Mornings with Seth and Deb

00:00:01
Deb: Find out all about this life affirming work this morning, as well as their upcoming banquet as we talk with Liz Ryan from Pregnancy Resources. Good morning Liz.

00:00:10
Liz Ryan: Good morning Deb. It's great to be here.

00:00:13
Deb: It's great to have you here. You're looking good.

00:00:16
Liz Ryan: Thank you I appreciate that I worked hard at that this morning. Seth is laughing. It's okay.

00:00:24
Seth: I just put on clothes.

00:00:26
Liz Ryan: Yeah.

00:00:28
Seth: Just show up.

00:00:29
Deb: He did a fine job.

00:00:30
Seth: Well, thank you, he did. If I hadn't, there'd have been a whole nother conversation. All right, so what's happening? The banquet coming up. What's, uh. What's this? When is it? Where is it? How do we get involved? What's it all about?

00:00:43
Liz Ryan: Wow. Okay, so pregnancy resources every year has our annual spring banquets, and that is our major fundraiser that helps propel the ministry forward, to be able to do all of the things that we do throughout the year. Those things like free pregnancy test, free ultrasounds, post-abortion, medical screenings, everything that we want to help a person from the time that they think that they're pregnant up through the toddler years, and give them that safe place where women and men can come and get biblically compassionate, medically accurate answers to the tough questions that they are asking. Right, um, about abortion, about parenting, about pregnancy and more. And this year is a special year. We have a special speaker coming, and that is Roland Warren. He is the president and CEO of cabinet. We are a cabinet, uh, center for evangelical and, uh, presenting the gospel and that sort of thing went in the centers. And so he is going to be coming and speaking about pro abundant life, we're very excited to have him. Uh, the other aspect of the dinner evening is you get to hear how you have been able to come along beside moms and dads right here in the area and help them see and choose life. Yeah. So it's a great event. And we just wanted to let folks know that there are still seats available, uh, to be able to come and hear about that life saving work that they're able to join in with. So the way they can do that is they need to call Pregnancy Resources in Moline at (309) 797-3636. Press the number two and ask for Liz. Or they can email me at Liz at QQ pregnancy.org and then let me know who you are and what your meal choice will be. So that's all very important and.

00:02:53
Deb: That's as simple as that. You don't have to support a table or anything like that. You will seat them with.

00:03:00
Liz Ryan: I will seat them with friends or they can make new ones, make new friends.

00:03:04
Deb: I love that. Where is this going to be held?

00:03:08
Liz Ryan: Well.

00:03:09
Seth: Good question. That's a.

00:03:12
Liz Ryan: No. We have

00:03:12
Liz Ryan: a place.

00:03:19
Liz Ryan: They can find that out when they call me or email me.

00:03:22
Deb: Okay okay okay. That sounds great.

00:03:24
Liz Ryan: Well, because it is, we do have to have reservations. Sure. So it's not like you can say, oh, I think I'll go to that tonight. So it is reservation only. Okay. So they have to make RSVP right.

00:03:36
Deb: Can just be found out when they RSVP to you.

00:03:38
Liz Ryan: Yes, yes. And that is helping to support over 100 hours. So at banquet. And they can help support over 100 hours per week of medical care to those in our area. Um, our third location in East Moline has opened and is great routinely seeing clients now. So we have three brick and mortars now, plus our mobile medical unit that goes out every spring and goes through the through November, providing that limited medical care and diaper support and all those kinds of things. And it really does change hearts and it really does change lives. So we're very grateful. I think, you know, we have moms and dads. Um, one, 1 in 4 of our clients are men. Um, and so we are helping the whole family with holistic care. Yeah. And those moms come in and they're really unsure about. What they're going to do. Are they going to choose life for or not? Right. And. Abortion is on the rise, and we really want to be that beacon of light and that beacon of hope, because our theme is enduring hope this year, to be able to offer them a safe place to wrestle with that.

00:05:01
Deb: Mhm.

00:05:02
Seth: So if I may ask, how did you get involved. This is a calling. This is this is a very unique ministry. How did you get involved.

00:05:11
Liz Ryan: Well I understand exactly what that young woman is wrestling with. Mhm. Um when I was in my 20s. I'm older now.

00:05:21
Liz Ryan: Don't ask.

00:05:23
Liz Ryan: Um.

00:05:24
Liz Ryan: When I was in my 20s, uh, I became pregnant. I was not a believer. Um, I didn't know what I was going to do. I knew what I wanted to do. But when I called my mom, and I love my mom, uh, she, uh, she says, well, you can have an abortion because I've had one. And I would understand. And that was the first time I'd ever heard that I had a sibling. Mhm. Um, and my, my, the rest of my family, um. Was like, well, we'll support you no matter what you decide. Right. But then there was no support, really forthcoming. It was like, hands off until she, you know. And then even afterwards, even after I made my decision, there wasn't a ton of support. And so I went to my son's father, who I was with at the time. And this is the importance of a Bible believing, Bible teaching church and the people of the church coming along beside that mom who is really like, what do I do? Mhm. And he said, well, because he had grown up in a Bible teaching church and he says, I don't agree with abortion, but I don't want to have this kid either. And so he really encouraged adoption. And so I had my son on Mother's Day in 1997. And I took him to the adoption agency. And I had three days to decide what am I going to do? And my choice was to return to the adoption agency and pick up my son and raise my son. And I have a beautiful son, and I have a beautiful daughter in law and grandchildren now. And, um, yes, I'm that old, but but it was the church and the church people who understood the value of life and loved me enough when I. Didn't know what to do right and didn't have support that came along beside me and supported me. And then when my son was two, I got saved and praise the name of Jesus. I've loved him ever since, and my son loves him and we serve as a family.

00:07:46
Deb: Yeah.

00:07:47
Deb: Just think of the word redemption right there. Yeah. Just that that line of redemption all the way through and and love. And that's something you give to folks that come in your centers each and every day. Liz. Yeah. You love on people that are coming in broken and confused and questioning and uncertain and all those things that. You know, they. They need support. They need love. They need encouragement. They need truth. All those things are the things that pregnancy resources gives out each and every day. So do you have a story from recently of of a life that has been transformed or changed? Or you can see, you know, God's hand in the situation of them coming to the center? Well, we.

00:08:33
Liz Ryan: Have lots of stories every, every day. We have women who are abortion minded, calling us for help and information. And every week we have women who change their mind. Um. One of the things. And. This is a story. It is a win, but it might not originally sound like a win. Okay, so part of what we do, we have a medical services called Post-abortion Medical Screenings because we began seeing women who, uh. So after an abortion, there's no care for a woman, right? It is simply. Here are your pills. Take them in four weeks.

00:09:16
Seth: Mhm.

00:09:18
Liz Ryan: Have a pregnancy test if it's positive, see a doctor. That's the level of aftercare. And that is heard directly from clients who have come to us in this situation. And there was a young woman and she even after everything that we did within the scope of ministry, she couldn't quite see her way around an abortion decision. Mhm. But. She went through many medical issues after her chemical her at home abortion.

00:09:55
Seth: Mhm.

00:09:56
Liz Ryan: And months later she came back to us and she was pregnant again, which is often common. They'll have a replacement baby. Um, but she looked at us and she was like, if I had been able to listen and hear you, she says, maybe I wouldn't have gone through this. But the point is that love that you talked about, that redemption, she she came back knowing that there were people who cared about her, who cared about what was happening in her body, as well as in her heart, in her mind and in her emotions. And that love of Christ has been able to minister to her during this second pregnancy. So she the doors are always open no matter what a woman decides, because God is a God of redemption, right? He went to the cross for every choice we could ever make, including abortion. And and he wants to be able to redeem her life. And so we get to speak truth and life and hope to her now where that might not have been before. Does that make sense?

00:11:02
Deb: Absolutely. Definitely. Yeah. Okay. God.

00:11:05
Seth: Um, give us the information about. Because this is why the community comes together and supports the centers, that this is the life changing, uh, and very, very critical work that you guys are doing. And so, uh, give us the, the date and the time and the information, how we can reserve for this banquet coming up.

00:11:23
Liz Ryan: Okay, so the banquet is Thursday, March 21st. It is at 6 p.m.. And if you would like to make a reservation, an RSVP. Please contact Liz.

00:11:36
Liz Ryan: At.

00:11:37
Liz Ryan: QC pregnancy. Org that's my email Liz at QC pregnancy. Org or you can call the Moline Center at (300) 979-7363 six. Press the number two and ask for Liz. Great.

00:11:51
Deb: Wonderful. Just talking with Liz Ryan for pregnancy resources. Thank you so much and we're praying for your banquet coming up. Thank you.