Ministry Update, April 1, 2006

The life of faith is not merely the absence of evil,
but the presence of good deeds.


Sanctuary Ministries Update
Orlando Women's Center killing place
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Sidewalk counselors: Dave, Paula, Larry, Shari, Joan, Patte, Dale, Marian, Elizabeth, Mark
Prayer Warriors: MANY, MANY precious women and men came out to pray with us and for us! We are so grateful for these humble servants of Christ from many different Catholic churches who give their Saturday morning time so faithfully!

Paula reports:
This past Saturday we had two woman turn away from the abortuary and decide to keep their babies. One of them, Janine, arrived with her husband and mother. She approached the abortuary in tears and all of us called to her with great compassion, pleading with her to come over and talk with us. Janine’s mom stopped to talk to Patte for a few minutes and kept wiping tears from her face as she explained why they were there:
Rita explained that her daughter Janine has 4 children at home, ages 9 years - 4 months. She took out a beautiful photograph of Janine's new baby, precious at only 4 months old. Rita told us that Janine suffers from hyperemesis gravidorum (HG causes pregnant women to vomit relentlessly and requires frequent hospitalizations for dehydration, see http://hyperemesis.org/). Janine just did not think she could handle this pregnancy. Janine’s mom, Rita, felt like Janine needed to make her own decision. We offered to support Janine through her pregnancy with every resource we could muster. We explained that Ashli, one of our extraordinary Sanctuary counselors, suffered through HG pregnancies herself and has just completed a book on the subject. Rita cried and shook her head and went inside.
About an hour after going in, Janine burst through the doors crying and said, “I CAN’T DO THIS!” Her husband was there and took her into his arms. They stood there a few minutes, a tight huddle, and climbed in their car. Marian and I went to them and found that they had decided to head back home to Palm Bay. I gave them my name and phone number and encouraged them to call me for any reason.
On Sunday night, Rita called me to tell me that Janine had definitely decided to keep her baby! She had just left her, joyfully chattering away about her plans for the baby and nursery. They have a doctor’s appointment today to go over treatment options and we are networking to find people in Palm Bay who will befriend and help her with her household chores when the HG incapacitates her. We are also connecting Janine with Ashli, who understands this terrible condition and can give Janine genuine encouragement and support and help.
Rita shared what it was that changed Janine’s mind…She said that it was a young man calling softly to Janine, “Don’t be the mommy of a dead baby”. She said that those words kept repeating over and over in Janine's mind as she filled the papers out. (The ‘young man’ was my husband, Dave, who had felt like he wasn’t making a difference that day!!! We just never know when the Lord will use our mouth to be His instrument!)
Interestingly, the abortuary counselor Larissa, whose task it is to make sure the women understand what they are about to do, is the one who sent Janine out to us! My friend Shari and I had the opportunity to talk with Larissa when she was on break earlier in the morning. Although we will never be ‘relieved’ about anyone working in an abortuary, at least we know that when Larissa is there, she will not permit a woman to move forward in the process if she is having doubts. (In the interest of brevity, I will write about the interesting exchange with Larissa in another email!)
All for Him,
Paula
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