“Where there is no vision the people perish.” Prov. 29:18. The vision of the PHC has always been to share the love of God with those in need or in distress due to unplanned pregnancy. As Durham region continues to grow so too does this ministry. The PHC recently celebrated the opening of a new site this past October in Bowmanville. While client traffic has been slow so far, we are excited about what God has planned for the site. As with our other sites in Oshawa and Ajax, the Bowmanville site will offer free services to any family in need of help or dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. The site is open two days a week, Mondays and Thursdays from 11am to 3:30pm.
Bowmanville
Please remember us in your will and trusts
Prayer & Praise
- Praise for our Friends of the PHC Dinner event. With the help of all of our amazing table sponsors, we were able to raise about $19,000 the evening of Thursday November 9, 2018. Dan Kulp, a pastor and comedian and father from Rochester New York, came and shared with our 152 guests. A special thanks to Amy, her story is featured in this newsletter.
Praise for our newest board member, joining us in the new year, Nerill Wilkinson. We are so pleased that she is willing to work with us as we continue to share God’s love into Durham Region in 2018.
Many thanks to Ulric Rollox for his many years of service on our board, He has recently stepped off the board. He continues to serve God in his community and on short term missions trips and we pray God’s blessings as he does.
It was all wrong. Amy had been searching for stability in her life. Her family was not around and she was raising her sons all alone. When she met Ben, he seemed to be the answer. He was older, he seemed to care about her, he offered them a safe place to live. But she found she was not happy; in fact, she felt hopeless. She was falling into despair.
Desperately, she went to the hospital and was admitted. While there, she met Greg in one of her groups. He understood her. He was kind to her and she was so lonely and afraid. It was not long before the relationship became sexual. As time passed in the hospital, she didn't feel quite as hopeless and she missed her boys. She was discharged home. Shortly after her return, she discovered she was pregnant.
It could not have been worse timing. Everything felt unsettled and now her problems felt even worse than before. How could she keep going? What was she going to do with the baby?
She had heard of the Pregnancy Help Centre of Durham, so she came in. She talked with one of the volunteers. She seemed to listen. She seemed to care. The volunteer suggested that she meet with the staff to get some more help, given the complexity of her situation. Amy agreed and came in to meet with Sue. There was no question that she would keep her baby, she just was not sure how she would cope.
As she shared her story with Sue, one of the directors, Amy realized that what was happening was just on the surface and that she had some pretty deep hurt and confusion. Afraid to continue, Amy only came for help a couple of times and then stopped. It felt like it was too much. She was due in a couple of months now and she had to keep going.
After her beautiful baby girl was born and she was still miserable, she returned to see Sue. She committed to the process and began to work on her life.
She made some difficult choices as she journeyed back to healthy living. Sometimes she felt more alone than before, but she was trying to take care of herself and her family and she was learning to depend on God along the way. Knowing all the things she had done, it was hard to for Amy to believe that God could love her and that He would send His Son so that He could love her as His own child (Merry Christmas!). But over time, she realized the truth of God's love.
When Amy bravely shared her story at our recent Friends of the PHC Dinner, she concluded by saying that sometimes when she looked in the mirror now she couldn't believe that she had been that scared, sad, mixed up person that came into the Centre the very first time. She is now active in her church, she is growing in her faith, her children are doing well, she is working. Life is good. God is good.
Katherine Michel, MA
Executive Director
FYI
Our Unplanned Pregnancy Support Group on social media receives many messages from Canadians facing an unplanned pregnancy and we refer them to their local pregnancy support organizations. Recently, we received a message from a distraught young woman in South Africa who was completely alone and pregnant with twins. With the help of a South African CHOICE42 supporter, we were able to locate a Birthright Pregnancy Care Centre a bus ride away from her and helped her to set up an appointment. The Pregnancy Centre has provided her with maternity clothes, baby items and much needed emotional support. She was initially considering adoption for her babies, but she has now decided to parent her baby boys. It's amazing to see the incredible reach we are able to have through our social media!
Laura Klassen,
CHOICE42 Director
Did you know? Adoption
“Adoption = both a legal and relational event that has at its core the needs of the child” – www.jfjhopecentre.ca
In November, we hosted an Adoptions Training & Appreciation Brunch for our volunteers at all 3 of our sites. We invited Andrea White, the Executive Director of JFJ (Jewels for Jesus) adoptions agency to train us further on how to approach the option of adoption with our clients facing an unplanned pregnancy. Andrea worked with us around some of our site and client specific issues that have come up when we try to discuss adoption with clients, as there is often much resistance to even considering adoption as a viable option. Andrea also informed us of new guidelines and legalities surrounding adoption in Ontario, discussed current trends and statistics, and provided us with information on how JFJ can assist our volunteers and staff when counselling our clients. We were encouraged to think about our own personal biases about adoption, as well as how to use more adoption positive language in our work – i.e. Instead of saying 'give baby away', use 'place child with a forever family'. Please continue to pray that our clients will see the value of adoption and know that it is a very loving option for a child.
Aileen Glover, MSW
Ajax Director