Expecting:Haiti

For those of you that are praying with me, go to this post. Names, pictures, and due dates are up!

Who Loves Preggos?!? Part 2

 Expecting:Haiti 

        My first experience with Haiti was right after college. We went on a cruise that was supposed to take us to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Thanks to a wicked hurricane, we were diverted to Haiti and Jamaica. (Not the tourist Jamaica. The roosters running wild/men peeing in the street/do-NOT-take-a-taxi-without-a-red-license-plate-because-you’ll-never-be-seen-again part of Jamaica. But that’s a story for another day.) In Haiti I bought this awesome soapstone carving of a woman holding her baby. (Unfortunately it was somehow decapitated in my baggage on the way home, hence the glue necklace). 

Anyway, since that trip, Haiti lodged itself in my brain heart. A few years ago, Compassion began the Child Survival program. This program helps mothers and babies in impoverished countries like, you guessed it, Haiti. (It’s an awesome program. You can read more about it here.) So I decided that I should throw some support their way. Maybe that would be the end of it, and it was. For awhile. Then the earthquake happened. And my friends started adopting. I started reevaluating certain things. And suddenly it’s not enough for me to just donate some money every month. I really, really want to adopt from Haiti. (Siblings, preferably.) It seems that God has other plans for the moment though. Lou is not totally on board – he’s not against it, but he doesn’t feel strongly that it’s something we’re called to do right now. Also, to adopt from Haiti, you are required to have been married for 10 years, and we’ve got a few years to go. So I’ve been thinking about what else I could do to shut-up quiet this voice in me that keeps telling me that Haiti and I aren't quite finished yet. (Notice I said “thinking about” and not “praying about.” It never dawned on me to pray about it. I wonder how much simpler life would be if I just would pray before I thought.) 

Last week I came across this blog. That’s right, click and read. Right now. I’ll wait.

Can you imagine? 

I.Must.Do.Something. 

Thankfully, God impressed the same thought on Marla Taviano’s brilliant mind.  (I know you guys are probably tired of the hyperlinks, but it’s totally worth the read.) In a nutshell, Marla wrote a book called “Expecting” that helps you pray through the forty weeks of the baby’s development.  This next part I copied directly from her blog:

“What if WE women here in this online space, we women who CAN read and have the luxury of time and money and safety and access to health care and know Jesus, what if WE could do something for these women and their unborn babies?

What if WE could hold a copy of Expecting in our hands and pray the prayers for a God-breathed womb-baby down in Haiti as he or she develops inside of Mama? What if we could pray for a Haitian girl BY NAME, pray for her THROUGH HER PREGNANCY, and then get to rejoice with her when her baby is born?

I get chills just thinking about it.

I e-mailed Heather with my idea, and she was so gracious, so thankful that there might be some women who would care enough about these women in Haiti to pray for them once a week, or a couple times a week, or every day.

She’s going to get me a list of names of mamas-to-be along with their estimated due dates. Some will be early on in their pregnancies. Most will probably be later on. And you can do however much or little God lays on your heart.

You can choose one name to pray for. You can pray for the whole list. You can pray for a handful. You can pray once a week or more than that.”

I am super duper excited about this. I have a book on the way. If this is something that God is laying on your heart, but you can’t afford the book, you can still pray! Who’s with me?

Who Loves Preggos?!? Part 1

If you have your hand raised, or just yelled “Me! Me! I love pregnant women!”, then this post is for you. (Notice that I did NOT say “Who loves being preggo?!?” as I’m sure that statement would have been met with much less enthusiasm.) I have two ministries that I’d like to highlight;one today and one tomorrow. I had originally put them all on one post, but it was super long, so you have to come back tomorrow for part two. And today's preggo-friendly ministry is:

Choices of the Heart 

Most of you know that I have been involved with this ministry for a few years now. Check out their website here. Choices is our local non-profit crisis pregnancy center. It offers confidential guidance and support to those who face an unplanned pregnancy. This pregnancy resource center supports both women and men who are looking for assistance in any of the following areas:

• Abortion information
• Pregnancy counseling
• Pregnancy testing
• Sexuality information
• Post-abortion syndrome
• Financial assistance
• Medical referrals
• Ultrasound screenings
• STD information

There are a number of ways you can help support them:

          The Baby Bottle Campaign -  I give you a baby bottle, you fill it with your loose change, you return it to me and the proceeds go directly to the ministry. Easy and painless.

          Clean Out Your Closet – Get a jump on your spring de-cluttering! Choices has just opened a thrift store. Instead of dragging your clothes and/or other stuff you no longer use to the donation bin near Wal-Mart, drop it off at Choices. They will resell your stuff and all proceeds will benefit the ministry. You get more closet space and they benefit from your old stuff. Everyone wins.

          Volunteer! – Choices is currently in need of volunteers, especially in the Burlington Mall location.  As a former counselor, I can tell you that counseling is not always easy, nor is it within the comfort zone of most people. However, I think that God can’t use us too well when we’re too comfortable. I’m pretty sure that He wants us to rely on what He can do, despite ourselves, rather than thinking that we’re skilled or qualified to “help Him out” in ministries. If you fell like God has been calling you to this ministry and you’ve been dragging your feet, or hemming and hawing about it, then consider this a swift kick in the butt from the Almighty. (And, did I seriously just use the phrase “hemming and hawing”? Where did that come from?)  
     
     Pray about what role you're going to take. And make sure you come back tomorrow because I'm going to share something that I'm super duper excited about. :-)