A Day in the Life of Michele Shoun of Baptists for Life (continued)

Baptists for Life has always striven to keep a finger on the pulse of pregnancy care centers and to help them in any way we can. Our goal is to establish and maintain PCCs as viable evangelistic outreaches. In addition to our annual Leadership Summits in July, we’ve used various formats to communicate with centers. In my capacity as editor, I’ve also served as a liaison with centers. Part of my daily task is sorting through reams of information that crosses my desk and desktop. I like to pass that information on whenever it’s relevant.

In earlier days we published a quarterly newsletter for our associated centers . . . on paper, and sent it through the mail. Oh, how times have changed! We since graduated to an e-newsletter, the PCC List, which came out at least three times a week, and now we have a blog updated daily. The PCC List blog is a repository of information aimed at directors with all their varied tasks and constituencies in mind – staff and board members, volunteers, clients, donors, churches, the media, and the community-at-large.

As I research information and resources for Baptists for Life, I keep the needs of pastors in mind as well. BFL’s mission is to “help the Body of Christ articulate the biblical pro-life message in word and deed.” We work closely with churches and pastors. Toward that effort, we’ve developed the Pro-Life Pastor’s Corner blog as a storehouse of news and inspirational items with them in mind.

          

A Day in the Life of Michele Shoun of Baptists for Life

Much of my day as editor for Baptists for Life involves keeping up with various news sources – pro-life and otherwise. I don’t like it to just stop with me, but to go on to others who also might use it. There’s so much going on and so many helpful resources out there! I know it’s hard to sort through it all. 

Some of it winds up as a post on the LIFT List blog. This blog is aimed at people who care for the disabled and the chronically or terminally ill. Topics include: euthanasia, assisted suicide, brain death, disability, dementia, rationing, hospice, and more. We also provide links to resources from BFL and other pro-life ministries and services.

A Day in the Life of a Pregnancy Care Center by Sue Ellen Doenier

     A day in the life of a pregnancy care center. . . revolves around real people. If there wasn’t a PCC in Lexington, Kentucky, and if that center didn’t offer ultrasound, we would never have “met” Devon. Devon’s mom never wanted to have an abortion, but circumstances led her to think it was her only choice. Confused and uncertain, she wondered if she could live with herself afterwards.

Seven weeks pregnant when she visited the PCC, they offered her an ultrasound. When she saw her baby’s heart beating, he became real to her. She knew he deserved “his shot at life,” and says today, “It was very obvious that I had all the support that I needed. It is now two years later and I have a beautiful baby boy! He is 16 months old and the love of my life! . . . I could go on and on about how wonderful he is! I couldn’t be more blessed! I couldn’t imagine my life without him"

Devon is just one of the countless babies saved year after year in pregnancy care centers. Will you pray, serve, give?

A Day with Pro-LifeTelevision Host LouAnn Edwards

I’ve always loved asking questions. My kids hate that about me. Year after year at back to school nights they’d dive under their desks at the teacher’s familiar invitation “Does anyone have any questions?” I always did.

Now that I’m hosting a pro-life TV talk show I get to ask them every day. Most of the Saturdays of our show tapings begin with me going over a few facts with the guests, waiting patiently for the mikes to be clipped on and praying silently that God’s message will be brought out in the interview. He never fails me! From celebrities to retired folk, we have been blessed with men women and children who have shared their joys, triumphs and heartaches in the hopes that someone else may be helped and God will use their story for good.

It would be so hard to pick a favorite, but I can’t help remembering the children. Little Hannah, the “Snowflake Baby” who looked bravely at our camera and proclaimed “Please let us live.”  David, the Broadway star of “Cats” who shared his personal story of two aborted children. Jill Stanek, the nurse who witnessed a Christian hospital doing early labor abortions and refusing to stop. Some of these guests gave me what I like to call “goose-bumpy” moments. Like the time I asked Jill what she’d like to say this minute to a nurse that’s on her way to work in a place doing abortions. The room fell silent as she looked directly at the camera and said “Don’t do it. Don’t go. Say SOMETHING…today.”  I have a feeling somebody out there did.

So how many people watch our show and how many lives have been saved? Only God knows. We will never fully know the impact of our show while on this earth, and we’re okay with that. In the meantime, we’ll keep searching for those heartfelt stories of God’s redeeming grace and forgiveness and more ways to share hope for choosing life! 

Editor's Note: LouAnn Edwards is the host of the Woman 2 Woman Television Program sponsored by Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation. It airs in the Portland metro area on the following days and times: Wednesday, channel 21 @ 10:30PM; Friday, channel 11 @ 2:30pm; Sunday, channel 21 @ 9:30PM. When she's not rounding up guests, LouAnn likes to write humorous essays and articles. Her latest e-book, "Don't Make Me Laugh, Can't You See I'm in The Middle of a Crisis?" can be previewed at: www.myaudiobook.org

A Day in the Life of a Pregnancy Care Center by Sue Ellen Doenier

Editor's note: This is part three of a four-part series describing life within pregnancy care centers.

A day in the life of a Pregnancy Care Center

      …can be an emotional and spiritual roller-coaster. Each day carries potential for great joy and great loss. 

      Every encounter with a new client brings a unique challenge. There are clients who come once and are never seen again, others who return often for multiple pregnancies; some who listen, accept help, and make life-affirming changes, others who use the system to get what they want. Clients come for pregnancy tests, post-abortion counseling, material help, parenting classes, encouragement, and answers. 

      It’s hoped that each client will be met with compassion, truthful information, and an opportunity to hear about forgiveness and a new life in Jesus Christ. When this truth hits home, there is cause for celebration and deep satisfaction in being part of God’s ministry.

      But often words meant to instill comfort, hope, and insight are met with defiance or apathy. Many clients act according to their own “wisdom” – which can easily lead a volunteer counselor down a path of disappointment and discouragement. When abortions are carried out, the volunteer counselor may be the first or only one grieving loss of life. And volunteers can become prey to false guilt, asking themselves, “What if…” 

      Even with its challenges, volunteering at the center is a good way to gain perspective. It offers a different outlook on life and another reason to be thankful. It presents an opportunity to forge a relationship with someone for whom Christ died. It hones listening skills and strengthens a believer’s ability to share the gospel. In the course of a day, a volunteer is involved in situations where their strengths and flaws surface. How will they handle the temptation to judge someone who’s made ungodly choices? It’s a good way to get to know yourself.

      So who are PCC workers? Are they extraordinary people? spiritual giants? No, they are just sinners, saved by grace, wanting to share the love of Christ, realizing they have been saved to serve, believing that they “can do all things through Christ.” They are people who have their own set of circumstances to deal with, but believe that God is at work through it all to bring His kingdom to earth.

Happy Thanksgiving to Pro-life Workers (Staff & Volunteers Alike)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! May God richly bless you for your many hours of service in the cause for Life!!!

A Day in the Life of a Pregnancy Care Center by Sue Ellen Doenier

This is part two of a four-part series of posts presented by Sue Ellen Doenier of Baptists for Life.

A day in the life of a Pregnancy Care Center …is never dull. Staff and volunteers often hit the floor running. There are clients with appointments, clients requesting pregnancy tests, and a walk-in client who has run out of diapers or formula and needs some emergency help. The phone rings and someone wants to know if the center performs abortions or will refer for abortion. If the center is short-staffed – which isn’t unusual – demands can become overwhelming. It may even get chaotic! By the end of the day, there may be a stack of client notes that still need to be recorded.

Other days unfold in hour after hour of canceled appointments. When this happens, time is spent sorting donations and stocking the EWYL store; catching up on filing; entering client information into the center’s database; writing thank-you notes to donors; reviewing the “big white resources book,” or building relationships with other volunteers and sharing counsel. An urgent call may come in from a woman who doesn’t have a place to spend the night. Volunteers quickly scramble to find a place for which she qualifies, then refer her on.

Back in the director’s office, there are other concerns. Will there be enough money this week/month to pay building expenses, salaries, center supplies, and utility bills? What’s the best way to effectively communicate the center’s ministry and needs to area churches whose financial, prayer, and personnel support they so desire? Do they have enough trained volunteers to keep the center open for a sufficient number of hours? And how are the volunteers doing spiritually, emotionally, and physically? Are they working well together? Are they adequately trained?

A Day in the Life (Gayle Atteberry, Oregon Right to Life Director)

Last night I returned home from a panel discussion with Planned Parenthood spokeswomen. I told my husband I had just seen the face of Satan and needed a backrub to ease my stress.  Too strong of words? Today my Bible devotion was on 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, “….Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.”

Slick, smooth, polished, professional, put-together, fact-filled, compassionate-sounding, reasonable, understanding, tolerant….oh, they sound so good. They most definitely appear as “angels of light.” But the truth is Planned Parenthood, the abortion-industry’s 1 billion dollar a year giant, is a cunning, deceitful organization, spending all its resources promoting death. And who has been a liar and murderer from the beginning, but Satan himself? While abortions in America have dramatically decreased, PP’s abortions have equally dramatically increased through the same years.

The only way to battle Satan is with the power of God and His Truth. As I spoke the simple truth, I reminded myself that it is only the truth that will set people free from lies and I prayed the listeners would have great discernment as they listened. Some will respond to truth; some will not. It is my job, as well as each pro-lifer, to speak the truth in love. Jesus has disarmed the powers and authorities of evil and given us His own Holy Spirit, who fills us with truth, power and courage to defend His littlest ones.

Oh, and the last part of 2 Corinthians 11:15 says “. . . Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

A Day in the Life of a Pregnancy Care Center by Sue Ellen Doenier

Editor's Note: This article is the first of four to be posted on the Pro-Life Tribe blog over the next few weeks. The articles have been excerpted from Life Matters, a quarterly church bulletin insert available at

http://bfl.org/Files/LifeMatters93print.pdf.  The Baptists for Life Organization invites you to copy the pdf. file for use in your own churches. 

A day in the life of a Pregnancy Care Center

       BY sUE eLLEN dOENIER OF bAPTISTS FOR lIFE

         …begins with prayer. Patience, wisdom, love, and courage are requested for their thoughts and actions as well as for the clients God will guide through their doors. Only God knows who they are about to meet.

         One client may be a nervous 16-year-old girl who is relieved to hear she has a negative pregnancy test. When her advisor explains to her the risks of sexual promiscuity and the blessings of God’s design for marriage, the conversation turns to spiritual issues and she hears the gospel for the first time. She is curious and asks questions.

         Another client receives a positive pregnancy test and reports that she is going to get an abortion. After the physical, emotional, and spiritual dangers of abortion are presented to her, she agrees to watch a video showing the development of the baby in its first three months. As her understanding is opened, she breaks down and explains that she really didn’t want an abortion but felt unready to care for a child. The advisor shares information about the center’s Earn While You Learn (EWYL) program and the client enrolls.

         Some clients are referred to the center’s EWYL program through a pediatrician’s office or health clinic. A volunteer explains how they can earn points to buy necessary baby items by attending parenting classes; keeping doctor appointments; attending church or completing Bible studies; watching videos on fetal development, child care, and healthy lifestyle; learning to live responsibly. When conversations turn toward spiritual truth, often it’s revealed that a believing family member, friend, or co-worker has been witnessing to the client and the advisor is given the privilege of leading an open heart to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Baptists for Life is not a PCC – we’re a support organization for PCCs worldwide, producing materials, doing trainings, and serving as a bridge between PCCs and churches through our prayer calendar and by speaking in churches to raise awareness about the fundamental significance of pro-life ministry. Partners in Ministry is a service of Baptists for Life to pregnancy care centers. We host an annual training conference. Our ministry is also involved in end-of-life issues through our LIFT (Loving In Final Transition) ministry, providing training to caregivers of the terminally or chronically ill. Our website is www.bfl.org.

 

Pro-Life Doctors Release Video: Pro-Abortion health Care Bill to Cause Shortage

Pro-Life Doctors Release Video: Pro-Abortion health Care Bill to Cause Shortage
See how doctors, including Care Net's Sandy Christiansen, use their medical skills to protect the sanctity of human life.

Life Chain Report (Jim Stair)

Pro-Life Tribe welcomes Guest Blogger Jim Stair reporting on his participation in a recent Life Chain event in Portland, Oregon. For more about Life Chain, go to http://www.lifechain.net.

Sunday was really interesting. I picked up one of the "Abortion Kills Children" signs from one of the organizers and found a spot down the side-walk to stand. The chain-link fence that was there a year ago when the PP ground breaking was going on was still up, so no one could stand there. Soon there were several others standing in the same vicinity I was. The proprietor of the store that happened to be behind us came out and asked us to move along, because she thought we were blocking her business. I told her that the event was only once a year and that we were only going to be there a couple of hours. Her reply was "a couple of hours is a couple of hours."

Anyway, I decided to move instead of fume, and found a better place to show my sign at a major intersection so traffic going four ways could see the sign rather than just two. That spot really evoked a lot of reactions. One "lady" (I'm  being kind) dressed in a mini-skirt and mesh stockings came by, screeming at the top of her lungs as she walked, "It's my body and my life! It's my body and my life!" until she was clear down a side street. I had been taking some pictures with my cell phone camera, but she startled me so much I never got her picture except in the shadows in the distance. It's proably just as well.

Another woman with a pit bull was arguing vociferously with some pro-lifers across the street from me. I am glad the dog was less offended than she was.

My guess is that there were over a hundred people paricipating in the Life Chain, mostly Catholics from the neighborhood.

Pro-Life Tribe Heroes (Donis)

Donis was housebound much of the time, but she found a way to express her pro-life beliefs through prayer. Not only did she pray fervently for the clients of the crisis pregnancy centers (cpc), but also she headed up a group of women who prayed for CPC clients and their babies.

Once a week, on Friday mornings, the center director would call Donis with a listing of prayer needs (names changed to protect anonymity). Donis would then pass on those needs and by the end of the morning each client need was covered in prayer. Only God knows how many women chose life because of the effectual fervent prayers of a band of godly women.

Pro-Life Tribe Heroes (Helen and Rosemary)

While we are on the subject of senior citizens demonstrating their commitment to the sanctity of human life, let me tell you about two more pro-life heroes: Helen and Rosemary.

Rosemary has gone on to receive her reward but, while on earth, she showed love and compassion for babies by making over 5,000 pairs of booties to give to clients of crisis pregnancy centers. We won't know this side of heaven how many women chose life because of Rosemary--a total stranger who showed love for the babies they might have aborted.

At 91 years of age, Helen lives in a retirement center and maintains an active life. When she's not walking or participating in her daily exercise class, she's at her sewing machine crafting hundreds of baby blankets from material donated by women in her church. When she tires of that, she crochets beautiful baby blankets--all to give to clients of crisis pregnancy centers.

When a woman is in a state of indecision about her pregnancy, a lovely handmade item crafted just for her and her baby, can sometimes help her to see hope beyond her fears.

Tell us about a pro-life hero you know.

Pro-life Tribe Heroes (Laird)

Saturday night, I met a most unforgettable man named--well, I won't tell you his name just yet. He volunteers at a local cable television station and hosts at least one, possibly two pro-life programs. This man is known in the community: he is not shy about his beliefs. He attends city business meetings and keeps track of how politicians vote, taking them to task when they vote "the wrong way." When people see him coming, they either welcome him with open arms or look for a way of escape. What a guy! His name is Laird. And did I tell you he's about 80 years old?

Tell us about a pro-life hero you know.

A Day in the Life

Do you work in a pregnancy resource center? Do you demonstrate peacefully outside abortion clinics or participate in life chains? Do you try to bring about change through the courts and legislation? Do you post billboards containing pictures of aborted babies? Do you pray tirelessly or donate funds to pro-life organizations you endorse?

If so, tell us about it. What does your typical day look like when you are involved in these activities? We want to know so we can pray for you.

Thank you for your entries!

We still have three copies of Over Coffee (We Shared Our Secrets) to give away so if you are having trouble posting a comment, simply email me your comment and address and I'll send you your copy of the book. I've made some adjustments to the comment section so it may be workable now. Give it a try!

Tell us what you do to demonstrate your pro-life position and why you have chosen this particular route. Let us get to know you. Help broaden our understanding of one another so we can better support each other.

Free Books!

Just to get the ball rolling, I'm offering free copies of my book, Over Coffee (We Shared Our Secrets), to the next five people who join the tribe or leave a comment on this blog.

Pro-lifers can multiply the strength of our message if we join forces. In unity there is strength. Tell us about yourself. What brought you to the pro-life position?

To get your free copy of Over Coffee (We Shared Our Secrets), leave your comment and then tell me in an email (julie@johnsonsforlife.com) where you'd like me to send your book.

God bless you!

Getting to Know You

In The King and I Anna sang to the women invited to her tea party,

Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.

We gather here, not for any tea party, but for the purpose of saving lives. In getting to know each other, we'll likely find cause for unity and for celebration.

1. First, we are all created in our Father, the King's, image.
2. Second, we represent the Creator who sanctifies human life and commands us not to kill.
3. Third, in our various ways, we are all about our Father, the King's, business.
4. Fourth, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Therefore, it is in our interest to join hands and work toward the goal of saving babies' lives and healing women's hearts--heal the broken-hearted, set the captives free.
   

So, can we take the time to get acquainted? Tell us a little about yourself and your ministry. Keep it short, a paragraph or so, because we are all busy. But share your heart. May God bless you.

We Are All Needed

Some friends were discussing their various “calls” to ministry within the pro-life movement.

One felt led to picket abortion clinics. “We hold signs with pro-life messages, recite scripture, and sing Bible songs to women as they approach the clinic. Some picketers even offer to raise the babies these women don’t want.”

Another believed his calling is to post giant bulletin boards containing graphic pictures of aborted babies. “We go all over the country and stage the boards in public places. Someone’s got to shock Americans to their senses!”

Still another tries to bring about societal change via the courts and legislation. “If we can influence people through voters’ guides and other politically-focused publications, we’ll see a change in their attitudes and voting patterns.”

Yet another felt called to serve in pregnancy resource centers (PRC). “We offer abortion-vulnerable women free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and other services in a confidential and non-judgmental environment.”

The focus of the first group is to save the lives of babies in what may be the last opportunity to do so before the abortion. The focus of the second group is save the lives of babies by showing the ugliness of abortion and thereby turning the tide of public opinion against it. The third group focuses on saving the lives of babies by bringing about change through the political process with the ultimate goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. The fourth group’s focus is on saving the lives of babies by mercifully ministering to the perceived needs of their mothers.

Four different methods—four different points of view—four different sets of supporters and detractors—one goal: to save lives!

Because of strong emotional involvement, there will always be tension and the potential for misunderstanding among the four groups. All care very much about the issue and are convinced they are doing God’s work in His way.

All four groups keep the sanctity of human life issue alive in a culture that is increasingly prone to choose death at all stages of life (for the preborn, the elderly, and those with disabilities). And, for that reason, all four groups are needed.

In Essentials Unity (and this is essential!)

As one deeply committed to the pregnancy care center movement, I confess to having had feelings of animosity and/or superiority toward pro-lifers who carried out their mission in a different way than I did. I repent of those feelings and ask other pro-lifers to join me in a committed effort to embrace our differences and encourage one another as we promote the sanctity of human life.

Whether God has led you to serve in the mercy, political, or rescue realm, the point is He is our Chief and He is working all things together for good. May we join forces and circle our wagons in defense of women and their babies.

To God be the glory!