It can be overwhelming to think about 200,000 frozen embryos in Canada with determination to help bring them to life. I will continue to talk about it, blog about it, write emails, make phone calls and pray that God moves in the hearts of his people to get involved.
I hope to see Christian adoption agencies including embryo adoption in their services. I pray that Christian families will consider adopting embryos not only in situations of infertility, but also in consideration of the forgotten orphans of Canada. My prayer for Canada is for unborn babies to have rights as human beings, both to end abortion and to make policies to protect embryos in cryopreservation.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The beginning of my journey
This all started in my heart shortly after my youngest daughter was born in 2006. I was listening to Focus on the family and Dr. James Dobson was speaking about the hundreds of thousands of embryos frozen in time in cryopreservation units across North America. He was asking people to consider adopting embryos and to raise awareness of the forgotten orphans of North America.
That day, a place was born in my heart to someday give the chance of life to embryos, both physically and through being a voice for them. I spoke of it to Steve and prayed about it from time to time over the next couple years.
My husband is a wonderful Godly man and I covet his support in any venture that I hope to succeed. At first he was hesitant, even sceptical of the idea of adopting embryos, but as I continued to pray about it, God changed his heart as well. Steve has joined me in my mission to speak out for embryos and he is growing excited about having another baby when the time is right.
So now I have a vision, easy, right? Nope! I found it rather difficult to find a clear pathway to adopt embryos. As I researched the subject, I found only one Adoption Agency in B.C. that facilitates Embryo Adoption and one Christian agency in California; other than that, there wasn't a lot of information or clear options. It seems like this is all fairly new in Canada.
*I will note at this time that though I personally know people that have adopted through Choices, Steve and I feel that we should not based on the fact that their banner of acclaim is that the adopt to same sex couples and in fact they do not profess to be a Christian agency. We don't feel right about giving any money to them nor do we desire to promote them either. Having said that, they do facilitate embryo adoption, though they do not seem to uphold them as a human life, it seems that they just desire to be on the forefront of adoption fads. If you are considering using Choices, I just recommend that you pray about it and make the decision that you feel comfortable with. What is right for us isn't necessarily for everyone.
I did find many websites on the subject of embryos.; mostly medical websites referring to these embryos as biological material, not living human beings. The term "viable" was applied to embryos that have the potential to grow into a full term baby, but clearly they are not generally valued as human life. I also discovered that science has a growing claim for embryos as the subjects of stem cell research. It is relevant to note that though many medical advances have been made with stem cell research, it has only been with adult stem cells; there has never been any success with stem cells derived from embryos.
After many months of prayer and research, I hadn't gotten very far. I sent emails to fertility clinics across B.C., inquiring whether they offered embryo adoption as an option for their cryopreservation clients and if they would facilitate donation and transfer of embryos. Only one fertility clinic even replied and they told me that they don't provide that service. I also made contact with Hope Adoption Agency in Abbotsford and received a supportive response, though embryo adoption was something that they were only familiar with. I began to pray that Hope, or another Christian Agency would feel called to join in the vision to bring the chance of life to embryos.
This brings me to January of 2010, 4 years of 4 years later and we were seemingly on a different mission. We left Canada on the 3rd of March, 2010 with our family, headed for Guatemala. We were bound for Joy Filled Homes, an orphanage for children with special needs. I have to say that I fell in love with Candy, a darling 12 year old girl with Downe's Syndrome. I even asked Steve if we could take her home. Even if he would have said "yes" the government of Guatemala does not allow foreign adoption, so it wasn't even an option. While we were there, I was sharing my heart for embryos to a Canadian missionary friend. She wondered out loud if Guatemala had similar issues with embryos cryopreserved, left over from in vitro procedures. Naturally, I looked it up on the internet and found a clinic in Guatemala City. I sent an email to Centro de Reproduccion Humana, requesting information and received a reply right away. Yes, they do facilitated embryo adoption and if we were interested, we could make an appointment for more information. Time for more prayer! Is this something that we should do? Would this clinic uphold life and respect our values, not compromising our beliefs in handling the embryos?
We made the appointment for the following week on a day that we were not committed to working at the orphanage. During the 45 minute drive into the city, Steve and I prayed that we would be able to communicate clearly and also discern whether or not this clinic would handle embryos in a way that would not compromise our beliefs.
When we arrived, we met with Anna Lucia, the office administrator. She spoke English quite well and explained the procedure to us. She told us about the costs involved, the hormones I would have to take to regulate my cycle and about the legal side of things. Then she introduced us to Dr. Luis Pedro Rosal, the Endocrinologist. Dr. Luis really put us at ease when he told us that he believes that life begins at conception and that embryos are of the earliest forms of human life that need to be protected.
Now some serious praying because if we were supposed to take this step, we wanted to be sure that it was the right time. We prayed for clarity. We called family and asked them to pray. We had an immediate hurdle, and that was finances. The cost of the procedure in Guatemala was a fraction of the cost in North America, however, we were down in Guatemala on support by our church and we were $1,200 short of being able to afford the procedure with our personal funds. (I only call them "personal funds" for those who strongly object to "unauthorized spending of donated funds." We considered all of our resources at that time to have been provisions of God, no matter where they came from or what we felt led to spend them on.) If we would be able to adopt embryos in Guatemala, we would need to depend on God to provide. So we had our fleece laid out. By our next appointment, still a week away, we would need to know if there was money to proceed, otherwise we would have to decline. The day before our appointment, We got a phone call from my sister in Vanderhoof. She told me that some money had come in for us and the amount was exactly $1,200! Woohoo!
So that is how we ended up adopting embryos in Guatemala. The extent of the "adoption" was that before the 3 embryos were transferred into my womb, we signed legal documents that stated that we accepted the donated embryos and as such took on all responsibility to them and for them. On May 12, 2010, 3 precious embryos were transferred into my womb at Centro de Reproduccion Humana in Guatemala City. It remains a mystery why God chose not to let us meet any of those babies just yet, but we know that we will meet them someday in heaven.
For awhile, I wondered if maybe God hadn't asked us to be involved in the journey to bring a voice to embryos. I also thought that maybe we had fulfilled all that He had required of us. I know now that our journey isn't over yet! I still have a burning in my heart to see thousands of embryos growing in wombs of Christian people across Canada. This vision is far greater than me!
That day, a place was born in my heart to someday give the chance of life to embryos, both physically and through being a voice for them. I spoke of it to Steve and prayed about it from time to time over the next couple years.
My husband is a wonderful Godly man and I covet his support in any venture that I hope to succeed. At first he was hesitant, even sceptical of the idea of adopting embryos, but as I continued to pray about it, God changed his heart as well. Steve has joined me in my mission to speak out for embryos and he is growing excited about having another baby when the time is right.
So now I have a vision, easy, right? Nope! I found it rather difficult to find a clear pathway to adopt embryos. As I researched the subject, I found only one Adoption Agency in B.C. that facilitates Embryo Adoption and one Christian agency in California; other than that, there wasn't a lot of information or clear options. It seems like this is all fairly new in Canada.
*I will note at this time that though I personally know people that have adopted through Choices, Steve and I feel that we should not based on the fact that their banner of acclaim is that the adopt to same sex couples and in fact they do not profess to be a Christian agency. We don't feel right about giving any money to them nor do we desire to promote them either. Having said that, they do facilitate embryo adoption, though they do not seem to uphold them as a human life, it seems that they just desire to be on the forefront of adoption fads. If you are considering using Choices, I just recommend that you pray about it and make the decision that you feel comfortable with. What is right for us isn't necessarily for everyone.
I did find many websites on the subject of embryos.; mostly medical websites referring to these embryos as biological material, not living human beings. The term "viable" was applied to embryos that have the potential to grow into a full term baby, but clearly they are not generally valued as human life. I also discovered that science has a growing claim for embryos as the subjects of stem cell research. It is relevant to note that though many medical advances have been made with stem cell research, it has only been with adult stem cells; there has never been any success with stem cells derived from embryos.
After many months of prayer and research, I hadn't gotten very far. I sent emails to fertility clinics across B.C., inquiring whether they offered embryo adoption as an option for their cryopreservation clients and if they would facilitate donation and transfer of embryos. Only one fertility clinic even replied and they told me that they don't provide that service. I also made contact with Hope Adoption Agency in Abbotsford and received a supportive response, though embryo adoption was something that they were only familiar with. I began to pray that Hope, or another Christian Agency would feel called to join in the vision to bring the chance of life to embryos.
This brings me to January of 2010, 4 years of 4 years later and we were seemingly on a different mission. We left Canada on the 3rd of March, 2010 with our family, headed for Guatemala. We were bound for Joy Filled Homes, an orphanage for children with special needs. I have to say that I fell in love with Candy, a darling 12 year old girl with Downe's Syndrome. I even asked Steve if we could take her home. Even if he would have said "yes" the government of Guatemala does not allow foreign adoption, so it wasn't even an option. While we were there, I was sharing my heart for embryos to a Canadian missionary friend. She wondered out loud if Guatemala had similar issues with embryos cryopreserved, left over from in vitro procedures. Naturally, I looked it up on the internet and found a clinic in Guatemala City. I sent an email to Centro de Reproduccion Humana, requesting information and received a reply right away. Yes, they do facilitated embryo adoption and if we were interested, we could make an appointment for more information. Time for more prayer! Is this something that we should do? Would this clinic uphold life and respect our values, not compromising our beliefs in handling the embryos?
We made the appointment for the following week on a day that we were not committed to working at the orphanage. During the 45 minute drive into the city, Steve and I prayed that we would be able to communicate clearly and also discern whether or not this clinic would handle embryos in a way that would not compromise our beliefs.
When we arrived, we met with Anna Lucia, the office administrator. She spoke English quite well and explained the procedure to us. She told us about the costs involved, the hormones I would have to take to regulate my cycle and about the legal side of things. Then she introduced us to Dr. Luis Pedro Rosal, the Endocrinologist. Dr. Luis really put us at ease when he told us that he believes that life begins at conception and that embryos are of the earliest forms of human life that need to be protected.
Now some serious praying because if we were supposed to take this step, we wanted to be sure that it was the right time. We prayed for clarity. We called family and asked them to pray. We had an immediate hurdle, and that was finances. The cost of the procedure in Guatemala was a fraction of the cost in North America, however, we were down in Guatemala on support by our church and we were $1,200 short of being able to afford the procedure with our personal funds. (I only call them "personal funds" for those who strongly object to "unauthorized spending of donated funds." We considered all of our resources at that time to have been provisions of God, no matter where they came from or what we felt led to spend them on.) If we would be able to adopt embryos in Guatemala, we would need to depend on God to provide. So we had our fleece laid out. By our next appointment, still a week away, we would need to know if there was money to proceed, otherwise we would have to decline. The day before our appointment, We got a phone call from my sister in Vanderhoof. She told me that some money had come in for us and the amount was exactly $1,200! Woohoo!
So that is how we ended up adopting embryos in Guatemala. The extent of the "adoption" was that before the 3 embryos were transferred into my womb, we signed legal documents that stated that we accepted the donated embryos and as such took on all responsibility to them and for them. On May 12, 2010, 3 precious embryos were transferred into my womb at Centro de Reproduccion Humana in Guatemala City. It remains a mystery why God chose not to let us meet any of those babies just yet, but we know that we will meet them someday in heaven.
For awhile, I wondered if maybe God hadn't asked us to be involved in the journey to bring a voice to embryos. I also thought that maybe we had fulfilled all that He had required of us. I know now that our journey isn't over yet! I still have a burning in my heart to see thousands of embryos growing in wombs of Christian people across Canada. This vision is far greater than me!
Monday, November 8, 2010
LIFE
I want to start out by talking about LIFE. I want to state very clearly that I believe life begins at conception. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 129:13-16
God created man in his image. He loves us and has a plan for our lives. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jerimiah 29:11 It is very clear in this verse that God is opposed to practices like abortion, stem cell research done on living embryos and all other testing and experimentation done on living embryos in our country today. It is my prayer that over the course of this blog, God will reveal his heart for embryos, that together we will change the fate of hundreds of thousands of embryos currently frozen in time.
You may have heard terms like "snowflake babies" and "embryo adoption," or it is possible that you are hearing about this issue for the first time. Either way, I encourage you to do a Google search and read several articles on the subjects. Most certainly, you will come across very opposing views of the sanctity of life and what practices are considered to be ethical. If you search further into sites related to human embryos, you will come across shocking and heartbreaking facts about scientific research done with the use of living embryos, commonly referred to as "viable embryos." The point of learning about what is happening in our society is to raise awareness, because awareness leads to action. Be the voice of the innocent by sharing this information with others, pray for our country's policies to change, consider adopting embryos.
This is a journey. It starts with being a voice.
God created man in his image. He loves us and has a plan for our lives. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jerimiah 29:11 It is very clear in this verse that God is opposed to practices like abortion, stem cell research done on living embryos and all other testing and experimentation done on living embryos in our country today. It is my prayer that over the course of this blog, God will reveal his heart for embryos, that together we will change the fate of hundreds of thousands of embryos currently frozen in time.
You may have heard terms like "snowflake babies" and "embryo adoption," or it is possible that you are hearing about this issue for the first time. Either way, I encourage you to do a Google search and read several articles on the subjects. Most certainly, you will come across very opposing views of the sanctity of life and what practices are considered to be ethical. If you search further into sites related to human embryos, you will come across shocking and heartbreaking facts about scientific research done with the use of living embryos, commonly referred to as "viable embryos." The point of learning about what is happening in our society is to raise awareness, because awareness leads to action. Be the voice of the innocent by sharing this information with others, pray for our country's policies to change, consider adopting embryos.
This is a journey. It starts with being a voice.
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