by Valerie Harkins, Director of the Maternity Housing Coalition

Imagine for a moment living in a world where every word, gesture, and decision is controlled by someone else. It sounds terrifying, right? Unfortunately, for many people, this is their reality in relationships. Domestic violence isn’t just about the bruises you can see; it often hides in more subtle, yet powerful ways that can shatter a person’s spirit. As leaders and workers in maternity housing, understanding these hidden dynamics is crucial if you want to support the residents in your care effectively. One helpful tool to guide us in this understanding is the Power and Control Wheel, which reveals the various tactics abusers use to dominate their partners.

What is the Power and Control Wheel?

The Power and Control Wheel* breaks down the different tactics abusers employ. Sure, physical violence is often the most visible form of abuse, but it usually stems from a pattern of other controlling behaviors. Here are some key parts of the wheel:

- Coercion and Threats: This is all about using fear or intimidation to control someone, like threatening to hurt them or their loved ones.

- Emotional Abuse: Think of it as undermining someone’s self-worth through insults or manipulation.

- Economic Abuse: This is where one partner controls the money to keep the other from being independent.

- Using Children: Sometimes abusers will use the kids to manipulate their partner, making threats about custody or using them as pawns.

These tactics often work together to create a cycle of abuse that can feel impossible to escape. By recognizing these patterns, we can offer better support to the residents in our care.

Spotting Signs of Domestic Violence

As you interact with residents, keep an eye out for signs that they might be experiencing control in their relationships. Here are a few things to watch for:

- Changes in Behavior: If someone seems anxious, scared, or withdrawn, especially when discussing their partner, that’s a red flag.

- Isolation: Notice if a resident seems cut off from friends or family as this can indicate they’re feeling alone. This is often a result of gaslighting and manipulation in conversations with her boyfriend about others in her life. 

- Money Worries: If a resident appears confused about their finances or expresses anxiety about money, it might point to economic abuse. Please be particularly cognizant if the resident has past experience in the sex industry in any manner.

Creating an Educational Plan

Recognizing the signs is just the beginning. We need to create a plan to help residents understand these patterns in their own relationships. Here’s how we can do that:

- Workshops and Discussions: Host regular sessions where residents can learn about what makes a relationship healthy or unhealthy, using the Power and Control Wheel as a guide.

- Handouts and Resources: Provide easy-to-read materials that can help residents reflect on their situations.

- Casual Conversations: Encourage open discussions about relationships. Creating a safe space for sharing thoughts and feelings is key.

Be Gentle and Sensitive

When discussing domestic violence, it’s essential to approach the topic with sensitivity. For many residents, these controlling behaviors may be all they’ve ever known. Here are some ways to keep the conversation gentle:

- Make It Normal: Frame relationship discussions as something everyone or many people experience, not just a problem for a select few.

- Acknowledge Difficult Feelings: It can be overwhelming to learn about these patterns. Validating their feelings will help build trust.

- Take It Slow: Introduce concepts of power and control in small, digestible pieces, giving residents time to process everything.

Keep the Conversation Going

Encourage residents to notice when relationship boundaries are crossed by having ongoing conversations. Invite them to share their thoughts and experiences as they learn what makes a relationship healthy. Over time, this will help them develop a natural awareness of these important issues.

As leaders and workers in maternity housing, you play a vital role in helping residents understand their relationships. By recognizing the signs of domestic violence and creating educational plans, you empower residents to stand up for themselves and break the cycle of abuse. With kindness and continuous conversations, you can create a supportive environment that fosters healing and growth. Together, we can make a difference!

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*Power and Control Wheel:

Copyright by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
202 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN, 55802
218-722-2781

Watch the video below for a special thank you for helping to make our 2024 Pregnancy Help Leaders European Summit possible!

Advancing the Pregnancy Help Movement Around the World!

Today, thousands of workers across the globe work tirelessly to save abortion-vulnerable lives in their communities. These frontline lifesavers operate Heartbeat's thousands of pregnancy help locations reaching and rescuing women and their precious babies from abortion.

When you support Heartbeat International you are providing valuable tools, training, and support to these lifesavers all around the world. In turn, YOU—yes, YOU—can save a life today.

The reality is that while the U.S. is responsible for nearly 1M abortions each year, we still account for just 2% of all abortions worldwide. That is why Heartbeat is the most expansive network of pregnancy help organizations in the world - to provide pregnancy help in all areas of great need!

We are now present on all six inhabited continents, including in cultures that do not readily welcome new life based on gender, class, race, or government-mandated laws. We value our international affiliates and partners and realize they face some of the most daunting challenges in the war against abortion today.

With your help, we will reach even more nations with the gospel of life. We will save innocent lives in places where children are not valued and life is not respected. Thank you for doing all you can to make this possible today!

International News

Center for Life LIGHTHOUSE (Centar za Život SVJETIONIK) – Bosnia and Hercegovina

 WHO ARE WE?

The LIGHTHOUSE Center for Life, the first pro-life registered center in the nation of Bosnia and Hercegovina since 2001, is managed by Robert and Sara (Sandrina) Jurjevich. The LIGHTHOUSE offers information and education for women about pregnancy, regardless of whether it is planned or unplanned. Through our educational activities and workshops, we aim to answer the questions that pregnant moms have concerning their pregnancy and how to prepare for the most precious gift in life – parenthood.

The highest priority of the LIGHTHOUSE ministry is to offer hope to women facing a crisis pregnancy and to offer alternatives to abortion, which is considered the main birth-control remedy in Bosnian society.

Testimony: “I was in a situation where I already had one baby of 14 months and found myself quickly with an unplanned pregnancy with a second baby. I was hit with fear and worry. What now? It was too soon…would I be able to handle it or not, because there was little difference … I have no help … I have no one … I will go crazy … I will fall into a depression. I cried and said to myself I did not wish for or want an abortion. By chance, I then came across the website of the LIGHTHOUSE! While seeking advice I wondered why this website? How could they help me? I received support through counseling and understanding. The pregnancy calendar I received prevailed, and I did not decide on an abortion. Through it, I learned so much that I didn’t know about. I highly recommend the LIGHTHOUSE! To everyone who finds themselves in similar circumstances and does not know what decision to make, contact the LIGHTHOUSE!” – I.G., Sarajevo

‘PREPARE FOR YOUR BABY’ PREGNANCY WORKSHOPS. Throughout the year the LIGHTHOUSE team offers a course of 6 consecutive weekly workshops for pregnant moms where we discuss the development of their baby in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters of pregnancy; the importance of a healthy diet and exercise; preparation for the birth of the child; and, what to expect in the first weeks after birth.

In the workshops, we provide pregnant moms with a nine-month pregnancy calendar called ‘The Miracle of Life’ which walks them through the details of their pregnancy month by month. Additionally, at the end of the workshop, the attendees receive a gift bag filled with items they will need for the baby.

Testimony: “All the information, examples, exercises were useful in preparation for giving birth, staying calm, understanding my body through each stage of development. The breathing exercises were most important for me during my own experience in giving birth because I was able to control the pain and helped myself and the baby.” – Samka M. H., Sarajevo

We stay in touch with the moms up to the first birthday of their child.

OTHER SERVICES OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

• Counseling after a stillbirth or crib death
• Post-abortion healing classes
• Humanitarian aid for single moms and families in need of food, clothing, firewood, etc.
• Online counseling
• Publishing books and literature focused on pregnancy issues

Voice for Life (Glas za Život) -  Bosnia and Herzegovina

Our vision is to help women in the situation of unplanned pregnancy, by walking alongside them in their own unique circumstances. We provide counseling, as well as emotional and material support. We also help women who have suffered reproductive loss and have had abortion/s to find healing and restoration.

These are some of our client's testimonials:

I got pregnant with my third child unexpectedly. My first thought was, oh no, how are we going to provide for this one?! I went to see a doctor and he told me I was 12 weeks pregnant. The only thought I had in my mind is to have an abortion. I thought that would be the most responsible decision. Still, I had my doubts, so I decided to look for answers online. There I found your FB page, and I read that you help women in crisis pregnancy.

I called you, and you were so patient and kind to me. I talked to my husband after that and we both agree that we actually want this baby and that we will manage to provide for her somehow. Now after A was born, we couldn’t imagine our lives without her. Thank you so much for being there for me and for encouraging me to make the right decision.

At the beginning of our relationship, everything was “perfect”. He was kind, gentle and loving. However, the moment I told him I was pregnant, he completely changed. He said he could pay for my abortion and that things can go back to how they were before. I was raised Catholic, and I knew that abortion was wrong. I told myself that I will not have one. Still, I didn’t know what to do. I went to the priest and I asked for help. He told me he could refer me to some people who could help. He connected me to a lady who then connected me to your center. Words can’t express how grateful I am that you paid my rent for all of those months when I couldn’t afford a place to stay. I’m forever grateful to you all for providing a safe place for me and my daughter.

Through “Save One” that you offered me as a tool for healing I discovered some wounds that I was still carrying around. Through all of this, I’ve learned (and I’m still learning) the following:

• I believe that God forgave me in His mercy, even though I remember and cry about it sometimes.
• I have to accept forgiveness, not because of my own merit, but by the grace of God.
• I want to move on trusting that I will help someone else change their view on unborn life.

The image above from the USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

“I came so that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10

by Jennifer Wright, Editor/Writer

Every October, I hear a pro-life message at Church – and rightly so. I only wish it was more clear and more often! I’ve been blessed to hear some different angles to the 'respect life' concept, but for me, everything comes down to two simple Biblical truths:

(1) Humans are made in the image and likeness of God

(2) Jesus came so that we could experience the fullness of life.

One old, one new, but two parts of a greater truth. We were made for more.

The image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27)

We can see that humans are uniquely made in the image and likeness of God because we are like God in how we create, love, and choose.

We Create: Humans create because God wanted us to have the joy of creating – like He takes joy in creating us.

We Love: Humans are loving because God wanted us to understand the joy of loving as He does and the joy of being truly loved.

We Choose: Humans can freely choose rather than merely react because God wanted more than blind devotion. He wanted a creation that – like Him – could choose the good despite easier options.

Because of these things, we are more than the rest of God’s creation. We are set apart (a.k.a holy) to be like the Creator. That makes every single human life, short or long, rich or poor, sick or well, worth protecting, revering, and loving.

That we may live (John 10:10)

Knowing what we were made to be – creative forces for love and goodness – makes the gospel message even more powerful. We fall short of living out that creative ability to improve our world, but Christ came to show us how to step up. Like us in all ways but our sin, Jesus is the perfect example of true goodness and love that transforms the world. And just like in Genesis 1, He invites us to live in the fullness of how we were created.

Every life has the potential to be a creative force to make the world a better place – and Christ’s love and sacrifice make it possible to share in the joy of salvation forever. That’s why we care deeply for each child in a mother’s womb, and each mother carrying life within her. Both of them – like all of us – can improve themselves, their families, and their communities here on this side of Heaven. All because each of us is made in the image and likeness of God.

by Beth Diemert, Director of Affiliate Services

Children between the ages of two and five experience brain development, marking the beginning of often their favorite question: “Why?” Seeking understanding, children ask 'why' to understand what they are seeing or experiencing.

As adults, many of us still question things and wonder why, often about things that we innately know, but don’t really understand. We want to understand the way things work. We want to know the why behind them. It is just human nature!

Understanding why requires inquisitiveness, logic, persistence, patience, courage, and tact; often going against the grain to discover truths—even against the current of popular opinion.

Appreciating the Science Behind Sexual Wellness

In the pregnancy help movement, we have learned over the years (with immense admiration) the pioneering efforts in the field of prevention from dedicated abstinence educators. (We truly stand on the shoulders of giants in this field!)

Recently, we’ve come to realize that we can still bring significance to what has already been done: the scientific evidence of what was being taught about sexual integrity is supported by science, aligned with the scientific fact of the positive benefits and rewards of living a healthy lifestyle.

The study of science has enriched our lives for hundreds of years.  Today, new cutting-edge science can be utilized to bolster the education and empowerment of women to new heights. Our current release of the new Women’s Sexual Wellness handbook, written with Dr. Joe Malone, PhD, SRAS, CPT, LWMC, CFE, brings the why!

The handbook is designed to equip pregnancy help teams with the cutting-edge science on sexuality and human development, so they can both understand and present women’s sexuality in a scientifically rooted way and equip young women to better understand and self-manage their sexual behavior.

Science shows that women are magnificently built through brain biochemistry and brain architecture to be the exquisite gatekeepers of sexuality.

From Dr. Malone’s extensive work with college women, he found that young women thrive in an atmosphere of positive motivation and a supportive community. However, like Eve in the Garden, when told not to do something, humans tend to react. We struggle with rebellion and the desire to know why. The good news is that women can now be shown! We can now tell them why—scientifically—and help them to trust their instinctual sexual natures that are genetically encoded for exclusive sexual relationships inside the commitment of marriage.

The "Why" Behind Sexual Wellness

Knowledge is power, and women can be truly empowered with the scientific knowledge of biologically-based research. This knowledge shows that the whole person (male and female) benefits from living a traditional relationship lifestyle. Rather than a negative restriction, it provides a positive opportunity for human flourishing! It enlightens, empowers, and validates what women already know.

Women can learn to enjoy and have confidence in the good outcomes that exercising this gift of self-mastery will have in their lives. It aligns with their design and helps them to successfully accomplish what they are looking for, and avoid working against their own nature!

Heartbeat International is pleased to release the Women’s Sexual Wellness handbook. We believe it is the next crucial step toward Heartbeat’s life-saving vision—a world where every new life is welcomed and children are nurtured within strong families, according to God’s Plan—while helping to accomplish our life-saving mission—to Reach and Rescue as many lives as possible through an effective global network of life-affirming pregnancy help that Renews communities for LIFE.

We are grateful for the research on brain science that leads to and supports women’s sexual wellness as a new pathway that advances our vision and mission!

by Gary Thome, Heartbeat International Board Member

Recently, a friend shared a back-to-school picture of her son Michael, heading into the 4^th grade wearing his ever-present smile. As the youngest of four children, he is the joy of his family. His Down Syndrome condition has not slowed down his zeal for life. In fact, my friend says “he’s been the biggest blessing in our lives and in our family.”

Many parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) or any of a myriad of prenatally-detected conditions are offered abortion, often with little or no information about available treatment options or ongoing support. In the case of my friend, her doctor told her he was “sorry” her son has Down Syndrome. “It’s sad that that doctor and his staff thought my child was less worthy to be in this world,” she added.

Scripture tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  If God identifies Himself as love, then we are most in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) when we share and receive love. God is not a physical being, He is spiritual. Therefore, we cannot say that a particular arrangement of human chromosomes or genes is more or less in God’s image and likeness. It is our spiritual trait to be loving that enables us to fully live out our identity as being made in God's image and likeness.

My friend said when she did an Internet search on Down Syndrome, she found sources “talking about all the things you’re going to give up; how they will have physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and low muscle tone. But what they don’t tell you is what you are going to gain. And you gain a greater capacity to love. And they don’t tell you it makes you a better person.” She added, “We have learned a lot about what love truly is from Michael.”

Certainly, there are challenges to raising a child with special needs. The news that a child may have a chromosomal disorder, genetic condition, or other structural malformation can be scary for parents. Often the news of a prenatal diagnosis is delivered in a way that is traumatizing to parents and uses dehumanizing language to describe their unborn child.

We also recognize that the news of a prenatal diagnosis is a different sort of pregnancy crisis. Parents are particularly vulnerable to abortion, which doctors often offer at the same time they deliver the news of the diagnosis. Yet research indicates parents are better off emotionally when they choose to carry their baby to term, even if the baby is not expected to live long after birth.

When offered comprehensive support, 80% of parents will choose life.¹

In partnership with other organizations with expertise on this topic, we have created the website PrenatalDiagnosis.org as a resource for parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of any sort. The website provides essential information for parents and more importantly, provides referrals to specially-trained pregnancy help organizations to support these parents and their particular needs. The support offered includes trauma-informed care, assistance with navigating the medical system, developing a birth plan, and more.

When encountering parents who are struggling with the news of a prenatal diagnosis, please see PrenatalDiagnosis.org as a resource. We are also continuing to build out this specialty network of pregnancy help providers. If you feel called to become one of our parent care coordinators, click here to learn more. While small in percentage compared to unplanned pregnancies, these children—made in God’s image—and their families play an important part in building a Kingdom of love.

____________________________________________________

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12815907/

Over the two years that we have been working to launch the new Women’s Sexual Wellness resource, Dr. Joe has been serving the Heartbeat network by speaking in various venues providing training, inspiration, and empowerment. And it’s created quite a buzz! Here’s what pregnancy help leaders are saying:

-"Dr. Joe is a world-class presenter with a unique knowledge base that most people wouldn’t even think to study. Whether he’s discussing attraction and how quickly it is established or the effects of oral contraception on sexual desire, the listener will be fascinated to hear about how the science involved impacts our relationships. He is versatile with his presentation, able to keep the interest of single teens and longtime married couples alike. Dr. Joe is an invaluable speaker for anyone who wants to know more about having a healthy life and successful relationships..."

-"It was so informative. It will greatly impact our conversations with clients. Our staff continues to talk about the amazing facts from your presentation and your book!"

-“I attended a gathering of pregnancy resource centers where Dr. Joe was presenting. What impressed me the most was his calm, articulate presentation style all while expounding on complex brain and hormone functions. His knowledge is not only vast but absolutely imperative for those engaged in women’s (and men’s) physical and mental health realms. The joy and ease with which he addresses this information helped me better understand our clients, and myself because he offers the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind how our brains, bodies, and hormones interact. I’m in my 50s and been discussing sexual integrity for years — I only wish I had had this information sooner! Dr. Joe is a must-read for, literally, everyone!”

-"We are excited to bring what you taught us into the consulting room. God has great things in store for the women (and men) who will be changed by your research!"

-"Dr. Malone has extensive knowledge of the science behind sexual integrity…our center benefitted from having him share with our staff, volunteers, and young professionals…and what he brings has been helpful in the consulting room.  I hope others in the pregnancy help space will read this book and glean from what Dr. Malone has to offer."

-"We are excited to witness the fruit your presentation will bear in our community!"

-"Dr. Malone worked with our staff to better understand the hearts of the women and men we care for. He cared deeply about what God was doing in our ministry, the experiences of our clients on college campuses, and about what our staff were experiencing. He asked us good questions and prayed for us. Dr. Malone then gave us solid science that completely supports the inerrancy of Scripture. We learned what our clients were experiencing physically as they experienced the consequences of hook-up culture including broken relationships, assault, depression, trauma, etc. His presentations were exactly what we needed to bring clarity to some of the mysteries of working with clients and unplanned pregnancies. For example: Why does my client keep going back to such destructive relationships? Dr. Malone understands the God-given nature of sexual wellness and explained how God made our bodies, mind, and soul for purity and serves as an amazing resource for our ministry."

Stay tuned to Heartbeat resources to hear more on Sexual Wellness and from Dr. Joe in publications, webinars, podcasts, and conferences. For information on booking Dr. Joe, contact:

Colin Hearn
Program Director
Enlighten Communications
303-888-6876
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Üdvözlöm!

We are delighted to welcome you to beautiful Budapest, the location of Heartbeat International’s 5th European Pregnancy Help Leaders Summit. You are in for a treat to be with over 55 other life-affirming leaders!

Heartbeat International is the first network of pro-life pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. and remains the largest and most expansive network in the world. Since 1971, Heartbeat has supported, strengthened, and started pregnancy help organizations, including pregnancy help medical clinics, pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies all over the world. Currently, Heartbeat serves over 3,500 affiliate locations on all six inhabited continents to provide alternatives to abortion.

We are a nonprofit, interdenominational, Christian association of faith-based pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and nonprofit adoption agencies endorsed by Christian leaders nationwide.

Our Vision is a world where every new life is welcomed and children are nurtured within strong families, according to God’s Plan, so abortion is unthinkable.

Our Mission is to Reach and Rescue as many lives as possible, around the world, through an effective network of life-affirming pregnancy help, to Renew communities for LIFE.

Jor-El Godsey serves as President of Heartbeat International. He leads a staff dedicated to equipping, empowering, and encouraging the thousands of leaders and developing leaders of Heartbeat’s affiliated pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and  adoption services, in the U.S. and on every inhabited continent. He oversees Heartbeat’s core mission to be the leadership supply line for the growing pregnancy help movement worldwide by providing accurate information, training resources, leadership development conferences, programs, and daily support to help affiliates start, grow, and expand their services to women and couples at risk for abortion. 

Jor-El comes to Heartbeat having served in the pregnancy help movement since 1988. He first served as a volunteer at Hope, a pregnancy help center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Then he joined their board, served as Chair, and then as the Executive Administrator. In 1999, Jor-El became Executive Director of Life Choices in Longmont, Colorado. Six years later, in 2006, Jor-El accepted the call to help Heartbeat International meet the diverse and expanding leadership needs of the pregnancy help movement as Vice-President of Heartbeat International.

Dr. Giuseppe Grande was born in Catanzaro, Italy. He obtained his medical degree at the Catholic University in Rome, where he completed his training in Endocrinology cum laude. 

Dr. Grande has more than 10 years of experience in andrology and reproductive endocrinology, with special interest in diagnosis and treatment of male infertility, as an alternative to in-vitro fertilization. He works at the Centre of Medicine for Natural Procreation (ISI) at the Policlinico A. Gemelli Catholic University in Rome.

He is the author of 25 scientific papers in the fields of andrology and reproductive endocrinology.

Dr. Grande is a member of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine, the Italian Society of Endocrinology, the European Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society. In addition to his medical practice, he serves as the Secretary General for Movimento per la Vita Italiano, the Italian federation of pregnancy help centers, maternity homes and pro-life associations in Italy. 

He is a 2019 recipient of Heartbeat’s Servant Leader Award.

Svetlana Jovanova has been the Founder and CEO of Lydia – A Beating Heart since its foundation in 2012 and is now the Leader of the Balkan Network for Life. She has attended multiple trainings and conferences with Heartbeat International and is certified in peer counseling. She is LAS-certified by Heartbeat International and certified as a reproductive loss trainer for the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care.

Robert and Sandrina Jurjevich serve as pastors in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as overseeing the crisis pregnancy ministry, Center For Life LIGHTHOUSE. They have four married children and are especially blessed with six grandchildren. Their ministry experience in the USA, Europe, and particularly the Balkan region, spans over the 40 years of their marriage. The ministry of LIGHTHOUSE is reaching many women faced with a crisis pregnancy, training pregnant moms, and counseling women suffering from the consequences of having had an abortion.

Teodora Diana Paul is President of Students for Life Bucharest Association and is part of the March for Life Bucharest organizing committee. She joined the pro-life movement in 2020 and has since participated in, organized, and spoken at various pro-life events, particularly for youth. Teodora graduated in 2024 from the Faculty of History and Philosophy of Babeș-Bolyai University and is currently a third-year student at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest.

Filip Petrovski, from Macedonia, works at Lydia – A Beating Heart helping with their technical support as a software developer. He is also a local missionary with CRU (Agape). He’s married to Alexandra, a family therapist who works at Lydia – A Beating Heart and a new father to a baby boy. 

Vesna Radeka was born in 1974 in Novi Sad, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia). She attended Philosophical College and received a degree in Serbian Literature and Language. In 2009, Vesna finished graduate academic studies at the Novi Sad Theological Seminary. In 2004, Vesna started a pioneer work in the field of pro-life ministry in Serbia and currently serves as president of A Place for Me Pregnancy Care Center whose aim is to raise awareness about the value of human life in Serbia and in the  Balkans.

Through providing confidential and non-judgmental assistance in a caring and supportive environment she wants to affirm LIFE and make abortion an unthinkable option. In 2015, the center opened the NEST Maternity Home for women who are pregnant or with a baby and without the support of their partner or family. Vesna is married to Nesha, who is pastoring Nexus Evangelical Church in Novi Sad, Serbia. They have three children, Danilo, David, and Anastasija.

Guillermo A. Morales Sancho, PhD, serves as legal counsel, Europe, for ADF International in Vienna, Austria. He is a lawyer specializing in constitutional and human rights law and conducts legal advocacy in Europe to promote and protect parental rights, free speech, children’s right to life, as well as freedom of conscience and religion. Prior to joining ADF International, Prof. Morales Sancho lectured on constitutional and human rights law at the University of Navarra (Spain) and as an invited professor at the University of Münster (Germany).

Guillermo was a visiting scholar at the University of Cologne thanks to the grant awarded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which recognized him as the best candidate of the call. In addition to his native Spanish, Morales is fluent in English and German and speaks conversational French.

Tracie Shellhouse, Vice-President of Ministry Services, began serving in pregnancy help as a volunteer client advocate in 2003. She has served as an abstinence educator, client services director, executive director, CEO, and consultant. As Heartbeat  International’s Vice-President of Ministry Services, she oversees a team of dedicated individuals committed to the growth and development of the pregnancy help movement. Tracie has an M.A. in Biblical Counseling, is a board-certified Master Christian 
Life Coach, and is a Life-Affirming Specialist. Her passion is enabling people to live abundant lives by helping them discover their God-given purposes and empowering them to live according to their original designs.

Gib Wood (Woody) was raised on a dairy farm in Brunswick, Maine. He discovered the joy of a relationship with Jesus while stationed at Sembach Air Base in Germany. In 1978, he was saved at the Rheinland Baptist Church where he has pastored since 
1991.

Bro. Woody and Kathy were married in June 1980. The Woods have served the Lord in Germany since October 1986. He has faithfully served the Ramstein-based Heartbeat Crisis Pregnancy Center for over 30 years and has been a frequent presenter at the European summits.

A few details to make the Summit an enjoyable experience for everyone:

• Please be on time for all sessions.

• You must wear your Summit badge for entry to the dining area.

• Friday night you will have an option to tour the Hungarian Parliament Building, one of Europe’s most beautiful buildings. Thereafter, you will have time to tour Budapest, and take a ride on the Danube. Dinner will be on your own.

We are glad you are part of the Heartbeat family.
At this Summit, we are happy to welcome the following nations and representing organizations:

For affiliation services and questions, please contact
Ellen Foell, J.D., International Program Specialist at
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whatsapp/signal +1(614)302-3664

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