Prenatal care

This week in the Brooklyn's office, I have been in a prenatal care that they do every Tuesday, it has been a very good day because I have been with loads of women that wanted to abort but they changed her minds. It was a good experience because after their decision they are all very happy and glad that they changed their minds and they all love Linda very much and are very thank to her for helping them.
Is very nice to be in the office that day because everyone explains their stories and some of them are amazing, one girls explained to us that she went for an abortion three times, but both three times when she got there they told her that her appointment was cancelled, so she said that she was not going to wait more, this abortion was going to be her 4th, so looking for an other place, she found us and when she came and saw that everyone was so nice, she changed her mind, because she says that in the abortion clinique everyone was very rude to her.

turns around

This week we have had many people but the case that I want to share is about a girl that came in by chance, she told us that she went to Dr. Emily's but they didn't attend her because she had no insurance so when she was leaving she got a phone call and she was in the elevator and instead of going down it went up so she couldn't here because in the elevator she didn't have enough signal and she went off of the elevator in our floor and she saw pregnancy center and she went in to see if we could help her, so after talking to her she changed her mind, she had had an abortion before and after telling us the psychological consecuences she said that that happened to her so in the end she decided that the best thing to do was to keep the baby. 

The Pro-life Conference in Washington

Some of the EMC interns went to a Pro-life Conference in the city of Washington in which we were there for one whole day sharing time with many pro-life leaders from all around the United States.

The programme was plenty of diferent conferences about all kind of issues: the myth of the unwanted child, The pro-life movement in Congress, Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood, Adult Stem- Cells: Saving lives now, The right to life and social media 2012, etc. Lots of students and pro-life people participated in these sessions and showed a high interest in the topic, puting questions about the current situation of abortion in the Unite States.
It was encouraging to meet other pro-life leaders because that gives us more strenght to do pro-life work in our countries when we come back, because we know we are no longer alone. In Spain the pro-life work is very different than in the US, but having this great experience and learning about a new point of view i will be able to put it in practice in Spain while doing these kind of activities.

The conferences opened my mind and helped me to realize that in the pro-life work we are all together fighting for the same reason, and that encourages a lot!

Love the mothers

You can never judge the mothers. That’s one of the things I have learned with the counseling. The pregnant mothers come to the office not to be judged but to be understood and heard because many of them don’t want to have their babies due to her economic and social circumstances.

Once a person told me: “You have to love the mother, telling her she is the most important person in the world; because if you do that, she will save her son". These words have made me think lots of times about the love that these women need, the support and the feel that someone cares about them.

 This is certainly what we have to do, because those who do the counseling we don’t save the babies. We have no merit. Are the mothers, the braves, who save them!

Queen's office

In the Queens'office’s street there are 16 abortion clinics so, some days, when there are too many counselors we use to take turns to stay outside handing out some flyers. We also put a big TV with a video about abortion with very specific data: the way how the procedure is done, the number of abortions in the USA each day, month and year, its physiological and psychological consequences, etc.

People take our flyers and some of them stop in the middle of the street just to watch it. Sometimes we think that people don’t read them and we can discourage. And it’s in these cases when the prayer is also important because when our hopes are gone, God acts and changes some mothers' mind!

We are all in this

This time, I want to write about the National Right to Life Convention we attended in Washington DC. Pro-lifers from all around the country gather once a year to share their ideas and experiences. I had the oppotunity to meet and learn from pro-life leaders, and the testimony of Bobby Schindler really made me think about the depth of the life issue.

He told us an encouraging story. "An old man was picking up starfishes and throwing them back to the sea. A little boy asked him why he was doing it, as he would not be able to save all the starfishes in the sand. Picking up a strafish and giving it back to the sea, he answered: I have saved this one."

I realised there is a lot of people fighting for life and defending the rights of the ones who cant speak for themselves. Even when it gets hard, we have to keep in mind that a small gesture can make a big difference.

WASHINGTON DC!

Last weekend I went to visit the fantastic city called Washington DC! It was a really good experience because apart from visiting the city and learning its history more thoroughly, we went to a pro-life conference where we heard the testimony of many people who devote their lives to this great cause.

 Then I realized how much I have to learn about the pro-life work, and how much we can help if we want to and fight for what we believe in.

To learn how much stuff I have jet to know and do is not discouraging, but just the opposite, I know  that we can do it, and if we all do our part we will change the world and save many lives. So stay strong and persevere! You are not alone!

AWESOME

I just loved how convinced she was, she came in on Thursday and she said she just wanted a sonogram because she wanted to parent. I asked her if she had had any abortions before and that is what she told me:

Look girl, I am not having any abortions any more, I had enough, that’s not who I am, I am a fighter, so I’m keeping this baby. Another one I guess.

I didn’t expect the answer or the last sentence. Indeed she was a strong woman. 

She had had already two abortions. She knew that her economic situation and being a single mother wouldn’t make it easy but she had learned that you need something more to face the consequences; she wouldn’t take the easy way out.

First bite to the big apple

Hello! My name is Alejandra and I am 19 . I am a biomedical engineering student  from San Sebastian,a small city in the north of Spain. 

As a catholic, I am a defender of life and I have always been a pro-lifer. However, I have not been actively involved in pro-life activities until now. I wanted to participate in the defense of the rights of the unborn, so when a friend told me about this internship, I immediately felt it was the perfect way to do it. Having the chance of helping pregnant mothers and saving baby's lives, and doing it in New York is, for me,  a great opportunity to get to know the city and most importantly, do great meaningful work. 

MY FIRST DAY OF WORK

They say the first day of anything (work, college, university, etc.) is a day when you feel many emotions at once: fear, excitement, laziness, optimism, and so on. The truth is I have to say my first day at the office of EMC in Queens was completely different. The only thing I felt during the day was happiness, I was just so grateful to be there! It´s amazing how much just a listening to someone, or a smile can help in just a few minutes.

With the smallest effort you can encourage a mother to give her child a chance. Helping in this way is such a big step for me; helping to bring new life in to the world is something I will not be able to forget.  I think my time with EMC will be one of the best experiences of my life and I look forward to what else this internship will offer!

Results

The highlight of my day today at Brooklyn was meeting a lovely young woman and her six month-old baby girl who had been saved over a year ago by God through Linda. "With help it is the mother who ultimately saves her baby. It is she by her free will that chooses life for her own child. You must teach them what abortion really is for the mother to reject it" explained Linda.
She explained to everyone how difficult her situation once was; she came in determined to have an abortion because she simply was not prepared for a baby. She had no one supporting her, no home or work, a very hopeless case. But deciding to carry on with the pregnancy changed everything. Her beautiful baby daughter had the most positive effect on her life and she was now the happiest she had ever been. She told us God does not make mistakes and provides for those who put faith in his will. Her story was such an inspiration to us all, especially the girls who had come in for their appointments. Sometimes it can be really disheartening when a girl leaves still wanting an abortion, but seeing the joy in this woman’s eyes while holding her baby gave me the most uplifting feeling, and moments like these makes every minute of what we do worthwhile.

WHAT ABOUT THE SONOGRAMS?

One of the things that we offer to the girls who come to the office it´s to do a sonogram so they can see their babies and listen to their hearts. The other day, when I was seeing my first sonogram I was thinking how a simple machine can show something as big as life itself, and I thought that we must tell all the pregnant women how important is the life that they are carrying inside themselves. How important is their decision to protect this life, because: “if a mother does not protect her own son, who will?”.

For this reason our job in EMC is really important; expectant mothers need our help and we must always be there for them.

A little inspiration

I was nervous about going to Dr Emily’s to sidewalk counsel for the first time. I knew their security guards would try their best to intimidate us and make us feel uncomfortable, and I was worried about how they would react to our presence there that morning. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of people already praying outside the clinic. Among them were a Brother and Priest from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who had been there for some time and had experienced very hostile behaviour with the guards. After our prayers, as they were leaving the priest came to thank us for our support, and explained that the abuse he had received that morning was ‘a blessing’ because it was like experiencing the persecution Christ had received on the cross. I was amazed at how he embraced the tricky situation as his small cross; his few words were an inspiration to us for the rest of the day. It is sad that those working in the clinics are so blinded from the truth, but this makes it all the more important for us to remember them in our prayers.

"Problem solving"

The other day i went to do sidewalk couseling in Dr. Emily. I was there all morning, just some minutes before leaving i saw a girl coming out the clinic, by the way she walked and her face I could tell she just had had an abortion. I approached her and tried to talk to her. At first she avoided me but then i saw she started to cry and I told her that there is always hope and God is merciful. I told her we could help her, and then gave her a lifelet.

Sometimes we have to experience some hardship and difficult moments to realize what is wrong and what is right. I hope this girl understood that abortion is not the solution, it hurts more than the "problems" it might solve.

MY FIRST TIME IN THE USA!!!

Hello everybody!! My name is Mary, I am 20 years old and I am from Mallorca; a beautiful island located in Spain (Europe). Right now I am studding Nutrition and Health in the University of Navarra, Pamplona.

Last year a friend told me about the amazing experience that he had working in a prolife program in New York and since that day I have been dreaming of being here today! Now, finally, I am here; my first time in the USA and I really hope to learn a lot during these two months and then contribute as I can in this big prolife movement in the  world.

Waking up in New York!

Hello everyone!My name is Anna,I am 19 and I am from Spain. I live in Girona. I have two brothers and one little sister who is now 7.I am studying in San Sebastian in the University of Navarra.I planned to enjoy prolife organization in New York because I thought it would be a great experience helping people to save their babies lives and would be the best way to spend my free time.I realized that this was an opportunity that comes to me and I could not ignore it.Trying to help pregnant mothers and learning English in an important city as New York I thought could be a very great experience.

From Barcelona to New York

Hi I’m Beatriz, I’m 21 years old and I’m from Barcelona, Spain. I came to the United States of America as a volunteer to help pregnant mothers  who want to abort to change their minds and decide to keep their babies. A friend of my university in Spain told me about the organization of Expectant Mother Care and the work they do in the city of New York, the capital of abortion in the US. So I decided to spend 2 months of my summer in a beautiful city as NY, doing something useful for the others. And now that I’m here I don’t regret about anything.

I'm doing counseling in the Queens office and I have already had a really close contact with some expectant mothers. I wish that this time in NY I can do a good job with these mothers that are waiting for our help and our friendship! 

First Experiences

This has been my first week here and I have found it  amazing, when you make someone turn around is an experience you never forget, all the stories and problems that people have, that you never imagined that those thing could happen is a great experience, and help them to see that everything happen for a reason and that have a solution, help them see that they always have an alternative is a good thing that makes you feel good.
The other day, a girl came in saying that she wanted to have an abortion, I tried to convince her and change her mind but I couldn't, I couldn't understand because I did my best best but she left saying that she was going to have the abortion, two weeks later I called her to know how was she doing, and she told me that after leaving the EMC office she realized that we were right, that was one if the moments that made me feel really good.

Daddy Loves You Too

When we think about pregnancy and abortion we usually think about the mother. Her child, her decission, her choice. But what about the fathers? Don't they count at all? It takes two to make a baby, it should take two to make any decission about him/her.

The other day in the Queens center a very young woman came in alone looking for an abortion. As we got talking, she started to tell me about her life, how she didn't feel prepared to have another baby. When I asked her about her boyfriend I was suprised to hear he wanted to have the baby, he had told her he would take care of it if she didn't want it.

He felt already connected to his child, and although his opinion wasn't officially relevant, he did have an innate right to his son or daughter, to care for him/her, to protect him/her.

At the end the woman decided to have her baby and give it to her boyfriend, so the dad was the hero for the baby, the one that made the difference. We should never underestimte the importance of fathers, real man that speak up for their children not listening to a society that leaves them off the hook, dads who care and protect their babies

Hello!

My name is Maria Serra, I am 20 years old and I am from Girona, Spain. I'm studying in the university of navarra in San Sebastian, a carrer called management assistant.
I decided to come here this summer and join the pro-life internship, because I think is a very good opportunity to help people that are going to a difficult moment, and I think that this can be an amazing experience that everyone should know about it.

Gifts

When a woman changes her mind about abortion is when the real help starts. Realizing they love their baby even though they haven't met him is the easy part, the natural part. A mother needs a lot of help to raise her child, specially when the baby daddy is not arround, so there is when we come in.

Today I've been doing deliveries of baby stuff to expectant mothers, and seeing the joy and appreciation in their faces warmed my heart. A little help goes a long way with this women that have already made the decission to give their babies a chance, and are struggling with how to care for them.

The furniture we would dismiss for being a tad old, or not very fashonable, they are ectstatic to accept and enthusiastic about whatever they can give their child. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for their unborn child, and we have to do uor best to help them with whatever we can because every life is a gift and worth the effort. All lives count.

My first turn around!

It was just this morning when, in the Queens office, a couple came in, they both wanted an abortion. Fortunately she was in her 18 week, so in the sonogram we could see perfectly the baby. After I talked to her, and like it always happens when they start to trust you and realize that what we want is the best for them, she told me the reason why she wanted to abort. We are going to help them find a solution to their problems, because getting rid of the baby is not going solve them, and now they are going to keep the baby!

Of course, it was not that easy from the begginig. Actually at first I didn't feel very confindent, I wondered how could a girl like me help someone with big problems and important decisions to make. Then I realized that we are God's tools and He helps us. Somehow we say something that touches the heart of the woman we have in front, and in this way, she saves her baby.

Unexpected call

Today I met an amazing and brave young girl who had taken up a demoralising and life-threatening career to support her two young children. She was expecting again and felt it was impossible to continue the pregnancy in her desperate situation. At first I thought there was no hope; she was reluctant to talk and looked exhausted and distressed. Almost giving up I said a quick prayer under my breath and continued to speak to her. A few days later I received a call from her saying she had been thinking about our conversation and was wondering if we could meet again. I was so shocked; I really thought she was definitely abortion-bound. This small experience taught me prayers go a long way, and I need an active spiritual life to help me persevere.

Mummy's Day

Working in Brooklyn today was such a treat! Over twenty lovely mothers who decided against abortion came in for pre-natal check ups, presents and lots of fun. All of these mothers who saw their little ones shuffle around in sonograms and discussed due-dates were so filled with excitement, happiness and most of all, love for their children. The centre’s director, Linda sets the example for us to treat everything we do as an act of love for the mother, and in turn God. Treating these mothers with that genuine care and wanting to serve will undoubtedly have positive effects. The evidence was in front of me today; all of these women who before were so anxious about continuing their pregnancies were excited and joyful about their babies. 

Hello NYC!

Hello NYC and all new yorkers, I am Alicia, a nineteen year old catalan girl. I am from Girona, a little city of Spain next to Barcelona. Having the opportunity to come to NY this summer has been the best present I could have had. not only because already visiting NY is a dream come true but also because I can really help people and that makes me feel happy and fulfilled. Actually now that I have already been for some days here and have had my first contact with pregnant mothers I realize that what you feel after a turn around has no price.