Meet the Staff

At our annual staff retreat last month, Julian Sassen Photography and Michelle Aton so kindly shared their gifts and talents to take some photos of our staff. For those of you who have been asking, you now have a picture to put with a name!

Back Row L-R:

Darla Goodman, Decatur County Center Director and Friendraiser

Therese Chamblee, Brown County Center Director

Jenny Weaver, Abstinence Educator

Morris Nading, Men's Ministry Coordinator

Jim Bramlett, Friendraiser

Jenny Gardner, Director of Client Services

Tim Bond, Executive Director

Jane Bevers, Jennings County Center Director

Front Row, L-R:

Teresa Russell, Director of Marketing

Norma Champ, Treasurer

Lisa Newton, Director of Christian Education

Chris Bullock, Abortion Recovery Coordinator

Abby Glasser, Administrative Assistant

Enola Joplin, Shelby County Center Director

Tracey Pike, Director of Community Education

Judy Snow, Bartholomew County Center Director

Linda Long, Nurse Manager

Marge Miller, Jackson County Center Director

Not pictured: Annie Romine, Bartholomew County Assistant Center Director and Lara Heck, Internet Educator.

The Truth About STDs

An article ran in The Republic newspaper this week reporting on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s release of their Annual Report Statistics and Trends for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States Through 2008. The data revealed that the number of people contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) has risen over previous years and credited the rise to better screening.

The report also stated that the biggest rise in reported cases of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea was among girls, ages 15-19, accounting for more than one in four of those cases. STDs are at epidemic proportions and yet many of today’s youth still think “it won’t happen to me.” Why? Clearly one reason is the strong messages the media conveys that sexual activity among teens is normal, even expected, and safe as long as they use protection, while far too often parents, family member and friends remain silent on the issue. The truth is that while a condom can provide risk reduction for many STDs, waiting until one is in a committed, monogamous marriage relationship provides the only risk elimination.

For those who are sexually active, being tested every year and/or before starting a new sexual relationship, whether symptoms are present or not, is crucial for their sexual health. The Bartholomew County Health Department offers testing on a sliding scale with fees based on income and can be reached at 812-379-1555.

While STDs, infertility, cervical cancer and the emotional heartbreak that can come with casual sexual activity may be becoming more and more common, it doesn’t mean they are healthy, normal or best for our students. Early sexual debut and multiple sexual partners are well documented health risks. Today’s youth need to hear the message loud and clear that STDs do NOT have to be a part of their life. At a time when we’re taking major precautions to avoid the flu virus, we must be just as diligent to protect our kids from the emotional, mental, social, ethical and physical consequences that accompany poor sexual choices.

Here’s the bottom line: when we understand the facts about STDs, we can make better health choices. Abstinence has been, is and always will be the healthiest, best choice for teens.

Reaching More Women

We are excited to announce a new advertising outlet we have to reach potential clients in the Columbus area who think they may be pregnant. There is now a sign on a park bench featuring our logo, phone number and website with the text, "Pregnant? We can Help." The bench is located on the corner of 25th Street and Central Avenue, a very busy intersection, just down the street from Columbus North High School.

It was an advertisement on this very bench more than 10 years ago that connected a woman facing a crisis pregnancy to the center where she received truth, support and love from her peer counselor. Her pre-teen daughter is a happy, healthy young woman who loves the Lord.

This new advertising venture would not be possible without the support of a generous donor who is underwriting the monthly cost of the advertising space, as well as Columbus Signs who donated the materials for the creation of the sign and the labor for the installation of it.

Join us in praying that this sign connects many women in need of our services to the center.

Teresa Russell

The Blessing of Adoption

November is Adoption Awareness Month. The following is a guest blog by Mark Hiehle, a former Pregnancy Center Executive Director who currently serves as senior pastor at First Church of the Nazarene in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

For 15 years, we had talked about adopting a little girl. There was always the vastness of unanswered questions and reasons why we couldn't or shouldn't. We even went to numerous adoption informational meetings and took home packets from many different agencies—all of which were thrown away over the years. Time after time, however, adoption was brought to our attention through radio broadcasts, magazine articles, or songs on the radio. Then in 2004, the Lord spoke to my wife and impressed upon her that if we did not pursue an adoption, we were being disobedient. The questions and concerns were still there, such as where the money would come from, timing, what agency to use, and all the paperwork involved. It all seemed overwhelming. As we talked and prayed together, we took the step of faith and committed to adopting a little girl from China.

From that initial step of faith, it took us about a year and a half to compile all the paper work, wait, and prepare. I will always be the first to say, however, that my wife did just about all the work, research, and preparation throughout the process. If it were not for her diligence and persistence, the process would not have been completed.

"ALTHOUGH MY FATHER AND MOTHER HAVE FORSAKEN ME,YET THE LORD WILLTAKE ME UP AND ADOPT ME AS HIS CHILD" (PSALM 27:10).

After all the paperwork was completed and the documents were sent to China, the day came when we were approved to adopt a little girl from a special needs list. Due to either the one-child policy in China or this little girl's heart condition, her mother made the difficult decision to leave her next to a fire station on June 13, 2005. In God's providence, our flight left the United States to China on June 13, 2006. We received her when she was 13 months old, and she is 13 years younger than our youngest biological child. I love to say that 13 is our new favorite number.

In preparation for our adoption of this little girl, we read a book entitled, The Lost Daughters of China. In this book, we learned that all the children that are abandoned and taken to an orphanage are given the classification of 'Forsaken.' With that word, my mind raced to recount the plea of Jesus on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In Scripture, the word translated 'forsaken' literally means to reject, abandon, or be deserted without hope. Upon hearing that our daughter-to-be was known as 'Forsaken,' I was impressed that her new name would be 'Forsaken No More.'

As the truth of that meaning swept over me, I immediately thought of the words of Scripture found in Deuteronomy when the Lord told Joshua, "Be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Those words are echoed throughout the Word of God, but no more profoundly than in Psalm 27:10 which tells us in the Amplified Bible, "Although my father and mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up and adopt me as his child." This truth is also revealed in the reality that each of us has been adopted into God's family by the sacrifice of Jesus' blood that was shed on the cross. A great price was paid for our adoption.

The meaning of adoption in biblical history has been forgotten or blurred in today's understanding. In the time of the Old Testament, an adoptive child was more secure than a biological child in his standing within a family. A naturally born child could lose his standing and promise, but an adopted child was legally secure in his inheritance for life. An adoptive child could never lose that promise. He could never be forsaken again. This became strikingly reminiscent when we signed the adoption papers in China. Before completing the adoption in China, my wife and I had to promise by oath that we would not mistreat our daughter nor forsake her. With joy, the promise was made because she was, "Forsaken No More."

In the beginning, I thought that our family would rescue a little girl from an orphanage, giving her a home full of love and the promise and blessing of a new life. The reality and truth of adoption is that we are the ones who have been blessed. Our adopted daughter has brought us joy beyond words, love beyond measure, and we have been dramatically changed.
For a birthmother, the release of a child is the most difficult and heart-wrenching decision that she can make. It is also the most loving and selfless act that she could perform. The blessing of that love is given both to her child and the adoptive family. The unconditional love of adoption is one of the greatest gifts that can be experienced—next to life itself.