Thank You For Empowering Spanish-Speaking Women To Choose Life
It’s hard to think about where Karina* and her baby might be today if the woman she visited with that day at Prestonwood Pregnancy Center hadn’t spoken Spanish.
Karina had just arrived in the U.S. from Central America two months before, and she didn’t know any English. She came to Prestonwood Pregnancy Center after finding out she was pregnant, and thankfully, she was able to meet with Stephanie, one of our Spanish-speaking client service managers.
“Karina was like many of our Spanish- speaking clients,” shares Stephanie.
“She was scared and overwhelmed, but she was grateful that she could connect with someone who spoke her language and understood her culture. And she shared that she was happy to parent.”
This connection was so important when Karina called Stephanie the next day to tell her that she’d changed her mind and wanted to get an abortion.
“I invited her back to the center, and I told her we would walk with her every step of her pregnancy,” shares Stephanie. “But Karina had already scheduled an appointment at an abortion clinic in New Mexico and planned to go through with it.”
A few weeks later, Stephanie got a call at the center, and it was Karina. “She was at the airport and told me, ‘I can’t do this. I’m not ready to have an abortion.’ So I stayed on the phone with her until she left that airport, got in her car, and was safely home. Today, Karina is far along in her pregnancy, and we’ve been able to provide her with all the support she needs.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 25% of the babies who are aborted in the U.S. are Hispanic. And as of June 30, Prestonwood Pregnancy Center had seen a 165% increase in Spanish-only speaking clients compared to last year.
“Connecting personally and spiritually with our clients is at the heart of what Prestonwood Pregnancy Center does,” shares Leanne Jamieson, Executive Director. “But we can’t connect with our clients if we can’t communicate with them. This is why having Spanish-speaking staff and volunteers is so vital to our ministry.”
Thank you for your gifts and prayers, which God is using to empower so many Spanish- speaking women and families in our community to choose life. And please pray with us that God would bring more Spanish-speaking staff and volunteers through our doors in the coming days to meet this growing need!
*Pseudonym used to protect client’s identity.
