New Resolutions for 2013!

News from AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling
Winter 2013
New Resolutions for 2013!
Happy New Year! Have you ever written a list of resolutions? I prefer starting the
New Year by taking inventory of processes I can improve. For me, it is a time to
reevaluate my goals and set new ones. Most importantly, I want my plans to be
in line with God’s plans.
Mission Statement
To erase the need for
abortion through effectively
serving pregnant and at-risk
women by transforming
their fear into confidence
to the honor of Jesus Christ.
C.A.R.E Commitment
We believe in the inherent
value of every person.
We’re committed to
serving with compassion
and respect through
assistance and education.
As I take inventory of our day-to-day operations at the AAA Center for Pregnancy
Counseling, I am grateful for our strong programs and our ability to save babies at
a significantly lower cost than the average of $1500 per baby. Of course, we are
constantly tweaking our daily operations to make our process more efficient. Two
new opportunities will begin this year for our supporters. Once you read about
them, I pray that you are as excited as I am.
Toni Clarke
Executive Director
Prayer is a crucial part of our mission. Every day at noon, the staff gathers in our prayer room to intercede
for our patients, the unborn, our government, our volunteers, and our own families and concerns.
Our desire is to have the local body be more involved in our prayer efforts.
A prayer text will be available this year for those who are interested. About once a week, a text will
be sent out with specific prayer requests. I hope many of you will take part in this. Prayer is the single most
important thing that we can all participate in. Expect more information to follow in the next few weeks.
The staff celebrates the lives of the babies we save. We get excited when the schedule is full and there are
plenty of positive pregnancy tests. In addition to the prayer texts, our supporters can celebrate with us in
another way. This year, whenever we confirm that a patient has made a decision for life, we will contact
one of our supporters with the baby’s due date. When possible, we will even notify you when the baby
is born and give you a name. This will allow you to celebrate and pray with us for the mother and child.
For the last two years, the focus of our pregnancy center, along with others around the nation, has
been “The Great Turnaround!” This program, led by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, set our center on a new
path. This year, we are preparing for “The Great Advance,” which will focus on advancing the kingdom
of God by saving more babies in west Omaha (with an branch office located there) as well as training
other centers around the nation to be more effective. (Please see the article on our upcoming banquet
in this issue!)
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.
“They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
I am excited for this new year at the Center. I believe God has prepared and
equipped both our staff and our supporters for such a time as this.
Five Ways
What Can You Do
to Create Real Change?
Barb Malek
AdministrativeDirector
What can you do?
It’s simple really:
ask Him what He
wants you to do.
You Can Support
the AAA Center for
Pregnancy Counseling
As those of you who read my blog (www.erasetheneed.wordpress.com) on a regular
basis know, I was quite passionate about the last election. There was just so much at
stake. I am glad that I have been a believer in Jesus for as many years as I have and that
my faith is pretty unshakeable. Otherwise, the results of the election may really have
thrown me into serious disarray.
1. For those hard-to-buy-for people
I still think that pro-lifers and people of faith are going to pay a big price because of the
way things turned out. Once the new Healthcare plan kicks in and insurance covers the
cost of abortion for more and more Americans, it is going to be tougher than ever to
defend the unborn. Just recently, we had a woman in the pregnancy center who told us
that she had always considered abortion to be wrong, but she was confused because
everywhere she turned the media and those in her life were telling her it was no big deal.
How could all of them be wrong? Add to that mix the insurance companies treating the
death of unborn children like it is normal healthcare, and there is one more voice telling
her she is wrong to be concerned. Plus, it all becomes so easy.
2. Give donations of baby (size 2
Maybe I am just exhausted from the battle and will change my mind in the next two
years, but I have lost a lot of my belief that change will come from Washington. Don’t
get me wrong: I still believe that it is important to speak up and to vote for life and
righteousness. However, our elected officials are NOT the answer. Faithful, praying
people, who are obedient to God’s call, are the answer to changing our society and
saving lives. They always have been and they always will.
I think that the Lord is calling His people to take on a number of vital roles in these
difficult days. I hope He is calling some to run for office at the local, state and federal
level. However, most of us will be in our communities, working at the ground level for
change. We will be praying outside of abortion clinics, feeding the hungry, volunteering
at the CPC and other non-profits, teaching our children and grandchildren Biblical
values, and speaking truth whenever we have a chance. If every believer would be
obedient to what God called him or her to do, the non-profits and churches
would never be wanting for volunteers and all would be fully funded. If we
would all just obey, this would be a very different world from what it is.
What can you do? It’s simple really: ask Him what He wants you to do. I’m sure the
Lord has given you a passion for something. This world is full of urgent needs and
not nearly enough people who have responded to the cries around them. Jump in,
and encourage those around you to do the same. Write a blog or ask your friends out
for a cup of coffee and share what you are doing. Or, call us: we have a wide array of
volunteer opportunities available! You’d be amazed at how many are longing to make a
difference with their lives but just don’t know how.
Be ready: the battle is fierce! Before you jump in, you also need to commit yourself
to reading the Word of God everyday and to build a strong relationship with Jesus. Satan
hates it when we turn people away from sin and death and he will fight back. However,
if all of God’s people would stand up and take their rightful place, we would make an
army that could not be defeated! The sad thing is that so many of us have chosen to
remain in comfort and ignorance instead.
If you are like me, you continually need someone to remind you to put on the armor of
God and soldier on! Take this as your reminder for today. Let’s commit to encouraging
one another to keep running the race set before us, or to at least begin moving forward.
It is the only hope that we, or the world, have.
on your gift list, give a gift to the
Center in their name. (We have
pretty cards to send out for that
purpose- just ask!)
and under) and maternity items
to our Boutique. Or, have a Baby
Shower in which your guests bring
items to give to new mothers who
are taking our Parenting Class.
3. Pray for us. Every day at the
Center is a spiritual battle. Pray
for salvation for the young women
and life for their children.
4. Volunteer! We always have
positions available in every area of
the Center. You can work with our
pregnancy testing program or with
parenting. We even need volunteers
to do laundry or work with the
landscaping!
5. Give! We are dependent upon
donations from people like you who
are concerned about life! Without
government funding, we are free to
share the Christ’s love and truth!
Statistics
April to November, 2012
Pregnancy Tests.............1208
Positive Tests.................. 815
Negative Tests................ 393
Ultrasounds...................1385
Received Christ................. 82
Parenting Classes............ 458
Ad Parenting Classes....... 168
Life Basics Classes........... 186
(Spiritual Development)
Boutique Visits............... 705
U
Center
pdates
“The Great Advance”
God is at work in the Relationship
2013 Fundaising Banquet Education Department!
For the last two years, we have had Dr. Bruce Wilkinson lead us in
“The Great Turnaround!” You have responded to us in an amazing
way with your gifts and your prayers. As a result, we have been able to
increase our advertising and nearly double the number of women that we
see every week. In turn, we are close to doubling the number of babies
which have been saved each year (from around 600 to almost 1200!)
At this year’s banquet we will be asking you to join us in “The Great
Advance!” As we have mentioned, in order to reach 1500 women a
year (as we promised would be our goal at the 2011 banquet) we are
convinced that we need to open a branch office in West Omaha. A
study of the zip codes in which our patient’s live clearly show that we
are not reaching women in the western part of our region. As the saying
goes, if they won’t come to us, we must go to them.
The second part of “The Great Advance” will be a venture we have
undertaken to reach out to pregnancy centers all over the United States
with the Optimization Tool (OT), a 15-step linear process which we
adopted in 2006 to reach more abortion-minded women. The OT has
been extremely successful for us and we feel a calling from the Lord to
share it with other centers. Statistics have shown that those pregnancy
centers that adopted the OT are reaching far more women who would
otherwise seek abortions and, therefore, seeing the lives of many more
children spared from abortion.
At the 2013 Banquet, not only will we be sharing
with you the exciting news about “The Great
Advance,” but you will also have an opportunity
to hear Dr. Alveda King. Niece of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Dr. King sees the prolife movement
as a continuation of the civil rights struggle.
She currently serves as a Pastoral Associate and
Director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel
of Life Ministries. She is also a voice for the Silent No More Awareness
Campaign, sharing her testimony of two abortions, God’s forgiveness,
and healing.
Karieta Johnson-
Director of Relationship Education Department
“Now to Him that is able to do far more abundantly than all we can
ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen” Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
In addition to speaking in our current schools, this semester we’ve been blessed to speak in
three new schools. We recently completed two five-day presentations to freshmen at the two
Papillion-La Vista High Schools. We were also blessed to speak to eighth graders in South
Omaha at Marrs Middle School. Additionally, we have been able to speak to the freshmen
at Plattsmouth High School. In January, we will be speaking in an all-school assembly at
Plattsmouth High School.
Indeed, the Lord is doing a new thing in our department. Because of your support, we have
also added two new speakers to our team, Jerrod Cunningham and Jill Bydalek. Our ability
as relationship educators comes from God. He gives us the words to speak to depressed,
hopeless, and discouraged students. He gives us the words to say when we meet with school
officials and administrators. God gives us the courage to walk into those schools, educate the
students of the Greater Omaha area, and tell them that abstinence is the best choice for them.
Society tells them they shouldn’t wait until marriage to
have sex. But, we have the awesome opportunity to tell
them they are worth waiting for. One reason they’re worth waiting for is
because they’re not an accident. There is a purpose, plan, and destiny for their lives. Thank
you for this opportunity. Thank you for your financial support, prayers, and for spreading the
word about our program.
Please pray for favor with school officials so we may reach even more students. Pray for the
health and strength of our speakers so we can boldly proclaim this life-giving message. Pray for
the students that they will decide to become abstinent after hearing our message. Lastly, please
pray for the young ladies that are pregnant or think they are pregnant that hear our message.
We want them to visit our center rather than visiting an abortion clinic. We want them to
choose life for their unborn child. We are honored to help erase the need for abortion in our
community by educating students. May the Lord bless and prosper you in the New Year.
Please see the notice for the banquet in this newsletter (as well as
at our website at www.aaacpcpartners.com.) Invitations will go out
in February, so stay tuned! This is an event that you will not
want to miss!
A New Thing
We want to sincerely thank all of you who took part in our Adopt a Family Christmas program. Thanks to you we were able to provide Christmas gifts and joy
for 54 families. We wish you could have been here to see the smiles of joy, and even tears, on the faces of mothers and fathers as they picked up their gifts. For
some of them there would have been no presents without your generosity. We especially want to thank those who rushed in to provide gifts for some families
at the last minute. Thanks again!
AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling
6510 Sorensen Parkway
•
Omaha, NE 68152-2138
Return Service Requested
NONPROFIT ORG
US Postage
PAID
Gretna, NE
Permit #38
You are Invited to a
Fundraising Event
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Doors Open at 5:30 P.M.
Dinner (served promptly) at 6:30 P.M.
Staff members
Embassy Suites
12520 Westport Pkwy
La Vista, Nebraska
Barb Malek
Administrative Director
Individual Seating - $15
Table for 10 - $120
Call 402-390-9700 or go to
www.aaacpcpartners.com
for Ticket information
(See the article in this newsletter
for more exciting information
concerning this exciting event!)
Toni Clarke
Executive Director
Michelle Sullivan
PRC Executive Training Coach
Chris Schlesiger
Director of Advocate Resources
Sue Bunjer
Special Projects Coordinator
Leanna Hyatt
Director of Client Programs
Beth Matson
Life Basics Coordinator
Rachel Franks
Follow-up Coordinator
Brent Myers - President
Jon Reid - Vice President
Annette Wells - Treasurer
Chris Beck - Secretary
Femi Awodele
Jim Beck
David Meyer
Jason Rothfus
Vaughan Wenzel
Nursing Staff
Valerie Bokowski
Office Assistant and
Data-Base Coordinator
Beth Brown, Lindsey Cain,
Sarah Foster, Dawn Strelow,
Mary Wurgler, Liz Larson
Connie Abdo
Amy Smith
Office Assistant
Rachel Swartz
Shift Supervisor
Relationship Speakers
Pamela Chmielewski Usack
Staff Sonographer
Jan Duffy
Staff Sonographer
Julie Thomas
Nursing Supervisor
402-390-9700
Board members
•
Karieta Johnson
Relationship Education Coordinator
Julie Sibert
Kim Schiemann
Theo Hudalla
Jerrod Cunningham
Jill Bydalek
www.aaacpcpartners.com
Design: LifeSupport, Inc. © 2013 . www.life-support.org
for the AAA Center for
Pregnancy Counseling