“Rescue those unjustly sentenced to death. Don’t stand back and let them die. If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’ does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?” Proverbs 24:11-12.
Dear Friends of Life,
Today, January 22, marks yet another ominous anniversary. Overnight, forty-one years ago, abortion transformed from a felony to a Constitutional right. Writing for the majority opinion, Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun stated that the Constitution contained no clear right to abortion, but instead, they had “found” one in the “penumbra” of the document. If you need some help with the vocabulary, as I did, penumbra is derived from two Latin words, “paene” which means “almost” and “umbra” which means “shadow”. Yep. They pulled this “Constitutional right” out of the vapor, mist and shadows — and they weren’t afraid to admit it. Remember, penumbra means “ALMOST” shadow. It’s not even a “definitive” shadow. It’s a vague shadow, as shadows go.
The results have been a tragic massacre of innocents. Fifty-five million. The fruit from our law makes Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin seem like penny-ante killers. If you live in Charlotte, know that about 8,000 children are killed here each year. Oddly, we also have about 8,000 churches in our city. I’ll leave the correlations to you.
Today, on this solemn anniversary, we must pray and ask God for mercy. Our land is stained with the blood of these children. It cries from the ground for justice. We are all responsible for this bloodshed because we know who is doing it and where it is being done. We can’t say that we know nothing about it, to exonerate ourselves.
I remain convinced that the scourge of abortion will never be removed from our land until Christians take responsibility for it, repent and ask forgiveness…and then show forth the fruit of that repentance. We can’t blame the government because we ARE the government, a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We must accept our responsibility, confess our sin and only THEN will God forgive us and heal our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14.
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Since my last report, a new baby has been born! Last time, I told you about Fatima and her shower. She’s the 20-year old Muslim young lady whom Lisa Metzger met at the Latrobe abortion clinic last year. Tragically and against Lisa’s counsel, Fatima aborted that child. When she experienced all the heartache and grief Lisa had warned her about, she even attempted suicide. As many suffering women do, she quickly became pregnant again. This time, she knew who to seek for help. Lisa. (We will address her “replacement baby” efforts with her, in patience and tenderness.)
Fatima went back to the abortion clinic in hopes of finding Lisa. As only God could orchestra, Lisa was there (although I’m pretty sure she’s ALWAYS there). Lisa caught her, counseled her and set her on a much more solid path. Lisa found a job for her and even a family to live with, if her mom, indeed, were to kick her out as feared. Thankfully, her mom’s anger subsided and she was not kicked out. Fatima’s father still lives in Africa, but his 4 daughters and wife live here in Charlotte.
God has been giving me inroads into this family during the last few months, as the relationship has developed…particularly with Fatima’s mother, Massiami. We’ve become friends and God is clearly working, softening her heart to Him. She called recently to express interest in coming to my church, primarily to thank those in my church who support Truth & Mercy. Pray that this happens! She has been very affected and impacted by the kindness and generosity shown to her and her daughter. I’ve made it clear to them that the gifts are an expression of Christ’s love for them. According to the Koran, Allah doesn’t love them. In stark contrast to Christ, Allah has no affection for them. Massiami has called and emailed several times to thank me and she even made a meal for my family! She’s a wonderful cook and I enjoy trying their national foods!
When Fatima was in a very long, two-day, painful, yet unprogressive labor, Massiami called with grave concern weighing heavily in her voice. Boldly, I prayed with her and Fatima over the phone, in Jesus’s name. God was kind and answered quickly, demonstrating His power. Her labor started progressing right away and the baby was born within about 8 hours. Massiami called me with lilting joy in her voice to tell the news! Baby Brandon Latif was born in the wee morning hours of Christmas Eve, December 24. He weighed 7lb 7oz. Massiami wanted to commemorate his special birthdate by giving his middle name the Arabic name for Jesus in the Koran, but Fatima refused. She’s had his name picked out for months and months. Regardless, I consider it to be an evidence of God’s grace in Massiami’s life that she was even willing to consider Jesus’s name, the name above all names, the only name by which we can be saved. Latif, the middle name Fatima chose, is the name of a Muslim leader. Here is Brandon, a new image bearer of the One True and Living God:
Since my last report, I’ve done 3 showers.
1) Last July, Alejandra was met at the Latrobe abortion clinic by Courtney Parks. Courtney is an RN and she provides ultrasounds right in front of the abortion clinic using Monroe HELP Center’s mobile RV ultrasound unit! It’s an incredible tool that God has used to save many babies, including Alejandra’s little baby girl, who is due March 8. The mobile unit is a comfortable, safe, peaceful place a woman can enter for Biblical counseling, pregnancy testing and ultrasound. The Monroe HELP Center has been so generous to let our group use it at Latrobe. Daniel and Courtney Parks, who live near Statesville, drive from their home before the crack of dawn on Saturday, to get the RV from Monroe. Then they drive it to the abortion clinic in Charlotte for the day. Then, of course, they have to drive it back to Monroe, pick up their car and return home near Statesville. Many of my non-local readers probably don’t realize that this is about 200 miles, round trip. Daniel preaches the Gospel at the clinic and Courtney faithfully serves the mamas with her gifts of counsel and medical care. Their children come with them each week. Sure, they have plenty of other things to do with their time, but they choose to minister to the downtrodden and deceived. Their efforts have paid off many times, but most recently with Alejandra, age 23, and her boyfriend Irving.
Truth & Mercy showered them January 11 at their home in Huntersville. I delivered a crib, mattress, bedding set, changing table, car seat, stroller, bouncy seat, tub, sling carrier, floor toy, blankets, burp cloths, hooded towels, washcloths, nursing pillow, diaper cake, bottles and nipples, formula, sippy cups, bottle brush, forks/spoons, bibs, toys, books, baby care and pregnancy books, picture frames, diapers, wipes, toiletries, diaper bag, pacifiers, hanger…and 2 years worth of baby clothing! She and Irving went through every last thing; they were truly overwhelmed with God’s goodness. Of course, Courtney and I had a Gospel discussion with them, which was challenging due to the English-Spanish language barrier, but I pray that God made up the difference. Alejandra speaks English fairly well; Irving less so. We were very clear on God’s commandments concerning sexual purity. They desire to get married before the baby is born. We had a long discussion regarding all that. I left them with Gospel materials in Spanish. Here are Alejandra and Irving and the ultrasound of their little baby girl:
2) Next, I showered Erin, age 15. Erin is not an abortion clinic save. Instead, I found out about her through my friend Lisa Albinus who knew them from her church. Erin’s home and family life have been extraordinarily challenging. Her grandmother has tried to expose Erin to church and to Truth, but so far anyway, the negative influences and pulls have been too strong and weighty. Erin has a married, stable, responsible aunt who desperately wants to adopt her baby, but Erin remains convinced she can mother this child. Pray that God’s will is accomplished in this difficult situation. Her grandmother has offered to care for the baby while Erin is in school, so Truth & Mercy provided double equipment in some cases, so that the grandmother would have an adequate set up at her home, too. This family is struggling financially, but thanks to YOUR generosity, Truth & Mercy was able to help them.
After she looked through all her gifts that are an expression of Christ’s love, Lisa and I took the grandmother and Erin out to lunch for a purposeful Gospel presentation. Erin was refreshingly honest and open and I was so relieved and grateful. She has a good amount of head knowledge of the Bible from her times in church, which helped further the discussion. Readily, she admitted to breaking all the commandments and fully, she admitted her sin. She has a few, fairly common stumbling blocks to deal with and I hoped I helped her with those. Lisa and I worked well together and I know it was the Lord’s grace giving us words, scriptures and counsel. I have a faithful group of ladies who pray during all my showers and I know it was due to their prayers! (Thank you Mary Sue, Jubilee, Katherine, and Ann Marie!) If you want to be added to this list, let me know! I felt encouraged as we parted. Lisa and I were faithful to tell her Truth. Now it’s up to God to quicken her heart to it. I, as always, left her with Gospel books, tracts and DVDs and a New Testament. Erin is expecting a boy February 26, to be named Isaac Jay.
3) Back in December, Truth & Mercy provided all the lavish shower gifts for Shenice, who saved her baby boy from abortion. Jessica Mullen, Celia Jimenez and Mary Rushing met Shenice and her husband in front of the Latrobe abortion business. She was pregnant with their fourth child, and at the time, their youngest was 9 months old. Things seemed overwhelming for them, and they staggered towards death. Thankfully, by God’s great mercy, Shenice and her husband were met by this group of gentle Christian ladies who carried the banner of Truth to the highways and byways. Their hearts turned to their fourth child and he is due ANY MINUTE! I hope to hear news of his birth and get some photos. I’ll keep you posted!
SPECIAL THANKS. AN INVITATION. 2013 SUMMARY
A shout out of thanks to all the teens (and some of their moms!) who sorted a boat load of baby clothes on November 9. The teens from the Zeta Epsilon National Homeschool Honor’s Society rock! My daughter, Bethany, is a member of this organization and they perform multiple community service projects each year. I was grateful and thankful that Truth & Mercy was served so well! Teens were in and out all day, but here’s a sampling of the group:
Bountiful thanks, also, to Illumination Choir. They chose Truth & Mercy to partner with for their inaugural event at Christmas time and gave the proceeds of their ticket sales to Truth & Mercy. Throughout the evening, they highlighted the ministry. What a beautiful evening it was, as we celebrated the incarnation of Christ with the vocal talents and gifts of young musicians. It was an incredibly generous donation and I’m so grateful to Davis and Rachel Carman and Jason Lanier, who are the group’s founders and director. Their support lifts my arms!
I’d like to invite you to a Cities4Life, 91.9 and Pregnancy Center prolife event Friday, Jan. 24 at Hickory Grove Baptist. More specifically, I’d like to invite you to come and pray and learn more about sidewalk ministry this Saturday morning, 9-11, at the Latrobe abortion center, otherwise known as “A Preferred Women’s Health Center”. The address is 3220 Latrobe Avenue, Charlotte NC. Bundle up. Come. You’ll never be the same, I promise.
You’ll hear more about Saturday’s sidewalk activities at the Friday night event. Here’s the link for more information: www.newlife919concerts.com
Currently, I’m preparing for these seven upcoming showers:
Shaniqua, Grace, Regina, Michelle #1, Michelle #2, Leticia and Gracina
Here’s Leticia, whom I’ve already given maternity clothes to. She’s due in July and should find out boy/girl very soon:
In 2013, twenty-three babies were born whom Truth & Mercy showered. Most were saved from abortion — saved from the very clutches of death, right in front of the clinics. Glory! Thank you to the faithful warriors who minister on the front lines in all kinds of weather. Your rewards are in heaven where moth and rust cannot decay. I hold you in the highest esteem.
In 2013, Truth & Mercy did twenty-two baby showers. Twenty-two showers require 22 cribs, 22 mattresses, 22 bedding sets, 22 car seats, 22 strollers, 22 swings, 22 bottle sets, thousands of diapers and wipes, hundreds of bibs, a truck load of clothing in sizes 0-24 months…you get the idea. Thank you for your faithful gifts and donations. I literally could NOT operate this ministry without you. Thank you for making the fund raising easy and relatively painless. I make it very clear to each recipient that all these beautiful gifts come from you, generous Christians who want to extend Christ’s love to mamas and babies. Thank you for making it possible. My heart is full of joy because of you.
I pray that we won’t have a 42nd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade next year.
May justice finally prevail in our land, for His great glory and fame,
Sheryl Chandler
Founder and Director
Truth & Mercy Prolife Ministries
You can donate here through PayPal or you can mail a check directly to Truth & Mercy at 4803 Crownvista Drive, Charlotte NC 28269. Gifts of new or gently-used, CLEAN baby items are always wanted! Contact me for delivery options here or at TruthMercyLife@aol.com. Unfortunately, donations are not tax deductible.
Please do not post names or photos from this report on social media sites. These relationships are built carefully and trust is hard won. The moms shown here have given me permission to tell their stories and show their pictures, but only in this described manner. Feel free, however, to forward the entire email to friends.