Massachusetts News
By Rev. John Ensor

February 1--Gail agreed to take the basement-level two-bedroom apartment. 

It was to become home for eight people, Gail, her three daughters, three granddaughters and a coming newborn. The frayed carpet was matted with dirt. The thin, stapled-together cabinets in the kitchen were falling off the wall. The stove and oven? Unusable. The tiny bathroom, dank. We pleaded with her, "Let's keep looking." But Gail was afraid to pass it up. The tears welled up once again. "What else can I do? No matter how bad it is, I've got to take it." 

There are times when life is so desperate, so gut-wrenching that tears fall almost hourly down your cheeks to become your daily bread. Gail was in that place. Jonell Johnson, AWC Director in our Dorchester Clinic, took Gail's hand. I took the other and in the middle of this depressing run-down apartment in the city, we prayed. 

The Angel, Clarence, from the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, never showed up. But what did happen was a string of those providential "it just so happened" events that causes the heart to exalt in the very God to whom we have poured out our tears. It also makes one proud of the Church, since the help that came forward was primarily (though not exclusively) from the Christian community.

It just so happened that Gail's daughter, Majoria found her way to AWC in April 1998. Majoria was sixteen and pregnant. She had recently arrived in Boston from New Jersey. Her mother, Gail, in spite of having only a high school education and little prospects of finding anything other than a low-paying job, felt that there were more opportunities in Boston for work. Gail hoped to land a job, find an apartment and eke out a modest life of survival for her family. 

In trying to help Majoria cope with an unplanned pregnancy, we needed to help her mother, Gail. For the next six weeks, Gail and Majoria became the focal point of our services. Jonell made sure that Majoria got good prenatal care and we kept in regular contact with Gail regarding her housing and employment needs. 

All Gail could find was a dingy apartment. We contacted the landlord and gently but firmly reminded him of the need to "make sure to paint, clean, repair and replace" immediately so that he was not in violation of any building codes in this apartment or the others he was renting. He responded well to this little "nudge" and we helped Gail and Majoria move in soon after.

It just so happened that the women of the Free Evangelical Church in Easton wanted to do something life affirming. They called AWC to host a baby shower for a needy mother. As Majoria was preparing for parenthood rather than adoption, we knew this would be a great blessing for her. In June 1998, Majoria received an abundance of baby clothes and supplies. The Christian women encouraged her with their testimonies. In August, Majoria gave birth to a son and named him Jedidias. Debbie Peterson, from the Easton Church, stayed in regular contact with her during the pregnancy and beyond, offering practical help, friendship and counsel. 

It just so happened that the unplanned pregnancy awakened in Majoria a deep sense of the sacredness of life. This led her to examine both her life and her lifestyle. She confessed that she was living wrong and committed herself to Christ and His will. She devoted herself to preparing for motherhood and earning a GED, which she did.

In the spring of this year, while doing a presentation on the ministry of AWC, it just so happened that a man heard us speak about the impoverishing effects of single parenting and the ways we seek to help offset those difficulties, including employment. The following week he received a job notice from Eastern Nazarene College. He called us to find out if any of our clients could qualify and benefit from this opportunity. 

We thought of Gail. This past March we helped her develop a resume, fill out the application and prepare for the interview. She was offered the job, and apart from a few weeks due to an injury, has been working full-time ever since. 

AND…it just so happens that the children of employees at ENC are allowed to attend the college on a scholarship!

Eighteen months after we stood praying in the middle of that filthy

apartment, holding the hands of an utterly destitute and discouraged mother, Gail has found a home for her daughter and newborn grandson. She has found full-time work, received help from numerous Christians, seen her faith, as well as her daughter's, revitalized and is now the proud mother of the first child in her family to attend college. Her son, Kotye, is a freshman. 

All of us who work or volunteer at AWC do so because we believe in the sanctity of life and in the sacred duty of Christians to follow the law of love in helping the weak, the innocent, the broken-hearted, the repentant. We do so for the joy of seeing God save lives and change lives. For this reason Christ was born into the world; and for this reason he animates the Church, the Christian community, you and me, with a Spirit of transforming love. 

We have received many examples of such love this past year from many donors. We have used it all. Our medical clinic and ultrasound is yielding a near 100% turn-around rate among abortion-minded clients. But we have had losses too. There are things we are doing poorly and things we want to do to make us more effective (see center news). Your gift at this time will help us become a better and more effective instrument of the life-saving and life-changing grace of God. It will strike a blow against the inhumanity and violence of abortion. May God give you great joy in being a partner with us in the Gospel of Life.
 

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