Report on SOS for prayer
September 17, 2003


Perhaps you have been wondering how it all turned out... Praise the Lord for answering your prayers on Friday night!
At the conference on Adolescent Pregnancy, I was seated at the speakers' table beside the mayor. He gave a 5 minute greeting, then invited the first speaker from the Population Council of the UN. She could not be there so she sent her replacement with a video that he couldn't even show because they didn't have a VHS! So he read his 5 minute introduction and sat down. He actually said nothing, so there was nothing to conflict with my viewpoint! Before I had time to get nervous it was my turn. I used the 40 minutes exactly, presenting the causes of teen pregnancy based on statistics and case studies from our Center, the consequences, the best method of prevention (abstinence), and the services offered by our Center in response, accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation. When I looked out at the audience of about 150, I remembered Jack Horton's quick words of advice that he sent at the last minute, "remember that what you have to share is for their benefit..." I simply saw a group of parents who were worried about their teens and looking for answers. So I gave them God's answers: I shared the gospel briefly, told them they and their teen needed to know God personally, that they should take their teens to a church that teaches the Bible, explained the purity pact and told them God could help their teen keep it. I thought maybe they would never invite me back but at least I they would hear the gospel once! You could have heard a pin drop during the whole presentation.
When I returned to the table, the mayor stood, shook my hand and then dismissed himself. I couldn't believe he had stayed until I finished speaking, but not for the next 3 speakers! Perhaps he will remember me and the New Life Pre-Natal Center when a piece of paperwork crosses his desk in the near future: a contract with the municipality to exonerate us from local taxes in exchange for the services that we offer the community and the offer to present conferences in local schools. God knows all about that.
The judge that spoke next was totally boring and no one listened, so there was no danger there for political conflict. I was prepared to hear the worst from the next speaker from that "fountain of truth", UNICEF! He turned out to be a pretty nice guy! He used a Power Point prepared by UNICEF that was quite general and world-wide in scope, so he ended up skipping much of it. He really didn't get around to offering any answers. The last man to speak was the director of a large national school close by. He concluded his speech by publicly inviting me to go to his school to present my conference on abstinence to the entire high school. Then he asked all present for a round of applause for the clear solution to adolescent pregnancy that I had presented! I could not have imagined a better response. Thank you for praying!
Tomorrow I am giving the same presentation at the National Congress on "Boys and Girls at Risk" sponsored by Viva Network. This time I'm on the docket with 7 Christians, UNICEF and the Presidential Commission on Human Rights. This time I won't panic and send out an SOS, but please pray for God to work. I need His strength and wisdom.

Yours For New Life,
Evelyn