Teachers Saving Children® Inc. - National
Newsletter
Volume 19 Number 4
April 2009
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"But as for you, brethren. Do not grow weary in doing good.”
My comments are brief this month as I sensed the direction to allow more space for other articles of interest and importance. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle which can cause weariness. As the Apostle Paul encouraged the believers at Thessalonica to serve with faithfulness, may I encourage each one of you to not grow weary in the battle for the lives of the unborn, but to be faithful and to persevere for the importance of one…
PFA increases taxpayer funding for the Title X family planning program – which provides significant funds to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers – from $300 million in 2008 to $700 million or more. PFA would also write Title X family planning into law, rather than the annually renewed program it currently is, and permanently include “family planning services” as part of the Medicaid program (something President Obama removed from the economic stimulus package as a concession to opponents).
PFA also requires that religiously affiliated hospitals provide contraceptives; guts abstinence until marriage education programs in schools but provides much funding for “comprehensive” sex education programs such as those Planned Parenthood supports; includes a government-sponsored advertising campaign for the morning after pill, and more.
This legislation is under consideration now in government committee. Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives to oppose S.21 Prevention First Act. (www.senate.gov; www.house.gov)
(Source: Cincinnati Right to Life Educational Foundation, Inc., March 2009, Volume 39, Number 3, Cincinnati OH)
The idea of sending a red envelope to President Obama came to Christ (rhymes with mist) Otto during a time of prayer. The red color represents the blood of over 50 million preborn babies who have been sacrificed on the altar of “choice”. The goal is to have a tidal wave of red envelopes flood the mailroom of the White House. Mr. Otto says that the message sent through the red envelope is “quiet but clear.”
Teachers Saving Children® is proud to partner with Christ Otto and the thousands of other pro-lifers to assist in this noble and moving effort. Enclosed in this newsletter is one red envelope already preprinted. All that is needed is a stamp. Please be a part of this new tidal wave of individuals who are standing up for America’s preborn children.
Editor’s Note: Additional preprinted red envelopes are being provided or can be purchased by a number of pro-life organizations, including Life Issues Institute at www.lifeissues.org.
“God has turned my personal loss into a ministry to others who are grieving. He has used my hands to help others,” says Catherine Jacobs--artist, teacher, and sculptor of, as she describes them, “3-D portrait sculptures of real preemie and micro-preemie babies.” These are the same sculptured preborns that have become a permanent feature of the Teachers Saving Children® exhibit. This year the “babies” will make the trip to the West Coast to be part of the NEA Expo which precedes the 2009 National Education Association’s Representative Assembly in San Diego, California. The story that lies behind these life-like sculptures is one that the reader won’t soon forget.
Catherine Jacob’s inspiration for “the babies” began after she miscarried a child at 8 weeks of development. “I took what I found to my OBGYN, and he said, ‘I am sorry, Mrs. Jacobs, you have lost your baby.’ Then he threw what I gave him in the garbage. I was in shock and still regret not asking him for my baby to take home to bury.” Later, through research, Catherine learned that what she had given the doctor was a gestation sack, and hidden inside was her tiny baby. “I have grieved for the loss of this little one for over 14 years now,” she says.
The story continues. “Several months later I became pregnant again, and at about 12 weeks into this new pregnancy, I began to hemorrhage once more. This time I went to my doctor, and he told me that I had probably miscarried again; that since I was 12 weeks into the pregnancy, he would need to do a D&C. I felt the Lord telling me to say NO, and so I refused it. The doctor examined me and told me that he was going to order an ultrasound to reassure me that I needed a D&C. I went to have the ultrasound, and there on the screen we saw my twins doing summersaults in different directions. The Lord had spared them,” inserts Catherine, as she leads into the account of how God provided her with time, a blessing in disguise, for a very special project.
“I was told that I had placenta pre-via and that the twins were growing so fast that the placenta was tearing away from my uterus. I was sent home on bed rest, told that mine was a high-risk pregnancy and that I had only a 50/50 chance of the twins making it to viability, which I found through my reading was 24 weeks gestation. As I read in pregnancy books about how babies developed in the womb, I was curious to find out what my child that I lost through miscarriage at 8 weeks gestation, looked like. I wanted to know if my little one had a face and arms and legs. . .So I read and started to sculpt little models of babies at 12 weeks gestation to show our girls what the tiny babes in my tummy looked like. I was also curious to see what my twins looked like at each week of development and what they could do at each week.” Weeks later, Catherine’s bleeding stopped, and she was able to return to teaching again, but the fight for her babies’ lives was not finished.
“At 20 weeks into the pregnancy, I had stabbing pains in my lungs at every breath, and I was admitted in the emergency room. I was rushed in for an ultrasound to see if the babies were okay. We found out they were boys that day. I was tested to see what I had. A team of doctors entered my room and told me I had a deadly strain of pneumonia, and that if I didn’t take the medication they prescribed, I would die. They then told me that they could not find any cases like mine, of a pregnant woman taking this medication, so they did not know if my twins would die from it or be deformed. Then they said I would die if I didn’t take the medicine; that the twins were too young to survive and so all three of us would die.” Catherine prayed. She asked God to preserve her life and her twins’ lives again. “I named our twins and dedicated my talents and our twins to the Lord that day,” she says, adding, “I was healed from the pneumonia and sent home again.”
Catherine was able to return to teaching again. Shortly after that, she attended a local Right to Life convention in New York State. “I was horrified to learn that in New York State it was, and still is, legal to abort a baby with no questions asked, up to 24 weeks gestation. I saw photos of aborted babies and my heart broke. I couldn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel to one of these little ones. I was struggling so much to keep my twins healthy and alive. The Lord burdened my heart for pre-born babies.” Catherine asked at the convention what an artist could do to help stop abortion. She was told to write letters to her congressmen and senators. She did, but she felt it wasn’t enough.
At 31 weeks, her water broke, and Catherine was again in the emergency room and to be kept on bed rest in the hospital. The twins would be born in the days ahead. While she awaited their arrival, she was taken by wheel chair into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to see what a 1-pound baby looked like, to assure her that the twins would be fine; also in NICU, she saw another tiny and beautiful but frail baby that remains pictured in her mind over all these years. Across the hall in the hospital, still another baby, who had been born at 24 weeks gestation, was now 4 pounds and big enough to go home. Then the time came, and at 32 weeks, by emergency c-section, the Jacobs twins were born.
In the picture at the left, Catherine Jacobs is showing her 3-D portrait sculptures at the NEA Building in Washington DC during a meeting with NEA President Dennis Van Roekel on January 22, 2009. | |
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Editor’s Note: Part 2 of Catherine Jacob’s story will be printed in the next issue of the Teachers Saving Children® newsletter, or…if you can’t wait…go to our website to find out how this artist helps the parents of miscarried, premature babies to cope with their loss and how dyslexia turns out to be a gift for Catherine.
"THE WONDER OF LIFE"By faith, these decisions, the application, and purchases of materials are made. With this decision and application, there is an investment of over $2000 for the exhibit space rental fee and miscellaneous fees alone. Due to the high volume of individuals who visit our booth, lots of materials are needed for distribution. We have found over the past several years a high interest, especially among science and health teachers, in the materials that we have purchased for our exhibit. These materials include approved brochures which are age-appropriate, positive, colorful, and scientifically accurate. We also include videos, CDs, and books that encourage a respect for human life. Only as funds are available, are materials purchased for distribution. It is our hope to raise the additional money needed to purchase a reasonable quantity of these materials that will be given away free of charge. At the present time, no materials have been purchased for distribution as the funds are not currently available. We could use approximately $1500 to purchase the variety of materials needed to reach educators across a wide spectrum of teaching responsibilities. Each year we rely on the goodness of God and His people to raise the money for this effective pro-life education ministry. We have never been disappointed with His provision. As you are praying as to how the Lord would have you to invest in this ministry endeavor, please be encouraged by the way the Lord is already providing for some of our other needs. Last issue we shared the need for our display board, models, and other display items to be transported to California as cost efficient as possible. By the time you receive this newsletter, these items should be on their way to California. The Lord has provided a couple from Ohio who are traveling in April by car to California. They will be transporting our items and meeting with a couple from the San Diego area who will store our items until the Expo. We praise God for this provision! In addition, several have made worthwhile suggestions to help cut expenses and raise the monies needed, all of which will be considered. It should be noted that the Executive Director does not receive any monies from Teachers Saving Children® for personal expenses such as lodging, travel, and meals since her way is paid through another means. Thank you for prayerfully considering being a part of this special endeavor by sending in your contribution today.
Note: Please make checks payable to “TSC Inc. – National”. Please carefully note how the amount given is to be designated (“NEA Exhibit”) so that the contribution will be appropriately allocated. As a tax-exempt organization approved under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, contributions received are NOT tax deductible.
NEA CONVENTION 2009
PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY – APRIL 28, 2009
For more information about Pro-Life T-shirt Day,
©2009 Teachers Saving Children® Inc. - National ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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