Life is beautiful

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Our Lady of the unborn.

 We are here to defend the lives of innocent living human being, to be a voice for the voiceless, because when we see someone in need or someone weaker than us being beat down we intervene, we speak out. How can we stand by when 300 abortions happen every single day. When right now at this very moment a life is snatched from existence.  So many inocent lives gone, never to have a single birthday or celebration of any kind.  How did we get here?  How is it we are okay with the murder of a living human being? 

The gift of life is so precious, how can we let it be squandered and taken away?

Testimony

"I talked to a young woman downtown who told me she had never thought about the issue of abortion before. I explained to her the human rights argument, and the logic of the prolife position, and she agreed that abortion was always wrong." --Emily Roberts

Porn Culture

After Jonathan's talk about culture wars, specifically porn, I was so mad,and depressed about our society. Earlier Gerrit and I decided to get porn kills love t-shirts as  nether of us had one and most of the other interns already have one   I've been following fight the new drug for awhile now, and can see how it really ties into our cultures current state.  http://fightthenewdrug.org/

The fact that our culture no longer values so many things That are actually important is terrible. 

Everything to me

Everything to me is a song I've listened to a lot growing up, however it took on new meaning when I got involved with pro-life and realized how beautifully it  connects adoption and life, and the hope we have for children, the hope we have that people will change their minds and come to see what abortion really is doing. How it's tearing apart our future.  A world where it's okay to kill an innocent human being, by ripping them from the mothers womb before they even have a chance to defend themselves.   

Downtown choice chain

It's not an easy task being around the images, i

We don't like having to use them, However it is our most effective way to reach people.  We wish we didn't need to use them, but we will keep using them until public opinion changes and abortion is no longer thinkable.   

During choice chain today i had a lady come up and thank me for being there, for standing up for the voiceless, she said to keep up the good work.  Which is better than what we here most days. 

During a recent choice chain, I spoke to a young women who thought about tirón was alright in all circumstances, after explaining human rights, when human life begins, and why we were there as well as discussing the difficult circumstances women can often find them self in. As our conversation was coming to a close I asked her if her opinion on abortion had changed in any way. She told me she no longer though it was acceptable in all circumstances and that she could agree that it is a living, growing, human being. However she was still stuck on certain circumstances.  While she didn't completely chain her mind or do a 180 as we call it, it's a start, and in the future the conversation will stay with her. 

We don't always  good conversations or people changing their minds completely, so times no one will stop to talk to us, despite that we keep on moving forward, conversation by conversation, person by person, mailbox by mail box, door by door. Abortion isn't going to end over night, it takes hard work and sacrifices. 

Battles

My go to song when something makes me feel like I'm in a battle or I feel stuck. Some days it's hard to keep on going forward and we need to push through.  The great thing about the internship is that we are not alone, we have others to support and work with us. It makes it so much easier to deal with all the things that arise through out the week or even within a day.   

Our work can often be a battle, a battle for life, a battle for the voiceless.  

Culture wars

This week we have more culture wars talks with Jonathon Van Maren. One of our Assigned reading assignments was to read Jonathon's book.  Our talks this week are all based on things from his book, or each chapter.  We are starting to see how it's all connected and important to be informed on all of the current issues besides abortion. And how we can use that information in our work to reach people more consistently.  I can see where it will help understand others and find common ground.  The book is well written However it is depressing to see where our culture and society is at and how terrible people can be within this world. 

The weekend

Embracing our Cowgirl sides. 

wake me up

Some days I wish abortion was just a bad dream that I'll wake up and it's not real, the reality is that it is real and I can't sleep and just wake up to it being gone. We need to take action, we must not stand by and allow it to wipe out future generations. So many are already missing, so many children who won't ever celebrate their birthdays or the different celebrations we have in our lives.   Waking up some days I really don't want to go out and postcard for three hours, however the sacrifices we make and the things we do during this internship matter, getting up and postcarding even when I don't want to is worth the sacrifice.  Knowing that  someone will change their mind on abortion, that people do care and there will be others who come to support us through donations and volunteers. We each can find a place to make a difference in the battle agains abortion, the battle for life. 

So wake me up when tomorrow comes, wake me up so I can go out and bring the truth to people. Wake me up so that when the future come abortion will be unthinkable.

Through your eyes

one of the song some of us interns listen to while on our way to work. 

Never a dull moment

 Met some Vikings after choice chain, there is all kinds of hecktic ness happening for The Calgary Stampeed.

Lethbridge

Canadá 150 tour, Lethbridge presentation.  We spent our morning postcarding in Calgary, drove to Lethbridge to choice chain than we had dinner before heading over for setting up for the presentation.  Us interns were each asked to give a testimony from one of our choice chains.

Reflection.

Looking at this world, and the way society is. Now being an adult I see the world differently, don't get me wrong I see the beautiful things and the goodness in our world. Though at times I'm skeptical because of the people I encounter everyday, the people who tell me it's okay to kill an innocent human being inside of the womb.   

I found this quote and it sticks with me, being a big fan of Peter pan and Never land, the lost boys and fairy tails, at times I wondered why in some ways he didn't want to grow up, however now that I see what adulthood is like and how the world is, i wish I could go back to the time where I was just concerned about what colour bowl I'd have for breakfast.  My internship has brought me to a whole new glimpse of our society and at times it frightens me. To have a person seriously okay with abortion, okay with wiping out people for population control. 

The work we are doing is ever so important, we are bombarded in our society by this and that as well as information shoved at us, however it's not always true or moral.  Some days when I have time to reflect on the internship, i think of the time spent talking to people and I am amazed at the things I've seen and experienced.  Being able to inform people on what abortion really is and the reality that it's killing a living human being is horrific.  The sad stories I've had shared with me and the heartbreaking situations people have ended up in.  The fact that in some ways people have woken up to the truth of what abortion is and resolved to make a difference brings me hope.   

I have hope that with the work we are doing and the future work we will be able to end the killing, and I know that when my internship is done the fact is abortions will still be happening just as they are in Canada right now in this very moment. The thought that I will go home and know it's still happening is terrifying, how can I stand by and let that happen when I am capable of making a difference, even if it's a difference just for one life it would be worth it. I find myself reflecting on where I'm going next, what's the next step after the internship, though I'm trying to not think to far ahead as I need to be focused on these current moments. 

Postcarding

Post carding defenetly takes its toll on our shoes.  Changed my insoles this weekend as my old ones are way to warn. Sore feet can kinda just be apart of our daily lives in the pro-life work we're doing.

Old is on the right.  This is what he boots on the ground looks like up closes. We are put int he hours, we take the steps and we keep going even when we are plumb worn out.

Canadas 150

https://www.facebook.com/canadiancbr/videos/10158989285675051/

Why we are the survivor generation, we we are doing the work we are doing. Please check out the link which will take you to a video

Caitlin Jane- Unborn

I recently found this song and wanted to share it with all of you. Us interns often use music to decompress from our activism as it can take a toll on us all, our work is hard and some days are really tough. From the people we interact with to the images we use, it's not an easy task.  However I would still do it all again as it's worth it. The long days, early morning, sore feet, exhaustion, and everything else that comes with our work. 

Kitchen crew

Never a dull moment with these ones.   To all work, here's time for rest and fun. 

More about June

Hello everyone my sincerest apologies for being late in posting, we have had several schedul changes this past week and a half thus some things have been thrown off balance. We have been kept crazy busy and are normally exhausted upon arriving home after work.

Where do I begin, I spend essentially all my time with my fellow interns, we do have time apart form each other, we get along and actually have fun together. Finding a balance of quiet and rest and laughter is really good for all of us.  Down time helps us decompress from our long days or week. 

We will have some of the interns over for muffins and treats and tea, or just to hang out and talk, or laugh, most of the time we spend laughing. I normally end up on our kitchen floor laughing so hard that I start to cry. 

We have been postcarding than heading to downtown choice chain, we make our way back to the office for lunch. We eat than go into office time, which is call backs,  homework or reading an assigned book. Or other odd jobs that need to be done at the office. Along with a bit of free time.  Than we all pile in the vans and head to another choice in a different location than earlier in the day. 

We are no longer doing highway projects in Calgary as there was an amendment made prohibiting us from doing so, the amendment was made to hinder our efforts at reaching others.  We are not letting it stop us from working hard and doing our work, we just have to change how we do some of it.   Since we don't have highway projects I no longer have that time to write blogs as I was doing.  I haven't been able to find a time that works efficiently for writing a post.   However I will do my best to keep you all updated and in the know on what's going on. 

We have now been alternating who is leading the choice chain. We the interns take turns leading the group, which means we are in charge of deciding where to put who, what signs they have, who's the designated phone person.  Camera person. Also keeping track of the time. And knowing the location we are supposed to be at. 

I have gained  experience in different ways, I am more comfortable moving around my sign rather than just holding it like a shield. Becoming one with the sign so it's an extension of yourself is handy. When I can easily move or turn I can than reach more people and raise the question of what they think about abortion.

I have had some good conversations, as well as bad, I've had people change here minds party, or pro-lifers become more convicted in getting involved. I've had people change there minds completely, and have watched as others have changed people's minds.   Some conversations are truly heartbreaking and difficult to have at times.  

While I was in mass on Sunday  i was reflecting on our work and why we are doing what we are doing, why we put up with the harsh words and slandering things people say, or the negative things that start to pile up.  And. I looked up and a mom was just taking her baby out of the car seat in the pew ahead of us. Seeing that beautiful bundle of joy reminded me even more why we are doing what we do, why it's always worth it. Worth the rough days and times when I wonder if I'm making a difference. Because if we can change one mind that opens the door for saving lives in the present moment and the future. However looking at this bundle of joy my heart grew sad because at that moment somewhere in Canada a life was being snatched away by abortion. How can we be taking the lives of 300 children every day here in Canada that's a hundred thousand children every year.  That knowledge can weigh upon my heart specially since we see the images every day we use them to reach out to others.  After seeing them so often a person could become numb to it, however when I look at those signs we hold, when I think that it's happening right at that moment I know I can't stop trying or give up because they don't get a choice they don't yet have a voice there fore we need to be a voice for the voiceless. 

Photo shoot

 

Four month interns and staff mini photo shoot. 

June 23,2017 

My roommates, and I 

 

The three musketeers and our honorary kitchen member.

Hiking trip

After a really long week it was decided that we would go for a hike as we get off work earlier on Fridays.  As it is summer and we can have high stress days it's good to take the time to enjoy life and the beautiful weather we are having.

Never gonna break my stride.

Some days when I'm out post carding I'll get a song stuck in my head it think of a song to get me through the last legs of the morning. Break my stride seems to be a fitting song. At times we are faced with negitivity and obstacles trying to prevent or hinder our work. 

Beginning June update

We had a political lesson and talk with Cameron Wilson. Learning some really important things, and how to get more involved with politics.  Really cool how we learn things to do with pro-life but also will aid in other areas of our work.

Downtown Calgary choice chain. We are kept busy with our activism, and reaching out to so many people. 

When it rains

I think we can all find those times when we feel stuck, and knowing which way to go or how to move forward is difficult.

Officially reached  #379 blog views today. 

My internship is in full swing, our days are packed with activities,activism,homework, and training.  

Learning to adapt to changes of schedule,miscommunication, and also learning from mistakes made along the way.  There are times when things are more difficult than others or you are really tired from being on your feet postcarding. However there's always something to keep me going. There are moments of just going through the motions, and times where one needs to just stop and Breathe. My favourite thing about postcarding is seeing the different gardens and flowers. Of course stopping to smell the flowers every once in awhile is also wonderful. 

Snacks are one of the things I always have with me,since we are on our feet a lot and do a majority of physical activity. You learn to zone out the noise or things people shout  at you. You have to put it out of your mind because it's not worth thinking about. What they say won't change what your doing or why,  though it does have the potential power to hinder you mentally, that's why you have to choose to ignore it so that it will not effect you negatively or have an impact towards how you are  doing your work.

At first I used to keep track of the times people swore at me or I was given the finger, or birdie as the staff sometimes refers to it as.  

It's tempting to yell back at them and speak my mind however that is not how we do things. Trading insults is a waste of our time when we could be using it to have a beneficial conversation with another person.  

Though our training we gain tools and experiences that are actually relevant to things other than pro-life work though they help aid us in order to do our work efficiently.  

Some people have told me that I am wasting my time and that people won't higher me since my internship was with pro-life, which I think is what a fair amount of people are afraid of which is why a lot of people tend to steer away from the work or subject all together. 

However I know that in a lot of cases that if they were to not higher,  based on that than it would be considered discrimination. Or it's not a place I would want to be working or investing my time and energy in. 

There are aspects of my job that I really enjoy and others that it can be really difficult.  

Rain or shine we do our activism. We do stop if there is a thunderstorm or a safety hazard.  

We have moments when things don't go as planned and schedules change, sometimes we have to adapt quickly or change our trajectory. 

We had a flat tire and no spare which set us back one morning.

One thing I particularly like about highway project is that it gives me time to reflect on my day and how or what I could have done differently that way when I get home I can just decompress and not think to hard about work. 

Highway project is an easy way to reach people, we don't necessarily get the conversations like we would at choice chains, however t gives us an opportunity to really impact people in high numbers. 

With highway project we can read a book or write an assignment if it isn't to windy. I like to type or write up drafts for my blog posts or try to. 

Our days get long and busy, so finding time for journaling or letters or a blog post can be challenging. Wanting to keep connected with people outside of work is also important. 

A majority of it comes down to time management. I am finding new ideas or ways to manage my time and figuring out what my priorities are or need to be.

Brief update

 

I had a really great weekend.  Saturday was grocery shopping with my roommate and a couple of the guys.  Carpooling to the store and shopping together can be rather entertaining.  We are continuing to get to know each other and the things we all dislike or like.   Saturday evening we had a BBQ at Yvonne's one of CCBR's full time staff. Which was great as we got to do something together outside of work.  Nothing like good food, stories, and  laughter to bring people together. We play some soccer, and frisbee, and just enjoyed ourselves. 

Both Saturday and Sunday I did meal prep, for this week, as we have been getting home at 6 or7 pm from work so having meals planned ahead is important.  We also make our own lunches. 

I also did some baking. I made home made tortillas, through had to substitute a bottle as a rolling pin. A rolling pin is on my wish list.  I bought a cake pan so I am able to make cake now.

Sunday a few of us attended a Latin high Mass, which is absolutely beautiful.

I am ready to start my next work week and feel refreshed after a rest and some fun. We have a rather busy week ahead. I'm looking forward to whatever this week shall hold.  

Thoughts on choice chain

This is the reality of what abortion really is and by using these horrendous pictures we have the chance to open people's eyes to the truth as well as their hearts and minds. My job is a tough one, I wish I didn't haven't to show these signs to others, because they are so horrible and often I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to the AVP, which stands for (Abortion victim photography). It saddens me greatly as well as hurts my heart, however I'm raising awareness and trying to make abortion unthinkable. At times when people walk right by or people don't engage when asked what they think of abortion, it makes me wonder if its all worth it.  But than I look at this pre-born child who was snatched away from this world and I think of those other children yet to be born who could potentially be aborted and I have the hope that by doing this it will save the life of even just one child because their parents saw the truth. Abortion won't cease to exist over night and it will continue to be a battle that we must fight. This job isn't easy and there will be times when it takes its toll on not just myself but on those who I'm working with.  It effects us all differently, the work we do can be draining physical or mentally as well as emotionally. People yell at us, and say all kinds of rude or nasty things, swearing us.  Despite all of that we keep going, we continue to reach people and try to get them to talk to us. This work is worth every moment of sore feet, and arms from standing in place and keeping pressure on our signs so they don't blow away when a gust of wing occurs.  Worth the hours put in and the backlash we get.  In the end how can we stand by and do nothing? In Canada 300 Pre-born children are killed every single day.  How can we not be horrified? How can we not choose to act? 

                                                                    

10,000 reasons

  

As I thunk about why I am doing the internship and why the work I am doing is important I can think of numerous reasons. The other day while being in the passenger seat I chose to play this song  for the next part of the drive and it always speaks to me.  It always feels me with hope and I can always find something new to relate to.  I hope you too can find something relatable or meaning full to you within this song. 

Have a really awesome day! 

R

Update as promised

Where do I start! I have been processing and overwhelmed at times with all the new information I am learning as well as the experiences I am acquiring. I have been kept rather busy the past two weeks. My internship is well under way and I am enjoying it greatly.  I'm sorry it's taken so long to get an update from me. My hope is to remedy this in the coming weeks, now that I've adjusted to our schedule. 

A little about the work I have been doing so far. We only started getting out on the streets this passed week. Our first week was spent in the class room. 

Choice chains, I've mentioned them in earlier posts however I haven't gone into detail. 

For choice chains we take our anti abortion posters an we go to corners or intersections on the streets of downtown Calgary. We than hand out pamphlets to people walking or passing by. We try to start conversations and ask what there thoughts on abortion are.  We also do choice chains on sidewalks by schools and universities.

Highway projects, With highway projects we set up on pedestrian over pass crossings on the highway, than we put our posters or signs over the rails and attach it to ourselves than sit in chairs while the big rush hour traffic goes by this way we maximize the amount of views and exposure. 

We also have a big truck with images on both sides and I believe the back door as well, the truck gets driven around the city during different times of day to reach even more people. 

Though that's not an interns job, one of the full time staff does that. However I did go out in the truck on Thursday as I sprained my ankle postcarding on Wednesday. Thankfully it's feeling much better today. We have the weekend off so I have loads of time to rest and recuperate.

We have class time where we learn all kinds of information and things related to our work. We also get homework and assignments. The assignments are to help in making sure we know our material. In class time is where we dialogue and have in class discussions and training. We get talks on all kinds of topics. We learn more about doing presentations and how to talk to people.  

  My fellow interns and I are all becoming a rather close knit group, we car pool, eat our lunches together as well as learning in the classroom together and drawing from others experiences. Together we are learning how to function as a unit, team work can go along ways when we have a fair amount of tasks to accomplish. 

Learning to how to be an actual adult

           This post is less about work as its more of my experiences and personal side. My first week I went to have soup only to realize I didn't have a can opener.... the rental comes equipped with certain things but lacks others.  Of course I was able to aquire a can opener from the office, the same can be said for plastic containers to store my cooked food in.  Learning to be independent and an adult is rather tricky there is much more to consider and plan. 

              Firstly learning how to effectively manage my time and energy,  we actually had a whole talk about this begging of this passed week.  I have never been a big fan of cooking or baking however it is growing on me as I have to cook and prep as well and plan ahead for my meals.  Learning more about budgeting and personal finance has been rather interesting.

             Another example i was going to make a boxed cake, only I didn't really think ahead to what equipment I had at home.. this living in a place that's not home only it's temporarily home.  I don't have a cake pan so making a cake is kinda not possible at the moment.  However I do have a muffin tin so I can make cupcakes with said cake mix.  Yesterday I baked two batches of muffins from scratch. Banana chip and a yougert jam muffin.   

           I have had to text or call my parents for advice on rather simple things and not so simple ones. 

Knowing when to ask for help is a great help and the fact I know I have the support of my family and friends. Thankfully with technology it's easier to keep in contact with friends and family and all who have been supporting me in my internship. I am extremely grateful for all the love and support and am so blessed by the people I have in my life.

           Earlier this week the oven first time using it decided it didn't want to turn off... had a rather interesting bonding moment with my housemate Emily, as we tried to get to the bottom of the situation.  The land owner after I contacted him took a look at and it was decided that a new one was in order. Thus we have a new over to work with.  Thankfully we were able to use the gals renting upstairs to cook our next meal till the new over could arrive. 

           Over the past two weeks I have had a fair amount of small and big learning lessons. I'm constantly learning something new each day and growing in new ways.  I really enjoy working with my fellow interns and all the things we can find in common. We all share moments of laughter and tease each other. Getting to know one another has been bring us all closer. Knowing one another's quirks or pet peeves or what can get someone off on a tangent. 

               Lunch time can be one of my favourite times as our lunch room is basically a loft filled with mismatched couches and chairs, tables. Our conversations are always different and can go from one topic to another in split seconds. There are times when we have to be serious and others where we can laugh and joke around.  

Update coming soon!

Hey Everyone, just wrapping up the last classes and lessons of the week than I have the weekend off. Will be posting an update soon. For now I've added Pictures from the March for life for you guys to see.  I've been really crazy busy this first week of my internship. Looking forward to giving a bit of a look into what's going on. 

The March for life

The first picture is of several of CCBR's staff and most of the 4 month  Calgary interns