Giver of Life

Mary came to our Women’s Center when she was four months pregnant. At her first ultrasound the doctors found something wrong with her baby. The baby did not have all of its facial bones and brain (anencephaly). Mary is a Christian and has lived a very interesting life and uses every chance she gets to tell others how God has saved her and how He is working in her life. She came to our center with her husband for moral support and spiritual counseling. She had more ultrasounds confirming the diagnosis and the doctors were trying to pressure her into having an abortion. I went with her at 20 weeks (5 months) before a committee of doctors that would give her permission for a late term abortion. She said “no”. The doctors recognized me and asked if I had spoken with her and I said yes but that she did not want the abortion. She kept telling them that God would perform a miracle.One doctor said maybe the miracle is that God sent you to us in time to have this late term abortion. She still said no. "What God knows about me is more important than what others think about me" She walked out of that office with a smile on her face! That same day I saw five other couples walk out of there in tears as they prepared for late term abortions because they knew their babies would have birth defects.Mary was smiling, even though I came home that day with tears in my own eyes because of her situation. “Why, God?” We spent the next three months in the States and Mary continued to come faithfully to the Women’s Center for Bible study. She even wanted to come to the prenatal class. She was in and out of the hospital for several other health issues.Each time the doctor would ask why she did not have the abortion, why would she want an invalid child. They told her that the world is better off without this invalid, and some doctors even called her baby a “lump of tissue” or “piece of meat.” The Ukrainian doctors surely thought this couple was crazy and did not know what to do with her. Mary was very upset and stressed over the way others were treating her and it even seemed to us at the Women’s Center that Mary and her husband were not facing reality. They believed that their baby would be fine even though repeated ultrasounds had shown increasing severities of the diagnosis. They believed the doctors would be wrong and hoped for a normal baby girl. We tried to talk with them and help them realize that God might not heal their baby. He might be working through their situation to be a witness to others in a different way. It seemed they failed to grasp the reality of the situation. As we met with Mary the next week she seemed to have thought more about her baby's condition and what would happen after she delivered. Mary was hospitalized again at 8 months (33weeks) and was leaking amniotic fluid but not going into labor. It was decided to induce labor and she had a baby girl. She named her “Beth” even though she died during the delivery. Mary and her husband did get to hold Beth. Even though Beth died, Mary and her husband were not angry. They praised God for the eight months Beth was with them. God is the giver of life.

Walking Witness

Tonya came to the Women’s Center to see what her options were with her pregnancy. She has three children at home and the oldest is 18, along with an alcoholic husband. She had recently had a miscarriage and thought maybe she should not have this one either. She went for an ultrasound and we got to talk to her about the life growing inside of her. She decided to keep her baby boy. Tonya came back to the Women’s center every two weeks during her pregnancy. She attended the prenatal class. During our meetings, we went through “The Five Love Languages” and now Tonya is involved in a Bible study. She had her baby. His name is Paul. She continues to come to the Women’s Center for Bible study and she has even invited several friends to come also. Her husband has even dropped by the Center a couple of times. Their situation was certainly exasperating for our ministry, he likes to drink, uses foul language, and even once came by the Women’s center carrying a gun. Tonya may not have it easy, but she tells everyone how much this Center has helped her and her family.

Meeting Basic Needs

Susan came to the Women’s Center needing help. She had three children under the age of five and lived in a small apartment with her sister. “How will I be able to feed another hungry mouth?” Susan also attended our prenatal class and then our Bible study after delivering her baby girl, Jane. Susan attends our “Mom’s club” and regularly comes to the Women’s center for aid such as baby clothes, diapers and food that we are able to provide.

Along with successes, there are also sad stories such as girls as young as age 14 needing help, others deciding to go ahead with an abortion. We keep asking ourselves was there something else we could have said or something else we could have done.

Newsletter PDF version is here