Volunteers make a difference!

I have been praising the Lord for our volunteers! This picture shows our volunteer, Wini, with her client and new baby! This young lady needed someone who could communicate with her in Cantonese, and the Lord brought Wini to her aid! God uses each person's gifts for His glory! Thanks, Wini!

The Importance of Voting

Check out this post by Randy Alcorn. It's just a thought, not to get political but to help you think about the importance of the life issues on voting:

I'm not Voting for a Man--I'm Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live

"I sympathize with wanting to send a message to the Republican Party. But is this the time, when failing to vote for McCain could ultimately remove hundreds of laws limiting abortion at the statewide level—informed consent and parental consent and late term abortion measures? As a physician commenting on my last blog said, prolife physicians and nurses and hospitals could find themselves with a federal mandate to perform abortions, and lose their licenses if they refuse. The Freedom of Choice Act, which Obama promised Planned Parenthood he will sign if elected president, could ultimately do all this and more. It may also make life very difficult for Pregnancy Resource Centers."

Genetic test will detect disease in unborn child

Prospective parents will be able to screen embryos for almost any known genetic disease using a revolutionary “universal test” developed by British scientists. The £1,500 test will allow couples at risk of passing on gene defects to conceive healthy children using IVF treatment. Unlike current tests, it takes just weeks from start to finish and is suitable for couples at risk of almost any condition. The “genetic MoT” will transform the range of inherited disorders that can be detected in embryos and the speed and accuracy of such tests. At present only 2 per cent of the 15,000 known genetic conditions can be identified in this way. It involves creating embryos by IVF and removing a single cell from each when they are two days old. The cells are tested using a technique known as karyomapping before a healthy embryo is implanted. Read the rest of the story here.

Note from Michelle at Baptists for Life, Grand Rapids, MI:
Two-day-old embryo = unborn child. Correct! But why say this new test "allows couples to conceive healthy children" when conception has already occurred? Actually, the new test detects defects in already-conceived children and allows technicians to discard faulty ones. This is not a cure!

Note: This past month I have had a couple of situations where the health of an unborn baby has come into question. We have been able to educate and inform the parents about getting a second opinion before rushing into an abortion decision. What a blessing to be able to let people know about an organization called Prenatal Partners for Life, a group of compassionate parents with special needs children, as well as medical professionals, legal professionals and clergy, who offer support, encouragement, and information to expectant or new parents facing an adverse diagnosis relating to their preborn or newborn.
Check out www.prenatalpartnersforlife.com for more information or to become involved.

Spiritual but not religious

According to Robert C. Fuller, author of the 2001 book Spiritual, But Not Religious, it is likely that one in every five persons could describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. Such people were less likely to evaluate religiousness positively, less likely to engage in traditional forms of worship such as church attendance and prayer, and more likely to characterize religiousness and spirituality as different and non-overlapping concepts. Spirituality, in that study, was associated with higher levels of interest in mysticism, experimentation with unorthodox beliefs and practices, and negative feelings toward both clergy and churches. Religiousness, meanwhile, was associated with higher levels of interest in church attendance and commitment to orthodox beliefs.

Read the rest of the story here.

Note: I have been thinking about this a lot lately as we have been pulling together statistics from this past year of work here at the Center. I have found that most clients state that they are "Christian", yet when asked about how their faith and practice merge, there is disconnect.

African Americans suspect stealth Planned Parenthood abortion clinic

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina, October 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Black pro-life activists in Fayetteville hope to expose what is believed to be a stealth Planned Parenthood Abortion clinic in the making. Pastor Johnny Hunter says that when he received word that Planned Parenthood was hiding behind the name Tharrington Medical Clinic to renovate the old Pizza Hut building on Yakin road and turn it into an abortion clinic, he became angry.

Read the rest of the story here.

Note: Abortion services have been deliberately and systematically targeting African Americans. A disproportionate number of the nation's abortion clinics are located in minority neighborhoods. (The Destiny of the Black Race, Carlisle Peterson, Planned Parenthood 1992 Service Report)

New Jersey Hotels Stop Giving Discounts to Abortion Customers

Cherry Hill, NJ (LifeNews.com) -- After a LifeNews.com story exposing the practice, two New Jersey hotels have reportedly stopped giving discounts to women who patronize a local abortion business. An executive of the Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill confirmed the stoppage, but it is unclear whether the Quality Inn has done the same.

Read the rest of the story here.

Note: This is a great example of exposing a practice relating to abortion that has led a business to change its policy.

Abortion Pictures Only Offend People?

Seemingly everyday the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) gets testimonies from women who would have committed an abortion if it weren’t for AbortionNO.org. According to many abortion vulnerable parents who visit the website, nothing short of seeing abortion would have deterred them from killing their babies. A 28-year-old woman from Monrovia, CA, wrote “I am 4 weeks pregnant and abortion crossed my mind, but after what I saw I won't dare to kill an innocent baby. I am so shocked and concerned; this made me cry.” A 19-year-old woman from San Antonio, TX, wrote, “Today was the first time in my life that I have ever seen an abortion video. I had considered abortion in my early pregnancy. It hurts to admit that now, but I’m glad your website exists.”

What do you think? What would happen if we would show the bodies of the 39 children that are destroyed each day in Minnesota by abortion on the nightly news? The Word of God says that those things that are done in secret will be brought out and shown in the light. Maybe we need a good dose of reality to shake us up and stir our passion for this issue once in a while. Out of sight is often out of mind. You may have heard the saying "the proof is in the pudding". Well, the proof about abortion is in the pictures. Men and women need help and compassion, not abortion.

Praise!

A lady just came in with her 5 year old grandson and a dozen roses for the Center. She wanted us to know that 5 years ago we encouraged her daughter not to abort. She wanted us to know that her grandson just graduated from preschool, and gave us his picture. She was quite emotional and praising God for our help.

Saving babies in Florida, northern Minnesota, and in our neighborhood!

Monday I received a phone call from a woman in Florida seeking help with a pregnancy crisis. She had found MWC on the net! I was able to refer her to a center in her city for ongoing help.

Then on Wednesday evening I received a phone call from a pastor's wife in the northern part of the state requesting help with an abortion-related situation. Her daughter has a friend that is considering abortion, and the daughter wanted to reach out to the other girl. I was able to refer the family to a pregnancy center in their area and to encourage them to offer support to this abortion-minded woman.

Today a girl called in a panic seeking an abortion. She was right down the street, so I invited her to MWC to talk. She agreed, and, praise the Lord, the baby has been spared!

Praise the Lord for being able to network with other centers in different parts of the state and even around the country to help women in need!

Two Women Guilty of Trying to Cause Abortion

Two women admitted Tuesday to forcing turpentine down a teen's throat in 2006 in an attempt to cause an abortion. A third woman facing the same charge remains in jail. Shonda Y. Blackshire, 28, and Monica M. Johnson, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal abortion -- a charge that netted both women two years on probation and 40 hours of community service. Police were called to investigate after the girl told her school counselor that her mother allegedly made her drink turpentine. Sgt. Debra Bohannon had said the sex crimes unit handled the case because it already was investigating a sexual assault against the three-months pregnant teen.
Read the rest of the story here.

Regional News: North Dakota Abortion Center Says It Will Do Record Number of Abortions

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 2, 2008

Fargo, ND (LifeNews.com) -- There is just one abortion business in the state of North Dakota, and its director says she expects it to set a record this year for the number of abortions done. The Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo has been the subject of criticism in the past over bogus medical malpractice insurance and how abortion affects women.

The abortion center has been doing abortions for just over ten years and did a record 1,358 abortions in 2003 and another 1,238 abortions last year.

Tammi Kromenaker, Rid River's director, tells the Associated Press that the center is on pace for its highest number of annual abortions and is doing about 25 abortions a week.

She contends the number of abortions is on the rise because college students have seen funding for birth control and contraception cut.

Red River came under fire in August 2004 for refusing to divulge information about an apparently bogus malpractice insurance policy it purchased from an illegitimate Bermuda-based company.

Jim Poolman, the state's Insurance Commissioner, issued a subpoena to obtain the records when Jane Bovard, the owner of the abortion business, refused to provide them.

"All we're trying to do is help her make sure [Red River] is covered by legitimate malpractice insurance," Poolman told the Fargo Forum newspaper at the time.

The investigation set off a national scandal over whether other abortion businesses across the country have legitimate malpractice insurance.

Red River was party to a lawsuit in 2003 about whether it was misleading patients by not disclosing the fact that abortion can increase a woman's chances for contracting breast cancer.

Amy Jo Kjolsrud, a former state resident, sued for false advertising. Kjolsrud was a sidewalk counselor outside the abortion business, and she said one Red River brochure said medical research did not support any claim that abortion increased a woman's risk for breast cancer.

However, at the time, 16 out of 17 statistically significant studies reported increased breast cancer risk among women having abortions, and 7 studies reported a more than two-fold increased risk.

The North Dakota Supreme Court eventually ruled that Kjolsrud did have legal standing.

Helping Women with Sexual Sin Issues

Resource for helping women with sexual sin issues:


Women Helping Women by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Carol Cornish

A Great Opportunity to Help A Post-Abortive Woman

The woman sitting in my office had asked for help in dealing with an abortion she had over 20 years ago. She stated that she had not been able to put her finger on the deep sadness she had carried all these years. Then she attended a women’s conference and heard about help for women who had aborted their children and thus recognized her need to talk with someone about her abortion.

She had never spoken to anyone about it before, yet she carried it in her heart all those years. Though she knew the Lord as her Savior and had confessed the abortion as a sin before Him, there remained in her a deep sadness . . . always this deep sadness overshadowing her life.

As we talked, I asked her if she had ever recognized the humanity of her aborted baby. She looked at me in shock, and then the tears came rolling down her cheeks and she said. “No, I never have.” Together we prayed and asked the Lord to help her acknowledge that her abortion had taken the life of a human being and to help her embrace the reality of her child’s humanity. As she began to consider the loss of her child – a human child – she was finally able to grieve. Later we went to a park and had a little memorial service for her aborted child – not to glorify the child, but to acknowledge that he/she was human. Over time, her sadness lifted and she was able to move forward in her walk with the Lord.

Women and men who abort their children are not encouraged to grieve the loss of their children. They are told that they are merely “making a choice” and that any sadness probably has to do with hormones. Yet the post-abortion help lines and web chat rooms are filled with individuals trying to make sense of this “deep sadness” they carry after an abortion.

The specific sin of abortion is not beyond God’s forgiveness (1 Peter 3:18), but it does bring with it certain lingering consequences that must be addressed. One of those consequences is facing the truth that, in fact, they did not abort a blob of tissue; they aborted a child, and they lost a “someone” not a “something” because of it.

Sadly, with abortion there is no body to bury or funeral to attend, and this can make it more challenging to really believe there was a life to acknowledge. When there is a death in our society in any other instance, the deceased is treated like a person, and loved ones are allowed to mourn the loss. This woman had not mourned for her child and was therefore stuck. By helping her recognize her need to grieve, she was given hope to move forward. She is now reaching out to other post-abortive women who are suffering in silence with the love of Christ.

What a Blessing!

WCTS Radio recently donated books written by their radio guests to MWC to use as part of our Silent Auction on November 13th. If you love to read, this will be a great opportunity for you to pick up Christian books at rock-bottom prices, plus you will be supporting our effort to raise funds for the Amazing Grace Maternity home.

Check www.metrowomenscenter.org for more information on the fundraiser.

Speaking Up for Purity

I have several young women in my life right now who are struggling to stay on track with the Lord in the area of sexual purity. I am so thankful that they are asking for help, and I am grateful to have a resource like Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh to turn to for help in guiding them to God's truth. This book is FULL of scripture, and, along with my Bible, it is a great tool! 2 Peter 2:19 tells us that "whatever overcomes a person, to that she is enslaved." So many people become enslaved to sexual sin and are overcome by it. Not only young people but all of us need our eyes and ears fixed on the Lord in this area of our lives.

I was working on my computer on Tuesday, and when I clicked on a web address to get some information, WOW! I got more information than I wanted. My computer had taken me to a pornographic site, and it would not let me off it until I shut down my system and restarted it! It made me cringe to see that stuff, and the images stayed in my mind all day, even while I used Scripture to combat them. It made me so thankful that I am not in that lifestyle anymore, and it reminded me that teens living in this sex-saturated culture need people to show them God's plan for their bodies and intimacy. I thank the Lord for opportunities to speak up for purity in the lived of our clients at MWC!

Family News

We were excited to attend our son Lewis's college graduation last night. He received a BA in Visual Communications and Graphic Design. We praise the Lord for his accomplishment, and say thanks to all who pray for our family!