Friday, January 30, 2009

My New Job

So it's not so much a job as a volunteer opportunity, but I am so excited about it! I met with the Director of Development for First Coast Women's Services today and we don't have anything set up yet, but I will, Lord willing, be doing some work for them in the future. It might be nothing more than making phone calls and writing letters and thank you cards, but I believe this is something the Lord has led me to do. When I first talked to the Director and told her that I went to school for Event Management, she said that they were needing some help in that area, so I hope that I will be able to get involved with that as well.

I took a tour of the center today and learned about what happens when a woman comes in. All women who come in are considered "Abortion Vulnerable". No scary videos are shown. The goal is not to scare her, but she is given the information about what happens during an abortion, she sees a model of her baby's stage of development, and most importantly, she is prayed for. If she chooses, the counselors will help the mothers enroll in Medicaid. If she qualifies for Medicaid, she can get a sonogram. 96% of the women who have the sonogram choose Life. If the men come in to see the baby, 98% of them would choose Life for their baby. The mothers can enroll in the HOPE program, where they can earn points for maternity clothes, baby clothes, baby furniture, layette sets, etc. by doing some homework: reading books that encourage a healthy pregnancy, books on parenting, and Bible studies. If the mothers choose to give the baby up for adoption, they are directed toward agencies that will be compassionate towards them and are given support throughout the process. There are tons of pamphlets they can look through to find a church, a doctor, and endless other support services.

There were lots of details that I heard today that make me so excited about the possibility of working in a place like this. The most important one is that they love Christ and yearn for the women who come in to see that love as well. Last year, 819 women came in with positive pregnancy tests. 144 of them were abortion minded, but chose life. The Gospel was presented to 431 of the women. 43 prayed to receive Christ and 7 rededicated their lives to Christ. Every day 3,300 women end their pregnancies with abortion. That breaks my heart, but I am excited to be a part of something that will help these women understand how much God loves them and to know that He has a plan for them.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is such an incredible opportunity! Duty is ours, results are God's. You definitely have to keep me updated!

Arin Rollins said...

Wow! What a great honor to be a part of something so life changing and life honoring!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those stats just made me cry. It reminded me of how scared I was when I found out I was pregnant with Mason and I am married and settled. Then, seeing him on that first sonogram--just miraculous!

I hope this opportunity works out for you! Please, continue to post on this.

XOXO