Pro-Life Friends,
It’s been since February that I last wrote. My apologies! Mid-March through mid-May, my children’s activities gear up exponentially, so I intentionally slowed the pace of Truth & Mercy where I could. Alas, we are almost finished with our school year now, and as we close the academic books for the summer, I will throttle-up the ministry work once again. I expect to have about 7 showers this summer.
U’Leasa & Analease
In early March, I showered U’Leasa, who is a student at UNC-Greensboro. She is a bright young lady who attends the university on a full-ride journalism scholarship. When she came to Charlotte for an abortion last fall, the continuation of her schooling was her primary concern. Thankfully, she and her boyfriend, Rinard, met Carla Graham and her husband at the Wendover clinic. They listened. They had a change of heart. Their child lives! The Grahams have lovingly befriended U’Leasa and Rinard. They’ve driven to Greensboro and met with them several times and shared the Gospel and God’s wise counsel. They are considering marriage at this time. God also worked miracles in her housing situation and gave her great favor with all her professors, who allowed her to finish early in the semester as she prepared for the birth of her child.
At her shower, Carla and I had yet another divine opportunity to talk to her about the Lord. She has made several positive changes to her lifestyle in an effort to draw near to the Lord. She knows the truth. He is at work. I’m very encouraged to see that her heart is after the Lord.
Her due date was May 13, and until early May, none of us recognized the significance of this date. It’s Mother’s Day! As the day approached, I became really excited for U’Leasa and prayed the baby might be born on that special day. Well, I am thrilled to tell you that little Analease Marie was born at 2am Sunday, May 13 – Mother’s Day. What a kiss from God! Analease weighed 6lb 4oz. Providing excellent care, Dr. Owen from Northgate Family Medicine delivered her in the middle of the night. Dr. Matthew Harrison provided the lion’s share of her prenatal care. The Northgate doctors and staff are truly the hands and feet of Christ and we honor and thank them!
Here are the pictures of U’Leasa, still pregnant at her shower, and two of little Analease:
Miracle Baby Survives Abortion
You’ll need to buckle your seatbelt for this story. Alexxis, who is 19-years old, went to the Latrobe abortion center back in the fall, when she was 15-weeks pregnant. This is a $500 abortion. She paid $200 and NARAL supplied the remaining $300 as a grant. She went home and thought everything was over. Oddly, four weeks later and experiencing curious symptoms, she went back to the clinic. They performed an ultrasound and notified her that she was still pregnant. Now at 19 weeks, they informed her that for $1,200 more, they could perform another abortion. They did not admit to any error, any mistake, any liability. They told her that she must have been carrying twins and they missed one because it was hidden. Wisely, she’d had enough of them. She left in confusion and shock.
Thankfully, Alexxis has a friend, Tina, who has connections with a Cities4Life board member, Jenny Starnes, who quickly got involved. Jenny and Lisa Metzger, another Cities4Life board member, connected her with an ultrasound business in Statesville and our wonderful Northgate doctors in Concord. After several medical examinations and ultrasounds, we were all relieved to know that this baby boy is completely and miraculously untouched by the attempt on his life.
There is no evidence of a twin. At her shower, I asked more questions, and judging by her “post abortion” symptoms, I don’t believe any child was killed during the abortion. She reports that she only spotted a few days, which is not consistent at all with what is typical. Prior to performing any abortion, this clinic, and all others, perform an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. There is no way they could have missed a 15-week old twin. Besides, they would have been happy to charge more to abort twins.
Alexxis is well aware of the stunning and miraculous nature of this pregnancy. At 20 weeks, she had to tell her mom, grandmother, and other family members. It took them some time to come to terms with this pregnancy but they are all supportive now. They don’t all know about the attempted abortion, but those family and friends who do know are awestruck. God must have special plans for this child. Will you all join with me in prayer for him? The baby is due June 25 and he is to be named Aayden.
I showered Alexxis in early May and you provided for her needs, abundantly and overwhelmingly. Jenny and I took her and her friend, Jasmine, out to dinner and we had a glorious 2.5-hour Gospel discussion that was intense and exciting. God is showing Himself to her in so many ways. Pray that she fully grasps His Truth and His plan for her life. Like most in our culture, she believes her “goodness” will grant her God’s acceptance. Hopefully, this common misconception has now been exposed in her life. It’s a lie that takes people to hell in droves.
Here we are at her shower (l to r, Jenny, Alexxis, me):
Shena & Zylah
Five days later, I showered Shena, who is expecting her 6th child June 13. Shena and her mother came to the Latrobe abortion center, but thankfully God used Lisa Metzger to intercept Satan’s plan and to intercede for this child. Lisa is a 2nd generation prolifer. In 1988, when I started in prolife ministry, I worked with her wonderful parents, Jerry and Carolyn Lively. Now Lisa has a large family of her own and they all faithfully and consistently minister LIFE on the sidewalks of Charlotte’s abortion clinics, and they do so with amazingly fruitful results, including Shena.
Lisa and I delivered all the wonderful baby gifts to Shena and then took her to dinner, where we talked to her about the Lord and the Gospel of truth. Like most in our culture, she believes she is a Christian, but she has a false understanding of the Gospel. Like Alexxis’s story (above) she, too, thought her “goodness” would make her acceptable to God. I laid it out pretty clearly that she – like me and everyone else – is a filthy, wretched sinner in desperate need of Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross for us. I’ve learned that I usually have to deliver the BAD news before they can appreciate the GOOD news. Shena is a sweet lady, no doubt, but she is very deceived.
I actually lay much of the blame for the lies people believe at the door of the American church. When a woman can attend church throughout her life, start having babies at age 13, have 6 children, 2 abortions and 1 stillbirth, all out of wedlock with two different men, by age 27, and believe she is a Christian, we have an enormous problem within the church. Trust me, Shena is not unique. She is just my most recent example. What kind of soft, weak, erroneous message is the church teaching? How is “sin” defined? How is “Christian” defined? I have a friend who succinctly capsulized it well with, “Soft teaching produces hard hearts.”
Church, we are losing our savor.
Now, I know, of course, it depends on the church. I speak of the broad, American church. I understand there are good ones and bad ones. My heart is just broken for all the Shena’s I’ve met in the last 23 years.
There is hope, thankfully! After an extensive Gospel-centered conversation, I left her with an excellent book, Anchor for the Soul. Pray that she reads it and that God uses it to breathe life and light into her soul.
Shena’s due date was June 13, but surprise – she delivered May 23, three weeks early! Little Zylah Nicole weighed only 4lb 13oz at birth. I always refer to these tiny, little 5-pounders as a “little bag of sugar!” (Of course, Zylah is a bag of sugar, minus a few tablespoons.) Shena reported a smooth and easy middle-of-the-night delivery.
We can all rejoice in the miracle of Zylah’s precious life, which was spared from abortion last December. Please lift her mother and family to the Lord in prayer. If the Lord can free me from the deception I once held to, He can easily break through to Shena. When I encounter those who are far from Truth, I have to remind myself how far away I was thirty years ago. If God can reach my hard heart, He can reach anyone, including U’Leasa, Alexxis and even Shena!
Here are some pictures to enjoy. Lisa Metzger is pictured with Shena in the second photo. She’s expecting a baby herself, in July:
Coming Showers
I’m gearing up for a summer full of showers. Here’s the growing list:
*Niosha, expecting boy/girl twins in September
Denae, expecting boy September 17
Ciera, expecting girl September 18
Erica, due in October
Sade, due in November
Robbie, expecting boy November 6
*Niosha has a specific need for a twin stroller and infant car seats that can be mounted to it. If purchased new, the combo unit can run about $400. I’d love to find a gently used one for less. If you can do the online research or yard sale shopping and the legwork to get it to me (University area of Charlotte), Truth & Mercy will reimburse you. This type of activity can often be time consuming, so this would be a huge help to me. Alternately, if you would like to purchase a new stroller/car seat combo unit for Niosha, that would be fantastic! I can take care of the purchase if you provide the financing.
There are other possible moms to shower, so the list is still growing. Showering these women will require an enormous amount of equipment, clothing and supplies. Please keep your donations and gifts coming. The need is great and mounting with several more moms in the lineup for showers in the fall. Thank you for your continued faithfulness and generosity. You equip me for the work of the ministry. I can’t do it without you. Below is a picture of the gifts for a typical shower. You can see how lavish they are. These gifts are an expression of Christ’s love for them, so I want them to be both abundant and high quality. After receiving such wonderful gifts, the mom’s heart is typically soft and ready to receive the Gospel in word.
Special thanks to:
Danny and Kathy Young, who blessed T&M tremendously with their incredible and abundant yardsale finds.
Mindy Peatross and Ann Marie Lloyd who bi-annually scour the Highland Creek yardsale for good deals on baby items.
April Branch for creating adorable diaper cakes and diaper babies! What wonderful treats for the moms.
Lisa DeCoste and Holli and Emily Chaney for their help sorting baby clothes.
Cindy Holleman for her excellent and efficient management of copious amounts of baby clothing.
Mary Benton for cleaning donated equipment.
My husband, Doug, and children, Bethany and Nathan, for sacrificially serving in a thousand, unspoken ways.
All you faithful, front-line warriors who pray and proclaim at the gates of hell.
All you wonderful, faithful, generous supporters! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Your rewards are in heaven!
For His glory and renown,
Sheryl Chandler