Friends of Life,
One day it’s 65 degrees and sunny and the next day brings snow flurries. I’m grateful God is not fickle, like our Charlotte weather! His love is constant and sure. I’ve seen His hand working mightily in recent weeks, and I’d like to share a few stories with you. Scripture instructs us to “proclaim the deeds of the Lord; make them known unto the peoples.” (I Chronicles 16:8)
Since my last report, two babies have been born and I’ve showered four mothers, who each had an appointment to destroy their child. Each was met by a team of sidewalk ministers: prayer warriors, sign holders, Gospel proclaimers, and sidewalk counselors. God has been at work, saving lives, saving souls, and drawing people to Himself. He has also miraculously met enormous ministry needs. Read on…
1) I’d like to begin with one of the most thrilling events of my 24.5 years in this ministry. Do you remember Mayra? I reported on her shower last time. She is a precious, young highschool student who has captured my heart in a unique way. When she asked if I could be with her through her labor and delivery, I was overjoyed! Mayra has received wonderful care throughout her pregnancy from Dr. Matthew Harrison, of Northgate Family Medicine in Concord, and he delivered baby Isabella on January 24 at 8:37pm. This was an amazing and humbling experience for me to witness. Both Katherine Hearn, in person, and Gisela Serrano, by phone, counseled her and her parents from the sidewalk in front of the Hebron Drive abortion clinic many months ago. Incredibly, I had the joy of witnessing this baby enter the world and take her first breath. She weighed in at 7lb 7oz and was 21″ long. I’ve seen a lot of precious newborns, but Isabella is one of the cutest! You don’t have to take my word for it. Here she is! In the first 3 photos, she is just a few minutes old! That’s Dr. Matt in the third photo. The last two, with Mayra wearing the hat, were taken outside of Dr. Harrison’s office, when Isabella was 12 days old. Aren’t they beautiful?
Mayra took four weeks off from school and now she is back, full throttle. As she’s done all school year, she catches a bus at 5:15am, in the cold darkness, and rides it for 1.5 hours each way, to and from the special school for pregnant/parenting students in Mecklenburg County. For the first year of the baby’s life, the school offers a daycare on-site. She’s been back to school for two weeks with her new baby, but she feels like she can manage with God’s help and grace. A few weeks ago, she turned 18 and has one more year of high school. Mayra is a hard working student and desires to go to college. Unfortunately, this school doesn’t currently offer the chemistry course she wants, so she’s in a quandary about attending there next year. They offer the childcare, but not the course. I ask you to pray that they will offer chemistry next year. They have in years past, when enough girls were interested. Please pray for this specific request on behalf of Mayra.
Recently, Mayra sent me a card in the mail. This is an excerpt: “Thank you for always being there with me and for helping me out with my adorable baby. Thank you for showing me that God cares and He is always there, even when we may not know it. You changed my mind and opened my heart to a new opportunity and a new way of life, and for that, I’m grateful. You, Katherine, Gisela and Dr. Harrison have been a great help. I’m glad I can call you one of my best friends.”
You can understand why I love this young lady! Your donations and prayerful support have helped make this happen and I thank you!
2) A few days after Isabella was born, I showered Amy, a young, 21-year old pregnant mom. I found out about Amy’s need through a friend, in an unrelated way that had nothing to do with the sidewalk ministry we do in front of abortion clinics. Amy was presented to me as a mom who needed help with practical items, because her mother, Jocelyn, had been laid off from her job several months ago, and their financial situation was difficult. I do these types of showers at times, though my primary focus is to shower moms who choose life at the clinics through the efforts of Christians ministering.
Her mom got my name through a mutual acquaintance and we spoke on the phone. She told me of Amy’s wrongheaded choices to live with her boyfriend and how she desperately wanted Amy to return home. Due to all this, I was not eagerly anticipating her shower. Plus, it required me to drive all the way to Monroe, about an hour away. I was dreading the difficult “truth talk” I knew I had to give her about habitual sin and rebellion against God. I was in need of God’s grace to balance “truth” and “mercy” as I confronted her, and, to make it even more challenging, I had never even spoken with Amy directly and didn’t know what to expect! After days of gift preparations, I asked a friend, Carolyn Lively, to pray as I hurried out the door.
On account of Carolyn’s intercession, I felt God’s anointing in an incredible way. Amy prayed to receive the Lord two short hours after I arrived…and before she had even opened her first gift! Typically at my showers, the mom opens and looks through the gifts first, and they help to soften her heart. After the gifts have done their “job” expressing the love and care of the Lord, I present the Gospel verbally, over a meal. This time, though, the Lord led me almost IMMEDIATELY into the Gospel presentation. It flowed out in an unusually anointed way. We talked about the Lord and His truths for two hours. I knew God was giving me words, stories and parables that were piercing her heart. The parable of the prodigal son was so powerful to Amy. Her mother and father want her to come back home. Jocelyn, her mother, silently sat on the couch with tears streaming down her face as I told the parable to Amy. We were all crying by the end. The house she shares with her boyfriend, and several others, has lacked electricity and food on occasion. Her parents’ home is lovely, comfortable, and clean. It’s not extravagant by any stretch, but it’s well-kept and pleasing to the eye! Amy has truly been *eating pig food* on many levels, both physically and spiritually. It was one of the BEST showers I’ve ever had in 24 years of ministry…and the story gets even better.
Incredibly, I also learned that Amy had gone to the Latrobe abortion clinic THREE different times to kill this little baby boy. Christians were out there at least one of those times. The presence of those Christians, including their graphic signs, had a powerful effect on her. She never took any information from anyone, so none of our sidewalk counselors knew about her. The only reason she and I connected is because God sovereignly wove this tapestry.
God’s truth and mercy flowed that night. God pulled her to Him with His cords of love. He was kind to let us learn of this little baby and mother. I am convinced there are many, many others like Amy. We will get the full report in heaven! I write this so that those on the front lines, and those praying and supporting, will be encouraged! God is at work saving lives AND souls!
I’ve connected Amy to a Christian woman, Jennifer Edwards, in her area who is willing, ready and able to disciple her. Jennifer and her husband, Justin, can pick her up and take her to church. She is a precious, soft-hearted, pliable young lady. Continue to pray for Amy. She’s facing hard choices and a hard road ahead. She’ll need to leave behind the old, sinful ways and orient her life to Christ. She is torn because she doesn’t want her baby boy, due March 12 and to be named Christian, to be alienated from his father. Of course, her boyfriend has some hard choices to make, as well. Justin will hopefully get opportunities to witness to him. Pray that he comes to Christ, too. Here’s a photo of Amy, our new sister in the Lord:
3) I told you about Charmaine’s shower in my last report, and her baby girl was born January 3, weighing 8lb 10oz. Kimora is beautiful, as you can see! Stephanie Grooms, with Mercy Rains Photography, provided a generous photo session for Charmaine and here is a shot of this beautiful image-bearer of God!
4) My next shower was for Samantha, who saved her baby from abortion through the effective counsel of Jennifer Dorr, out at the Latrobe clinic. Samantha was with her sister that day and they never even went inside the clinic. They stopped and talked with Jennifer and received loving, truthful counsel and offers of help, including a Truth & Mercy baby shower. Their car broke down and wouldn’t start, so the pro-lifers paid for a tow truck, and Jennifer gave them a ride home. (Think the clinic employees would have done that?) I showered her February 9 with the gifts and provisions from YOU! She and her entire family were overwhelmed. They are all civil war refugees from Liberia since 1998. (I’ve been amazed to meet and shower several of these Africans.) She didn’t have time to to go out for a meal, like I typically do, because her father was in the hospital with a very serious condition and they needed to be with him. (Pray for her father, Thomas, please. His condition had not improved when I last spoke with her.) I did have time to briefly explain the Gospel to her and six family members. About an hour after I left their home, her boyfriend, Sam, called me and expressed his thanks for all the baby items I gave them. That was a treat to speak with him. They plan to name the baby girl, who is due March 28, Samaiya (Suh-my-uh) Rose. All three will have “Sam” at the root of their name! Here is Samantha, an 18-year old high school student, due March 28:
5) The following week, I showered LaPorshua, who is expecting her fourth daughter on March 17. You might remember LaPorshua’s story from about two years ago, when Katherine Hearn first met her at the Latrobe abortion clinic. Back then, she was expecting Tamiah, who is now 18-months old. LaPorshua was there to abort little Tamiah – only because she was a girl. (Yes, sex-selection abortions happen all the time – and primarily against girls. How does that jibe with women’s rights?) She had intentionally waited until she was far enough along to determine the gender of her unborn child. She was 18 weeks and Latrobe aborts babies up to 20 weeks. She and her husband wanted a boy because they already had two little girls. Thankfully, God moved in her heart, because Katherine was there with God’s Word and His compassion. Little Tamiah was saved. Truth & Mercy showered her lavishly and Tamiah was born in July 2011. More recently, when LaPorshua became pregnant again, she contacted Katherine. Yet again, she was tempted with abortion, but not because of the baby’s gender; it was too early to know that. She and her husband were struggling financially and also feeling the pressures of parenting three little ones. Having four children under five was overwhelming, no doubt. I left a few voice mail messages, encouraging her to choose life and offering practical help. Neither Katherine nor I heard from her for a long time and we feared the worst, but she eventually got in touch and told us that all was well with this baby….ANOTHER GIRL, due March 17! This time, they are happy about it! God has a way of enlarging our vision to match His plan, when we trust Him. Because she wasn’t planning to have more children, she had given away all her baby things, so Truth & Mercy supplied everything all over again. Thank you for making it possible! Here’s LaPorshua and her husband, Octavious:
6) Just last night, I showered “Meagan”, who Lisa Metzger met at the Latrobe clinic six months ago. She struggled for quite a while with her abortion decision. She made three different phone appointments and couldn’t go through with it. The day she finally went, she reported that she was “praying for a sign from God”. She recognized His sign right away as she arrived. The sidewalk was full of families and young children holding them! In particular, God used one little boy, Joel, to soften her heart. He was laughing, smiling and jumping up and down repeating, “We’ll take you to lunch if you save your baby!” Little Joel warmed her cold heart that day and the rest is history. Last night, Lisa and I went to her home and she was so grateful for all the wonderful gifts you supplied. She received a truly fabulous, high-end crib, because one of you was amazingly generous to give it to Truth & Mercy! She also received all the usual fare: car seat, stroller, swing, exersaucer, table booster, tub, 2-years’ worth of adorable clothing, bottles, blankets, bibs, toys, books, diaper bag, crib bedding, starter amounts of diapers, wipes and toiletries and more. We took her out to dinner and very precisely and purposefully shared the Gospel – the best news in all the world. “Meagan” had the usual misconceptions about salvation, thinking it is works-based. She grew up going to church, but many churches aren’t preaching truth. Our message was different than she expected and unfortunately she did not clearly see her desperate need for Christ – as most in our culture don’t. I did leave a Bible and a book (Anchor for the Soul) and tract (Are You Good Enough?) with her. She promised to read them before the baby, due March 27, is born. Be in prayer for God to open her eyes. She has seen physical expressions of His love, mercy and kindness, through Lisa’s sidewalk intervention and through Truth & Mercy. She has heard the Gospel. “Meagan” was reluctant to let me take and show her photo, but she did promise to let me take and show you the baby’s photo when she is born.
7) More wonderful news! Krystyna has baby Hope now – she’s out of foster care! She met all of the requirements the social service system asked of her. She is overjoyed! This is an earlier photo – Hope is now about 3 months old. They are both doing well. God is empowering her, she’s making wise choices, and it’s glorious!
8) Many of you continue to ask about the twins. Here’s the latest photo Niosha sent of them. Miraculously, they are doing very well. Justice and Jarrell, who were born 13 weeks early, are 6 months old now.
9) Because of an oversight, I failed to report Kingston’s birth to you! Erika delivered him back in October; he weighed 7lb 5 oz and was 19″ long. Erika chose life for Kingston due to Katherine Hearn’s kind intervention at Hebron a year ago. Truth & Mercy showered Erika last summer. Rejoice…even if I am a bit late!
I’d like to communicate a need the ministry has for help with clothing management. Typically, I give each mom about 100 complete outfits in sizes from newborn through 24 months. Also given are shoes, socks, tights, coats, hats, and gloves. Remember, I provide about 25 showers each year. I’ll let you do the math. Truth & Mercy requires a tremendous quantity of clothing, and naturally, that clothing requires a tremendous effort to sort, organize, store and manage. Cindy Holleman has faithfully and heroically served Truth & Mercy for several years and is happy to continue, but has asked for assistance. The clothing is stored in her home in many, many, many shelved bins. She’s asked for help from anyone who can give a couple of hours a month of their time on a regular basis. She lives in Huntersville off I-77 near exit 23. She’d love to have a rotation of a few willing ladies. Ideally, she would prefer Tuesdays or Thursdays between 1-3pm, but she is a bit flexible. Please prayerfully consider this serving opportunity and contact her at prolifecindy@gmail.com if you are interested.
Next, I want to publicly thank Jerry and Carolyn Lively for their extreme generosity to Truth & Mercy. I’ve known their family for 25 years and they have passionate hearts for Christ and His defenseless ones. I met Jerry back in my early days (circa 1988) of sidewalk ministry in front of Charlotte’s clinics. Their now grown daughter is actively engaged in ministry…she’s the “Lisa” in story #6 above! The Lively’s have graciously offered to cover the rent for Truth & Mercy’s storage needs, even offering to double my storage space! This is nothing short of a miracle. I’ve been praying about this for many, many long months and it has been my #1 ministry need. My cramped storage unit made it very difficult and time-consuming to operate. This extra unit will greatly enhance and ease my operations. I’m so grateful!
I’d also like to thank Christ Fellowship Church in the Troutman area. They have generously purchased several baby equipment items for Truth & Mercy! Thank you to pastor Daniel Parks and his wife Courtney!
I’d like to thank the anonymous, mysterious person who left about 8 cases of diapers in my open garage! I don’t know who you are, but God does! (Matthew 6:3-4) Thank you!
Thank you to Radi and Sue Adzemovic for your very generous check!
And Stacey and Amy Wakefield for their ongoing, faithful gifts!
Thank you to the Zgodas for the great new equipment items you donated!
Mary Manz, Gran & Katherine Hearn, and David Carriker, too.
Thanks to Leroy Baker and Operation Blessing for their continued donations of diapers and wipes.
It’s unwise to start a list like this, because I’m certain to leave out someone. Thank you to everyone who donates their gently-used baby items. These items are the nuts and bolts of the shower gifts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your trust and support encourage me, uplift me and equip me for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12).
Pray for these moms and their upcoming showers:
Lupita, expecting boy March 27
Porcia, expecting girl April 5
LaShaunda, expecting girl May 12
LaQuasha, expecting girl June 22
Mayra, due in June
Marcela, due in June
Lorpue, due in September
For His glory and fame,
Sheryl Chandler
PS: If anyone is willing to commit to pray, and perhaps even fast, for the moms on their shower dates, let me know. This would be an awesome way to serve! I know it made a huge difference in Amy’s shower and would love to see it continue.