Volunteers Matter: Marlita Camacho

Category Archives: Volunteers Matter

Volunteers Matter: Marlita Camacho

Crisis Pregnancy Outreach has been 100% run by volunteers since its inception more than 30 years ago. No one has ever received a salary, which enables CPO to make an even bigger difference in the lives of Tulsa area women. We know that volunteers matter, and to honor them we periodically interview and highlight one of our volunteers. This week we hear from an extremely dedicated volunteer, Marlita Camacho.

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I am a doula (professional labor support) and I assist Cheryl with birthmoms.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I have been a doula with CPO for 14 years, and an assistant for about 3 years.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: I’m embarrassed to say it was for selfish reasons, but I was looking for ways to further my doula training by attending births.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: The neat thing is I started attending births, but quickly realized what an amazing ministry opportunity it was. I get to walk through a really emotional time with these girls, laugh with them, cry with them. I get to be with them when they may not have a good support system.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: I’m passionate about birth, but I’m also passionate about being the hands and feet of Jesus. If these girls feel the love of Jesus through me, then I’m doing my part.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I’ve learned that there’s always a way to make time. Your schedule may be busy, but if an opportunity comes up to minister to a woman in crisis, there’s always a way.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: Wow. That’s a deep question. I think I’ve got the best volunteer opportunity at CPO, because I get to witness miracles. The miracle of life. The gift of a birth mother choosing life for her child, whether she plans on parenting or she is making an adoption plan. I get the privilege of witnessing families being made through open adoption.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: Do it! Make time to make a difference in someone’s life. Make yourself available to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Choose to love on someone who may never have felt His love.

Volunteers Matter: Lindsey Wichern

Q: In what ways do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I work in the office once a month, serve as the “transportation coordinator” for the birth moms needing rides to appointments, and fill in wherever else there is a need.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering in July of 2016.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: Through our friends, Jeremy and Carrianne Burton.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: I originally chose to volunteer at CPO because my husband and I are adopting through CPO. However, after becoming more accustomed to the organization, I will continue to volunteer here because I love the mission of the organization and what we’re doing to help women in crisis in our community.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: Every single life matters and CPO’s vision to help women in crisis, which is a wonderful thing itself, and how that directly impacts unborn children is just so important.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I have a heart and passion for helping young women in crisis. God has really put these ladies on my heart!

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: So many women and children (and waiting families!) are being shown God’s love through the people of CPO being His hands and feet. It’s beautiful.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: Don’t hesitate any longer, do it! aea9fc24-3365-436c-a0c3-9cda45a42b1b

Volunteers Matter: Linda Huber

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I work in the office, doing 2 hour shifts each time.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering in August of 2015.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: I have had several friends who have donated and some have volunteered there in some capacity over several years and some others who have adopted through CPO.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: I’ve been involved in girls and women’s ministries through my home churches for 35 years. I do mentoring and lead and teach Bible studies. God spoke to me about doing work “outside the local body of my church” for some time. I also have a daughter and her husband (who live out of town), who feel called to adopt in the near future. I was drawn by desire to give to those in need of Godly counsel and since I raised two daughters of my own, it was a good chance to put my gifts to work and learn about the process of adoption. I feel especially called to minister to women in crisis because of others who have done so in times in my life. I am also a client advocate with MEND, working several hours a week.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I have learned that I am exactly where God would have for me in this season of life: as a mother with grown children and a grandmother. I’m a retired dental hygienist and treating patients for 32 years prepared me for this volunteer work. My absolute joy is when I get to talk one-on-one with a woman and pray with her. It has amazed me to see the words God gives me for each uniquely created person. God has opened my eyes greatly to the amount of need in this area, even among the church body and especially in our lost and broken world. I desire only to be Jesus with flesh on it to these women and families.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: I have been able to do some pregnancy tests and chat and pray with several new clients, which thrilled me to feel helpful. Two in particular with positive test results and both clients were believers, but knew they needed better walks with God. I also got to observe (from my desk) an adoption. It was amazing and very emotional. I cried and prayed for both parties all that day and think of how many lives were changed forever that day. God truly blesses and has called this ministry for such a time as this!

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: I highly recommend everyone I know to get involved actively and give a little time to support CPO. It takes and army, but together it works miracles. It is so much more than an alternative to abortions, as vital as that is. It is truly life-changing experiences for many. I thank God for the opportunity to serve and consider it an honor.

Volunteers Matter: Brooks Parker

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I work in the office occasionally, gather and organize baby/maternity donations so they are easily accessible at the CPO storage unit. I helped with donations for the gala in April and I will soon be writing some blog posts.:)

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering the end of November, 2015.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: I heard about CPO from various people over the past several years. When my niece was pregnant a friend recommended she utilize CPO’s services since she was young with an unplanned pregnancy. CPO was helpful for her at that time in her life. There are also several CPO adoptive families at my kids’ school and I have several friend/acquaintances at CPO that are heavily involved in volunteering at the organization. I have always heard wonderful comments.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: Well, I wouldn’t say “versus”.;) I still volunteer a lot at my kids’ school and I also assist with computer work and am on the finance team at my church. I have wanted to get involved with CPO for some time but the main motivator at this time is because we are now a waiting adoptive family. I love that CPO requires volunteer hours to complete an adoption. For someone like me that may be reserved to jump into a situation I am not familiar with, it has pushed me to put myself out there and learn the ropes of CPO.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: CPO cares for many facets of ladies in crisis and I love that. Again, it is the love in action. It’s not only showing the girls alternatives to abortion but helping them walk it out..for life. Help doesn’t end at a free pregnancy test or delivering a baby or placing a baby for adoption. The CPO girls are offered counseling and support for life and that is huge. I am excited to be able to participate in a ministry that doesn’t just focus on one small area of an unplanned pregnancy but that it offers an all encompassing level of support for women.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I have solidified my introvert status by realizing I really don’t like to talk on the phone. Haha!

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: I am very new to being directly involved with the CPO ministry, but what I have always seen through friends that have been involved and what I see now that I am there is: true love and care for the girls that come to CPO for help. I see love in action and that is what God calls us to do.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: Do it. The likelihood of CPO being able to put your God-given gifts and talents to use is pretty high.

Volunteers Matter: Kate Wicar

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I have volunteered in several ways over the years, but I currently serve on the leadership team, mentoring out-of-state adoptive families who are waiting to adopt. I am also going to start coordination the Waiting Families Workshop. The Waiting Families Workshop is a time for prospective adoptive couples to come to Tulsa for a three day intensive, to learn about the heat and ministry of CPO, as well as the beauty of open adoption. The Waiting Families Workshop was an absolutely life-changing weekend for me and my husband, so I am excited to help facilitate that same beautiful experiences for other couples who are new to CPO.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I have been volunteering with CPO since the beginning of 2009. Actually, one of my favorite parts of our season of living in Tulsa was being part of CPO. I absolutely loved it. When we moved back to Colorado in Fall of 2011, I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to volunteer with CPO anymore. Thankfully, Cheryl thought to ask me if I would be willing to mentor out-of-state families who are waiting to adopt. I was thrilled to get to stay plugged into CPO, and truly love getting to encourage adoptive families.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: A lady in the nursing mothers room at our church told me that she answered phones for CPO and told me a little about the ministry. I had wanted to get involved with a pro-life ministry for a while, so I was really excited to see how I could volunteer. Some close friends of ours were starting the process of adopting through CPO around that same time too, and they told us that CPO really needed Native American families. Really?! Since I am Cherokee, this was very intriguing. We started praying about adopting through CPO, just as our biological son was turning 1. We both felt strongly that the answer was “yes” and “now”, which didn’t seem entirely logical since our little guy wasn’t even walking yet, but we were so excited and turned in our application a few weeks later. And we’ve been on an adoption adventure pretty much ever since!

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: I love how pure the ministry is at CPO, and how it is all about loving the birth moms. An adoption agency where no one receives a salary–just incredible! I also love that CPO serves both women who are parenting and women who are making adoption plans.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: I started out volunteering simply because I wanted to help with a pro-life effort. I had deep convictions about protecting life in the womb and being a voice for the voiceless since I was a young girl. But now, the cause is even closer to my heart because I am the mother of four boys, three of which were adopted through CPO. Since we live in Colorado, people sometimes ask why we don’t adopt a baby locally. We tell them that after working with CPO, other adoption agencies kind of pale in comparison. We have such peace adopting through CPO, because our sons’ birth mothers have access to free counseling for the rest of their lives, a weekly support group, a doula for their births, a wonderful community, and so much more. There simply isn’t a place like CPO where we live, and that is why we wait a little longer and travel a little farther to adopt our babies.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I’ve learned that God can use me even with my quirky personality and inadequacies. I still get a little nervous each time I speak to a group, or interview a prospective family, but God is faithful. Once I push through a bit of fear, I’m always so glad I did. I’ve learned that it is okay to just be me, and that I don’t have to be perfect or have it all together for God to use me.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: Oh, where do I start? God is awesome and being involved with CPO is like being on the front row of a really good movie. There are twists and turns, and ups and downs, but in the end God is good! I am always impressed at God’s attention to detail and encourage the families that I mentor to keep a journal while they are waiting. It is pretty amazing to see some of the timing that occurs, and to see what God was doing behind the scenes all along. His goodness is consistently weaved throughout the fabric of this ministry.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: I would say with my whole heart: do it! Many hands make light work, and it is so fulfilling to be part of what God is doing at CPO. Even volunteering in the office for just two hours a month is a huge help. Also, don’t be afraid to involve your children or to drive to an unfamiliar part of town. Being part of CPO is being part of a family, and we are all there because we love Jesus and want to cheer women on who are choosing life. So if you are thinking about volunteering, I would encourage you to go ahead and jump in. You will be blessed and God will use you in mighty ways. And when you are volunteering, it might not always feel super significant, but with many volunteers working together in small ways, the overall results are pretty remarkable!

Volunteers Matter: Thom and Christine Crowe

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: Christine and I [Thom] love CPO and have looked for any way to volunteer. I help with social media and we both volunteer with the girls at the CPO Transition House and Christine did a brief stint as the house mom and I helped quite a bit with the recent gala fundraiser.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: We started volunteering with CPO in March of 2015.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: Kinda funny story, Christine was cleaning out her old emails a few weeks ago and came across an email thread between the two of us about adopting and we talked quite a bit about CPO back in 2006. We weren’t ready yet but, unbeknownst to either of us, the seed had been planted in our brains. Fast forward to 2014, we decided we were ready to begin the adoption process and a family we knew had adopted through CPO recommended that we fill out our application. We applied and were accepted as a waiting family. As we learned more and more about the organization, we fell in love. The mission was something we could get behind and we jumped in with both feet and haven’t looked back!

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: My mom had me when she was a teenager and my sister had our nephew when she was 18, just out of high school. One thing I learned from this was that when a girl has an expected pregnancy, she needs love and support. There are other agencies that do that, but something about CPO just stuck with us. Once we learned it was a 100% volunteer agency and no one was paid so that all the money raised goes straight to the girls, I was sold.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: Having a family is really important to both Christine and me and adoption has always been something on my heart. As we’ve been able to work with and get to know the girls in the transition house, we’ve grown to care for them. They’re special girls and they are why we do what we do. We started out volunteering because we were supposed to, but now the birth moms are our passion.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that I’m a huge pushover! I’m not the best at saying no which is why I think we’re a great fit to befriend the girls and do fun stuff with them. I should probably work on that before I have a teenager at home, but there’s plenty of time for that.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: For me, probably the best gift we could have asked for came in the form of our birth mom and we know God was involved with how we met her. On a Friday night back in August, Christine and I had plans to go out. A message was placed on the CPO Volunteer Facebook group about a girl who needed a ride from a dance back to the Transition House. Neither of us could shake the need to go, so we canceled our plans and got ready to go pick her up. We were waiting to meet a birth mom who was living in the house and wanted to interview us so we made sure it wasn’t her or any sort of conflict of interest for us to go, which it wasn’t but I’m a bit paranoid and a rule follower. We picked up who would be our birth mom and hit it off with her. She and Christine clicked really well and when we dropped her off, Christine, who is not a terribly emotional girl, started crying. Some connection was made. We were supposed to meet with the other birth mom and got the call while waiting for her at a restaurant that she picked another family. While there, we ran into Cheryl Bauman who had wonderful words of encouragement for us. The next day we got a call that the girl we had driven wanted to meet us. We went to dinner and she picked us as her adoptive parents. Since then spent time with her, we have been able to get to know her and now love her so much. She’s an invaluable part of our lives and our family now. We know God put it on our hearts to meet her that night and we’re so thankful we answered.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: In whatever capacity you can, do it. If you can volunteer, there are unimaginable ways to make an impact. If you want to adopt and have a heart for the birth moms, this is the place to do it. CPO gives them and you the resources you need for a successful open adoption. If you don’t have time but have financial resources, give. CPO is a good steward of the gifts they are given. Just get involved. If you’re not sure or have questions, reach out and come see what CPO is doing. You’ll be sold hook, line, and sinker just like we are!

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Volunteers Matter: Jackie Potter

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: Currently, I am the Gala Sponsor Chair for our annual Celebrate Life Gala. I’m responsible for securing table sponsors for the event, as well as a lot of behind the scenes gala work. In the past Chad and I were mentors for the transition house, and I have also coordinated host families for birth moms, and out of town families.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering with CPO in January of 2005, so 11 years ago!

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A:My husband, Chad and I had experienced an interrupted adoption through another agency, and went to see Teri Burnett for some guidance. She introduced us to CPO, at that time. However, I’ve known of CPO since about 4th grade, when Cheryl’s daughter Natalie and I would carpool and go to Tracie’s house for after school snacks! 🙂

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: CPO just fell in my lap, after talking with Teri Burnett. We first came here because of our desire to adopt, and then it quickly turned into more than that. You see the work being done and how much more work needs to happen and you can’t help but want to be a part of that ministry. The one thing that keeps me volunteering at CPO is the constant need. There are so many hurting women and children in our community and I want to be part of their healing, and that’s what CPO does.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: CPO is so close to my heart because it stands for LIFE. Plain and simple. CPO respects the lives of the birthmoms coming for help, knowing they are worthy of goodness in their lives. They respect the lives of the babies, finding them their perfect forever family. And CPO respects the lives of the adoptive parents; knowing that God placed the desire to adopt on their hearts. And in such a seamless way, CPO unites all of these lives together.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: Through volunteering at CPO, I’ve learned that it’s ok to step outside my comfort zone. Because when I do that, God stretches me, and continues to form me into the person He created me to be.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: God’s hand is in constant work at CPO. From the financial donations that keep our organization running, to the volunteers in the nursery so that we can meet without interruption, to the birthmoms that turn their lives around, to the adoptive families that have received answers to prayer…God is in constant work with those involved with CPO. He orchestrates it all so beautifully!!

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: If you’re interested in volunteering with CPO, I say go for it, please come help! The more we have doing His work, the more women and children we can help. We can’t do this alone. But, I would also say, be prepared for your life to change. God’s doing big things here!

Jackie Potter

Volunteers Matter: Rhonda Fisher

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I currently spend lots of time working behind the scenes at CPO. I keep the website up-to-date, I coordinate and edit the blog, and I work with our marketing team on various projects. I mentor adoptive families as they go through the adoption process from application to finalization. I often go to volunteer fairs to recruit new volunteers or to outreach events to offer help to women in need. I also lead the monthly meeting of our Adoptive Family Support Group. My official title is the Ministry Director, and I do lots of stuff.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: Since about June of 2012, so that would be 3.5 years.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: My husband Jarad and I had been considering adoption for quite some time. We weren’t quite ready yet, and we weren’t sure if God wanted us to adopt internationally, through DHS, or through a domestic agency. We heard about CPO through a friend from the school where I was teaching. It was a beautiful ministry and right here in Tulsa. We knew we had found His plan for us.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: CPO requires that adoptive families complete a specific number of hours as part of their adoption process. So that’s why I started. But I’m WAAAAAAAY past that number of hours, and my daughter’s adoption has long been finalized. But now I’m in love with this place and I can’t stop. I love the adoptive families. I love the volunteers. I love the babies. And most of all I love the women and girls that God brings to us.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: I love that CPO supports women through their pregnancies but also for the REST OF THEIR LIVES. You really don’t find that with many other agencies. But here at CPO, we’re not just an agency. We’re a ministry. We offer lifelong support groups and licensed counseling to these ladies, and I am so proud of that fact.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I actually LIKE to volunteer! I mean, I really like it. I currently stay home with my daughter, Milly. While I wouldn’t change that for the world, I miss teaching and the special joy it brought to my life. But volunteering at CPO (and a few other local ministries) brings a similar joy. It is just so good to get outside of your own world and spend time helping others. It’s just plain good for my soul.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: Oh my goodness. Where to begin? I have met dozens upon dozens of women helped by CPO. Many of them had no where else to turn, had never felt the love of Christ, and were merely surviving day to day before they came to CPO. Now, I see them all the time, thriving, smiling, and spreading Christ’s love to others. One of my favorite things to see around CPO is when a woman who has previously been helped by CPO decides she wants to volunteer here too. What a joy to see those who were previously helped reach out to help others, too!

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: Get with it! Don’t wait. We always need more volunteers and it’s never too soon to start being the literal hands and feet of Christ. You won’t regret it!

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Volunteers Matter: Melinda Hunley

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I have volunteered in a number of different areas for almost 9 years. Initially as a mentor, then I became the mentor coordinator for about 4 years. I also planned many holiday parties for CPO and Grace Girls. Now I do a lot of volunteer coordinating for some of our fundraising events.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: About 9 years.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: Through my church, Christian Chapel.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: I was drawn to CPO because of the stories I heard during the CPO Sundays at my church. I was completely struck by how God brought families together through open adoption and stories from the birth moms about how CPO helped to change their lives completely moved me!!!

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: Because CPO provides real/tangible solutions and help to girls going through crisis pregnancies.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: By helping with CPO I feel like I truly have a hand in helping God’s cause on earth!!! And that I’m pretty good at party planning!!! But on a serious note I’ve learned to rely more on God when sharing about the gospel. Working with CPO through the years I’ve had several opportunities to minister to girls in desperate situations and I always feel so incapable on my own. But these were the times that I just let go and let God! This was a huge boost to my own spiritual walk.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: I’ve seen girls transformed from addiction and living of the streets to becoming a stable wife and awesome mother… all because of what God has done through CPO!!!

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: I would tell them to do it and prepare to watch God’s grace transform girls’ lives… and their own!

Volunteers Matter: Ashley Ledbetter

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: After hours phone calls, interviewing parenting moms and writing their stories for the blog, photography for CPO events like the Easter party and Birth Mother’s Day.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: Since the beginning of this year.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: We have friends who have adopted through CPO and my friend mentors a CPO birth mom. We also found CPO on the internet when trying to choose an adoption agency. After we pursued DHS adoptions, God told us we needed to use CPO.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about CPO that drew you to us?
A: Well, because we have to for our adoption to be finalized! But it worked out because I actually wanted to volunteer last year but I had just delivered Siren and we were still settling into Tulsa. I ended up putting it on the back burner and then we became a waiting family so it was time to volunteer!

Q: What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: The opportunity to serve a baby AND birth mother. The opportunity to have an open adoption and try to experience that reality. Initially we thought of adoption as a “win,” because the baby is being rescued from a home that can’t take care of it, and because we gain a child into our family. Later we started seeing it more as a “loss,” because the baby has this deep innate need for their biological parents and the solution for the brokenness coming from that separation should be reunification. The solution should be an equipped mom and dad, a healthy household, a clean, safe, loving environment… so without that adoption felt like a “loss” for everyone. Ultimately, we are now seeing open adoption as “adoption.” Not a win or loss, just the receiving of an entire family unit (however big or small in each case) into our family unit. Through open adoptions we can experience the win and joy of receiving a child into our home, we can redefine reunification by encouraging and nurturing healthy relationships between our adopted child and their birthfamily while also developing a new union between ourselves and our adopted child’s birth family. And since CPO is a Christian ministry, we can do all of this with Jesus at the forefront of our plans, relationships and actions, without which, all of these hopes would ultimately be unattainable. Because God is at work in this organization, we are eager to be at work in it too.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: I think because God has put it there, but also because I can relate. I grew up in a non-Christian home and I have made most of the mistakes I have heard some of the birth moms mention in their own lives. I can relate to broken relationships, sometimes wreckless behavior etc. Also, I love babies and children (nannied for 5 years before having Siren), so both beneficiaries of CPO’s focus are people that are close to my heart.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I put way too much pressure on myself- because I was glued to my phone all day on Valentine’s Day worried I might miss a call! Maybe also that is hard to motivate myself sometimes to serve, until I am serving, and then its easy and fun and I can’t wait to do more. So I guess I have learned that my heart really does WANT to serve, and it’s important to carve away everyday obstacles and distractions to really protect that time to give to others and to give to the Lord. Because I need to serve more than I need to wash the dishes… but I forget that’s true when the sink is full of last night’s pots and pans.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work through CPO?
A: Oh gosh, I have seen one of my closest friends raise a baby boy they adopted through CPO, that could be enough right there. I think any time I hear a story, of adoption or parenting, it’s pretty evident that God has planned these families with intense attention to detail and personality and circumstance and timing. Even when we didn’t have a baby yet I kept hanging on the day in October that I KNEW God wanted us to use CPO. I was crying and telling Chase we have to drop DHS and use Crisis Pregnancy Outreach instead and he was like “I know.” Those days are God’s hand at work.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: There are so many different ways to help. You can be involved a whole lot or you can do something very small once a month or once every few months. It’s worth it. Just check it out and find a place where you fit. I came in willing to do anything, even though one of the only things I was secretly hoping to get to do was photography. I didn’t think there would be a need for photos because there is such a need for phone answering and office type work, and I found out on one of my first days that CPO was actually in need of some photographers for BMD! Praise the Lord! So, even if you think there might not be a place for you, God probably has a place for you. And if He DOES have a place for you, it’s probably a place you would love to be in. So check it out.