Ultrasound Joys

http://firstchoiceprc.com/

One of the beautiful gifts God has given me is the means to volunteer at 1st Choice Pregnancy Resource Center.  I am very grateful that I get to serve there. It is a worthwhile ministry working with women in the Texarkana area.  I began as a  teacher.  Then I trained to be a client advocate.  I am now also a church liaison. I am preparing and training to perhaps soon begin leading a quarterly client marriage conference with my husband. But when a call came that there was a need for ultrasound witnesses, I jumped at the chance.  I guess I wanted to do this because my ultrasound experiences where very memorable and emotional. God made a way, and I soon began volunteering in this capacity.

The job was simple.  Turn out the light.  Be a human in the room.  And turn on the light when it was over.  I signed on with a fantastic nurse (who became a friend for whom I am honored to volunteer with).  Once on board, let's just say God threw me in head first. The first ultrasound I witnessed revealed a miscarriage.  The second revealed to a woman, who was also a grandmother, that her pregnancy test was correct. Not only was she pregnant, but she was just a couple of months from delivering. My ultrasound experiences have been going along in that same dramatic fashion since day one.

While a miscarriage is far from a joyful event and other ultrasounds have been difficult and painful for other reasons, there is still a great joy in being an ultrasound witness.  It is an opportunity to share God's plan for life and hope for a future to each woman we encounter. One of the joys I get to experience is seeing a baby that is between 9 and 14 weeks in utero. They are a small active humans with lots of room so they bounce around like a kid in a jump-house.  I enjoy seeing babies that are 6-9 weeks in utero because the "yolk sac" is attached by a tiny string of an umbilical cord to the baby and it looks like he or she is holding a balloon.  It is super amazing to see babies at 19-22 weeks in utero because (when God allows) we can see the sex of the baby.  However, we are not allowed to tell the client what we see in this limited ultrasound setting.

Sometimes the situations are difficult, and sometimes they are wonderful, but they are always a blessing. I love getting to see only what God got to see until the sonogram machine was invented. It is a joy beyond measure!

The center recently has decided to combine two roles in the ministry and provide ultrasound counselling.  God willing, I will be able to perform in that capacity at the center, as well.

Contact the center if you are interested in volunteering or supporting their ministry in any way.  You will be tremendously blessed, be a blessing to women in crisis pregnancy situations, and get to be involved in a truly worthwhile ministry in the Texarkana area.