Dear Friends, Partners and Prayer Warriors,

As we celebrated Passover, my thoughts turned to Jochebed and Amram: ”By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the King’s edict.” (Hebrews 11:23). These brave parents had the courage to choose life for their son despite the command of Pharaoh to throw every son into the river. His mother did place her son in the river, in a sense obeying Pharaoh, but did so very carefully in a waterproof basket, and waited to see how God would preserve her child. By His grace, Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and paid Jochebed to raise her own child. Moses’ mother trusted in God and was greatly rewarded for sparing his life. Likewise, each Be’ad Chaim mom who protects the life of her baby is supported by gracious donors through our “Operation Moses” project. One of our donors so rightly wrote: “It gladdens the heart that we are able to make a difference in this world by our giving and our prayers.” One of my favorite quotes says it all: “To the world, a baby may be just one more person, but to one person, the baby may be the whole world.” Your prayers, generosity and love are changing the world!

With gratitude, Sandy

Tehila & Baby Ramon

Tehila is a determined young woman. She had a very tough childhood because her mother is a drug addict and her father is an alcoholic. Her parents divorced when she was young and she grew up in boarding schools and centers for teens at risk. At 17, she became pregnant, and with Be’ad Chaim’s help, chose life for her child. Tehila and her baby lived with her mother, but the environment was not suitable for a child. The Welfare Department removed her daughter and she was eventually adopted by another family. During the next six years, Tehila, brokenhearted, had four abortions and two miscarriages. This year, she and her boyfriend again became pregnant. She told me that she was desperate to become a good mother but didn’t how to manage. Again, she turned to Be’ad Chaim for help and support. Baby Ramon is now three months old and is a strong little guy who loves to smile. Tehila and Ramon have been living with her mother as they had nowhere else to go, but again, the Welfare Department felt that it was not a suitable environment for the baby. Rather than losing her precious Ramon, Tehila decided to enter a special program to be trained in mothering and life skills. In this program for mothers and children at risk, the goal is to prevent the separation of a mother from her child, through intensive guidance, coaching and discipline. Tehila’s partner is moving to the North to be near her and to be able to visit her and their son. She hopes that he will also receive training in being a father during his visits to the Center. Tehila realizes the challenges that are involved in moving to a city away from her family and entering this intensive year-long program. She had tears in her eyes, yet she spoke with determination about being a really good, strong mother for Ramon. She was very grateful when I told her that we’d be praying for her to succeed and have a blessed, full and fruitful life.

Finding healing at the Gardens of Life

Our counselor Larissa celebrated the 20th anniversary of her aliyah (immigration) to Israel on April 16th. I’ve known her for over half of those 20 years and have seen her blossom from an insecure and unsure young woman to a godly, confident counselor for those in need. Shortly after arriving in Israel in 1999, Larissa became romantically involved with a neighbor and had an abortion. For 15 years, she kept the shame and embarrassment “closed deep within her heart”. In November of 2015, despite her shyness, I invited her to become one of our counselors. To introduce her to the work, she attended our 2015 L’Chaim International conference. As part of the conference, our counselors participated in a workshop called “Good Mourning” to help them find healing from abortion and to learn how to help others who suffer from Post-Abortion Syndrome. The pain from Larissa’s abortion surfaced after being hidden, even from herself, for so many years. She went home and told her then eight year old daughter about the abortion. Together, they named the baby girl Lana. Several days later, conference participants went to the Gardens of Life to plant trees in memory and in honor of babies who were aborted, miscarried or passed away after birth. Larissa and her daughter joined the group as observers. Hearing that there was an extra tree, Larissa made the quick decision to plant one in honor of her little Lana. “I believe that God brought me to Be’ad Chaim to be healed, to be released from shame through the revelation of my sin. My spirit was opened by God’s Spirit. I think that I got this job as a counselor because I’m like the women whom we help. They’re people like me. Later, I participated in a post abortion support group, and the pain in my heart “found closure”. God forgave me. I experienced relief and felt as though a weight had been lifted from me. I know that my baby is with God. My family knows that she existed, that God gave her to us, and that I made a mistake. The tree was planted in her name – this is what I could do for her. It was my way to honor her and to give her recognition as a human being. She was my daughter and is forever a part of our family.”