The Stripper's Story

A 19 year old woman asking for a pregnancy test is not uncommon at Community Pregnancy Center. In fact, 19 years old is the average age for our clients. In 2012, 64% of girls seen in our facility were under the age of 24, so when a 19 year old girl entered our doors, we were in our comfort zone in a way. However, this girl’s current age was not the one that identified her. Her ages leading her to 19 reveal the sordid story behind the beautiful face.

Birth:

• Her mother refuses responsibility, sending the child to her new grandparents.
• Her father has already disappeared from her life.

9 years old:

• The client’s grandmother dies, leaving her under the care of her grandfather.
• This sole caretaker refuses the child and sends her away to her aunt and uncle.
• While his wife lie with him, the uncle leaves his bed every night to sexually abuse his 9 year old niece.
• Scared and confused, the child tells another uncle of her nightly experiences. This man then tells the young girl’s father.
• Her father takes his child, who he doesn’t even know, to another country to escape. (Though evidence was drawn and testimonies given, the case against the perverted uncle never made it to trial.)

13 years old:

• She moves into the house with her now pregnant birth mother.
• She discovers that she herself is now pregnant.
• Once her mother gives birth, she disappears for days at a time, leaving her 13 year old, pregnant daughter to care for her newborn infant alone.

14 years old:

• She delivers her child, and chooses adoption.
• She suffers the heartache of giving her baby away, unsure if she will ever see the child again.
• Because the pregnancy matured and shifted the curves of her body, she chooses to become a stripper.

16 years old:

• She falls in love with a young man. He supports her financially, so she could stop stripping.

17 years old:

• She gives birth to their first child together.

19 years old:

• They are now engaged and expecting their second child.

                Suddenly 19 years old doesn't seem so average. This young woman, this teenager has experienced more agony-more “world”-than most people should know in an entire lifetime. She had been rejected by her own mother, her father, and her grandfather. She was raped on a regular basis by family. She gave away her first born child, when she, too, was just a child. She had been seen and touched in the most intimate ways by complete strangers. This was her life. This was all she knew: betrayal, perversion, and abandonment. She grew gravely familiar with the process of working her way out of her past.

                When asked about her relationship with God, she expressed a similar “works” belief. She cleaned up her life for her fiancé, so she assumed that she needed to clean up her life for God. She wasn’t quite where she wanted to be in her life, but she was getting close. Maybe she’d surrender to God…when she gives birth to this new baby. Maybe she’d lie in His arms…when she marries her fiancé. Maybe she would see herself as good enough then. Maybe after all these decisions, God would finally see her as worth His attention, worth His love.

                But that’s the point. As humans, as creation, we will never make enough right decisions to deserve the love of the Perfect Creator. There’s not a checklist in the Bible, detailing a road to righteousness. There’s not a set of magic words that will set us free from any past. There’s only Jesus. 

There’s only grace.

Our limited brains have not been functioning long enough to fully grasp even a fraction of grace, but it’s real, and it’s available. Our admittance to God’s presence is always open. Our forgiveness from God is guaranteed, because it’s wholly anchored in the victory of Jesus Christ-not in our works. Every wrong choice adds another death sentence to our growing death toll and more anger and judgment from God Himself, and no amount of reciting or working could ever eradicate such a debt-except the blood of the Son of God. Now, through a relationship with Him, God hears the scared confessions and He sees those mistakes, but He sees them through a lens of absolution. That death toll was paid for. That anger and judgment was already exhausted.

There’s only grace.

                As our Client Advocate explained the unashamedly good news of the Gospel, the 19 year old girl’s heart seemed to soften. Her past seemed to fade in the light of Christ’s love, but she still hesitated. She still held back, unsure if such a Savior could truly be THAT good to redeem such a life. Having permission, our Client Advocate prayed over the young woman before she left. Tears streamed down her face as if she sensed for the first time her Creator’s passionate pursuit to bring her home. Pray she realizes she can come unprepared and broken to the feet of God.

“Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is FULL redemption.”

Psalm 130:7

2013 Walk for Life's Story

        
         The Community Pregnancy Center’s second annual Walk for Life was incredible! On February 23, 2013, we hosted our 5K at the San Jacinto Battleground, expecting and believing for God to show off! After days of rain, the morning could not have been more beautiful! The iconic Texas monument stood before a sky of blue! Though the temperatures reached below 50 degrees, not one drop of rain fell on us! God had big plans for that day, and the weather was certainly going to cooperate!

 Ladies from First Baptist Church of Pasadena lined our tables, ready to register every walker and runner! They bundled up in their blankets and welcomed the participators with a smile! Through their hard work, the registration for the Walk for Life was the smoothest registration that I have ever seen. In just an hour, they registered over 60 people-over DOUBLE the number of last year’s event!

People enjoyed the morning with their three mile walk through the park, talking with new friends, and eating a scrumptious breakfast! Starbucks Coffee and ChikFilA donated an entire table’s worth of food for the day, leaving our participators full after a long walk! God provided above and beyond our expectations for the day.

Though most people walked the course, some brave people, including two cross country high school students, ran our 5K race at 9:00 o’clock! In a record time of 21 minutes, Sarah Herweck (pictured below, far left) won the race! For her unbeatable time, she won two massages, donated by our friends at Massage Envy!

Donations are still pouring into the office, so a total count is not yet final. Regardless of the tally, God honored Community Pregnancy Center last Saturday! He gave us a clear morning, plenty of food, a smooth registration period, and over twice as many people as last year! That means that twice the people heard about our ministry here, twice the people saw God’s heart for the scared woman and her unborn baby, and twice the people now realize the importance of supporting LIFE!

                Thank you for your loving prayers and generous support over this event!

The "One More Question" Story

             After a long two weeks of sparse appointments and after one of our three yearly fundraisers, February 25^th came upon us. The appointments were booked, but, unfortunately, that doesn’t always translate into girls arriving to claim those appointments. Today, we did have some empty time slots, but God had a purpose today that shone beyond numbers. Today, God Himself personally called His creation by name to come to Him.

                The first appointment brought a couple in their upper twenties to counseling room 1. Though unmarried, they had been dating for over 10 years and already bore a young daughter. They both wanted a second child together, so this possible pregnancy was not unplanned, nor was it a crisis. This unborn baby would be entirely wanted and so very much loved! The client smiled to her boyfriend as they discovered the distinct two lines on the test. They were positive! They received the gift they desperately desired, but the client advocate asked one more question:

“Do you know if you’re going to Heaven?”

                The young woman quietly uttered a response full of doubt. Her boyfriend, though, looked to the client advocate and spoke his answer. He verbalized the too commonly believed lie that traps our 2013 society across the world. He looked into her eyes, and said,

“I hope I’ve been good enough to get into Heaven.”

                Unafraid and unsurprised by this response, our volunteer opened her heart and shared the Gospel with this young couple. She explained the God of love, the God who pursued mankind for centuries, and the God who damned His own Son to suffer our death toll JUST so a relationship with us could be an option to choose! She told them Heaven is reachable, but only through Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a set of rules or a distant hope that we might enter into Heaven one day. Christianity is an attainable, sustainable relationship with the God who crafted their very beings.

                Without looking at each other once, the couple listened intently to the message of Jesus, absorbing every single word. All of it, each detail made sense. With utmost sincerity, both the newly pregnant woman and her boyfriend accepted Christ to be their Savior! They prayed with our client advocate, and began their new relationships with their Creator!

                While this appointment was closing, another client entered counseling room 2 with our second client advocate. She was a 9^th grade student, skipping school to take her first pregnancy test. She denied the possibility to herself for weeks, but she couldn’t avoid the truth any longer. Her boyfriend was just sixteen. Both had three and half years left of high school. The teen unloaded her story, revealing her attempted suicide just one year previous. And now a baby? Surely not. After the 4 minute wait, however, the pregnancy test read positive.

                The client advocate talked through the definite reality with the young girl. In their conversation, the volunteer walked her from a place of indecision about moving forward to choosing to parent the unborn baby! The teen realized the support surrounding her! She chose life for her baby! The client advocate, however, asked one more question:

“Do you know if you’re going to Heaven?”

In complete calmness, she answered, “I don’t think that I will.”

                Feeling the presence of God Almighty in the room, our client advocate shared God’s heart. She told this young girl about a real God who created her on purpose and for a purpose. He loved her to such an unimaginable extent that He rejected His Son, so she would never have to feel His rejection again. He notices her. He plans for her. He wants her!  Again, the Gospel of Jesus Christ filled the air and reached deep into this listening heart. After the honest explanation of her loving King and Shepherd, this 9^th grade girl prayed and accepted Christ into her life!

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

 Romans 10:9-10

                It’s not about how many appointments are made in the book. It’s not about how many girls actually show up. It’s not about tallying up any numbers to impress an on looking community. It’s about these lost hearts hearing for the first time their compassionate Savior call their name. It’s about the softened souls reaching out for the outstretched arms that have always been open.

It always has been and always will continue to be about Jesus.

The Lost Caller's Story

2013 began with calls overwhelming our office to schedule pregnancy tests, yet the days for counseling have been thin. With 4 appointments scheduled for this morning, our counselors waited in the waiting room for the young women to arrive. The clock moved from ten to eleven, from eleven to twelve. Only one client showed up for her appointment. In the span of one week, we scheduled 27 individual appointments-only 14 girls came. That ratio of appointments to actual consultations is disheartening, when you stop and figure out the percentage of girls who seem to get lost. But, as all pregnancy centers know, you can’t look at the numbers. You must always look at the stories, because only these girls can speak volumes that numbers simply do not reflect.

Today

-the day when only one client arrived-

a heart changed.

Lola, our receptionist, answered the ringing phone with a typical greeting, asking what we can do. The caller was one of the no-shows-one of the “lost” ones. She was uncomfortable and very short in her speech. She just asked for a counselor to call her, because “she was going through some stuff”. Lola gathered her contact information, assuring the anxious voice that someone would call. She then laid the information on my desk. The “someone” was me.

Immediately, I dialed the number and walked into a dark, hopeless story. The young woman began by explaining who she thought was the source of her anger: Her boyfriend, the father of her unborn baby, is an abusive, destructive force in her life. Through his ravenous behavior, her housing in an established community in Pasadena evicted her and her two sons. With nowhere to stay, they moved to a depraved, hungry area of Houston. She explained each pursued yet failed avenue of hope. Her boyfriend, though he failed, reported her to Child Protective Services.  She then revealed the true source behind her anger.

In the past three years, she has had five abortions.

And she now wanted just one more.

“I’m alone. I have nobody. I just want an abortion, so I can leave this all behind me.”

I prayed over and over again in my head for words. “God, please tell me what to say. Please tell me what to say. Please tell me what to say.” She finally stopped her whirlwind story, and waited for my response.

I told her point blank that abortion is not her answer. The cost alone would be insurmountable, much less the physical and emotional side effects. I didn’t make a pretty pro-life speech, and I didn’t spend 10 minutes exposing Planned Parenthood’s secrets. This woman knew that pain. She knew the heartbreak of abortion five times over with a three year time span concentration. She knew that was not what she needed, but what else could help? What else could eradicate this horrific season of her life so she could start over? Before I answered that question, I promised her that abortion is not a “quick fix”. Abortion simply extends the shame and fear to an entire lifetime. She reluctantly, but finally agreed.

I then explained all the resources we have at our facility to help. I told her about Thursday’s Points to Success class, and the support she could feel every week here. In these classes, girls walk into familiarity, realizing that they’re not the only ones in an unwanted pregnancy. Girls see for themselves that it’s going to be ok. I offered this security to the caller, giving her all the practical resources I knew. The practical stuff is important, but God wanted me to say something else to her. God kept her on the line after my practical conversation and the silence that followed, because He wasn’t finished using the phone to speak to His scared, loved creation. I swallowed my own words, and spoke what only could have been God Himself.

“God never allows a crisis that He cannot restore.”

It came out of absolutely nowhere, except Heaven. God wanted her to hear the direct message that He has FULL power to reverse what we see on earth as a mistake or a problem. Nothing is too broken for His hands to redeem. No one is too lost for His arms to find. I told her how very much God loved her. She’s priceless. She’s noticed. She’s wanted. Her voice rattled. I could actually hear her anger melt away, as she discovered her Creator’s love.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?
Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness,
and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” (Luke15:4)

With immeasurable and unimaginable determination, the Almighty God of the Universe pursues the lost. He doesn’t search for a day, a year, or a set time limit. He searches until he finds that lost soul. Maybe she didn’t show up to her appointment. Maybe she was on the other side of town, but God didn’t walk away. He pursued her deep into the hopeless apartment in Houston, Texas, until she called to hear His beckoning voice.

An Overwhelming Story

           No matter how long a client advocate volunteers at any given pregnancy center, the age of some clients will always be shocking. Sometimes a married 33 year old will phone to make an appointment, yet sometimes the call is a single 26 year old. The marital status differs. The living arrangement differs. The age most certainly differs. 65% of our clients this year were under the age of 24. Statistics and past numbers still can never prepare someone for the days-like last Wednesday-when a Jr. High student walks through the door for her pregnancy test.

8^th grade.

14 years old.

                It never gets old. Seeing such a young girl in such an adult situation is heavy, to say the very least, but hearing her ask questions about getting an abortion reaches to a deep place. “Where do we look to get an abortion?” “How much will an abortion cost?” “Am I still early enough to get the abortion pill?” These are the questions a fourteen year old girl is asking with tears streaming down her face too quickly to be wiped away.

                I explained the scenarios for each decision in the possible pregnancy and asked what she was thinking about it all. Words couldn’t even come out of her mouth. Tears fell onto her school uniform, overcome. Finally she walked me through the story that brought her into our doors, a story filled with betrayal, fear, and statutory rape. I sat still, as she unloaded the weight of her burden onto my shoulders.

By the hand of God, the pregnancy test read negative.

                These are the stories we hear. Even now, a full week later, it’s overwhelming to me, and I can’t help but think, “Is this overwhelming to God?” Is this Junior High girl’s story as overwhelming to God as it is to me-God, who incessantly hears countless stories like this one, and even worse ones? And again, a full week later, the answer is a loud, resounding, “No!” He’s not overwhelmed. He’s not even surprised, because the God we serve is calmly seated on His throne in Heaven, lovingly listening to every painful moan of His children. When someone walks away from Him, He’s seated. When someone plots against Him, He’s seated. No action or thought from man or demon could stir the Almighty God from His throne, because He is Sovereign. His face is not one of shock and awe. Instead, to His children, His countenance is a never-changing face of approval and acceptance. He’s not pacing. He’s not panicking. He’s not weeping, and He most certainly is not overwhelmed when He hears the hurts of His saved, redeemed sons and daughters. He’s only filled with love. Words cannot express His unwavering compassion when He hears each and every story. I’ve concluded that human minds cannot fully grasp the emotional strength of our seated, Sovereign God. He has a plan, regardless of the pain.

                Because He can listen to every broken heart without Himself breaking, pray every day that He gives us as client advocates the same emotional strength to show these girls His unchanging love day in and day out, no matter their age, no matter their life choices, and no matter how overwhelming their story may be. Pray Psalm 55:22 over our counseling doors: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

The "He" Story

          Tuesday mornings at the Community Pregnancy Center in Pasadena are typically filled with appointments for our two Tuesday client advocates. We also have Spanish-speaking appointments this day for those clients who have not yet learned English. This Tuesday, however, God most certainly had other plans. One volunteer called the day before, informing us that she would be out of town. The second counselor also noted that she herself would be late, not making it in until 11 am. The appointment book, however, read very clearly. At 10 o’clock that morning, a young woman would be expecting her pregnancy test.

Our receptionist saw this appointment and prayed for help, knowing how sacred our appointments are. God hears His name and listens to the heart calling out, but our faithful, compassionate Creator also intervenes! As she finished her prayer, our phones rang. A Thursday counselor called, and, after hearing the need, drove to our facility instantly! As He always does, our King brought a specific woman to speak with a specific client on a specific day!

The counselor walked into our doors with a verse heavy on her heart: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Not knowing the reason behind the thought, she obediently wrote it down and immersed herself in each word.

“I will come in to him.”

“Dine with him.”

“He with Me.”

Him? He? But we’re a pregnancy center. Our ministry is women. Our hearts are called to their broken hearts. 100% of our clients are women, so why would our Sovereign God, knowing this truth, lay such a verse on our client advocate just minutes before her appointment?

The beautiful 17 year old girl walked in our doors for her appointment, the appointment. After filling out her information, she sat quietly in the waiting room for her name to be called. Her boyfriend sat with her. Also a teenager, the young man sat tall, sharply dressed with a tie and vest. She marked on her information that she was Christian. The case seemed very simple on paper. Even looking at the couple, the case seemed as if it was going to be easy. Appearances, however, mean absolutely nothing: a lesson taught daily at this pregnancy center.

Our client advocate led the client alone into the counseling room to discuss her situation. Before every pregnancy test, we talk to the client: notice her, learn about her, and give her the freedom to unload her burden. In that conversation, after receiving permission from the young woman, our counselors always share the Gospel of Christ. We explain who He is and who they are in Him. Today our counselor did this, still thinking back on the verse God gave her. It was in this conversation that our young client revealed that yes, she was a Christian, but the possible baby’s father was not.

Her boyfriend in the waiting room was a practicing Muslim.

                The counselor decided then to bring the boyfriend into the conversation. While waiting for the pregnancy test to read, our client advocate shared again the power of Jesus Christ and the impact He can have on someone’s life. Choosing her words carefully, she graciously told this young man about the hope found in the Living Savior. He listened, visibly grasping the spoken words, and he admitted that this is exactly what he has felt stirring inside him already. He said that he’s been considering converting to the Christian faith. Our client advocate put a Bible in his hands before they left, knowing this was him.

This Muslim teenager.

This was the “him”.
This was the man in the verse!

God orchestrated the entire happenings of this morning all for the sake of this man.

The pregnancy test read negative, and they both left relieved and newly assured of who exactly Christ Jesus is. He is the Sovereign God over scared Christian girls and lost Muslim boys who both desperately need a Redeemer. God pushed through each door and tore down every wall to bring this man to our attention so that he would hear just how much his Creator loves him. God truly pursues without rest the heart unknowing of Him. Pray for this young couple as they remember the Truth they heard today. Pray for even further intervention in this young man.

Our ministry will always be directed toward the women in the midst of a pregnancy decision, but God reminded us all today to notice the man sitting in the waiting room with a soul just as scared and wandering.

2012 Boots&Booties' Story

          

                 Every fall, we host Boots and Booties, Barbeque and Silent Auction. This is our largest fundraiser of the year, and this year was no exception. On Friday, October 19^th, 2012, Clearpoint Church opened their doors to our great event. Over 200 people came to support our fight against abortion, making this year’s event the most attended Boots and Booties to date. The silent auction stood ready with sixty-two packages, making this year’s auction the most populated auction to date. Even more, every single auction sold, yet another Boots and Booties first! The registration may have been hectic, and the seating may have been askew, but that simply proves the devil’s jealousy at our God’s exalted name!

                To start the program, I shared abortion’s truths, revealing the undoctored truth behind the assumptions. It’s not a just procedure. It’s not just a political agenda. It’s not just one of three options. Abortion means subjecting one’s body to mountainous physical ramifications, including future miscarriages, infertility, and even cervical cancer. Abortion also means subjecting one’s psychological and emotional health to irreversible damage, including depression, guilt, and suicidal feelings. These are the facts of the abortion fight-not made up stories for our benefit as a pregnancy center.

                Next, our beautiful sonographer, Mikelle Challenger shared the importance of ultrasound appointments in the fight against abortion. Every Thursday she meets with the girls our client advocates deem “abortion vulnerable”. She shows the scared, confused girls exactly what their decision is: she shows them their breathing, moving, flesh and blood baby inside their womb. Mikelle explained the story of Krystal, and how the ultrasound solidified that this pregnancy was indeed her baby.

                The night ended with our director, Bobbie Zamminer, asking for financial support to help us further extend a hand to those coming into our centers. This money means warm air when the counseling rooms grow cold and typical budget things like this, but this year also introduced a new goal. Our director has a great vision for this center, a vision demanding more of her time to be focused on the community and another’s time to be focused on the center itself. Bobbie asked for an entirely new salary for an entirely new, full time position. This is a huge dream, but we serve a huge God! He Himself gave the goal to Bobbie to share, so we can most certainly trust that He Himself will provide the means to establish such a position.

                Thank you for your prayers over our event! Big things are coming to life at the Community Pregnancy Center, and we’re so thankful for such eager, loving support! Keep praying, for Friday night was just one step toward our future!