Recent & Upcoming Events - Please Pray

Please pray that God will cause hearts and minds to change as a result of conversations created by our staff, volunteers, and audience members:

JFA Chief Operations Officer Paul Kulas (right, with brochure) at the UMN outreach in October.  See more photos and register to attend upcoming events at JFA's Calendar Page.

Chanhassen, MN:  9/30 — Interactive Workshop — St. Hubert Catholic Church (124 attended)

Minneapolis, MN:  10/2, 10/3 —  Ten-Foot Kiosk Outreach Event — University of Minnesota

St. Louis, MO:  10/22 — Interactive Workshops — Respect Life Convention (80 attended)

Albuquerque, NM:  10/22 — Interactive Workshop — University of New Mexico (12 attended)

Albuquerque, NM:  10/23, 10/24 — Kiosk Outreach Event — University of New Mexico

Bel Aire, KS:  10/28 — Presentation (Grace Fontenot) — Church of the Resurrection - Closed event

Kennesaw, GA:  10/30 — Interactive Workshop — Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw, GA:  10/31, 11/1 — Kiosk Outreach Event — Kennesaw State University

Del City, OK:  11/10 — Chapel Presentation, Interactive Seminar — Christian Heritage Academy

Norman, OK:  11/11 — Interactive Workshop — Christ the King Presbyterian Church

Norman, OK: 11/12 — Interactive Seminar — Trinity Baptist Church

Norman, OK: 11/13, 11/14 — Large Exhibit Outreach Event — University of Oklahoma

See All Events and Register to Attend 

Featured Resource - Trot Out the Toddler

JFA Intern Susanna Buckley (right), at JFA’s University of Minnesota (UMN) outreach in October.

When you discuss abortion with others, you’re almost certainly going to hear concerns about suffering — the suffering the pregnant woman is experiencing now and the suffering she and the unborn child will experience soon if she doesn’t get an abortion.  Intern Susanna Buckley described an amazing conversation in JFA’s October 2017 Impact Report in which she helped a young woman see a different perspective on suffering.  You can learn another approach from the example of JFA trainers in actual conversations featured in our “Trot Out the Toddler” Newsletter Collection.  Then use what you’ve learned in a conversation (see below).

 

Conversation Starter - "Is Suffering Ever Better?"

Use Joanna Bai’s recent post, “Is Suffering Ever Better?” to start a conversation about abortion in a natural way.  It features a panel from JFA’s Art of Life Exhibit including a painting by Vincent Van Gogh.  Share the post on social media or email the link to a friend.  Just as the post doesn’t downplay the difficult circumstances and suffering which confront many women considering abortion, we should acknowledge that suffering early in our conversations, affirming the sympathy many feel.  In this way, our love for all human beings, both before and after birth, becomes evident to the person we’re trying to reach, commending our message. 

Is Suffering Ever Better?

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"Suffering" from JFA's Art of Life Exhibit

This panel from JFA's Art of Life Exhibit features "Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate)" by the famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1890).  He completed it only two short months before his own death.

Nearly every reason for obtaining abortion relates to some form of suffering, whether experienced by the woman at the moment of her decision, or which the woman fears she or her child will undergo in the future:

• "My parents will hate me if they find out I'm pregnant."

• "My boyfriend will break up with me if I don't get the abortion."

• "I definitely can't afford to care for a baby now."

• "I don't even know who the father of the baby is - I don't want my child to grow up without a dad."

• "My education and career goals will never pan out if I have a child to raise on my own."

• "Pregnancy is making me unbearably sick - I have to remain on bedrest just to keep the baby alive."

Or, perhaps:

• "This baby has a lethal fetal anomaly and will die at birth. I don't want my child to go through that, and I don't think I can watch him undergo that much suffering."

The "Suffering" panel shown nearby states, "The art of life is better than abortion."  Do you agree that it is better for a woman to endure suffering than for a child to be killed by abortion?  And if it is likely that a child will suffer, do you think that allowing that child to endure suffering is better than killing him or her by abortion?  Why or why not?  Share your thoughts in the comments below; or better yet, share this post with a friend and start a conversation. 

(For more information about the painting, including insight from Van Gogh himself into the work's intended meaning, see JFA's Art of Life Exhibit page.)

Three Miracles in One Conversations

Impact Report, October 2017

By Susanna Buckley, JFA Intern

Note:  JFA’s interns are hard at work this fall, along with the rest of the JFA team, creating conversations that change hearts and minds.  In this Impact Report, Susanna Buckley, intern from Virginia, shares a beautiful conversation from our recent Purdue University outreach.  She saw God work through two well-placed questions to help a young woman make connections to her experience which surprised even her, convincing her that abortion is not a reasonable option for responding to suffering and difficulty.  Susanna’s story is accompanied by pictures of a few of the hundreds of conversations our interns, trainers, and volunteers created at the Purdue University event and another recent outreach event at the University of Minnesota.  - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

JFA Intern Susanna Buckley (right), who authored this report, at JFA’s University of Minnesota (UMN) outreach in October

I turned around after finishing one conversation and noticed her standing there, looking at the exhibit.  I waved and smiled, “Can I ask you what you think about abortion?”

Typically, when I ask that question, people stand there and ponder the question for a moment before answering, but she was ready.  After smiling back, she answered with a question of her own.  “Say there’s a terminally ill woman who is passing on her illness to her unborn child.  Shouldn’t we give the woman the opportunity to end her pregnancy so that she doesn’t have to watch her child suffer?”

JFA Intern David Rodriguez (center, right) at Purdue University in September

The question took me by surprise, but it reminded me of a thought experiment one of the more experienced JFA staff members had shared with me.  I asked her if I could ask her another question, and she said yes.  “You have a friend on the other side of the world who calls you up and says, ‘I just found out I have cancer and have only four months to live.’  Do you wait until about month three and say, ‘I guess I should visit her?’  Or do you take the next plane out?”

She didn’t hesitate at all.  “The next plane!  Absolutely!”  This was very encouraging to me, so I followed up: “Of course!  Now apply that to the mother in the hypothetical situation you gave me a moment ago.”  I hoped she would see another possible approach to terminally ill unborn children, that instead of killing them, we can cherish the time we have with them.

JFA Intern Grace Fontenot (left) at Purdue University in September

Her eyes lit up.  “My mom did that!”  She explained that her little brother had only been alive three days after he was born.  Her mom stayed by his side every moment until he died.  “I only wish I would have met him.  I’ve never thought of him in relation to this before.  I cannot stand by my question with that in mind.”

JFA Chief Operations Officer Paul Kulas (right, with brochure) at the UMN outreach in October

We exchanged some stories, and I got her name.  Then she came up with a new question.  “Say there’s someone with a terminal illness who doesn’t want to live anymore because he is tired of knowing he’s going to die.  Should we give him the chance to choose assisted suicide?”

Again, the question seemed to come from left field, but it brought to mind a question I find very important.  I just asked, “Do you believe in miracles?”

JFA Trainer Jon Wagner (left) at Purdue in September

Immediately a light turned on in her mind, and she burst out, “I’m a miracle!”  Diving into her personal story, she explained that she was born with what her doctors described as a terminal illness.  Defying the odds, she turned her “few months” diagnosis into the young woman standing in front of me.  “I’m only here because of a miracle!  I cannot stand by my question any more.”

Stephanie Gray, author of Love Unleashes Life, joined the JFA team for the Purdue outreach.  Here she listens to a Purdue student.  Click here to learn more about Stephanie or to purchase her book.

We shared more stories about miracles we had witnessed in our lives.  She wasn’t a Christian, but she let me talk about the amazing things I have seen God do in my life and the lives of others.  The last thing she told me was, “I would absolutely make every opportunity for a miracle to happen.  I hope I get the chance to do that one day.”

I left this conversation not just marveling at the miracle of this person standing before me, but also at the two miracles I witnessed as God worked through two of my questions to help this person make connections I could never have orchestrated on my own.  Thanks be to God!

Note: Go to our Calendar Page to see more pictures of JFA’s interns, trainers, and volunteers in action at Purdue University, University of Minnesota, and other recent outreach events.