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TLC Pregnancy Services

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

By Jan DeFily, R.D.M.S.


It was a very cold, wintery day and our mobile unit was parked in Carpentersville. A young lady came with her fiancé to have a pregnancy test and ultrasound. She was exploring her options as she already has several young children and didn’t think she could handle another one. Together we reviewed information about pregnancy, development of the baby, and pregnancy options. As we talked, I asked the father of the baby how he felt about the pregnancy. He said that it was her body and he would respect any decision she made. She was too early for a conclusive ultrasound, so we planned to reschedule that for a later date. I was disappointed that the ultrasound wasn’t able to show her the baby’s heartbeat.

I tried to contact her several times, first by text, then by phone. She didn’t respond. Several weeks later I tried again. To my surprise she responded. She said, “We are so excited! We decided to go through with the pregnancy and we are having twins!” She gave birth in due time to a little boy and a little girl! Praise the Lord. I would like to think that we at Life Choices had a small part in this decision.

We’re so happy to be getting a new mobile unit, slated to arrive in February! Mobile ultrasound services meet a real need in various communities. Moms and dads will be able to see their baby’s heartbeat as early as possible. Thanks to those of you who helped to make this new mobile unit a reality!
 

Ultrasound Models Needed

TLC Pregnancy Services/Life Choices Medical Clinic in Elgin is looking for women in their first trimester of pregnancy who are willing to be part of a ultrasound training program for our nurses, conducted by Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound. This training will be during the last week in February and the first week in March. Women should be 6-12 weeks pregnant by the end of February. Each session may be as long as an hour.  We will maintain Covid 19 protective protocols.

Besides receiving an ultrasound at “no charge”, each model will receive a gift bag to take home. For more information or to sign up, call 847-289-1235 and leave a message for Ruth Feldmann, or text 847-637-0101 and use the words “Ultrasound Training”. Thank you!
 

 Needs for TLC:

 Choices Medical

  • We need a volunteer doctor. 
  • We need a volunteer nurse.

Others Current Needs

  • Baby wash (smaller bottle which will go farther and provide for more mothers)
  • Walmart and gas gift cards which can be given to the mothers
  • Diapers sizes 4 and 5 are in great need

Prayer for all  Board Members and Staff 

  • Protection over and strengthening for each Board Member and each Staff in their calling to serve and perform their duties
  • Also protection and healing for their spouses (and children)

Needed an Administrative Assistant for Director, Vivian

  • Someone with a heart to serve the Lord and others
  • Good office skills: computer, answering the phones, organized,
  • Would work about 32 hours each week
  • Experienced with event planning would be helpful.  

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to this ministry.

Have a Very Blessed 2021!

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THE NZUNGA’S – EYE CLINIC EXTENSION OPENS



Dear Loved Ones,

Greeting and Happy New Year. Today Wednesday January 27, 2021, in the city of Fort-Liberte, the last city before you get to Ouanaminthe, the border city to Dominican Republic,  was a big celebration, a big fete.

What  celebration? It was the official opening of the eye clinic extension. For years, people in that region have begged us for a service at home and now God heard their cries. The staff of the eye clinic left Cap-Haitian early to be there on time. 

The amount of people who were waiting was behind imagination. The place to hold all of them was too small. As always, the staff opened the service with a dedication worship service before seeing  the first patient. Here we are talking about full exam where they check the eye completely, from A to Z before diagnosing.

They saw 50 patients sending the rest home.Why? Because of generalized climate of insecurity in the country, they had to close early at 3:30 PM to get back to Haiti before  it gets dark. While we are rejoicing with the population of that region, we say Thank You for your love, your prayers and your support. It is because of your care that we go boldly and proudly to serve those who do not have big names and fancy  titles  in our society. This is how we show them that Jesus never forgets anybody. 

Yours in Haiti, 

Nzunga & Kihomi   
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Gabharts Newsletter January 2021

January 2021 Happy New Year!


Many of you know that in December we went to Missionary Flights International to candidate to join the organization. As of December 22nd, 2020, they have extended the invitation for us to join the organization and we said yes!

For those who are not yet familiar with MFI, they are a mission organization helping other missions. Their tagline is “Standing in the Gap”.  They partner with over 500 organizations and families serving in the Bahamas, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic by flying in short-term mission teams, cargo, mail, and more. When hurricanes strike, MFI also serves as a collection center for donations of clothing, food, and building supplies. 
Additionally, MFI also flies emergency medical flights.

MFI has asked James to train under the current load master.  The responsibilities of the load master includes calculating the weight and balance of the airplane as well as configuring and loading the plane.

James will also serve as a maintenance specialist. He will be able to help maintain the two DC-3s currently operational, as well as help with the third one they have being rehabilitated and reconditioned. 

Sam’s primary job will be to keep working with the kids with homeschool, but there will be opportunities for her to be trained on passenger check-in for the flights, as well as learn the warehouse for handling and preparing packages that come in daily.

This is an exciting time of transition for us. There are several ways you can partner with us as we continue the journey God placed us on 5 years ago.  First, be a prayer partner.  Prayer is such a critical and vital tool. There is no way we could be at this point without all the prayer we have received thus far. Second, continue to read our letters. Third, be a financial partner.  MFI has given us a goal of about $5500 monthly support. If it’s God’s will, we are planning to move between summer and fall of this year after James finishes his last semester at Moody.
 
Family News
Christmas has come and gone, as well as our grand adventure.  We are so blessed to have had not only a great time, but a safe and healthy time too.  When traveling, especially during the current times, being and staying healthy can be a challenge. As alluded to in the beginning of the letter, we started our time in Florida.  The kids absolutely loved our time there.  They were excited for the warm weather, the ability to swim, and the opportunity to serve with Missionary Flights while we were there.  Two of the afternoons we got to work with Barb, the “warehouse boss”, sorting and preparing packages for customs.  Each child was able to learn how to drive a pallet jack and had fun helping figure out what all goes into preparing packages that arrive for customs.  We still had some schoolwork to do, but our schoolwork was significantly lighter during the trip.Helping in the warehouseFrom Florida, we got to go spend time with James’ family in Indiana for Christmas and being able to help James’ uncle out by helping take care of Grandma. It was a week of relaxing some for the kids and getting the one opportunity they had to play in the snow. We also had the joy of connecting with friends we have not seen in years too. Connecting again with people reminded us just how much we love and appreciate each person. Our time was so great and connecting with family and friends was exactly what we needed.

Following our short time in Indiana, we spent the last of our time connecting with friends back in the Elgin area.  Sam’s “big brother” and his wife set us up with a hotel for a couple of days so they could have some time with us before the full time shift up in Elgin began. We appreciate the time we had with them. Once in Elgin, it seemed that we had consistent busy times connecting with more friends, meetings, and coffee dates. We seemed to not have much down time overall, but we would not have had it any other way.  Once again, we were reminded just how precious our friends are.

Now being back home, we are working on getting back into the swing of things with school and appointments that fill our weeks. Sam’s mom has had a few appointments as well as Jonny having a few too.  Things are doing well overall there and we praise Jesus for those things.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support in this training process.

James and Sam Gabhart
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End of Year Giving

It was wonderful to see the Lord’s hand at work through our end of year giving. This year the missions team decided to split our giving into three separate, yet still substantial gifts.

Salvation Army Gift

Go to https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/
Elgin Salvation Army

One third went to the Salvation Army. This international movement is the evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. They have been active in Elgin for many years. They provide assistance with clothing, housing, food, family needs, youth, and veteran services, and many other areas.

Aperion Care and Heritage Manor Gift

One third was split went evenly between two Elgin nursing homes, Aperion Care and Heritage Manor. This was in the form of specific items purchased for them, for the benefit of their residents, who have lived under extremely restrictive conditions since March 2020 due to Covid-19. The goal was to encourage and uplift these seniors. Items included word search books, coloring pages, markers, game prizes, snacks, and other items.

Stone Temple Ministry Gift

STPF (1 of 1).jpg

And one third went to Stone Temple Ministry (Stonetempleministry.com) in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. The project we are supporting is a community center. The church has acquired land and is working to build a center which will include a recreation room, half court basketball, full kitchen, serenity space, auditorium, Black History exhibit, conference center, and computer lab. The Englewood neighborhood deeply needs this ministry in an area.

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Christmas Trees for Nursing Home

Trees for Nursing Home Residents

The women of FBC created 88 Christmas Trees that have been delivered to the Nursing Home to bring some cheer to the residents, some that have not seen anyone for months due to Covid.