Balance de mi internship

El pasado jueves, durante mis últimas horas de trabajo en Queens, aproveché para reflexionar un poco acerca del verano una vez que el ajetreo de la oficina se hubo calmado. Han sido dos meses muy intensos, en los que he aprendido y he enseñado. Los primeros momentos fueron un tanto difíciles, porque entré en contacto demasiado rápido con las historias tan complicadas que escondían aquellas mujeres. Pero, poco a poco, fui familiarizándome con los modos de trabajar y cargándome de energía para lidiar con sus problemas.

Me voy de aquí contenta, no solo por haber ayudado, sino por haber adquirido en cierta manera una formación y una experiencia que me ha marcado para el resto de mi vida. Antes de venir, me declaraba provida, pero ahora puedo decir que he conocido de primera mano todas las implicaciones que rodean al aborto, tanto a las madres como a sus hijos. Este no es un internship como cualquier otro en el que vas a trabajar a una empresa, porque aquí vienes a madurar, a crecer como persona y darte en cuerpo y alma.

Un counseling diferente

El otro día vino a Queens una chica de 14 años que pensaba que podía estar embarazada. Finalmente, el test de embarazo fue negativo. Comenzamos a hablar sobre las enfermedades de transmisión sexual y la abstinencia.

Le sorprendió saber que si la relación se centra solamente en el terreno físico, ella puede convertirse en un objeto para el chico, y más en esas edades tan tempranas, cuando ninguno de ellos tiene la madurez suficiente para encarar un noviazgo. Además, charlamos sobre el valor del sexo y su relación directa con el amor. Sexo y amor son inseparables para la mujer, porque ella necesita sentir el cariño de un hombre para no sentirse vacía. En cambio, los chicos pueden separa con más facilidad sexo y amor y por ello es posible que la mujer se convierta en un objeto de placer para ellos. Todas estas razones le llevaron a replantearse su visión sobre la sexualidad.

Frank Pavone

Durante la visita que hicimos a Priest for Life, pudimos conocer de cerca todas las instalaciones y su funcionamiento. A continuación, nos recibió Frank Pavone, sacerdote católico  y famoso activista próvida, y nos habló de la labor de la organización.

A lo largo de su discurso, hizo hincapié en que, a pesar de que el aborto sea hoy en día considerado la solución más fácil a todos los problemas con los que se puede encontrar una mujer embarazada, en realidad solo se trata de una fuente de mayores problemas. Sus palabras fueron enriquecedoras y dieron un sentido a nuestro trabajo. Al final del encuentro, nos sacamos una foto y nos animó a asistir al encuentro mundial prolife que tendrá lugar el próximo año en Roma.

At the bronx office!

Great news!


Today I had a wonderful experience in the office of the Bronx where I don't use to go frequently.
I had one counceling and has been almost a turn around.
She is a woman who doesn't want to keep the baby because  if she was pregnant she would have to work under very hard conditions.I was explaining to her that she could find another job and that we could help her to have it another one.She would thinking about it.

Organizing!

Hello everybody!!

Today i went to the bronx office, we worked very hard! we did four councelings, which is not a lot but one was a tourn around! so it was very worhty.
Also what we mainly did was organize all the donations, we separeted the clouths of baby girls and baby boys, between months and sizes so that it will be more easy to search for them when the mothers come to the office.




That was it for today,

See you!

Lifehouse

Quien me iba a decir a mi que alguna vez en mi vida iba a vivir en el Bronx???

Otras veces cuando he estado en Nueva York nunca me había atrevido a venir por éste barrio, pero ahora es nuestra casa. Cuantos buenos momentos entre estas paredes, cuantas nuevas y buenas amistades. Es indescriptible la sensacion de apenas conocer a alguien y tenerle tanto aprecio y tanto cariño.

Hemos hecho todos muy buenos amigos, amigos que sabes que han compartido tu misma experiencia, que han visto las mismas cosas que tu y que estan aprendiendo lo mismo al mismo tiempo. Personas con las que compartes tus buenos y malos momentos porque te toca con la suerte de que no podría haber sido mejor. Ahora mismo no hay otro lugar en el que me gustaría estar porque ésta, ahora es mi casa.

Gracias a todos, los que aun estamos y los que ya no estan por todos los buenos momentos, porque he aprendido un monton de cada uno y porque si no fuesemos como somos, esto no seria lo que es.

Great counceling

Yesterday i went to the bronx office, it was the second time for me. I was there with a misionaire, we did a counceling together and i was really impressed!

It was amazing how she spoke. I could see all the prayer behind and her words touched me deep. She asked her if she tought abortion was good. -No. Then, how can good things come from it?

She told her about the strong relationship that the mother and the baby have. And that if she wouldn't recommend IT to her friends why she was doing that to herself.

Oficinas

Estas ultimas semanas he estado yendo a la oficina del EMC de Brooklyn.
Hemos hablado con muchas mujeres, incluso en un solo dia hemos hablado con unas 14. La verdad es que me encanta. Nunca en mi vida había visto un sonograma y fue muy emocionante. Sobretodo ver a una mujer muy segura de si misma y de sus motivos para abortar, que se emociona cuando ve a su bebe o escucha los latidos de su corazón. Sobre todo cuando escuchas esos latidos, es como presenciar un milagro. Una personita que está creciendo en el interior de su madre, que se mueve, que siente...una personita con un corazón igual de grande como el de cualquiera de nosotros. Como no rendirse ante esto???

Recuerdo a Amanda, muy especial para mi. Esa chica sufria maltratos, no tenia trabajo y tiene 3 hijos. Para ella su vida ya no tenia sentido, estaba cansada y derrotada. No quería a su bebe. No quería otro "problema". Después de hablar con ella le hicimos un sonograma. Tenia que mantener el tipo y al final no pude. Cuando vio a su bebe lloraba como un niño...Estaba claro que no quería un aborto pero a veces las circunstancias le pueden.

Me encanta cuando hablo con ella y le pregunto que que tal lleva el embarazo y que mientras pasan los dias esta mas feliz.

Un aborto supone decidir si alguien vive o muere. Es una decisión muy grande para un ser humano, de hecho, ninguno de nosotros tenemos el derecho de decidir por la vida de un indefenso.

A veces es difícil, pero es gratificante. Gracias EMC.

En la Casa Blanca

El miércoles pasado después de visitar el museo del holocausto, nos unimos a una protesta en frente de la Casa Blanca. Alrededor de 25 activistas provida nos reunimos y manifestamos en favor de la vida.

Ese mismo día se ponía en marcha el programa de salud pública, Health Care, propuesto por el presidente Obama. Esta campaña propone un seguro que debe incluir el aborto y los métodos anticonceptivos. Esta nueva ley no respeta la libertad de los que están a favor de la vida.

Estuvimos rezando enfrente de la Casa Blanca con carteles en defensa de la vida. A finales de septiembre se va a hacer una protesta de 3 días más grande. Animo a todos los que podais que os unais a ella!

Farewell to New York!

This is my last blog – I leave on Monday to return home to California! I have had a great time here; there have been hard times (working with such sadness is difficult) but many happy times as well. I have met such amazing friends and teachers. I will really miss Linda and all my housemates. I’ll miss all the Spanish music, the cooking, singing and sitting on the subway heading to Manhattan!

                I loved working in the centers. I met so many beautiful and brave young women. Regardless of their decisions, all of those girls fight to survive in unbelievably difficult situations and I respect their ability to make the best of their lives.

                I probably won’t be back in New York anytime soon, but I’ll bring the lessons learned home to California with me and I’ll never stop fighting to defend the lives of the unborn and to protect women from the horrors of abortion. Thank you for your prayers in this struggle!

                Chris told me to write down how many saves I have had this summer, so I’ll give you an approximation, as I didn’t record them… In my two weeks in Jerome I had 14 turnarounds, at the Bronx office 5 and in my time in Brooklyn I can only give the broadest guess… I was there a little over 4 weeks and I saw maybe 3 girls a day and usually had two or three turnarounds each day. I’ll leave it to you to make either the highest or lowest estimate of how many girls total decided to save their babies after speaking with me and seeing the truth of abortion.

Father Frank

Some time ago  we were in Staten Island. We were there because we want to see Father Frank. 

He is  one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in the world.  He is also the President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, and the National Pastoral Director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and of Rachel’s Vineyard, the world’s largest ministry of healing after abortion. 

There we were seeing  what they do in the  organization . Afterwards we could listen Father Frank. He told us some advice to teach us how we have to act with different cases. Finally we could also, ask him  for some questions that we had.

 It was a very great day.

A Goodby That Disguises A See You Later

My time in the big city has now come to an end, I have to get back to my country, to my life. But I'm definatelly not going back to the way I was. This experience has taught me so much, I will never be able to forget what I've seen, and how blessed I've been to be able to meet all this women and touch their hearts.

I've learned a lot from my fellow interns, but especially from the directors of the centers. Carolina (Queens) and Linda (Brooklyn) have taught me how valuable every life is, and to give everything we are to those woman in need. HOW TO LOVE THEM BEYOND MEASURE.

Their example and hard work has been a life changing thing to witness, and I hope I picked up some of their talent. I've loved talking to women who needed help, and mostly helping them find the strenght that layed inside of them, so they could embrace the gift of life they had been awarded with.

I leave behind a great city, but specially great people, great friends that have made their way into my heart as well as made me into a better person, and for that I will allways be grateful.

I hope to take back home all that I've learned over this two months, all my moms for whom I'll be praying. And maybe come back in the future, to this amazing city, hopefully with less abortion thanks to this great organization.

Keep up the great work EMC!!!

Good times

Last week we went to Washington DC. That trip was awsome. Just being there, in those places where the most important decision are taken was very exciting. Decision that are important for the whole world.  We went to Williamsburg to learn everything about the origins of the United states of America.
Being in all this places is a great opportunity that we couldnt even imagine.

We are having so much fun this summer!! Being in New York doing a great job and visiting a lot of places make us very happy. Specially the fact that we are helping a lot of women that are in crisis. Just helping at least one of them is very important for us.

This trip will change our lives. Doing thing that we didnt imagine, being a support for those girls, knowing new people,making good friends...We would not forget anything!!

Sizes Don't Define Us

All arround, people are tall, short, skinny, big, normal.... All kinds of sizes, but those can't define who we are, and definatelly not our dignity or value. That seems very ovious to most people, and we see campaigns all over stating that big is beautiful, but what about small?


Let's be straight foward, I'm a big girl, very tall, and not the slimmest christian in the Bible, but, above all of it, I'm a person. All my life I've been trying to fight for people to see me beyond my measures, but nobody ever doubted my value as a person, though.


In this generation that is sometimes a luxury, we live in very visual times, and for most people, what you see is what you get, appearance is all that counts. And that goes to extremes when we think of the unborn. A lot of people think that they are just of a bundle of cells, but what are we adults in not a bigger bundle??













Size cannot define who we are, and much less WHAT we are, specially when that could determine the line between life and death. 1 week, 12 weeks, 24 weeks, or 22 years, why should that make the difference between beeing worthy of living or not?? I'll tell you: IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.


Mothers feel that specially when they hear their baby's heart beat, it doesn't matter if they cannot see it, or if its to early for him or her ho have regular human form. They know it's him, their child, and they wouldn't throw him over a bridge just because of their size or form. It doesn't matter whether their baby is 4 weeks or eight months, LOVE has no eyes or measuring tape.

Twins in Brooklyn

Last week a couple that has been visiting the EMC center for almost a year, came in with their two babies!! The where so cute... This couple came to talk to us 11 months ago because they didnt want to have a baby. They say that they didnt have money, they werent married and that everything was very hard for them so the last thing they wanted was a baby.
We made them realize of how wonderful is being a father or a mother. That if they really loved each other they just needed to get married and start living their life with the new family.

Three days after that, they get married. Nine months after....they have twins!!!!!!! Such a big and great family!!!!!!

My experience in EMC

   For the people that don't know, this is my last blog! I leave on monday to Spain and before leaving, I would like to tell you all my experience here, because this journey has been a great experience for me and for all the interns, I think.

   When I arrived, I started to work in the Bronx office, and there I realized about the importance of this organization in which human lives really are saved. I learned to counsel, and I also started to save lives. It was very gratifying work, but not all was good news. Other days the work was saddening, many women came with the idea of have an abortion, and left with the same idea. It was a miracle when some days later you called them or they called you to say that they were going to keep the baby. Then I began to appreciate not only the lives of unborn children, also I appreciate the mothers. They are needy people, who are desperate and see abortion as the easy way. Our mission is to help them understand that they under the wrong impression.

   Then, the "A team" went to Minneapolis conferences and we learned so much about sidewalk counseling. From then, we were dedicated body and soul to the women who were going to clinics to abort directly. I think, this is the worst job. All is very hard, being under the sun and standing up for many hours, trying to talk to women that don't want to listen to you... There were days that I felt useless because I didn't get anywhere with them, even giving brochures!

  But apart from the job, I leave with very good friends. You come here for two months and you have to work in relationship with the other interns and work mates. One thing that impressed me so much, was how well the people who have worked for years at EMC  do their jobs.It is true that they have more experience in this labour, but without them, this wouldn't be the same. The best example that I have is Rosana, who does the sonograms at Emily's, but also does counseling. I have learned a lot with her, at the same time that other interns have learned a lot with Linda for example. 

   For all the people that don't know whether to come or not, I recommend you come, it is a very gratifying work, a beautiful place to work, New York City, and very nice company.

Miracle babies

When I counsel women I think about their hopes, their dreams, but mostly about all the fears they tell me about. All of that is very important, but we cannot leave aside their reality, they are pregnant, and that's something they cannot undo.

Once we talk I to them I realize a lot of women think that they just can put their pregnancies on hold and get back at them whenever they feel "ready". They think their babies will be stored and waiting for them to want them, but sadly that's not the case. Their babies are as unique as they are, and ending their pregnancies is ending their son or daughter FOREVER.


 We cannot forget we are all miracles, and when I see girls coming back with their babies to the office, it's heartbreakingly beautiful. They are miracle babies, precious and loved in a unique way, because their mothers realized it, and fought for them.

                                                          
After we coulsel girls, it is such as important to do the follow ups, as well as very frightening for the counselor. What if she was presured, if she felt cornered and didn't believe you coud really help her? But all that doubts disapear when you talk to them, when they tell you how loved they feel, and specially how they realized they love their child.

 (Me with miracle baby)

My first follow up was a marvelous woman, she had struggled all her life, but once she saw her baby through the sonogram machine, she fell completely and unconditionally in love with her, and when I called her to see how she was doing, she told me she already had been set up with prenatal and was taking care of herself and her baby.

We will continue to help her, but the most important part has already been done. We loved and cared for her so she would be able to do the same for her child.

Goodbye EMC, goodbye NYC!!!

Some interns have been saying goodbye to New York this last week and now I have my turn.

I don't believe that these two months are over. I still remember my first day in the Queen's office, my first contact with expectant mothers, my first counseling, how nervous I was with my poor english and the ignorance of not knowing what to say...

Now that I look back I'm proud to see how much I've worked with my co-workers to help as many mothers who needed help and understanding. Also I have to say that I've had a very good time and I really enjoyed the incredible city of New York.

The good team we made all the interns this year and the rewarding job of helping pregnant mothers has made I had one of the best summers of my life. 

I'm very glad I came here because I've learned a lot of things about abortion and also about american history and culture. For that reason I want to thank Chris for giving me this great opportunity and for trusting us to do this prolife work!

The White House

Last week I had the great opportunity to be in a demonstration front of the white house in Washington DC!

It was a really good and exciting experience to me because I had never been in a demonstration at a place like this.

We were about 20 people carrying signs to show people what we were doing. The reason of our protest was to demonstrate against the new health bill declared by President Barack Obama that is to require all institutions, including religious, to provide and facilitate contraception and sterilization services to its employees.

Were moments of tension as the police came but also very rewarding because I think it's a good way for our rights are respected, to show the world that you can fight for what you believe and pray that injustices like this not committed. 

Mother care

This week I met in the Queen's office a women who 3 weeks ago was a turn around. I remained in contact with this mother after the sonogram and her final decision of keeping the baby because I though it was important to follow-up her in order to make her understand that despiste of her economic and familiar problems I was going to help her.

When we talked she told me how she was feeling about the pregnancy and what stuff she needed for her two more kids: diapers, kids clothes, baby bottles, etc. She has already a one-year-old baby boy and a 6-year-old girl.

I could see she was very glad and grateful that I could help her, and at the same time I was very happy because I felt useful.

We said goodbye to each other and we promised to keep in touch when I'd be back in Spain.

Helping this mother, although it had been the only girl I had helped, I think my work here has been worthwhile!

Fighting Never Stops

Last week we went to Washington D.C. for a demonstration aginst the mandate that includes abortion in the basic coverage of all health insurances, even the ones provided by pro-life employers and the Catholic Church.

After it we had the chance to learn about the history of the city, as well as the country, which are very intertwined. For me, as a foreniger, what surprised me the most was how all the major fights and events in this country had been about liberty and equality. Fighting for it, preserving it, and celebrating it.

But now, the fight has changed, even though we are fighting for the same, now we don't fight each other on battlefields, or in war boats. We we fight for the equality of the unborn, but the real fight is for the truth. Once back, people were teached that african americans weren't real people, that they were inferior, and as hard as that may be to believe, beople accepted it as the truth.


Until a man rose up and fought for the truth, and many more folowed. But our endevor these days may be even greater, because the unborn, unlike african americans, cannot speak up, fight for themselves.

They can only hope we will protect them, fight for them with everything that we've got, because after all, somebody fought for us before we came. We were protected in the womb and in society.

As the great figures of history such as the Founding Fathers and Reverend Martin Luther King fought for our liberty and equality, now is our turn to fight against the injustice of abortion, even when it seems hard. Because all great things have been achieved with even GREATER EFFORT.

Planned Parenthood

   Last thrusday, the A team, as we call us, went to work to in front of a new abortion clinic, planned parenthood. There I could be an expectator of a very awful scene.

   María and I went to the back part of the clinic and there we started to pray the rosarie with a group of people that used to go to pray. Suddenly a man arrived by car, and stop in front of us. I only could listen to insults and bad things from him. He was screming us during a long long time, and we could not do anything more that pray for him.

   How can we find in the world all this bad people that actually do not have conscience of the evil that they do. It is something that I think that I never will understand, and until I will get it, I only can pray for them.

I Love You Bro

Myself, as I believe a lot of people do, don't usually think at first about the other sibbilings, when  thinking of an abortion. In that ecuation the only factor is the mother, and if you dare to go over the top you would only think of the dad.


But what about the sibilings? I would definately have something to say if  someone were to do something to my brothers or sister.


Aren't kids great that way? You cannot cheat your way arround their thoughts, or manipulate the reality for them. They just don't get how can they can be stripped off their brother or sister over the excuse of a choice.

The other day I was counseling a girl and we got talking about her children, and when I asked her about their thoughts, she didn't even hesitate. She told me her children would be super excited, and that if they knew what she was about to do she wouldn't be able to do it. 


She wouldn't be able to explain how she was pregnant with their brother or sister and was going to stop beeing. Where would she tell them that child went? It couldn't have just disapeared, it must have died, and mommy had let it happen.


Kids have a lot to say when it comes to abortion, sibilings are bound to protect each other from every harm, EVEN ABORTION.

When You Are Gone

We all know death is a given in life, we will all come to it at some point, and will leave grief for the ones who loved us. The other day I was lisening to the radio and an Eminem song came up, and a phrase of the lyrics caught my attention: "Have you ever love someone so much, when you know they were your heart, And you know you were their armor"

That's what everything is really about when you really think about abortion, the loss, the pain, what a lot of mothers don't realize is that her babies are their hearts, and they are their armor.

One girl came to the Queens office the other day very abortion minded, she didn't want the baby because she already had a miscarriage and her doctor told her she was on a very high risk of having another one.

She didn't want to go through all that hurt again, all that loss, she knew the risks an abortion had for her health, and was willing to go through all of that, just to avoid the pain. But as soon as she heard her baby's heart through the sonogram machine, her life completely changed. She started crying, she already loved her child, she just hadn't realized it jet.

All that pain, that grief when you lose a child, she wasn't going to avoid it, she just was going to make sure it happened without knowing it. But even worse, as the song I quoted before said: "What happens when you become the main source of a pain?"

She was going to go through a heart breaking hurt, and she was going to be the source of it. Deceived by a culture that manipulates women into going against their strongest instinct: PROTECTING THEIR CHILDREN.

Crónica de un sonograma

Hay mañanas en las que puedes estar muchísimo tiempo enfrente de una clínica, esperando a las mujeres, y se hace cansado.

Algunas veces, afortunadamente, las mujeres no van a la clínica. Otros, también por fortuna, van a la clínica y hablan contigo. Pero otros, desafortunadamente, van muchas mujeres a la clínica abortista y acaban por abortar.

No vamos a juzgar por qué lo hacen. Hay tantos problemas relacionados... Falta de educación, muchos problemas personales y familiares, presiones externas...

El caso es que es difícil estar día tras otro delante de una clínica esperando a que las mujeres a las que intentas ayudar para que te rechacen de plano sin escucharte.

Pero hoy no ha sido así. Casi cuando habíamos perdido toda esperanza, apareció una mujer pidiendo hacerse un sonograma.

Lo curioso es que a todos nos pilló por sorpresa, ya que habíamos ofrecido y sido rechazados tantas veces antes que no nos esperábamos que la mujer a la que casi ni habíamos prestado atención fuese a ser la que iba a hacer el sonograma.

El resultado se ve en la foto de arriba. Un bebé precioso. La zona iluminada, donde se ven la nariz y la boca en estado de desarrollo... El vientre...

¿Qué mujer podría abortar viendo a su propio hijo? ¿Qué mujer creería toda esa propaganda pro-choice de que el feto no es un ser humano a la vista de la evidencia?

Realmente, una sola de estas vidas merece cada gota de esfuerzo que sea necesario por nuestra parte para poder ayudar a su madre.