Students for Human LIFE

University of Minnesota Student Group Event Feb. 13th

We were honored to be able to share our post-abortion stories with the Students for Human Life group at the U of M on Monday evening. The students are taking a stand for life on the campus by bringing in speakers to educate and inform others about life issues.


There were over 30 students in the audience as we shared how abortion did not help us but harmed our lives emotionally, physically, and spiritually. One speaker shared that after aborting her first child, she experienced a miscarriage and was never able to conceive another child.

A married couple shared their story of having an abortion together prior to their marriage and the challenges they faced in their marriage because of the sin. The woman in the marriage had 2 previous abortions, and after the third one, she experienced a miscarriage.


Another woman spoke of aborting her child when she was an 18-year-old who did not want to disappoint her parents or stop her school activities. She recounted years of denial and guilt about it until she confessed it as sin and was forgiven by the Lord. She shared that the abortion clinic did not tell her about the years of suffering she would endure when they took her money and killed her baby for her.

Another woman shared how her abortion led to depression, bulimia, and other challenges in her life until she repented of the sin of abortion and received forgiveness from the Lord.

I shared my story of 3 abortions and then making an adoption plan for my son before coming to know the Lord and receiving forgiveness from Him for my sin in general and for abortion in particular. All of us acknowledged that at the root of our abortions, on some level, there was selfishness.


My friend Jim once said, “We put fences at the top of the cliff to keep people from going over the edge, but some will ignore the fence and jump over it, experiencing a dangerous fall. When that happens, we must run ambulances at the bottom to pick up the broken lives and minister to them with mercy, forgiveness, and grace.”

All of us who spoke now have avenues of ministry to help others who have bought into the lie that abortion is a quick, simple solution to a “problem” pregnancy. Romans 8:28 tells us that “ALL things work together for good." Even the sin in our pasts can now be used to warn others not to chose abortion as we did. We surely don’t recommend sinning so that a person can have a future ministry, but the Lord has allowed our lives to be a cautionary tale to those coming after us.

Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We are no longer condemned but forgiven and free. Our forgiveness through Christ (Romans 10:13) shows others that there is hope and healing at the foot of the Cross and that it is available for all who seek it.

I ask that you pray for the student group at the U of M. They are taking a stand for life in a culture of death. They are the leaders of today and the survivors of the abortion holocaust of our generation. God help them to stay strong and do all that they do for life with great love.

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Wonderful Day at Immanuel Baptist Church, Westbrook, MN and WAFFLES!

4 a.m - I took off early this morning to head down to Shakopee to meet Dave and Jackie Sebald for our trip to Immanuel Baptist Church in Westbrook. We drove through beautiful southern Minnesota, admiring the lush green landscape and wondering, "Will the water that is level with the sides of the highway stay off the road on our way back?" Then it started to rain -- just a cloudburst so we knew things would be ok.


Arriving at the church we were met by Pastor and Mrs. Adams and a group of friendly folks. We were able to present a ministry update during the Sunday school hour, and the church presented us with gifts for our client assistance program. There were diapers, wipes, cute clothing items, blankets, and a car seat. What a blessing! Thank you to the church for their generous love gifts to help MWC save babies in Minnesota, one woman at a time.


After church we all went over to the community center and enjoyed a waffle lunch. It was yummy and the fellowship sweet! The pictures we took of the church group after lunch did not turn out, sorry!

On the Road: Southview Baptist

Southview Baptist - Thanks for the great day of fellowship and encouragement!

Sunday we were able to present a ministry update at Southview Baptist Church in Richfield. Pastor Jeremy Stephens invited Jim McLeish and I to come and give a report to the church about Baptists for Life and MWC.

We were blessed to have one of our clients come and share her testimony of God’s transforming power in her life. She was very honest about her struggles to remain yielded to the Lord and about how the Word of God has been a great source of strength to her in her walk with the Lord. She shared Jeremiah 29:11 in her testimony: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” She shared that she now recognizes that with the Lord there is hope and peace when she yields herself to Him, and that apart from Him there is no hope.

Here are some pictures of the church members and us enjoying a lovely lunch together. Thanks, ladies, for all your good cooking!

Peaceful Vigil at Regions Hospital: 40 Days for Life Twin Cities

Please join me. I plan to be at Regions Hospital on Friday mornings from March 11 through April 25 from 9 am to 11 am. If you would like to meet me at MWC at 8 am and ride over together, that would be fine. Just email me at info@metrowomenscenter.org.

This event is about prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, community outreach (petition drive).

Why Regions?
Facts about HealthPartners and Regions Hospital [from http://savehealthpartners.com/facts.html]
· HealthPartners owns Regions Hospital, located in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.
· Regions Hospital committed 733 abortions in 2005.
· Regions Hospital trains doctors to do abortions.
· HealthPartners doesn’t want the consumer to know about its abortion practices.
· HealthPartners insurance pays for abortion.
· Regions Hospital’s “GYN Special Services” abortion center commits late-term abortions up to almost the fifth month of pregnancy (20 weeks gestation).

Where:
HealthPartners' Regions Hospital is located just north of downtown Saint Paul, MN across I-94 at 640 Jackson Street, Saint Paul MN 55101. You can participate in peaceful vigil on the public sidewalk, in front of the main entrance on the Jackson Street side.

Link to HealthPartners' Regions Hospital website for directions and parking: www.regionshospital.com/Regions/Menu/1,1640,3129,00.html.

This information is for parking in the hospital decks only. If you park in the hospital deck, leave your signs and literature on the public sidewalk with your prayer partner. The parking decks and driveways are private property, and no solicitation is allowed.

New street-level pay parking!
There is a new pay parking lot on the street level on Jackson Street across from Regions Hospital at the intersection of Jackson and 13th Streets.

On the Road: Bible Baptist Church

Farmington, MN

Bible Baptist Church has been a pro-life partner of MWC for many years. We enjoy visiting with the folks there and updating them on activities at the Center.

Pastor Tom Yauch is the senior pastor there and sadly, his mother passed on the Saturday before our visit. He still preached a pro-life message, and we had a good time of fellowship with the church.

They are rejoicing that they now have their church building paid off!





Some of the members brought diapers, snowsuits, and formula for the Center, and two full baby bottles were returned to us!

On the Road: Family Baptist

We had a great time with Family Baptist Church on Sunday morning. I was able to share a PURITY message with the ladies and teens in Sunday School and also our powerpoint presentation [here] about the lies of abortion and the truth of God’s Word. Thanks to my friend, Joshua MacLeod at Watermelon Ministries for the inspiration for this presentation. He gave me permission to take off on his hopebooklet.com using our own pictures.

Please pray for Family Baptist. They are located in the heart of north Minneapolis, seeking to have an impact for the Lord. Pastor Ormiston preached a message on Ambition (The Right Kind). You can listen to the message here. It should be posted soon, and there are lots of other great messages there for you to be encouraged by. What a blessing!

On the Road: 1st Calvary Baptist

Sunday brought us to 1st Calvary Baptist in Inver Grove Heights. We had a wonderful day sharing a purity message [here] with the moms and teen girls and sharing the ministry. The teens and whole church provided 20 bags of diapers for the Center. Thanks so much for being a blessing!



A family from the church shared their story of parenting 3 children with disabilities and also raising a daughter who had been conceived after a sexual assault. The daughter has been a blessing to the family and a “protector” for her brothers. What a testimony to God’s grace for each moment and situation! Truly a story of taking your challenging circumstances to the Lord in prayer and watching Him work EVERYTHING out for good!

March for Life - St. Paul, MN - January 22, 2011

What a great day! Praise the Lord for opporunities to share the Gospel with people! God allowed some wonderful interactions today, and I was so encouraged that churches sent buses of marchers to the rally.



Silent No More men and women shared our testimonies about how abortion did not help us, but harmed us. Praise the Lord for two new women who spoke out about their past abortions. There are men who also speak out about how abortion has affected them. No matter who you are, it takes courage to share, but the Lord gives grace! We speak out so that others who are hurting in silence will have courage to come forward and receive spiritual help.

If you or someone you know is suffering from a past abortion, man or woman, below are links to helpful, first step Bible studies by Linda Cochrane. If they are helpful to you, I would encourge you to find a good Bible teaching church and connect with people who can encourage you and support you in your spiritual walk.

Forgiven Set Free Post-Abortion Bible
Healing Father Heart Post-Abortion Bible



As the legislative session in Minnesota continues, please be in prayer that our representatives and congressmen and ALL public servants would affirm a culture of life in the legislation they put forward. [Congressman John Kline pictured above.]

For the first time since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, the Minnesota House and Senate are controlled by pro-life legislators. They have already introduced a bill that would bar public funding for abortions. This bill would directly challenge Doe vs. Gomez, a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that said the state must provide abortion services for low-income women.

Great Day at Normandale Baptist!

We had a wonderful time sharing the MWC ministry at Normandale Baptist Church in Bloomington on Sunday. We thank the Lord for churches that speak the truth about life in the womb from the pulpit, openly welcome those who are recovering from the devastation of abortion in their lives, and that also support ministries like MWC which provide peaceful, life-affirming services to individuals in the larger community.

Thanks, Normandale Baptist, for being a pro-life partner! And thanks for giving us Dave Sebald, MWC Board President, and new board member Pastor Chuck Raichert, your pastor!

Blessings at Waterville!

We had a great time at First Baptist Church in Waterville on Sunday, August 8th, even though it was a sweltering hot day!

I had the opportunity to share a message on purity with the women and girls in the church, about 60 ladies all together. We had a great time around God’s Word.

One of my clients came and shared her testimony with the church folks about choosing open adoption for her son and about her experiences in one of our shepherding homes. I am always encouraged when our clients are willing to publically share their stories because it can be an encouragement to others who may be privately struggling with the same issues or who may need to “see” the reality of someone’s life being changed by God. Many of our clients are “works in process,” (aren’t we all?) and this young lady has made some great changes in her life but has not yet yielded to the Lord. Please pray for her salvation.


Above is a picture of my client when she was still pregnant. She was able to balance her cup on her tummy, something that is not hard when you are 10 months pregnant (she was 2 weeks overdue!). Below is a picture of her and her adoptive family -- what a blessing to see love extended through open adoption!


I was able to thank the folks at the church for their ongoing support and to give them a report of the goings on at the Center. When a missionary comes to speak, they have a practice at the church that after the presentation, members of the church come to the platform and pray for the ministry represented. Pastor Gene Witte is the pastor there, and his prayer is that the Lord would raise up more godly men for leadership positions in the church so that those coming to the church could be ministered to individually. First Baptist Church is celebrating 150 years of ministry this year!

On the Road

On Saturday, Steve and I traveled "up-north" to visit two supporting churches--Boy River Log Chapel and Pine River Baptist Church. What wonderful folks in both churches! Please pray for these small churches. They have big desire to minister the Word of God to their communities and face many challenges. We thank the Lord for their commitment to LIFE!

In Boy River we had the opportunity to "put a line" in the water, as Pastor Gonczy put it, to see if anything would bite. I tested out my courage and learned to ride a four-wheeler. It was a blast and even with the bugs and wood ticks, it was worth it! As you can see from the attached photos, we were not very successful, but we enjoyed the scenery and the great fellowship!