturday in the Bronx Center. In the short time I was there from 9-1 we saw about 6 women. All of these women had interesting/sad stories to share. One was in a controlled relationship with her boyfriend. Julie helped her get in touch with the Sister's for life, so that she may have the chance to keep her baby.

Another had 3 children, was living in a shelter, and had two previous abortions. She said she was still haunted by her abortions. "Life" was tattooed on her upper chest to remind herself of the right choice to make in the future.

One woman left undecided from our center.She wanted a child, but was afraid of what it might do to her pride. Well, an abortion would certainly not help her pride! Her boyfriend was very supportive and wanted so badly to keep the baby. We set up a sonogram for her, so hopefully that will lean her towards definitely keeping her child. So many women and babies to think about and pray for! God, please give these women the strength and courage they need to keep their babies and earn for themselves the self-respect they deserve.

Life Coach

This weekend was my first great road trip adventure with Chris. We toured New England and the Berkshire mountains including the Divine Mercy Shrine, Norman Rockwell museum, Susan B. Anthony birth place and of course, Six Flags. To maximize our time on the road, we listen to various pro-life tapes or watch videos. One of the talks from the Heartbeat International Conference really struck me. The subject of the talk was on basic elements to consider when setting up crisis pregnancy centers. The speaker mentioned three different approaches to interacting with the women: counseling, consulting, and a life coach.

Counseling she said implies that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. She pointed out that although the term counseling is used most frequently it is probably the least appropriate and effective. We are all broken in some way and need to be fixed. After all, we are members of a fallen human race. She also pointed out that most people that work in the centers do not have any formal training in counseling or psychology. Counseling involves examining the past, the problems of the past and determining how they impact the present.

Consulting is more of a business term. It involves a general assessment of the current situation. You examine all the information available and then give a factual based summary to the client and let them decide. Obviously, this is a very stoic approach to a sensitive and emotional situation.

Life coaching is something completely different. It is not an examination of the past or a bland assessment of the present. It is a walking beside, as she put it, a look to the future. She discussed several different techniques that can be used to help the women to set goals for themselves, to help them take control of their lives and relationships and to realize what they really want out of life. Being a life coach is a partnership with someone who cares.

So as I prepare to embark on my own journey as a life coach in New York, I posted a picture to pay tribute to one of the greatest athletic coaches, John Wooden, who recently passed away.

Ignorance Is Not Always Bliss

A beautiful, smart, sweet young girl walked into the Bronx Center yesterday. She looked really scared as she was taking in all of the counselors and the office. She was wanting to get an abortion, but instead was given love and support.

She was fourteen years old and pregnant. The advice society and classmates around her gave was to end the life of her baby. She was told to get a quick and easy fix by means of an abortion, although she knew nothing about the procedure.

After showing her a video describing the abortions she was shocked and said that she would never do something like that. She said she'd rather keep the baby because abortion was terrible. Society was pressuring this young girl to undergo an operation in which she was completely ignorant of- just as they were doing to countless other women. Seeing the truth behind abortion made this girl realize that it was something she would never do.

This girl's test came out negative which, of course was a huge relief to us as well as her. God played a huge role that day in leading the girl to the pregnancy center instead of the abortion clinic. The abortion clinic may have given her an abortion anyways even if she didn't have a life inside of her to end. At the pregnancy center she was offered love, support, and an education that she would not have received from a planned parenthood or clinic. The information she received that day might end up saving one of her friend's baby's lives one day or maybe even one of her own.

moving the world

It’s easy to start to get overwhelmed when counseling abortion minded women. With every girl, with every life that is at stake, you pour your whole heart into the conversation. Every ounce of energy is put into saving that life.

You go home so tired, but feeling like you made a difference.
That is until you go back the next day and see the women continue to come. No matter what you do, it seems that the girls will continue to be convinced they have no other choice. Be convinced that they have to kill their own baby.

When contemplating this at the 149 office, with the help of the wonderful Liz, I realized the error in my thinking.

We aren’t here to move mountains. We aren’t here to single handedly end legal abortion.

We are here to talk these girls out of the biggest mistake of their lives, one girl at a time.

So day, after day, after day, we will see more and more girls, and it may seem like you’re not making a difference, or changing the world as we know it. But, we, through the will of God, are changing the worlds of those innocent babies, who were never going to have a chance.

In the words of Mother Teresa “We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.”

Seeing What Its All For

Interns like myself are still young and are new to the work that many of our other counselors have been doing for years. The best thing about that is that the counselors become friends of the women and they come back to either gladly look to us for help or to just visit and catch up at the centers. At the Broklyn Center, I saw a woman that Linda had worked with ten years ago, her and her twin were pregnant at about the same time. They told us interns stories about their repeat visits, late night outings to get them help, and how thye would drive the doctor their crazy dealing with a girl he thought he had just seen.
I'm sure it happens to all the counselors at some point. At the Queens Center, we were visted by two mothers one of whom was 8 months pregnant with two girls and the other brought her three children. It took up the last hour and a half talking to them since we didn't have any other girls in the late afternoon.
In my own experience I get to see the changed attitudes of the women change from the time they came to when they leave, happier people. They laugh, they joke, and they agree with our positions on the terrible abortion industry. I may not do this work full-time, but I certainly will be willing to come back to visit and somehow contribute to life saving work if only to look forward to seeing a changed life from about now once again.

Who says it doesn't hurt?

The women/girls come into the Brooklyn office; they are shown a seat where they sit and watch some videos on the developing life of the fetus and abortion procedures, and of course with its implications. But on Tuesday, this particular woman went to sit at the reception. I came to her, showed her the right place to sit but I didn't know that she was at the 'right place'. She actually had had series of abortion, the memory of which haunts her. She told me (amidst tears), "Please, I don't want to be reminded of what I went through. I don't want to abort again, allow me to sit here till the video stops. The pictures disturb me." I was both surprised and happy; and I thanked God that this woman will never think of aborting her baby in her entire life, nor approve of it any time anywhere.

Her reaction touched the other girls who were there, and they began to have a more defined direction to their decisions. She, too, was used by God to do this work. Abortion hurts and continues to hurt until it is completely abolished.

The Importance of Chastity

The EMC Pregnancy Center in the South Bronx can be spotted by the huge sign above its entrance which reads, "Unplanned Pregnancy?" and lists a phone number to call. Bolder and much larger than any sign around it, the eye is instantly drawn to it. Although simple, the sign is actually very clever. Many pregnant women call or come into the center expecting to receive a consultation for an abortion. The first woman I helped counsel at the start of my internship was one of these women. Dead set on having an abortion at the start of our counseling session, she seemed at least more weary of her decision by the end of it.

The next girl I spent a lot of time talking to had a very different mindset. She was a lot younger and more scared, and she realized how horrible abortions were. While trying to explain to us that her mother would kick her out of the house if she had a baby, she broke into tears, and my heart broke for her. Luckily, it turned out that she, at least for the time being, would not have to face a decision of whether or not to have an abortion. The pregnancy test administered to her read negative. However, she was not completely off the hook. Liz, the director of the center, asked the girl to explain how she was going to change her actions in the future. Glowing with relief, she excitedly told us that she was going to use the works as far as birth control is concerned. "Condoms, pills, everything," she said, "I'm not going to take any more chances." Liz would not have this, and, like a mother lecturing her daughter, she explained to her the dangers of STDs and the importance of chastity, which I joined in on. We tried to explain to her that she was a treasure and not a toy to be used by men. And that the proof of how much a man loved her, her as a person, not just her body, would be that he would be willing to date her without having sex with her and marry her. Only the man willing to commit himself exclusively to her in a matrimonial union should have the gift of her body. We told her that sex was something sacred and that God had intended sex to strengthen the bond between a married couple as well as to create babies.

Since I knew a little bit about the culture she came from, I could guess how foreign the idea of abstinence seemed to her and how hard it would seem to a person who was already sexually active. I realized that little I could say would change the ideas of sex she had which had been implanted in her when she was a child and nurtured ever since. The poor girl was merely a product of her culture. Many of the girls I talked to had mothers who slept around and had numerous abortions. One girl said her nickname was "Lucky" because her mother had aborted the baby she was pregnant with before Lucky and the baby she became pregnant with after Lucky was born. Lucky was lucky to be alive. All of their mothers had slept around, and one of the girls had only met her father once. The next day while I was sidewalk counseling I talked to a man about teaching his daughter to abstain from sex. He told me that it was hopeless, and that the schools teach them to have sex. Children and teenagers today, especially those who live in inner city neighborhoods, are surrounded by the message that sex is as simple and inconsequential as taking a ride on a rollar coaster, and that women are to be valued for nothing more than how much sexual pleasure they can give to men. This message is in the music they listen to, the movies they watch, the magazines they read, and the conversations which surround them. Even their own parents, by their actions and words, relay this message to them. The pro-life movement could perhaps make larger strides in stopping abortions in these communties by campainging to change the way women are valued in those cultures and by promoting abstinence.

Every Body is Pro-Life

I watched the back door to Dr. Emily's slowly open. I watched as a girl took painful baby steps out the door, all the while completely consumed in terrible sobs. My heart was so full of sorrow while I watched her. I was already plotting my plan of action; I was going to make sure to extend extra love and care towards her as she walked out the gate and make sure she knew there was post-abortive help available.

But, then, a very odd thing happened. The new "employee" at Dr. Emily's, who's job is to drive women home after their abortions, pulled into the parking lot in front of the girl. It was absolutely shocking to me what this man did after he pulled up. He got out of the car, noticed how much pain this girl was in, and grabbed the girl immediately to himself. This man actually held this wounded woman in his arm for minutes.


These types of situations are proof that every BODY is Pro-Life. That man's NATURAL reaction was to hold this woman. The woman's NATURAL reaction after her child was ripped out of her womb was to grieve. Our bodies were made a certain way by God and our body language reflects this. When we abuse our bodies, it shows. Perhaps everybody's opinion is not one that is Pro-Life, but everyone's body is Pro-Life. Bodies were made for life, they crave it, and grieve it when it's gone.

I was reminded of this situation today outside the Brooklyn center as I stood next to two abortion mill employees. These woman were smoking together and their bodies absolutely radiated misery. Their eyes were dark, they were complaining about how terrible their lives were in hostile voices, they just looked so miserable. But, who's body wouldn't cry out after working day after day in the midst of death and sheer evil?

God may give us free will to choose life or death. To choose our views on abortion. But the bodies God gave each of us leave no choice; each one is purely Pro-Life.

The Whole Hearted Truth

Here is a story of a girl’s desperate call for attention and support. For this blog I will refer to her as Savannah. Savannah came in knowing she was pregnant and knowing she wanted to have an abortion. At least that is what she said at first. When it came down to talking and asking about the father of the baby, it became clear she did not want to go through another abortion. Savannah had already had one abortion and has no kids. She is in love with the father of her unborn child, yet the father simply just wants sex. Savannah was aware of his selfish intentions with her, but simply had no sense of dignity or what love really is.
She said to me that she wanted to have the abortion to keep the guy around! I knew right away I needed to convince her that she needed to be the protector of her child since this guy is not man enough to, and also she needed to realize that the baby's life she should be more important than whether or not some fool is going to call her up for a booty call next Saturday.
After we showed her a couple movies over the abortion procedures and counseled her on abstinence,she told me that she was definitely going to keep the baby and her and the father were going to go there separate ways. She also said that even though she had previously had an abortion she had no idea the grimness and gruesome reality of what really goes on, and her goal was to spread the word to other abortion minded women. I think it is obvious here that this young girl knew already the truth; she just simply needed to be reaffirmed, more educated, and supported. She needed to hear that sex does not mean love. Simple words indeed, but words she probably never hears.

Doing Good Feeling Better

As part of the new batch of interns, it is no secret that for the first week or so we have been doing kuch less work on the fronlines as we could. This was due to our inexperience but I believe I have proven that I have shook off most of the beginner's cobwebs. At the Broklyn Center, today was the day I would have to deal with cases without any direct instructions or counseling from other counselers. I took in the first girl of the day who wanted a sonogram. We spent most of the time talking about her situation. She was married, had one two year old boy, and had been in New York for several months from Dominica. I didn't want to directly compare our lives especially since we were the same age but I got alot out of her by mentioning aspects of our lives that were similar. I enjoyed talking to her, telling her about some of the help we could get her like a job for her recently laid off husband. It seemed that she did not want most of the assistance offered but we confirmed that the help was there if she needed. The case was made particularly interesting and I guess easier but sad is that it turned out she was not pregant but did need to see a doctor to see what was wrong. I pray for her to be okay and to accept any help if she should become pregant so as to give her whole family a better shot at life.
My second case was of a young woman of 18 and her 19 year old boyfriend. they were Catholic and wanted to keep the baby but she has had two abortions already. I didn't seem to dwell on that as I talked to them more, seeing their disgust of the abortion videos, and agreement with the video Maffa 21, the history of abortionists targeting blacks. They seemed like good kids, cooperative, patient for their sonogram, and light-hearted which to me is a sign of someone with a positive outlook on life with hope for a better life. This is only the beginning and these were easy cases. I ask God for the fortitude and courage to best handle more and difficult cases of women yet already knowing I will do this work for him and through him.

Abstinence Is Always Best

Yesterday I was working in our Queens office and had 3 girls walk in. The first was 17, the second was 15, and the third was 14. They all thought they could be pregnant. It was totally beyond me how girls so young could be sexually active at such a young age. I don’t know what they were getting out of these relationships that they weren’t getting other places, like home or school, but I knew I had to talk to these girls about abstinence. When I brought it up for the first time they all raised their eyebrows and said, “What’s that?” I explained abstinence to them and how, unlike other types of birth control, it didn’t have any negative side effects and was guaranteed that they couldn’t get pregnant or contract STD’s. Fortunately, while talking to the girls, it turned out that all three of them wanted to keep their babies if it turned out that they were pregnant. As happy as this made me, I had to ask them: What would you do with a baby? They said things like snuggle it, love it, feed it so I had to rain on their parade and explain the amount of time, money, and energy it takes to take care of a baby. I told the girls that having a baby is a 24 hour job each and every single day and that no allowance they get from their parents is going to pay for clothes, food, diapers and other necessities they baby needs. I also explained that at the end of the day after school they wouldn’t be able to hang out with their friends all day because they would have to go pick up the baby from day care, bring her home and feed her, play with her, give her a bath and put her to bed. After that they still need to do homework so they can maintain good grades so they can go to college and get a job. I told them that it wasn’t impossible to do, just that it was a lot harder, and that I’ve seen a lot of other girls do it. The youngest girls left after that. Hearing about the responsibilities of a child and the fact that they might not be able to go to their senior prom or high school football games made them realize having a baby meant giving up a lot. They left and I was comfortable with the way everything had ended.

The oldest girl that came in was concerned about some abnormal developments that had presented themselves some time after becoming sexually active with her boyfriend. She said that he was the only guy she had been intimate with but that he had been with other girls before her. I broke my heart to have to tell her but she needed to know that she could have possibly contracted an STD from her boyfriend and should go get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. She was a little shocked but didn’t want to believe that it would happen to her. She left our office in denial of the fact that her boyfriend could have given her a STD. Talking with these girls really made me appreciate the freedom that living an abstinent life provides. If I was sexually active I would have to worry about getting pregnant and wonder about whether or not I could have an STD where being abstinent allows me to enjoy my relationship with my boyfriend in a safe, clean, and moral way.

Why we Work

Today, I was riding the shuttle bus from 149th to E180th. Nothing strange - I've taken this bus almost every day since I got here. This time, however, there were 3 young girls sitting across the aisle from me. Overhearing -very different form eavesdropping, of course ;)- their conversation, I learned that they were 14. Two of them had "records" because they got in a fight with "some b****." In addition to the details of their juvenile delinquencies, I also learned of some of their sexual relationships and those of their friends.

While listening to these girls laugh, joke, and tease about who's doing what with who, I couldn't help but feel a sadness for the world we're living in. These 14-year-olds think it is perfectly normal to have sex with whomever they please and share that fact with the world on public transportation. I can't blame these girls for their behavior. Look at the world they've grown up in. We have to change the hearts of the people. We need to raise up in society an awareness of the greatness of sexual purity. We need to empower parents to tell their children it's not okay to have sex.

Abortion starts with a lack of understanding the true purpose of sex. Until the world realizes the true beauty of God's perfect plan for marriage, we will have clients much like these girls coming to our centers or worse going to Emily's. And so we work...to save lives, to change the world...

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

I'm a Billboard

I recently had the gift to be driving through Time Square with one of the Sisters of Life. We were talking about the overwhelming stimulation from all the advertisements. Then she said something that really struck me. "It's times like this that I remind myself that I am a billboard." How true that is. As a consecrated religious person wearing the holy habit she really does make a statement just by her presence in the world.

These words came back to me as I began my work with EMC as a sidewalk counselor at Dr. Emily's, a prominent abortion clinic in the Bronx. We try to reach out and talk to every person who enters there. However, just by our presence there, we make a statement. Even if they try to drown out our offers of help or free services with their ipods or cell phones, it is hard to ignore the presence of another human being. So whether they want to or not, our presence forces them to think, even for only a second, that there is someone who thinks what I am doing is wrong. Naturally, the presence of a police officer should also be unsettling. Sadly, often this might not be enough to change their minds but who knows the impact that may have on them in the future as they inevitably come to regret their decision.

So people may ask why bother? Why stand on the hot side walk hour after hour? What is the use? It's a losing battle etc. But even though the challenge is daunting, our persistant presence is a testimony that what happens in this place is wrong, seriously wrong.

One for All and All for One

Today was one of those days when I truly witnessed the absolute power of prayer. I was outside of Dr. Emily's this morning when a couple pulled up. One of the Spanish-speaking counselors called out to the man and talked to him for a short time. Sadly, the man and his girlfriend went inside the abortion mill. Using the rosary around my wrist, I began praying for this couple immediately. If this man was so willing to talk to us when he pulled up, then maybe we still had a chance to reach him as his girlfriend waited three hours for her "turn" on the abortion table.

This one prayer was for all. For the abortion-minded girl waiting inside, for the confused boyfriend, for their innocent baby, for my patience with this difficult case. This prayer was answered so quickly! The man came back outside to talk to me. We talked for nearly two hours as I encouraged him to go inside and talk to his girlfriend. This man went in to talk to his girlfriend. She wouldn't come out with him. The man came back out and talked to me for another hour. He was even so kind as to buy me a soda. The man went in for a second time, but again, the girl absolutely refused to come out.

This is when ALL my prayers started being for ONE. For that ONE precious, innocent baby that was hanging between life and death in that abortion mill. The boyfriend told me that the girl was already in the room and that he couldn't do anything else. I pleaded with him to go in, and find her, and tell her how much he wanted her to have a free sonogram. He said there was nothing else he could do. But, there was something else I could do: PRAY! I kept praying and praying and praying. And, PRAISE GOD, the girl walked out of the clinic! The boyfriend ran up, and picked her up, and embraced her. This was a beautiful thing in itself, but even more so after hours and hours of counseling this man.

To make a long story short: this beautiful girl was not actually pregnant. She had a cyst. The reason the girl came out was because the abortionist refused to show her her sonogram. The abortionist was actually about perfrom an abortion on an unpregnant girl! Not to mention this girl had a medical issue that surely would have been aggravated severely by a fake abortion. I told the man to take the woman to a doctor, a good doctor who wouldn't treat his girlfriend like a bag of walking cash.

I know God had His hand on this situation. The situation seemed so bleak and hopeless, it was taking so much time and energy, but prayer kept me going and my prayers were answered. This woman can now seek good medical help for her cyst, the man is now more informed about abortion and encouraged to make a choice for life in future situations, and I feel empowered by prayer to persevere in the most trying cases at Dr. Emily's.

Back on the Job

This is my first week back in the Bronx with EMC, and I am thrilled to be here working as the intern coordinator. My previous experiences with EMC have been challenging, humbling, and rewarding, and I am sure that my time spent here now will prove to be the same.

I was grateful for a great first day yesterday. I split my day between our Bronx center on 149th and Allmed, just a few blocks away from that center.

At AllMed, I was privileged to be with many women as they came in to get a sonogram and meet their unborn children for the first time. This sonogram is an important step for most of our women, as it puts them face to face with their babies and the reality of the choice with which they are presented.

It is also a powerful reminder to those of us in the pro-life movement. Seeing a sonogram picture and hearing the little heartbeat is a tangible reminder of why we are here- to love the moms and their babies and to give moms all of the support they need to make the choice for life that, deep down, they truly desire.

My Inspiration

The other day, I witnessed the joy of a mother that I won’t forget. This woman is someone I can tell other girls about as an inspiration. I had seen pictures in the Bronx pregnancy center of a beautiful baby with big eyes and chunky cheeks. While we were counseling a girl in a difficult case who was worried about what her parents would think, the mother of the baby boy came in with cups of ice cream for us in the office. When she saw there was a client she bought ice cream for her as well. I didn’t know anything about her, but I was struck by her extremely joyful smile and generosity.
When she left the client was still there, talking with Liz about her family issues and troubles with pregnancy when Liz told the rest of her story. The woman who had brought the ice cream had come into the center quite a few months ago, pregnant, homeless, disowned by her family, and beaten by her boyfriend. She sells ice cream on the hot streets for a living. Even after her terrible circumstances, she still comes into the office with stories of her son who she calls her joy. When Liz thanked her for the ice cream she said it was nothing compared to what we at the center do.
Her story from the rock bottom is empowering to other women and inspirational to me. If God can create joy from such terrible and lonely circumstances in the life of this woman, no circumstances are beyond His goodness.

Life and Death Decisions

Counseling on the sidewalk was the aspect of this internship that I was most afraid of. My first day in front of Dr. Emily’s was spent watching and praying, learning what to say. Most of the time there is little reaction from the girls and women who go in. Most of the time we were ignored; some would take a pamphlet and listen; some would go for a sonogram. The clinic wasn’t very busy, a good thing, so most of the time was spent in prayer.
The second time I went to Dr. Emily’s I started to do actual sidewalk counseling. It is amazing how the girls going in will stand in front of us for one short moment, and in that slip of time will make a decision between life and death. When in front of the clinic all day in the heat, it is easy to lose focus on the importance of a presence there. But one exchange of words might change the life of a woman and save the life of a child whose potential is unfathomable. These split-second decisions make one realize the importance of each moment. I’m praying that God keeps me where I need to be, mentally, spiritually, and physically so that every moment I am doing His will for His children.

Open Eyes

I grew up in a small city in Indiana, and now attend college at Northern Kentucky University. I have never been to a big city except when I would go to Cincinnati Reds games.

So, needless to say, I have been living in my own small town world. Outside the news and media I had no idea of the world and opinions. I had been completely led to believe that outside my little area of the world, there is nothing besides anti-God pro-abortion mania.

When I found this internship I was very excited and uplifted because I was starting to see that the cause extended beyond my little town.

I can’t describe the feeling, when i finally arrived in New York, to see people my age from not only around the country, but from around the world.

My small town veil was finally removed, and I saw that pro-life has a face. It’s young, energetic, and ready to do battle.

The joyfulness of simplicity

Being caught up in the Bronx hustle and bustle has started to make me fantasize over the simple aspects of life. Sometimes it is easy to take for granted the moments in life that bring laughter and love. I wonder if some our pregnant women in need ever realize that life is easier than some realize. The media and our society seem to portray the falsity that for life to be meaningful, one needs to be busy 24/7 and the fewer the kids the better your life will be. Today on our way home from a trip that Chris took four of us internships on, we stopped at Norman Rockwell museum. The paintings that Norman created were amazing in how they captured the beauty of life and showed the beauty of people interacting together. I thought about how this is what life is about. We are supposed to help our fellow friends and strangers whenever we can. Lending your talents and skills to help another brings the upmost joy. Brining a smile out of someone is one of those simple things in life that we all need to focus on and enjoy. I wonder if the pregnant women in need ever realize these special moments in time enough to embrace them, and if they did if they would be more inclined to want to give the greatest gift of life to their un born babies. My thought is if I can show my clients how glorious life is and we can all make life simpler and enjoy it, then everything will make so much sense. I want the potential mother to think, why wouldn’t I want to give this baby a life where they can laugh, play, pray and help others get to heaven someday?

Still hoping!

This is a continuation of my previous blog about "Terra." When she left the center we felt that she was definitely leaning more towards either keeping her baby or adoption. We were very surprised that she seemed very receptive to the idea of adoption. Her previous perspective on adoption was that the baby would go to a terrible home and be horribly mistreated. Liz changed this girl's false perception on adoption by telling her a story about how one of the babies she saved was adopted by parents who were doctors.

Since she has left the office she has made an appointment for a free sonogram. And, she has kept in touch with me. Her baby is still alive and hopefully after she has her sonogram this week she will make a solid decision to keep her baby. Please continue to pray for her!

You can do it!

"I just can't handle another baby" was a line that kept being repeated by "Terra," a girl that me, mary, and Liz were counseling in the Bronx center. "Terra" is only 19 years old-a day younger than me-and already had an 18 month old daughter. She said her daughter was a handful but that she loved her immensely. And, I asked why she wouldn't love the child in her belly just as much.

We showed her a few videos. The first two were about the abortion procedures themselves, and when she saw the suction curretage method she said "Well, I think I'd rather do the procedure where I get a shot and push the baby out." Uh, I don't think so girl! We then showed her the "22 weeks" video based on a true story about a girl getting the shot. After seeing the complications the girl in the video had to undergo "Terra" was shocked and scared.

We continued to counsel her and exchanged numbers. All we can do now is hope and pray she makes the right decision for herself and for her baby.

Couple of couples

I had been apart of the internship for a few days and this was the last day of the week, the last before Memorial day weekend. Because of that we didn't expect many to come in. Around 10, we got two sets of couples within 10 minutes of each other. The first was a young married couple who came in with their two young children, 4 months and about a year and a half old babies. The next couple were young but unmarried and were less coperative. The parents were there first and the other two wanted to know when they were going to be seen. Linda tried to work with them one at a time and have all watch Choice Blues. By the time Linda was done talking with them, the unmarried couple was practically kicked out if it wasn't for Linda speaking to the girl alone to come back, with a vauge chance we had saved a baby. The married couple only considered abortion because they could not handle another baby in their current situation. I got to talk to the man myself and we started talking about how the abortion industry is lying to people and doing it for the money. That was one of the most successful talks I had had and got a better idea of the kind of people I will need to deal with and yet be willing to help regardless.

Important Conversations

While working with Liz in the South Bronx Center, she sometimes asks me to talk with girls about chastity and choices after she has already counseled them for their current situation. Though the results of these conversations are not usaully as dramatic as an abortion turn-around, I am realizing that these conversations are some of the most important that I have had. Being there for a girl when no one else is supporting her, letting her know that she is worthy of respect and strong enough to expect it, just talking and listening person to person is so important in this culture that screams the opposite. This work is not only "save the babies", which is noble and difficult in and of itself, but it is also to show the girls and women respect and make a positive change in the culture of abuse, apathy, and disrespect.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Last Tuesday was the first time I went to the Brooklyn office. I was introduced to Linda, the head of the center and immediately admired her strong, vivacious personality. The first piece of advice she gave to me and the other intern with me was to have faith and pray incessantly. She emphasized that we could not properly counsel these women without God's help. And, watching her with "her girls" I realized that she was right.

Tuesdays are prenatal days at Linda's office, so I saw about ten beautiful, pregnant women coming into the office for either a consultation with the doctor or to see a sonogram. I had the opportunity to see one of the sonograms-my first sonogram ever!

It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! To see a baby moving around in his mother's womb was unbelievable. Linda, prayed over the mother's stomach for the baby and told the mother to talk to her child. She asked the mother to tell her baby to hold her hand, and the baby actually started raising his hand toward the mom's womb. It was a very moving experience and one that I will never forget!