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5 Fast Ways
to help the PRC this month
1. Ask your church to host our Traveling Prayer Wall!
2. Please continue to pray for us!
3. Sign up a team for the
St. Joseph PRC Golf Tournament!
4. Ask around to see if all of your friends' churches are hosting a Baby Bottle Campaign for us?
5. Sign up for monthly online giving. It only takes a few minutes and helps us budget for how many hours we can operate and SAVE babies! Click here to get started.
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Brandy Meeks
Executive Director
Jessica Estes
Registered Nurse
&
Sarah Hardie
Radiologic Technologist (R)
Lisa Isom
Patient Services Director
Erika Albin
Office Manager
Dr. Kenneth Mann
Medical Director
Board of Directors
Dr. Ryan Walker
President
Lorrie Ramseier
Vice President
Steve Hamilton
Treasurer
Dennis Jennings
Secretary
Lindsey Bachman
Parliamentarian
Nancy Gregory
Larry Heintz
Precious Love
Jan Seitz
Terresa Showalter
Regan Wilcox
Our Mission
To eliminate the need
for abortion in our region through effective, Christ-like service to pregnant, at-risk women, by transforming their fears into confidence.
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| The picture of the baby used at the top of this email should be credited to Zahnd Photography. Sarah Zahnd graciously offered to do photography sessions for two of our PRC babies at no charge! Thank you, Sarah! |
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Don't forget to mark your calendars for the St. Joseph PRC Golf Tournament at Duncan Hills Golf Course in Savannah on Saturday, July 18, 2015. You and your team can register for this 4 person scramble amateur tournament by filling out the registration form that you can find on our website at this link and mailing it in before the tournament! A BBQ lunch will be provided for players at the Clasbey Center. We only have room for a limited number of teams-so don't delay!
We can't wait to see you there!
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Did you know that 1 in 3 women have had an abortion?
If you've had an abortion, we offer Abortion Healing Counseling led by a woman who has been in your shoes. This is Christ-centered healing that will allow you to fully embrace the forgiveness only He has to offer. Classes are starting soon. Call us for more information.
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Immediate Volunteer Needs:
Registered Nurses:
We need RN's who are willing to work a 3 hour volunteer shift twice per month. RN's assist clients by performing medical duties that include pregnancy tests, STD tests and a small medical intake/assessment. This position does require an active Registered Nurse license in the state of Missouri. Front Desk Helper: We need coverage for our front desk a couple days per week, answering phones and greeting patients. Please contact Lisa Isom if you are interested!
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Interested in touring the PRC to see firsthand what's happening?
Arrange your
Behind the Scenes Tour today!
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In case you missed the news about
TAX CREDITS!
The Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) tax credits are available for individuals and businesses that qualify. The tax credits are 50% state tax credits, meaning the donor will receive a credit against their Missouri income tax for 50% of the amount contributed. In addition, if they itemize deductions on their tax return, the charitable contribution will reduce federal and state income taxes further, depending on their tax bracket.
Example
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Amount of Donation
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$1,000
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$2,500
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$5,000
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Tax Savings (Fed & MO)
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$ 795
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$1,987
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$3,974
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Actual Cost of Donation
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$ 205
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$ 513
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$1,026
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Example Assumptions:
- Married Filing Jointly
- 25% tax bracket (taxable income of $100,000)
- Can itemize deductions
Tax credits may be applied to the tax year in which the donation was made or they can be carried over for four years. With each of these tax credits, gifts of appreciated property such as stocks and bonds may make the tax benefits even greater by eliminating capital gains tax.
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All babies pictured are children that your
donations provided for!
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Greetings!
Thank you for taking time out of your day to catch up with us! I'm going to be brief this month in my section, so you can soak up the rest of the content.
As always, be sure to glance over the 5 Fast Ways section to see an updated list of ways you can be a part of the exciting things going on here this month. God's Got This is about a recent client and her family member who came in determined to get an abortion. The 2015 Banquet Speaker section gives you details about our speaker who lived to tell the story of SURVIVING an abortion! The Volunteer Spotlight features a volunteer who is using her gifts and talents to mentor young mothers and help us with the Baby Bottle Campaign. The left column has all kinds of helpful information about upcoming events.
Thanks for all you do to help this ministry! We're growing stronger every day because of God's provision and your faithful support!
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From the moment Crissy arrived in the front door of the Center, she was upset. Torn between a close family member pressuring her to abort and the father of the baby who thought she should parent (even though he did not want to be in the picture), Crissy had some tough decisions to make. The advocate walked her through the medical appointment and asked for permission at each step, being careful to always respect the patient.
The nurse received permission, as well, to give Crissy free STD testing and to perform an ultrasound. The patient was told we would be checking for three things: placement in the uterus, viability, and the age of the baby. A family member had accompanied Crissy to her appointment and was invited to join her in the ultrasound room.
During the ultrasound, Crissy saw her baby for the first time. In addition to seeing her baby, she also saw and heard the heartbeat.
What should have been a joyful moment, became a moment of anger for the family member. The family member had an abortion several years earlier and obviously still felt the pain. She didn't want Crissy exposed to seeing the ultrasound and possibly choosing to keep her baby or live with the pain of knowing what she had done to to this child. The staff reacted quickly to calm this person and assure her that the information Crissy was receiving was vital information that she needed to know before making her decision about possibly aborting her baby. With so much outside pressure from the family member, the staff and volunteers felt only God could turn this situation into something beautiful. It was an especially discouraging moment when Crissy did not show up for her follow-up ultrasound and STD results the following week. But we know that God is ALWAYS at work!
A week and a half after her initial appointment, Crissy showed up with another patient. Crissy had recommended this patient come to see us for her pregnancy test! She asked the nurse if she thought she would have time to give her the STD results and another ultrasound that day. With a little creative scheduling, the nurse said, "Of course we can work you into the schedule." Crissy informed us during the second appointment that she is now planning to either parent or place the baby for adoption. She also stated that the family members will support her in either of those decisions.
Because God knows everything and is in control of everything, all we need to do is follow our process and pray, pray, pray.
"God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by His power that is working in us." Ephesians 3:20 (NIRV)
We are currently operating at an 87% success rate with the girls we see turning from abortion and choosing LIFE!!!
This year, the PRC is on track to successfully reach and turn the hearts of over 200 women like Crissy, which translates to over 200 babies saved! These numbers include women who come into our center wanting an abortion and those who are vulnerable to abortion due to risk factors. Thank you for supporting our efforts to reach these women.
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Meet our 2015 Banquet Speaker
and Abortion Survivor
Melissa Ohden
Melissa is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977.
Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa's future after surviving the attempt to end her life and being born alive at approximately seven months gestation, she has not only survived but thrived. With a Master's Degree in Social Work, she has worked in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence/sexual assault counseling, and child welfare.
Melissa was formerly a College Outreach Speaker with Feminists for Life and former Patron of Real Choices Australia. She is the Founder and Director of For Olivia's Sake, an organization which seeks to raise awareness of the intergenerational impact of abortion on men, women, children, families, and communities. The birth of Olivia, her first child, in 2008, who never would have existed if Melissa's birthmother's abortion would have succeeded in ending her life, prompted Melissa to create this organization that would positively raise awareness of the ripple effect of abortion across generations.
In 2012, Melissa founded The Abortion Survivors Network, www.theabortionsurvivors.com, after recognizing the number of abortion survivors and how most felt alone in this role, and after recognizing the need for the public to be educated about the reality of failed abortions and abortion survivors. Since ASN's inception, Melissa has been in contact with over 130 survivors and she is working on a healing ministry curriculum and a retreat for survivors.
Melissa has been featured on television and radio programs including: The 700 Club, EWTN's Life on the Rock and Defending Life, Fox News, Facing Life Head On, Focus on the Family, and American Family Radio, the Mike Huckabee show, and the Teresa Tomeo show. Her life and ministry is featured in the award winning pro-life documentary, A Voice for Life.
After years of searching for her biological family and offering them forgiveness for the decision that was made to end her life, Melissa's story, and her life, is so much more than one of survival. Melissa's life story is about the beauty of God's grace in our lives, about the power of love, about the hope for joy and healing in the midst of grief and loss, and about the transformational power of forgiveness and in answering God's call for your life.
Fulfilling the purpose that she believes God set out for her when He saved her from the certain death of the abortion attempt, Melissa is truly a voice for the voiceless.
Be sure to come listen to Melissa share her message of forgiveness and love on September 15th at our annual banquet! If you would like to be a Table Captain in charge of filling a table with 8 people who would like to hear Melissa speak and are interested in financially supporting our organization, let us know! Space is limited, and we did reach max capacity last year.
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Volunteer Spotlight!
Meet
Jessica Gummelt
Jessica goes to the Edge Christian Fellowship. She feels blessed to be married to her very best friend, Bill, who is a loving husband and devoted father to their 7 children. Jessica has four grown stepchildren, Emily, Bethany, Russell, and Stephanie. She also has a 13 year old son, Jace, a 5 year old daughter, Reese, and a 22 month old surprise baby boy, James! She's also a mama to a number of dearly loved fur babies and any unloved strays she can slip past her husband!!
Jessica always had a vague knowledge of the Pregnancy Resource Center because of the billboards around town. While she was pregnant with her youngest son, the Kermit Gosnell abortionist trial was in progress. The atrocities involved were more than she could bear to have awareness of. It was at that time that her pastor, Jim, gave a sermon on Romans 8:28, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose". She became emotional and angry questioning how that could be true in all situations when the Gosnell stuff was happening. She addressed her despair with her pastor who directed her to the PRC. He told her, "My faith grows better with my feet moving than sitting on the couch". He was confident her passion could be redirected constructively and her faith made stronger.
Jessica began visiting with some individuals here at the PRC about what exactly happens here, which is so much more than she had imagined. Jessica says, "I inquired about volunteer roles that would fit into my life with an already busy schedule and young children at home. I began helping at the front desk one day a week for a couple hours. Then the need arose for a teacher in the Thursday parenting class and, as a mom and a registered nurse, somebody thought I might fit well there. I'm so glad they gave me the opportunity! I grew to love my first group of girls with whom I am still in touch!" She is getting to know her second class now and says, "We get to teach them how to care for themselves as expectant mothers and their new babies and offer ministry as well."
This past December she was approached about taking on the 2015 baby bottle campaign. Again, finding out what exactly goes on and the impact this fundraiser has for the PRC was more than she imagined. She says, "I have to admit, before embarking on this journey I still had my own bottle full of coins that I hadn't returned to my church from the previous year. I had no idea how important that bottle full of coins was to a desperate mother or her unborn child."
Jessica has a goal of helping us raise $45,000 this year from over 40 churches throughout Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. Her passion for this ministry is contagious, and she's willing to roll up her sleeves and do what it takes to make it happen!
If you're considering what gifts you have to offer to this ministry, but you are not sure they might fit our needs, you really should visit with our staff. You never know what qualities God can use to benefit His Kingdom work. Think about it---Jessica is an RN that isn't serving in the medical clinic right now, because he has other things for her to achieve for Him right now, like mentoring young mothers and raising thousands of dollars so we can reach more women! You just never know what God is going to do!
Jessica adds, "I am delighted to say that my pastor was right about his advice that day and, indeed, things here are working together for the good of the Lord. They also work together for the good of these young mothers and their babies, and they continue to fill my heart and build my faith like nothing else has aside from my own motherhood."
When asked about ending this article with her favorite scripture verse, she said, "Obviously, Romans 8:28 has had an impact on my life but my favorite is John 13:35, 'By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.' The Bible calls us to 'love' more than anything else. That is how we will be identified by others as belonging to Christ, by showing love."
Amen, sister! We are so grateful that you shine the love of Christ at the PRC!
Consider joining us for prayer one day and see how God speaks to your heart about being a part of this mission!
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