Teachers Saving Children® Inc. - National
Newsletter
Volume 14, Number 3
February 2004
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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Have you ever faced a situation or conversation when you really did not know what to do or say? That is the way I have been feeling as I was preparing this newsletter. Usually there is something very clear to me as I begin to write this opening article. But this month I have been at a total loss as to what I should share; thus one reason for the slight delay in the printing of this particular issue.
However, the more I was reflecting on circumstances and situations within my own life and the more I waited on the Lord this week, I kept coming back to the theme of testing and perseverance. In His great wisdom and sovereignty, God ordained that the perfecting of our faith would come through times of testing. They are His assignment for us for a particular purpose within our own life and within the lives of those we touch each day. And as Christians we are called by God to respond to these times of testing in a way that is remarkably different from the way the world deals with trials and testing.
During these times of testing, God may take us into His holiness through times of stillness and being alone with Him. Times alone with the Lord are so important especially with our hurried and busy American lifestyle. It is through these times alone that He clearly communes with us and reveals Himself to us. Even Jesus saw the importance of spending time alone with the Father.
Sometimes these times of testing mean brokenness. This brokenness could come through financial, physical, emotional, or even spiritual circumstances. Yet, brokenness has at its center the purpose of teaching us to trust in God. That is why He allows problems and circumstances to occur so that we will be broken, refined, and remain dependent upon Him. He desires for us to be clean vessels that are usable and profitable for His service. Thankfully, the Lord also gives us special friends during these times. Strength, peace, and encouragement are gained through the support of praying friends. So rather than becoming discouraged, sharing honestly about personal struggles with those close friends around us brings renewed emotional strength to persevere through the difficult moments of the situation.
So as we may face life’s trials and testings this day – even the long hard battle of saving the lives of both a mother and a child – let’s remember that God has allowed these circumstances to come into our lives and even our nation as an opportunity for us to glorify Him, to serve other people, and to grow and be more conformed to the image of Christ. Remember that success in God’s eyes is not a matter of specific results, but a matter of faithful, dependent obedience. Let us pray that our response to the testing of our faith will be obedience, thus bringing praise to our Lord and leading others to know Him in a more intimate way.
Our opportunity to reach thousands of educators with the pro-life message will be during the NEA Expo 2004, July 2-4, 2004 in Washington DC prior to the NEA RA. The purpose of the exhibit will be to promote and provide educational classroom materials especially for science and health teachers.
By faith, Teachers Saving Children® will be investing $1,200 for the exhibit space rental alone, without counting the additional $300-400 cost for miscellaneous fees and materials. Many individuals have begun to spare $5, $10, $20, and more to help us fund this exhibit. However, additional contributions are needed. Please consider financially assisting Teachers Saving Children® in sharing the truth about “The Wonder of Life.”
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.
I never thought I wanted children. Aren’t they just a lot of trouble? Changing dirty diapers, potty training, and what do you do with them when they become teens? Plus every month I had severe cramps that usually put me in bed for one or two days a month. I couldn’t handle kids too.
Steve and I married when we were 28. When I was 35 my father passed away. Then when I was 40 my mother passed away. After that it occurred to me, if I don’t have kids, I don’t have a family.
We tried renting kids at Christmas time, but discovered there are not any businesses that provide this service. Christmas was always a big deal in my family. Now it became a time of dread. For three Christmases Steve planned a surprise vacation for us.
When I was 44 I had a hysterectomy by choice so I would no longer have to plan my life around my inevitable scheduled sick days. No regrets here as I felt great and had an abundance of energy.
About a month after my hysterectomy I told Steve I wanted a baby. The local county children services said we were too old to adopt a baby. That was really okay with me because I could get a child who was already potty-trained and all I had to worry about were the teen years. I am a veteran high school teacher and I felt we could handle an older child. When we inquired about adopting older children, the state of Ohio repeatedly turned us down saying the children were being given to experienced parents.
We were investigating adopting from overseas when my sister sent an article to me from The Logan Daily News. It was about a couple going to Oklahoma and successfully adopting two babies via The Boren Law Offices. I called the couple the summer of 2000, but we did not call Borens until the first of November. I asked if we could get an appointment around Thanksgiving, but one was not available until December 22nd.
When I was packing to go to Oklahoma City, I kept thinking we are going to come home with a baby. Then I would tell myself how stupid of me to think that. We were just going to Oklahoma to meet with the lawyer so he could explain the adoption process to us. Then we would return home. Still I took more clothes than was necessary for our brief stay.
The morning of December 21, 2000 we were staying at Steve’s brother’s house in St. Louis. I awoke a little after 6:30 from a dream where I had seen the Virgin Mary holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. Again I thought, why am I being so stupid to get my hopes up for a baby when none currently exists?
We traveled to Oklahoma City and stayed December 21st at a motel. The following morning was unusually cold for Oklahoma. We were too early for our appointment and took the extra time to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial. Finally, we went to the lawyer’s office. We talked for about fifteen minutes. Then Bob Boren started talking about the pre-mature baby born two years ago who did not have parents designated for it. So Bob and his wife, Becky, took her from the hospital just for the night. He showed us a picture of this beautiful little girl whom they decided to adopt. She looked like Becky.
Then Bob said in his Oklahoma accent, “We had a situation yesterday morning where a little girl was born prematurely. The adopting parents are vacationing in the Philippines and we can’t get in contact with them.” Then he said, “Would you two be interested in this little girl if I can’t reach the couple by the end of the day?” I said, “Oh, Steve” and tears were in my eyes as they are now as I write this article. The little girl was born December 21st at 6:30 AM, the same time as my dream of the Virgin Mary handing me a baby wrapped in pink. So when we left the law office, instead of heading back to Ohio, we got a motel room. That night Bob called and told us we could go see the baby girl the next morning.
We had been to the library to read about premature babies. The pictures we saw did not show attractive babies. So we thought we were prepared. When we saw her in her tiny incubator, she was the most beautiful, perfect creature we had ever laid eyes on.
She had to live in her incubator for at least 30 days. So my extra clothes were needed. Steve flew back to Ohio and I stayed at The Ronald McDonald House and walked two times a day to the hospital to visit with my daughter. I was allowed to take her out of her incubator once a day to hold her for 30 minutes. The nurses taught me how to change her diaper and feed her. Haley Elizabeth was dismissed from the hospital on January 17th.
The birth mother wanted to meet us at the law office. When she walked into the office, the Borens looked from the birth mother to me and back again. Then Bob said, “You two look like sisters.” We were even carrying identical purses. We showed the birth mother pictures of our home life and we even had matching cats!
The birth mother was 21 and had been told by her doctor that she could never get pregnant. She was surprised to find herself with a child. The birth father was not interested in the child. She did not feel abortion was the answer. She told us her mother had abandoned her when she was six months old. She told us she never wanted this baby to feel abandoned. Kimberly said a child needs a mother and a father to care for them and she could not provide that care. So she chose adoption.
We are so happy she did, as we now have a daughter, Haley Elizabeth. In January 2003, we again traveled to Oklahoma City for Haley’s brother, Heath Michael. Now every day is like Christmas when sharing your life with children.
Editor’s Note: Melody Pesta is in her 27th year of teaching. She currently is employed as a librarian at Edison High School in Jefferson County OH. She also serves as the Treasurer of the Edison Local Education Association.
The Boren Law Office represents birth mothers and adoptive parents. They can be contacted at 405-749-0168.
Yesterday, FRC’s Genevieve Wood, along with representatives from Focus on the Family, the Heritage Foundation and Concerned Women for America, joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill to release a new Zogby poll (commissioned by Focus on the Family), which found that a majority of parents support the messages of abstinence education and reject those of comprehensive sex education.
Out of the 1,004 parents surveyed, 96 percent said sex education classes should teach that sexual abstinence is best for teens. Ninety-one percent of parents want teens to learn that the best choice is for sexual activity to be linked to love, intimacy and commitment – qualities most likely to occur in a faithful marriage. Parents overwhelmingly oppose the content of comprehensive sex-ed curricula, which promotes teen sex and contraception. FRC applauds President Bush’s announcement last week to double federal spending on abstinence programs.
Affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., have received none of the state tax funds awarded under Ohio’s new “Women’s Health Services” Program, which replaced the state’s Family Planning program on January 1, 2004. During the week of January 20th, the Ohio Department of Health awarded over $1 million in grant funds to 22 grantees for the remainder of the current fiscal year. All 22 of the grantees were local health departments. Under the former budget’s family planning program, Ohio’s 10 Planned Parenthood affiliates received the majority of the funding. As a result of the lobbying efforts of countless grassroots pro-lifers, pro-life members of the Ohio General Assembly were able to replace the program’s preference for federal Title X grantees with a preference for local health departments in the 2-year state budget adopted in June 2003.
“Awarding women’s health services grants to local health departments make good public policy sense” said Mark Lally, Legislative Counsel of Ohio Right to Life. “Local health departments have a long history of providing health services to low income women, but unlike Planned Parenthood, they are not driven by an ideological commitment to promoting abortion. They are also facing tight budget situations and can use the funding. This is a victory both for Ohio’s women, who will receive quality health services from a non-controversial source, and for pro-life taxpayers, who will not have to subsidize an organization that is committed to the destruction of unborn children,” Lally said.
Often we know who our local officers and building representatives are. However, most of our dues money, in fact hundreds of dollars, goes beyond the local level to other levels of the Association. Knowing who represents us and how they vote isn’t just a matter of principle; it’s a matter of how our dues money is being spent.
All policies of the NEA are adopted by the delegates to the annual Representative Assembly. Delegates vote on issues that affect us in many ways: they adopt all the NEA policies, the budget, and the resolutions; enact legislative agendas; consider many new business items; elect Association officers; and vote on amendments to the NEA governing documents.
All delegates are selected in the local and state affiliates by their colleagues to represent their views in the deliberation of the assembly. The state delegate elections will take place between now and mid-March. For local delegate representation to the NEA RA, check with your local president. Election results from local affiliates are not due to their state affiliates until April 15.
So watch carefully for NEA delegate election information. We will only get good representation when members take the time to get involved by educating ourselves about the candidates and VOTING!
It was an honor to join thousands of pro-life Americans today on the mall in Washington, near the White House, to March for Life. President Bush, speaking via phone, said to the thousands assembled, “Each of us has a special dignity, a place and purpose in this world. And in the Declaration of Independence, our founders stated this self-evident truth: The right to life does not come from government; it comes from the Creator of life.” The president also commended those gathered for their dedication to the cause for life noting that without their efforts all the progress that has been made, including the ban on partial-birth abortion this past year, would not have occurred.
I [FRC] strongly agree. The reason more and more Americans are now pro-life (the most recent Gallup poll showing 72 percent of young people between the ages of 13-17 believe abortion is morally wrong) is because for 31 years Nellie Gray, the founder of the March for Life, and the millions who have marched over the years up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court, have not let us forget the human toll caused by the high court’s decision. Since 1973, over 40 million babies have been denied the right to life. Progress has been made to stem that tide, but much, much more must be done. May God continue to change hearts and bless those who, year after year, tirelessly stand for life….
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