December 2005 Newsletter
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"The speaker was amazing. She answered so many questions teens have about life issues. Please bring her back."
Recently we were invited to teach the Life Principles to over 1,500 high school students at a regional youth convention. As is usually the case, most of these teens were not familiar with the logical arguments for being pro-life. The majority of them had only received information on abortion and euthanasia from the television, movie stars, newspapers, and public school classrooms. Until, of course, they met our professional speakers from Healing the Culture.
By the end of the day we had transformed them with three powerful talks on the meaning and dignity of human life, on the lie of abortion, and on suffering and euthanasia.
You could have heard a pin drop when we told them about the four levels of happiness and God's unconditional love and forgiveness. I wish you could have seen the look of understanding and relief on their faces when we explained why God allows suffering and how He uses it to bring us to love. I wish you could have experienced their fascination when we answered their questions about overpopulation, disabilities, and "hard cases" like rape and incest.
The reaction of one student, quoted at the top of this page, is just one of many that we received that day from teens who experienced profound transformation. Here is just a small sampling of comments from other young people:
"Cleared up a lot of questions."
"I thought this was wonderful! Thank you so much!"
"Very convincing presentation."
"The information was excellent, helpful, and fabulous for the high-school age."
"Gave us a positive objection against abortion."
"You answered questions and gave me a lot to think about."
"You taught a great lesson."
"It was very inspirational."
"I found what I needed."
"The answers to the questions made sense."
The positive reaction was nearly unanimous, and it fills us with a sense of hope that we really can change cultural attitudes about abortion and euthanasia in a fundamental way -- if only we can reach more people!
Like the students we recently spoke to at a prestigious, secular, private high school -- all of them part of a women's studies class. We'd been invited by the "pro-choice" teacher who wanted to give her students both sides of the argument. By the time our speaker was done, the students were convinced that there's a lot more to the issue than they had been led to believe.
After class, the teacher actually approached us and said, "We've had pro-life speakers before, but none of them have ever connected with our students like you did. This was excellent. If I invited you back, would you come again?" Of course, we said, "Yes!"
It's because of this great need that we do what we do. Young people are NOT going to get the truth about abortion from the media. That's a fact. And they are NOT going to get straight talk about euthanasia from Hollywood. (Remember the pro-euthanasia film, "Million Dollar Baby?")
But, as long as you continue to generously support us, they WILL get the truth from us. And they will hear it from a multitude of sources, such as our speakers' bureau, teacher training, retreats, religious education programs, books and brochures, video classes, and audio tapes. And they will hear the truth presented with respect, reason, and above all, love.
In this last month of the year, our needs are great. We are coming closer and closer to reaching our fundraising target for 2005 -- but we are still $12,000 short. We must hire new staff in order to reach greater numbers of young people, but we cannot do that unless we achieve our goal.
This means we need either a large number of people willing to give gifts of $25, $50, and $100; or a smaller group of friends who can offer large donations of $1,000, $5,000, or even $10,000.
Friends, I'm asking you to be as generous as you can as you consider your final sacrificial gifts for 2005. Remember that your gifts to Healing the Culture are totally tax-deductible, and that every penny is spent wisely in the pursuit of creating a culture of life.
There are many different ways that you can give to us. We have our own stock account at Smith-Barney in Seattle if you'd like to give a gift of stock. We qualify for matching funds from Microsoft Corporation and other businesses. We accept credit cards, checks, and cash (come see us in-person for that last one!). And you can even write us into your will! (For instructions on any of these giving options, go to: www.healingtheculture.com/support, or give us a call.)
Thank you so much for your continued support of our pro-life ministry. We are grateful to have you on our team, making a difference. May you enjoy a blessed and beautiful Christmas season.
With holiday joy and Christmas blessings,
Camille E. De Blasi, President
P.S. Merry Christmas to you and all your beloved family and friends from all of us at Healing the Culture!
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