By Connie Ambrecht RDMS, CMB

Heartbeat International has a heart for international ministry.  If you would like to join in the international ultrasound ministry, there are a couple of resources of which you should be aware: Hope Imaging Innovative Image Technology

Have you wondered how much impact ultrasound could have internationally?  What does it take?  Who is qualified to go?  Who would you train in those countries?

It almost sounds glamorous to travel to exotic places like Haiti and Ecuador or Ukraine and Romania.  Hope Imaging and its teams have been to all of these countries and more, taking life-affirming sonography training to physicians, midwives, and nurses in these foreign lands. 

If traveling internationally to address life issues doesn’t interest you, read no further.  Hope Imaging is all about the God possibilities, and exotic travel and intrigue are all part of His itinerary to get the job done well. 

You may already be interested and eagerly have your hand raised saying “Send me Lord, send me!” 

What does it take to go internationally? 

Flexibility, agenda-free thinking, funding, immunizations, peanut butter, and “just in case” medicines make international outreach travel all that you imagine and then some.  

• Flexibility, or maybe it should be FLEXIBILTY - It is so important to remain in that mode.  You will find it key to surviving.  Every country runs on its own time, schedule, and expectations.  A willingness to adjust is essential.
• Agenda-free, I can do that…or can I? - You may want to encourage that patients see the ultrasound screen; you may want to write on the printed image; and you may think you are there to share all you can. Feel free to change that thinking.  For one thing, they may not have all the equipment you are used to having.  God brought you there to learn.  Listen to Him.  
• Funding?  I have the money to buy my ticket, but I’ll not ask anyone else  - What?! And rob them of the opportunity to share in His work?  Remember you are the vessel, but He can bless many as you go and then share what He’s doing.  
• Immunizations are just part of it - Bugs, climates, diseases, many new things to ward off as a traveler - this is easy to check and get educated on.  
• Peanut butter goes a long way - It is one of God’s basic food groups.  Some on a spoon, a dried banana chip, or on a piece of bread; peanut butter is a great source of nutrition.
• “Just in case medicines” are a must have! - A bee sting, a bug bite, a stomach upset, a cut, etc.  Be prepared, all kinds of things can happen!

Who’s qualified to go? 

Those He’s called.  

Hope Imaging recommends taking a team; two registered sonographers, one prayer partner, and one intern.  The registered sonographers can rotate with the training and translation.  The prayer partner is one who can be trusted with difficult situations – team members, participants, safety, health, technical translations, clinic needs, medical needs…the prayer needs can be endless.  

An intern, as defined by Hope Imaging, is one of the following:

• the medical professional trained in limited sonography,
• the medical student interested in missions, or
• the sonography student getting ready to join the work force.  

Any of these members can be combined.  For example, a registered nurse/sonographer might also serve as prayer partner, or a registered sonographer may be prayer warrior.  You get the idea; it’s that flexible thing again!

Who do we teach internationally?  
The simple answer is primarily physicians. Physicians are quick learners so keep that in mind as you walk them through the steps to a good image.  Be patient and work with them.  Remember, they want to learn.  That machine has been sitting idle for too long.  Let’s get it in use!
The reality is, however, that we teach everyone we cross paths with.  

I hope the idea of considering an international, life-affirming imaging trip is of interest to you.  For more information, please contact Kama Tate Gregory, CEO, Hope Imaging at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or visit HopeImaging.org to discover where the team is headed next and find out how you might serve.

Our teams need people with a heart for international missions, who are flexible, and who are willing to raise their hand and say, “Send me Lord, send me!”

Connie Ambrecht serves as International Team Coordinator as well as Team Leader for Hope Imaging.  She and her husband have been involved with Hope Imaging since its birth in 2005.

In the U.S. the politics of abortion has involved every aspect of government – executive, legislative and judicial branches; state houses and city halls; Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court; even school boards and health officials. After all of the political wrangling of the past four decades the issue is still far from settled.

Yet, the girl who walks into our care isn’t thinking about the “right” determined by seven justices in 1973. She isn’t considering the legal definition of personhood that would apply to her unborn child. She’s focused on a choice that she will carry the consequences of for the rest of her life. The politics are not even remotely a primary concern.

Kind-hearted, compassionate, pregnancy help folks often similarly eschew the politics and the public arena to focus their energies on this non-political client. They are not expecting to change a law at the nation’s capital, but instead are intent upon touching the life (lives) sitting in their counseling room. And while the inconclusive debates rage in far away capitols, the clear result of a baby being born shows the everyday effectiveness of our compassionate efforts.

Yet, the politics of abortion has spilled over into direct legislative attacks on pregnancy centers, and now abortions will be funded through state and national healthcare. For many it has been easy to avoid the politics and focus on the clients. Unfortunately, the politics has come now to us. Nathan Burd, former Public Policy staffer at Heartbeat, said it this way, “You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.”

Worse yet, limiting ourselves to only championing non-political compassion service efforts to reduce abortion is to gravely miss the reality that politicians are intent on increasing abortion through the legislative process. Even amidst the recent move of a majority of the populous to self-identify as “pro-life,” abortion is no longer just a “right” that is allowed by a Supreme Court decision, but it has become a healthcare option that must be funded and supported by everyone.

What we want less of, we tax. What we want more of, we subsidize.

Subsidies for abortion are set to increase at exponential levels in the U.S. through new health care laws.  The recent Supreme Court decision clarifies that a tax will be levied against those who fail to buy insurance that must cover abortifacients.  (Not even religious organizations are exempt.)

This must motivate our pregnancy help movement to get even more involved with political process. It is hypocritical for the interventionist to miss an opportunity for prevention.

Intervening with compassion will always be our primary calling. Yet missing the opportunity for prevention by influencing politics is to virtually guarantee that we will only have an increasing number of people in our counseling rooms who need our intervention. True compassion is doing both – intervening with those who are in the valley of decision and preventing others from ever needing our intervention.

Can we be non-political? Perhaps it is possible at an organizational level where we purposefully avoid certain “political” activities due to our tax status or for public relations positioning.   But it seems less and less possible in this era for each of us individually where politics is not only coming to our door but poised to dramatically increase the number of clients that we might serve.

by Rindy Brooks, Heartbeats of Licking County, Newark, Ohio

Our staff retreat in late July focused around 2 Timothy 4:1 – 8 and the need to fulfill our ministry.  It is the last recorded letter of Paul as he knew his time of departure was near and he needed to share certain things with Timothy as he passed the torch of ministry. 

The study was so timely and personal for us.  We had just lost the “Paul” of our pregnancy center. A special lady named Merridy Hoover.  She is the reason I and so many are here at Heartbeats of Licking County today. She rescued the center from demise in 1989 and built a solid foundation of faith that we firmly stand on today.  Her vision and servant leadership even serves you in Heartbeat affiliates around the world every day. 

The prototype for the manual “Talking About Abortion” was written by her – she called it the “10-Point Health and Safety Check List”.  She tested it, we trained  and used it in our center and found out this “women-centered” approach worked to engage abortion-minded women on the phone to help and care for them. So she called Heartbeat's president, Peggy Hartshorn, and told her this method was working and that it needed to be published by Heartbeat International and distributed. 

It was published and still is distributed by Heartbeat.  Option Line actually uses this format 24/7 to reach women in crisis. The list of impactful projects Merridy shepherded could continue, but more insightful is to share how she lived up to the end to encourage us to carry on the torch of ministry. 

A greeting card came to the center a week after her funeral.  It was from her. 

We tearfully opened it together at the retreat and what we received from her was our charge.  A miracle to us from God, it was the perfect object lesson to illustrate these verses. Merridy “Our Paul” had retired 12 years prior but her prayers and encouragement were steadfast, especially to me, her “Timothy”.  I have ably served 12 years as Executive Director and yet for the first time, I felt strangely on my own.  And now, in her own hand, written 2 months prior to her passing she says to me, to the staff, and now to you in ministry every day: 

“To my beloved sisters and brothers in Christ, His work in you is so beautiful- keep shining with the light of His presence!  Keep shining.  I am so proud of you all.  God’s hand is on your ministry and service to Him. 

Love and Blessings, Merridy.” 

So let us remember to encourage and teach those “Timothys” in our midst.  To clearly charge them and remind them of the suffering and sacrifice in serving Jesus and yet the gladness and joy found in fulfilling our work received from the Lord.    I want to be able to pass the torch of ministry and say as in 2 Tim 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.   Until then, we must carry our torches high and keep shining.  

(Staff Retreat material part of Beth Moore’s  3-part DVD series with listening guide “Fulfill Your Ministry!” available from Living Proof Ministries)

I have always been a planner, and the birth of my first child was no exception. I had been married for 7 years, graduated college, and had a high paying job in the IT industry.  We had remodeled a bedroom into the perfect nursery, and purchased pretty much every piece of baby equipment sold – we were ready!

After our son was born we felt so fulfilled by our little family that we weren’t really sure if we would have more children. Then 3 years ago, I was laid off from my job.  It was also the start of the recession that hit the housing industry hard and my husband’s remodeling business was suffering as well. As a result of the layoff, we not only lost income, but also our health insurance.

It was at this point that we decided we definitely were not going to have any more children.  We would not be able to afford it, and we had no medical care. So we sold the crib, gave away the baby clothes we had saved just in case, and instead spent the next years focused on trying to survive a very tough economy.

Last spring, our son was about to turn five and I had plans to enroll in a master’s program in the fall to help me pursue a new career - and I found out I was pregnant. At first I was in denial thinking this isn’t possible, this can’t be right.

Then the denial turned to anxiety.  How we could possibly afford a new baby?  With no insurance, the hospital bills alone could bankrupt us. I worried about how difficult it would be to go back to school with a newborn and felt dread about “starting over” again; waking up in the middle of the night, hanging diapers, hauling around a stroller. It all seemed overwhelming.

Without a doctor, I didn’t even know where to begin, but I was able to receive a free ultrasound at our local pregnancy help center to determine how far along I was in the pregnancy.

Then she said, “You are pregnant with twins.”  I just burst into tears!

The anxiety I felt before the ultrasound turned into complete panic. We couldn’t afford one baby, how could we possibly afford two?

I panicked over what it would be like to carry twins – the chance of medical complications, or having to be on bed rest, perhaps for months. I worried about the likelihood of twins begin born premature and everything that would mean – from extended hospital stays, to astronomical medical bills, to the possibility that a premature birth could lead to a baby with special needs.

I worried about everything.  Our house wasn’t big enough, my car wasn’t big enough, I couldn’t possibly go back to school with two newborns. How could we afford cribs, highchairs, car seats, everything times two!  Not to mention the cost of diapers alone? There was no way we could have two babies.  Without health insurance, it felt irresponsible to do so. I was unsure if we would be able to provide for them, and I knew we could not afford medical care for them.

I was so overwhelmed; my body was shaking, and seeing my distress the volunteer asked if she could pray for me. Then another volunteer came in, and another, and they formed a circle of prayer, and thanked God for the blessings of the babies. But, it did not feel like a blessing to me. It felt like an impossible situation with only one solution.

But I believe it was their prayers led me to the StandUpGirl.com website and what I read convinced me that it was possible and there was another alternative to abortion.

The stories that impacted me the most were from unmarried, teenage girls who hadn’t completed their education.  Here I was: 35 years old, college educated, happily married.  If these young girls could do it, we could too! I realized that we had to make this work; we had to make a new plan - one that included the lives of our two babies!

On Dec. 12th of 2011, I gave birth to identical twin boys; both very healthy and weighing over 7lbs each.  They are a blessing.

StandUpGirl.com and our local pregnancy help center played such an important role in the decision making regarding my pregnancy and I cannot emphasize enough how important I think it is for StandUpGirl.com to list and make available access to the local pregnancy help organization on their home page.

StandUpGirl.com shows us that we can stand up and say “no” to abortion, and the pregnancy help centers provide on the ground support in our own neighborhoods.

At one point it seemed impossible to imagine having twins in our life, but thanks to all the young women who shared their stories on StandUpGirl.com, I could never image our lives without them.

By Angela, devoted mom of 3!

About 19 of every 20 18-29 year olds own a cell phone. For those who have yet to finish high school, it’s seven of every 10. An April 2011 Pew Research Study, “Trends in Mobile Phone Usage,” finds that cell-phone ownership is high among all ethnic groups and even among income levels.

We are truly living in a digital age where information is readily available at the tip of our fingers, as well as the fingers of those who might need our services. A follow-up study by Pew* shows that among 18-29 year-olds, half who have cell-phones have smart-phones and regularly access the internet with them. This means potential clients have the opportunity to access and receive information wherever they are. They have the ability to receive a large range of information in a very short time. With the use of QR codes, social media, mass transit booths, billboards, and digital posters, the value of having a mobile-ready website is becoming more and more evident.

Is your client website smart-phone friendly?

Clearly mobile devices are rapidly becoming the dominant digital format versus desk bound machines. Your website is often your primary marketing tool to reach prospective clients in your community. With technology at the ready for them to search for you, will you be ready to connect with them? Conventional wisdom says that if the person searching for you on the internet can’t find you (quickly), to them, you don’t exist.

In the digital marketing world, effectiveness is measured in seconds, or even fractions of seconds. If your website, in standard form, takes more than a few seconds to download, it may be discarded for a quicker source. Once downloaded, is the information easily navigated? Again, the culture of information at the ready leaves little time to impact the seeker with positive information to make a good connection.

Reasons for a mobile version of your website:

• Interactivity is one of the many ways that Pregnancy Help Centers (PHCs) can reach their demographic. Interactivity on out of home advertising campaigns allows a PHC to make an emotional connection with the client in a public space.
• **According to studies, in three years, mobile will take over desktop internet usage and one half of all local searches will be performed on a mobile device.
• Most people connect while commuting or traveling. However, when they find that sites that they normally access on their PCs at home are not mobile compatible, they might end up switching to a site which provides similar services and is mobile compatible as well. This is what your ministry wants to avoid. The last thing anyone wants is for someone seeking abortion information to go to a site that has a mobile version and is providing abortions at the ready.
• Having a mobile-friendly website also aids in SEO as it helps improve rankings on mobile friendly search engines such as Google or Yahoo.

What are people using their smart-phones/tablets for?

***Smart device owners are taking full advantage of the technology at their fingertips and are spending their time out of home accessing the internet. It would appear that all smart device users, especially younger groups (18-34), have a hunger for information and a need to be entertained. Accessing the internet (80%) and using social networks (67%) are among the top functions used on smart devices.

Younger audiences are more open to interaction. They instinctively understand the relationship between branding and themselves, thus, making them willing participants in the brand/consumer relationship.

Mobile expectations for 2012:

• Smartphone users will reach 106.7 million in 2012, up 18.4% from 2011.
• In 2012, 94% of smart-phones users will be mobile internet users.
• All mobile phone users will reach 242.6 million in 2012, up 2.3% from 2011.
• Smartphone shoppers will reach 68.6 million in 2012.
• Smartphone buyers will reach 36.4 million in 2012.
• 88.1% of US internet users ages 14+ will browse or research products/services online in 2012.

What Does This Mean To You?

Be sure your website is mobile-friendly. This takes some effort by your web design friends, but clearly the trend suggests it is well worth it. The research suggests this will very soon be the number one way your website is accessed. Option Line is mobile friendly for the very purpose of being available to our target demographic. Your website should be also.

The Extend Web Services team now has all its website templates available in a mobile-friendly format. If you’d like to learn more about mobile (and regular) website development for your center, please contact Dionne Ramos West at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

*Pew Research Center, 7/11/2011, http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Smartphones.pdf.
**CBS.CBS Outdoor Media on the Move. Web 2012. http://www.interactiveeurope.com.
***Bosomworth, Danyl. “Statistics on Mobile Usage and Adoption to Inform your Mobile Marketing Strategy.” Smart Insights. Web 2012.  http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/.

Your vote is critical on November 6th. Future lives depend on it. Please take time now to make sure that you are registered to vote. 

However, it’s not just your vote that will save future generations. Every vote from the entire pro-life community is needed to stop government sponsored abortion on demand. And the scary part is that if we fail to vote our pro-life values on Election Day, the government may soon make it unlawful to provide alternatives to abortion by directing pregnancy help organizations to provide abortifacients and abortion referrals.
 
We desperately need your help to Get out the Vote (GOTV)! 

Step 1: Reminding U.S. citizens about the sacred duty of voting is the first step to GOTV.  Future generations are counting on you to activate your Board members, staff, volunteers, donors, friends, neighbors, churches, and families. It is crucial to encourage each person in your circle of influence to become a registered voter. 

Step 2: Educating voters is the second step to GOTV. We need elected officials who are willing to advance solutions instead of abortions. Voter Guides are now available. Voters need your help to understand where each candidate stands on life. It’s time to galvanize everyone in your community to ensure that pregnancy help organizations can continue providing life-saving support.

Forcing pro-life citizens to pay for abortions and to provide abortion-causing drugs goes against our American tradition of religious liberty and destroys our nation’s moral compass.

It was Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, who said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

U.S. voters know that abortion is defacing America. We all know that aborting a child is not healthcare. America needs people with a passion for life to inspire others to vote for those who share our pro-life values. 

You are a vital part of Heartbeat International’s pregnancy help network. Please help voters realize that compassionate help and unconditional love empower mothers to welcome the next generation.

Voting your pro-life values and motivating others to do the same can make abortion unthinkable for future generations. 

Votes save lives.

Since the momentous overturning of Roe V. Wade, the battle to protect life has shifted from the federal courts back to the states. Pro-life advocates are working to pass life-affirming legislation and elect legislators who will protect the pre-born, while pro-abortion activists are trying to bypass the legislatures by enshrining abortion protections into state constitutions across the nation.

As we know, every election is important, and as we look forward to this November and into 2024, we see the growing need for the pregnancy help movement to step into the political conversation in defense of life. We must speak up and ensure our hard-earned victories are not erased, and abortion is not further embedded into our constitutions.

Voting your pro-life values and motivating others to do the same is an important way that we can ensure abortion is unthinkable for future generations.

RESOURCES

• Early Voting- Pregnancy Help Podcast Episode with Dena Espenscheid from the Leadership Institute
• Politics and Pregnancy Help - Webpage of Resources
• Get Out the Vote - Pregnancy Help Podcast Episode
• Getting to Know Your Legislator - Pregnancy Help Podcast Episode
• Pro-Life Activism - Pregnancy Help Podcast Episode
• How Elections Impact the Pregnancy Help Movement - Pregnancy Help Podcast Episode

One Monday, a Tallahassee center answered the phone to hear a young woman ask about an abortion in the third trimester.  The volunteer Karen spoke with the caller for a long time in hopes of changing the young woman’s mind.  Before hanging up, Karen prayed with the caller.  On Thursday, Option Line connected a caller who had questions regarding a late-term abortion, to the Tallahassee center.  This scared young woman was pleading for help. Soon, this young woman realized that she was talking to the same center she had called 3 days earlier.  She asked if Karen was available, and the Executive Director explained that Karen was out of the office.  As they concluded their conversation, she asked the caller to please consider what they had discussed and encouraged her to call back on Monday to speak with Karen.

Well, she did call back on Monday, but she said that she was at the hospital delivering her baby.  The center was thrilled that she was giving birth to a healthy baby instead of aborting!  Since the woman didn’t have much support, the center scrambled to find all the resources she needed including a labor coach, information on adoption, and even a donut!  The birthmother called before leaving the hospital to thank the center for all of their encouragement.

This story has a very happy ending.  Not only was a life saved, but a woman was saved from the effects of abortion, and a baby was given a new home with a very happy adoptive family.

Option Line is proud to connect callers to centers so they can receive the help they truly need.  Option Line consultants rarely get to hear the outcome of their calls, but each time we send a caller to a center, we pray for the center’s availability and resourcefulness.  We understand how hard it is to “wo-man” your 24-hour hotlines and staff your centers and keep up with current resources and information – but we need you and women need you.  Thank you for all of your hard work and preparation!