April, 2009: A Tree and its Fruits

A tree and its fruits 

It takes time for a tree to grow, but what a pleasure it is to see a tree bearing good fruit.   

Carmen was with her classmates; one of them just found out she was pregnant, so they were chatting about pregnancy.  Suddenly the conversation moved into talking about friends from the class who were pregnant at a young age. Carmen was asked what she thought.  She said, “I admire them; I wish I would have continued with my pregnancy when I got pregnant four years ago.”  They became quiet and she shared her story. 

Dear ones, I am thrilled to share this with you.  We met Carmen three years ago when she was only seventeen years old. Her pregnancy test was negative back them.  On that day, she opened her heart for Jesus and since then she started a slow process of growing in her faith and healing her heart.  There were great Christian people that surrounded her with love and accompanied her in this process.   It’s been a slow process: she went through the post abortion recovery groups, she was part of our abstinence program, she followed discipleship courses, she is attending a Christian church, and now she is at the point where she is sharing her testimony.   

This is the first time she publicly shared her testimony of going through an abortion.  I know it is not easy for her, but I know for sure that God will use her past experiences for His glory.   She said that when she finished her story, one of the girls asked where could she find help to overcome it.  Isn’t it amazing how a testimony can impact people?    

 

Carmen rejoices in God's promise that “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” and I rejoice in who Carmen is today.  I celebrate her  faith, I celebrate the Holy Spirit working in her heart, I celebrate her passion to reach others, I celebrate her sanctity and purity standards which she lives by today.  

While you were praying…

…We were able to carry the abstinence message in the streets of Santa Cruz the previous days to Carnival.  Ever heard of carnival in Brazil?  Ours is pretty much like that, just a smaller version.  It was an awesome experience to share with people a new message to most of them.   This year, we worked with other ministries, but our plan is to make our "Abstinence Campaign" a huge event in the city.  We believe we as Christians are called to be a counter-cultural and impact our society. 

 

Some other ways we have been active are: 

…Staff and volunteer members of Centro de Vida participated in pro-life conferences in Lima, Peru.  God used Centro de Vida's testimony to encourage people who want to start a pro-life ministry in South America.  We also had the opportunity to get a bigger vision for Latin America.  

…Christian couples have contacted us and have showed their interest in adopting our babies. We keep praying God to confirm His will.   

…Recently a high school girl of seventeen years changed her mind after watching her baby on the ultrasound and listening her baby’s heart beat with the Doppler.  We praise God for tech provision! 

… Our wonderful Board members, staff, and volunteers got trainings from LIFE International!  (Our board members are in the picture above) 

…  and finally, I can’t stop sharing some pictures of our newborn babies and some awesome visitors this month! 

Future plans 

   The last time we shared about our partnership with SIM mission in order to have the ministry inside the local university.  Due to the entire unstable political situation in the country, we won’t be able to be inside the local university anymore.  The mission found land 15 minutes from the public university and this month they will be purchasing the land in order to start the construction.  We hope to move to this new place early in 2011. 

   For a long time, we were toying with the idea of opening an income generating project.  Again, the whole political situation made it hard to come up with a successful idea.  Our board came up with the idea of opening a kid’s care place.  If you ask me, I think it is perfect!  It won’t only be a place that would raise funds for the ministry, but also our clients will have a place to leave their kids as they continue with their education and jobs.  I have started research on it.  Our expectations are to open it by next year.  Please pray for the whole process. 

    Ever hear of the post abortion recovery groups in prison?  Our facilitators are excited with the idea of opening the  next recovery groups in our local prison.  The authorities of the prison are very interested about this possibility.  Please pray as we progress on this partnership. 

Would you pray with me for more Carmens to join the Kingdom?  Would you celebrate with me as we see lives of young women & their babies changing? Would you consider investing financially in the ministry of Centro de Vida, which reach young women in Bolivia?