July 2022 Update

Dear Praying Friends and Supporters,

We have been quite busy since our last major update – one of the reasons why we do not post more often. We are deeply thankful to the Lord for His great grace and mercy poured out repeatedly into the preborn children and their mothers that come our way. We never cease to be amazed and humbled at how He works and brings light into the darkest places and hope into the most desperate hearts.

Most of the women who have come to use in recent months are relatively young. Tragically, despite their youth, they are also suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Katya*

Katya is in her mid-20s, now the mother of two, and suffers from eating disorders and PTSD. Her oldest has a life-threatening allergy to dairy products. But even worse, both have suffered from severe physical and emotional trauma. After giving birth to her son, the baby’s father wanted to kill them both. Thankfully, the father failed in his attempt to murder her. After all she had gone through and struggling with her son’s physical condition, Katya was very abortion-minded when she first came to us. However, after counseling, she made the courageous decision not to abort and gave birth to another son. K’s financial situation is quite difficult, and we are helping her as much as we can through our First Year of Life Program.

Rikki*

Rikki is 21 years old. Born into an ultra-Orthodox religious family, she was severely exploited and sexually abused. Her situation became progressively worse, and Rikki finally decided to leave home. However, with no reasonable means of support, she ended up living on the street and became involved with prostitution and drugs. When she was 17, Rikki became pregnant and decided to give the child up for adoption. After giving up her child, Rikki’s life continued along the same path of prostitution and drugs until she discovered she was pregnant again. Referred to us by a friend, Rikki has been undergoing extended counseling with us. She has been able to get off of drugs and left her life of prostitution. Two months ago, Rikki gave birth to a daughter and is now in the process of getting an apartment from the government.

Elana*

Elana is 28 and has been diagnosed with manic depression and PTSD. She was repeatedly raped by her father for several years, became pregnant, and had an abortion. Elana came to us during her second pregnancy, hesitant about carrying the child to term. After two counseling sessions, she decided not to abort. Please pray for her, as she continues to have awful nightmares because of the abuse she suffered.

Tammi*

Tammi is in her 20s. She and her husband both have backgrounds of drug addiction going back several years – in both of their families. Tammi’s mother and adoptive father both died from an overdose. After becoming pregnant, she was considering an abortion. However, she changed her mind after receiving assistance from A Future and A Hope, and the local community. Tammi is now looking forward to giving birth in another two months.

Batya*

Batya is 23 years old. When she first came to A Future and a Hope, we learned that she had left home when she was 17 after suffering from severe sexual abuse. As often happens in cases like hers, Batya’s life went into a downward spiral toward prostitution and hard drugs. Pregnant when she came to us, Batya was afraid she would not be able to care for her child properly. Thankfully, as the months passed, she changed her mind and made great strides to rehabilitate herself. She became excited about her pregnancy and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in June. As of this post, Batya remains off drugs and is doing well.

Shula*

Shula, 32, is among the older women who have come to us. As a child, she suffered rape and sexual abuse over an extended period. Shula too, fell into prostitution and drugs and eventually had three abortions. Shula came to us during her fourth pregnancy, having decided she wanted to keep her child. She is now clean from drugs and gave birth in May. Shula hopes to give her child a happier life than the one she experienced. Please pray that she can do that and more by God’s grace!

How A Future and A Hope Makes a Difference

All the women mentioned above have undergone or are undergoing childbirth preparation and a breastfeeding and baby care course given by a trained Doula who works with A Future and A Hope. They also receive parenting guidance and counseling from our staff. All of the women receive help through our First Year of Life Program, and quite often, the women stay in contact with us long after the financial support ends.

However, preserving life and encouraging mothers in crisis pregnancy situations is only one aspect of our ministry. In addition, we provide seminars and workshops on sex education, harassment, pornography, pedophilia, good touch versus bad touch, and other related subjects geared toward parents and teens as well as the Messianic community. These workshops are not just important but necessary in this increasingly sexualized world – even in Israel. While the need for these workshops is a tragic fact, we are deeply grateful for the grace of God in opening doors for effective service and His power that is still touching and changing the hardest of hearts.

Prayer Points

As you pray for the women who come through our doors, please remember that what we have shared is but a tiny drop in the bucket of sorrows they have suffered. Pray for them that the Man of Sorrows would heal their broken and bruised hearts; that they would come to know and trust the Father of Light – the Father of the Fatherless as the Father who truly cares for them and loves them as their own fathers never could. Pray that the Lord would protect them from evil and the evil one and that their children would indeed grow up in homes filled with love, light, and hope.

Please pray for the staff of A Future and A Hope. May He give us the wisdom to guide each one He brings our way. When we speak at seminars and workshops, may the Lord give us HIS words to help the Body of Messiah and unbelievers learn to discern the truth regarding these timely topics. May the attendees have teachable and soft hearts that will turn to the Lord and seek purity.

Our Prayer for You

We give thanks for each of you. You are standing with us in this fierce battle, and your prayers are making a difference. Your giving is making a difference. May the Lord bless you and keep you from all evil; may He meet your needs, and hear the cries of your hearts.

*All names have been changed for the safety of those involved.

Bless, be blessed, and be a blessing.

Marvin S. Kramer (for us all)