Displaying items by tag: News from the Worldwide Pregnancy Help Movement

The gospel of life in China is taking root. Lofty prayers are being answered!

Because of the nature and scope of this effort, Heartbeat International is releasing Executive Director of Global Advancement John Ensor to begin a new labor, called PassionLife Ministries.  Though independent of Heartbeat, PassionLife will seek to work collaboratively with us in our life-saving mission when it officially launches Oct. 1, 2012.

PassionLife is a global missions initiative created to spread the gospel of life and expand the pregnancy help movement in especially difficult places and among people plagued by abortion, infanticide and gendercide. PassionLife will seek to use God’s Word to open the eyes of the Chinese people to the beauty of human life and the ugly truth of abortion.

All of us at Heartbeat are excited to be a part of what the Lord is doing as He expands His work in especially needy areas like China. When God's people respond with a desire to start a pregnancy help organization, Heartbeat’s goal is to provide leadership training and support to assist in equipping those that have been called.
John has played an integral part in our movement for nearly 20 years, first as founder and president of a Heartbeat affiliate in Boston, then as a key member of the Heartbeat International Board. He served as a Heartbeat staff member for the past six years before being called to devote his time to bringing God's life-saving message to China.

It is our honor to help launch this new organization, and we greatly anticipate working closely with Chinese leaders who emerge, helping them plan and implement pregnancy help organizations in their own communities.

Please join us as we continue to pray for John's work, and for PassionLife.

May the Lord continue to bless this great and heroic outreach!

By Connie Ambrecht RDMS, CMB

Heartbeat International has a heart for international ministry.  If you would like to join in the international ultrasound ministry, there are a couple of resources of which you should be aware: Hope Imaging Innovative Image Technology

Have you wondered how much impact ultrasound could have internationally?  What does it take?  Who is qualified to go?  Who would you train in those countries?

It almost sounds glamorous to travel to exotic places like Haiti and Ecuador or Ukraine and Romania.  Hope Imaging and its teams have been to all of these countries and more, taking life-affirming sonography training to physicians, midwives, and nurses in these foreign lands. 

If traveling internationally to address life issues doesn’t interest you, read no further.  Hope Imaging is all about the God possibilities, and exotic travel and intrigue are all part of His itinerary to get the job done well. 

You may already be interested and eagerly have your hand raised saying “Send me Lord, send me!” 

What does it take to go internationally? 

Flexibility, agenda-free thinking, funding, immunizations, peanut butter, and “just in case” medicines make international outreach travel all that you imagine and then some.  

• Flexibility, or maybe it should be FLEXIBILTY - It is so important to remain in that mode.  You will find it key to surviving.  Every country runs on its own time, schedule, and expectations.  A willingness to adjust is essential.
• Agenda-free, I can do that…or can I? - You may want to encourage that patients see the ultrasound screen; you may want to write on the printed image; and you may think you are there to share all you can. Feel free to change that thinking.  For one thing, they may not have all the equipment you are used to having.  God brought you there to learn.  Listen to Him.  
• Funding?  I have the money to buy my ticket, but I’ll not ask anyone else  - What?! And rob them of the opportunity to share in His work?  Remember you are the vessel, but He can bless many as you go and then share what He’s doing.  
• Immunizations are just part of it - Bugs, climates, diseases, many new things to ward off as a traveler - this is easy to check and get educated on.  
• Peanut butter goes a long way - It is one of God’s basic food groups.  Some on a spoon, a dried banana chip, or on a piece of bread; peanut butter is a great source of nutrition.
• “Just in case medicines” are a must have! - A bee sting, a bug bite, a stomach upset, a cut, etc.  Be prepared, all kinds of things can happen!

Who’s qualified to go? 

Those He’s called.  

Hope Imaging recommends taking a team; two registered sonographers, one prayer partner, and one intern.  The registered sonographers can rotate with the training and translation.  The prayer partner is one who can be trusted with difficult situations – team members, participants, safety, health, technical translations, clinic needs, medical needs…the prayer needs can be endless.  

An intern, as defined by Hope Imaging, is one of the following:

• the medical professional trained in limited sonography,
• the medical student interested in missions, or
• the sonography student getting ready to join the work force.  

Any of these members can be combined.  For example, a registered nurse/sonographer might also serve as prayer partner, or a registered sonographer may be prayer warrior.  You get the idea; it’s that flexible thing again!

Who do we teach internationally?  
The simple answer is primarily physicians. Physicians are quick learners so keep that in mind as you walk them through the steps to a good image.  Be patient and work with them.  Remember, they want to learn.  That machine has been sitting idle for too long.  Let’s get it in use!
The reality is, however, that we teach everyone we cross paths with.  

I hope the idea of considering an international, life-affirming imaging trip is of interest to you.  For more information, please contact Kama Tate Gregory, CEO, Hope Imaging at kama@hopeimaging.org and/or visit HopeImaging.org to discover where the team is headed next and find out how you might serve.

Our teams need people with a heart for international missions, who are flexible, and who are willing to raise their hand and say, “Send me Lord, send me!”

Connie Ambrecht serves as International Team Coordinator as well as Team Leader for Hope Imaging.  She and her husband have been involved with Hope Imaging since its birth in 2005.

When Mike and Dinah Monahan left for a Mission trip to Ethiopia, little did they know that God was starting them on an unimaginable journey.

Mike, who runs the family pro-life business, Heritage House 76, and Dinah, who had recently retired from her role of founding and leading Living Hope Women’s Centers and Hope House Maternity Home in Arizona, were headed to Ethiopia to visit orphanages and street children’s homes run by YWAM (Youth With a Mission.) They even questioned why they were going. But God knew.

After a difficult 15 hour journey through the interior of Ethiopia, their hearts were moved by the precious orphans they met, but they were shaken by the stories they heard of unwed mothers, many of whom were working as domestic servants and were raped by a stranger or their employer. In that culture, if a girl has a baby outside of marriage most likely no man will ever marry her.

Regardless of whether they are victims of rape or incest, they are often cast out of their homes and livelihood to survive on their own. Young women rarely attend school since schooling is neither free nor mandatory,

“There is a razor thin line between survival and starvation in this country,” says Dinah.

Confronted with all this misery, Dinah and Mike were convinced that God was calling them to action. But what? How? Then God began to open unexpected doors. By walking through them, in faith, they eventually realized they were called to open a maternity home in Ethiopia. Through the YWAM staff, they were introduced to Meseret Seyoum, a college educated Ethiopian Christian woman with years of experience Non-Government Organizations.

Two years earlier, Meseret began feeling called by God to start helping the women and children in her country. And now He provided this connection to the Monahans. Other key connections followed, Ebise Berri as accountant and Muluwork Tefera as nurse. Barbara Mwansa, Heartbeat affiliate in Zambia (Silent Voices), provided the training needed to start the home.

Just eight months later, Living Hope Ministries in Adama, Ethiopia opened as the first maternity home in Ethiopia. It offers security, shelter, love, education, healthy food, and training in job skills that the twenty residents will need to survive. Each woman learns jewelry making, sewing, and other skills that make it possible for her to start a small business and provide for herself and her child.

Says Dinah, “I am in awe of what God is doing here. We couldn’t have kicked the doors down that God has so graciously opened. This isn’t what I expected from retirement…it’s way better!”

Heartbeat International congratulates our Australia affiliate network Pregnancy Help Australia (PHA), formerly known as the Australian Federation of Pregnancy Support Services (AFPSS), on their new leadership group and especially the new Executive Officer, Lynn Mabey. Pregnancy Help Australia is set to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2009. The roots of this good work go back even further and intersect with the founding group that became Heartbeat International.

Click here to visit the PHA website.

Check out PregnancyCareCanada.ca to see the good work and exciting initiatives of our friend Dr. Laura Lewis, Executive Director, and her team at Pregnancy Care Canada (formerly The Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services CAPSS) and the associated pregnancy centres. We also are excited about our joint affiliation agreement whereby all Pregnancy Care Canada affiliates gain affiliation with Heartbeat International for no additional cost.

Click here to visit the Pregnancy Care Canada website.

The pregnancy care efforts are growing on the continent of Africa! Pregnancy Help Network now publishes a dynamic manual on how to start a pregnancy centre called “Fan Into Flame”. Gail Schreiner, President Africa Cares for Life, combined her personal experiences, insight and wisdom with the framework for Heartbeat’s own “A Vision for Your Organization” to author a manual that will equip and inspire others to establish strong efforts to help those in need. We are pleased to announce our joint affiliation agreement where affiliates in good standing of Pregnancy Help Network automatically receive all the benefits of affiliation with Heartbeat International.

Click here to access Pregnancy Help Network's website.

International Affiliates (outside U.S.): $70.00 USD

Click here to convert currency.

To initiate/renew your Heartbeat affiliation online, please click here:

If you are in a developing country and would like to request a scholarship to cover your affiliation fee, please contact Ellen Foell at efoell@heartbeatinternational.org.

 Advancing Life-Affirming Pregnancy Help Worldwide

To become an affiliate of Heartbeat International, you must review and agree to abide by the Heartbeat Principles and the Commitment of Care and Competence:

As an affiliate of Heartbeat, our agency or organization subscribes to the principles of Heartbeat and “Our Commitment of Care and Competence.” We recognize that we are autonomous in all other matters of policy and management. This includes choice of name, method of operation, and all other matters which do not violate the principles of Heartbeat International. We expressly agree that General Counsel for Heartbeat International does not act as our legal counsel, and cannot represent us in legal proceedings or give us legal advice. We understand that Heartbeat’s General Counsel is available for consultation to our agency or organization’s legal counsel. Any general legal education provided by Heartbeat’s General Counsel does not constitute the practice of law.

Centers affiliated with Pregnancy Support Services of Asia (PSSA) fill a tall order helping women and families. Asia is a region of the world where abortion and other population control tools are the order of the day. In fact, for baby girls throughout Asia, the mother’s womb has become a very dangerous place. The Philippines was sheltered by law from this storm of abortion and the undercurrent of birth control – until Planned Parenthood went to work on Philippine cultural values and began lobbying the Philippine legislature to make abortion legal.

PSSA, founded by Lily Perez and headquartered in Manila, takes on the daily challenge of pregnancy support, thanks to the grace-filled vision that God gave to Lily over a decade ago.

This past month, PSSA has joined hands with Heartbeat International in a joint-affiliation agreement that makes more life-saving services available to PSSA’s pregnancy help centers.

At Heartbeat, we welcome the expansion of international affiliates and the access to the expertise and cultural understanding of Asian society that PSSA offers through its network of pro-life ministries. Heartbeat is also pleased that the joint affiliation will allow PSSA affiliates to benefit from Heartbeat affiliates the world over, our experience, and our tools. For example, PSSA affiliates will gain access to Heartbeat online trainings around the world and around the clock through the Heartbeat International Academy.

The idea for PSSA began at Heartbeat International’s annual conference in October 2004.  Lily, a longtime pro-life advocate from the Philippines, attended the Heartbeat Conference and became inspired to create an umbrella organization for pro-life pregnancy centers throughout Asia.  Heartbeat and PSSA began working together to bring leadership training including board management, postabortion healing, hotline counseling, and The LOVE Approach™ to PSSA affiliates. For example, in 2006, Heartbeat had the privilege of helping PSSA build capacity and leadership among Asian pregnancy help ministries by cosponsoring the Heart to Love Conference in the Philippines with PSSA. Over 180 individuals seeking training for pregnancy center ministries attended the conference.

“The growing reach of PSSA’s helping arms is a dream come true and an answered prayer for me in my personal mission of promoting life-affirming services in my country,” said Lily. “I am forever grateful to Peggy Hartshorn (Heartbeat International President) and Heartbeat International for sharing their passion for this ministry.”

by Jor-El Godsey, Heartbeat International Vice President

Yes, you read that right. The President signed his very first pro-life law just last month. The administration actually said that the law is aimed at “protecting the health of the woman” from dangers associated with abortion. The President went so far as to make it illegal to promote abortion as a safe procedure.

And more than that, the New York Times reported the President’s wife taking an even bolder stand in this brand new pro-life effort. She’s gone so far as to launch a nationwide campaign called “Give Me Life!” as a “week against abortion.” How amazing that the First Couple has taken such unprecedented steps for the cause of life!

Now if only other leaders of nations besides Russia would gain the realization that they are allowing their future to be aborted.  But for now, we take heart that Scripture tells us, “The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1, NIV).

Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, was a keynote speaker at the recent Moscow Demographic Summit, hosted by World Congress of Families. Political and spiritual leaders alike aligned their interests to address the devastation that abortion has wrought on the future generations of Russians and thus Russia itself.

What were once statistical predictions of demographic trends have become a bleak, stark reality for countries such as Russia, Japan, and nearly all of Western Europe. We salute Mr. Dmitri A. Medvedev, President of Russia, and his wife, Svetlana, for this valiant redirection of law, public influence, and resources in the former Communist nation. Their actions and those of other leaders like them reveal a broader movement of the Holy Spirit in changing the hearts of leaders and laymen alike to renew a culture of life. We truly take heart in the Giver of Life and the Gift of Life.

You can read more about Peggy’s visit to Russia in the coming issue of Pulse. Watch for Pulse in your inbox later this month.