Thursday, March 24, 2016

I Never Associated the Rape With My Daughter, by Wedencise Lubin

As a first generation immigrant from the Caribbean islands, life really came at me fast. In November 2010, at 17 years old, after a lifetime of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of my parents, they decided to rid themselves of the burden of having to live with me.  I was a high school senior in Florida at the time -- six months shy of graduation. I had already secured a full scholarship to Howard University in Washington, D.C..  My future was pretty much laid out, so I thought.

Then that's when my parents made the fateful decision two weeks before my 18th birthday to send me to go live with two male relatives, both of whom were notorious for a history of violence against women. I begged and pleaded for my parents to accept me to return back home. I sought outside resources for shelter; but as fate would have it, I would end up living for a total of four months with these men.  Within two months of living there, the unthinkable happened:  I was brutally raped of my virginity, molested and physically abused in every single way imaginable.  I was told by the two male relatives that if I told anyone, I would be killed. To say I was horrified, dehumanized, terrorized and completely shell-shocked is an understatement. 

In the summer of 2011, during a routine physical for college, I learned that I was six weeks pregnant as a direct result of the incestuous rape. I was a virgin when the rape took place and I had never been with any other man. My doctor was just as devastated as I was.  I remember the doctor and nurse practitioner repeatedly telling me they were “so sorry that this has happened.”  Immediately, my doctor told me I had three options: 1, Abort the baby 2, Adoption and 3, Keep my baby.  This was not a tough decision for me.  I am and have always been pro-life. What furthered my convictions was that my doctor ordered an ultrasound for me at six weeks pregnant. As soon as I saw that ultrasound, I realized that I was carrying a human life inside of me.  No matter what, I did not have it in my heart to terminate this human life, regardless of the heinous, barbaric crime that had been perpetrated upon me.  I never associated my unborn baby as being responsible.

Of course the rapist demanded I get an abortion and my family demanded I give the baby up for adoption. Adoption was not an option for me because I was already beginning to bond deeply with the unborn child I was carrying. No matter what, this was MY child!  This was my flesh and blood and I was her mother. In February, 2012, I gave birth to my daughter Valencia Marie. Having my daughter alone at 19 years old, even though I was terrified, confused and shaking, when my mid wife handed me my child, I knew it was love at first sight.

By 2012 a full-on criminal case investigation was in full effect to get my rapist convicted of the crimes he perpetrated against me. After immense pressure from my family, I pursued child support. In retaliation, the rapist filed for partial custody of my daughter and then for full custody.  I fought hard to protect my daughter from this monster. Luckily, the courts did not grant my rapist any parenting time and he has never spent time with my daughter, though he's still fighting me in court. Along the way, I never ever regretted not choosing abortion or adoption.  Raising my daughter has been completely worth it.  I never associated the rape with my daughter.
I am so thankful to be a mother.  First and foremost, my biggest blessing in life is my daughter. This gorgeous, intelligent child never ceases to amaze me.  Each and every day I fall more and more in love with her personality, her charm, and her bright energy.  Being a mother is absolutely the gift that keeps on giving. I learn more about my daughter each day as she learns more about me.  I am absolutely a loving nurturer, so being a mom just always came naturally to me.  It is truly something I wake up every day thankful for, because I know there are some people who cannot have children.  So the fact that I get to experience this great milestone in life is a huge blessing.  I await the day I am blessed with more children in the distant future.  The fact that my own mother was very awful to me and never loved me, taught me that a mother’s love is undoubtedly one of the most important forms
of love in a person’s life.

True Love is when I look into my daughter’s eyes. Valencia is the love of my life.  And whenever I have more children, they will always be the most amazing love of my life.  To be a mother really shows you the love your capable of.  I would gladly die for my daughter.  I want nothing more than for my daughter Valencia to feel the endless love my heart has for her and for her to have all the happiness in the world.  I want to raise my daughter to know that no matter how far we are, our souls are connected and that nothing can ever break our bond.  There is nothing my daughter can ever do that can limit my love for her.  This is the type of motherly love I will always have for any future children as well.

I went on to attend technical school and graduate with a certificate in Medical Administration.  I am now earning my Bachelors in Health Services Administration, then I plan on earning my Master's in Management.  I currently work in medical education at the largest medical school in the country.  Later on down the road, I plan on becoming a Hospital Administrator or working in Emergency management, since I handle crisis very well.  So you see, having an unplanned pregnancy out of rape, in no way ruined my life or my education.

I have never loved my child any less because of her biological father.  Often people ask me how  I feel about my daughter because her father is a monster who brutally raped me.  I ask them a rhetorical question: "If a child's biological father was Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Bin Laden, does that make them less of a child worthy of endless love?"  The fact of the matter is NO, absolutely not!  As human beings, we do not choose who our biological parents are.  Whether it be a serial killer or a rapist, that child is pure, and that child is innocent.  That child is a new life.  I believe new life begins at conception.  In the future, when I have more children, I know for sure I will not view little Valencia who was conceived from rape any different from my children conceived in wedlock.

BIO:  Wedencise "Wendi" Lubin resides in Florida and is a mother, college student, and blogger for Save The 1, as well as active with Hope After Rape Conception.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Abortion Ban in Chile Saved My Life, by Karina Silva

My mother was sexually abused at age 15 and because of this violation, she became pregnant.  In those years, talking about sexuality or any similar theme was abhorrent to society of that time and partly because of the shame and disrepute to any family.  My unwed mother faced this situation for six months and had to endure the fact of living a few meters from her abuser.  After this time, her pregnancy belly began to grow becoming evident; I could not continue to be hidden.

It was a terrible time for my family -- a shame, a reason not to lift her head, but the faith of my grandmother changed everything now.  She decided, as guardian of my life and as being responsible as my mother, to give me the chance to live for the sake of God and trusting that His purposes are perfect for every human being, even in what seems to be adverse circumstances. My mom gave birth to me January 27, 1989.  I was born under poor economic conditions, in the midst of a family crisis and of course, during very sad moments.

My mom could not endure so much pain, so she left home leaving me in the care of my grandmother for approximately 16 years. During my early years, my mom tried to be as present as possible in my growth, but from afar. The time and distance separated us every day.

I grew up in an evangelical Christian home,  I spent my childhood and my education as a person in a Pentecostal congregation, which changed my way of thinking and living, and it also gave me value -- that value that had been snatched from me by society, along with the lack of networks and support for a situation like ours.

At 16 years old, I faced a very strong existential crisis.  I was going through my teens and wanted to find an answer, a reason for everything.  I had lost the will to live, so they took me to psychologists and psychiatrists; I received various treatments, but nothing worked.  One day, I decided to disappear in response to the need to know why I was not born in a normal family, consisting of my parents, brothers, etc..  Every day I lived was painful for me, so I took what I perceived to be "the easy way out" -- I attempted suicide with pills.  I had hit rock bottom. but God in His infinite mercy saved my life and gave me a reason to live, a hope, a salvation.

He pulled me out of despair and brought me peace,  I realized that with God, everything has its reason, and we are all valuable to regardless of the mode or condition with which we come into this world.  There are many reasons why I get up every morning and I thank God for the new day.

The road has not been easy for me, as with many others. God put in my hands all necessary measures and tools to face my life, to overcome my fears, but more importantly, He reminded me that He loves me and He cared for me from the womb of my mother -- every detail of every last hair on my head.  He reminded me that I am not alone, and I've never been alone.  Psalms 27:10 says:  "Although my father and mother leave me, the Lord will receive me."  This is like many a promise fulfilled in my life!

I am now 27 years old.  At my side, I have a wonderful man who loves me with my strengths and weaknesses.  I'm the mother of two beautiful children -- one is 3 and the other not yet born. The struggle continues because every day we have giants to face; about a year ago, I detected type 2 diabetes, and in the following months became pregnant, which is considered to be a high-risk pregnancy because it can cause many complications in my condition, with risks to me and to my baby.  But here I am still struggling with the help of God,

I love living! And I appreciate every second that I have, I do not worry myself about what happened, or what will come tomorrow.  I live day to day, thanking the good and the bad circumstances, after all, we are a miracle of God.

As for the relationship with my mother, exactly 3 years ago an event occurred that marked our lives -- the arrival of my first child.  I was able to share with her at the time of her birth, and it was a special moment and a new opportunity for us. We are more united than ever,  We are slowly recovering all the time we lost.

Until 1989, in Chile abortion was legal, but just in the same year  -- the year I was born -- that law was abolished.  For me it was not a coincidence -- it was the hand of God, but  not only on my behalf but also for many others who deserved to live.

Am I happy? Of course!  Immensely -- not because my life is easy -- it is simply because I cling to my faith, that faith that believes the impossible.  Perhaps to society my life was written for a failure, but it was not!  My mom tells me "we turned her hand to the destination daughter."

I want to tell everyone who reaches this witness of life; those confused mothers, young adolescents as was my mother, that life is a miracle of God, and that harder and crueler than the situation, is abortion because all deserve to live. Abortion is not a solution; the real solution is to form support networks in such dire situations like this.  Maybe if my mother had had more support, it would have been another story.

The solution is not the approval of abortion in Chile -- the solution is to form support networks in our country for these cases.  No way is easy.  The two options -- abortion and delivering a live baby, life and death -- generate some pain and for some people deeper than others, but there is a big difference between the two:  life is hope, life is a miracle; abortion is murder, abortion is pain.

God's will is perfect and I stick to that.  Perhaps I am a fanatic to many, but that fanaticism saved my life and thank God today I have a wonderful life. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."

http://www.salvarel1.blogspot.com/2016/03/mi-madre-me-dijo-le-torcimos-la-mano-al.html

BIO:  Karina Silva lives with her husband and children in Santiago, Chile.  She is a blogger for Save
The 1  and wants to help build a network of  Spanish-speaking women who became pregnant by rape and those conceived in rape, through Salvar El 1.
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Monday, March 21, 2016

A President Who Kills Her Most Vulnerable Citizens? by Brad Smith

You can measure the value of a society by how the weakest members are treated.  Since 1989, Chile has been a country that protects these precious souls, but President Bachelet of Chile has decided to join the sick and depraved people of this world who have targeted disabled children for annihilation.  Chile’s Cámara de Diputados has linked arms with President Bachelet to vote for a bill that would allow disabled children to be killed in the womb by legalizing abortion in these cases.  Does a decent society protect or destroy its most vulnerable citizens? 

My wife and I have a little girl named Faith -- now 7 years old.  While Faith was still in the womb, doctors believed that she was facing a grave medical condition called Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome.  This is a chromosome abnormality that is often referred to as “Incompatible with Life” or a “Fatal Fetal Anomaly.”  We were pushed to have testing while she was still in utero because they wanted us to end her life, but we were not interested in ending her life, and we knew that even performing this test would risk Faith’s life so we opted for no testing. 

When Faith was born, everyone saw that something was wrong.  We found out a couple of weeks later that Faith, in fact, had Trisomy 18.  Even at this point after Faith was born, we were being encouraged not to treat our daughter.  Doctors did not think that we should offer her even some of the most basic medical care to help our child live and thrive.  We even had a doctor who told us that “you will only prolong her life.”  Seriously, isn’t that what the medical industry is all about, prolonging life?

You see, in the USA, we have allowed this perverse and demented view of life to take hold in our country through legalized abortion.  We have created a culture of death that causes many in our society to think of life as having little value and they are willing to judge the worth of another person’s life based upon their valueless view.  So now in the United States, doctors kill over 90% of children like my daughter Faith who have a disability.  Before they can even breathe their first breath, doctors murder our disabled children in the womb. 

When I was a young boy in 1973, abortion was legalized in the United States.  Where I grew up in Ohio, we had a local school that sent buses around to pick up disabled children and take them to be taught.  Today, the school no longer exists because our culture has literally wiped most of the disabled children from the face of our nation.  This is the legacy that we are leaving because abortion has created a selfish, narcissistic people in the USA -- so consumed with selves that citizens do not even care about the most vulnerable people among us.

The world has become a very scary place for disabled children.  Good people of Chile, do not let your president turn your country into a killing field for disabled children.  Don’t allow yourselves to be deceived that this is the best choice for everyone involved.  This is a LIE.  Your country will not be made better through abortion; rather, it will become degraded and dehumanized.  Your people will not have better lives because disabled children do not exist; they will simply have been deprived of the opportunity to develop compassion and to know the unconditional love of a disabled child who has only love to offer.

Tell your Senate to end this self-destructive bill that will eat away at your society until you have no value for life.  Stop President Bachelet from taking you down the road that leads to destruction.  Do NOT become like the rest of the world, but be an example to the world by loving your disabled children.  I can promise you one thing; you will be a better society and people by protecting your most vulnerable citizens.

 http://www.salvarel1.blogspot.com/2016/03/un-presidente-que-asesina-sus.html

BIO:  Brad Smith is in sales for a Christian radio station, and a Board Member of Save The 1.  He and his wife Jesi have 5 children, and are bloggers and pro-life speakers for Save The 1.  Their own website is www.keepingourfaith.comwww.keepingourfaith.com.
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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Your Life Matters, by Carina Kiessling, age 12

Since my mom is a pro-life speaker, I’ve grown up travelling all over the country and even around the world, hearing my mom and others speak on abortion and attending pro-life demonstrations.  When I was younger, I started a club called the “My Life Matters Club,” because I wanted people to know that their lives matter.  Many abortion supporters don’t care about unborn children’s lives because they don’t even understand that their own lives matter.

On July 9, 2011, I attended a pro-life demonstration in Pontiac, Michigan, along with my mom and brother, protesting a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood who was hoping to open a huge abortion clinic in Auburn Hills.  When we got there, there were people with signs yelling at each other.  I was only 7 years old, but I knew this was wrong and not the way to handle things.  How were we going to teach them anything if we are just yelling at each other?

It got so bad that people separated on opposite sides of the street, with Planned
Parenthood supporters on one side and pro-life activists on the other.  There were two men – one from each side – who had bullhorns and were facing off in the middle of the street making lots of noise, and I knew there was a better way.  

 So I asked my mom, “Can we go over there and just talk to them?  I want to tell them that their lives matter.”  My mom was surprised that I really wanted to, but said yes, and we walked over.


I was a little nervous, but I told a group of them that I just wanted to let them know that I think their lives matter.  And of course, they told me back, “We think your life matters too.”  That opened up the opportunity to explain how my mom and I wouldn’t have been here if Planned Parenthood had their way.  We went on to have an excellent conversation after that, and they were really nice to me because I was just a kid.  They even gave me a bottle of water because it was really hot outside.

I want you to know that being argumentative isn’t the best, but do speak up for yourselves because even if you’re a kid, teenager or adult, you can still make a difference.

http://www.salvarel1.blogspot.com/2016/03/tu-vida-importa.html

BIO:  Carina Kiessling, daughter of pro-life speaker and President of Save The 1 Rebecca Kiessling, is 12 years old, in the 7th grade and the middle child of 5.  She hopes to adopt children when she gets older.






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Friday, March 18, 2016

Chilean President Bachelet: Put Down Your Weapons and Stop Targeting My People Group, by Rebecca Kiessling

Yesterday, crosshairs were placed over the lives of innocent children like me who were conceived in rape or given a fatal fetal impairment diagnosis -- Chile’s Cámara de Diputados (House) approved a bill to legalize abortion in these cases.  The Senate will be voting on this deadly bill, and if approved, it will go to the President for signature. In 1989, abortion was abolished in Chile, but now, with an aggressively pro-abortion President, Michelle Bachelet, Chile is now facing the unthinkable – a culture of death which preys upon innocent children in the womb.

As someone who was conceived in rape, I take this assault on my people group quite personally.  Some may say, “It’s nothing against you personally,” or, “It’s not about YOU Rebecca.”  Well, easy for you to say because this does affect me personally, along with the hundreds from my global organization, Save The 1 – Salvar El 1 in Spanish, who were also conceived in rape and the hundreds of mothers who became pregnant by rape – most of whom are raising their beloved children, or the birthmothers who chose adoption after being raped, as well as the post-abortive women who deeply regret their abortion after rape.

I was born just 4 years before abortion was declared legal by the United States Supreme Court.  In my home state of Michigan, abortion was outlawed, even in cases of rape.  My birthmother actually went to two illegal abortions and I was nearly aborted, but she backed out because of the fact that it was illegal, and because she was afraid for her own safety.  When we met when I was 19 years old, she shared with me how she had been abducted at knifepoint by a serial rapist, and even though she was very happy to meet me, she told me that she would have aborted me if it had been legal.  I literally owe my birth to the law being there to protect me!

I feel like my life was spared from a burning building, and as I have the opportunity to go back and save others, I’m going to do it!  The most selfish thing to do would be to sit back and say, “Oh well, at least my life was spared.”  And others didn’t?  I can’t do that, can you?  I’m alive because of the others who were willing to protect me because they recognized that every life matters and that mine was a life worth saving.

I did not deserve the death penalty for the crimes of my biological father.  It is absolutely
 barbaric to punish an innocent child for someone else’s crime.  What kind of system of justice does that?  And besides, there is so little justice for rape victims.  Every time a child conceived in rape is aborted, you cover up the crime, destroy the evidence and enable rapists, child molesters and sex traffickers to continue exploiting women. 


President Bachelet – I say to you:  Punish rapists, not babies!  For all of your rhetoric of allegedly caring for rape victims, where do you stand on punishing the rapist?  Does he deserve the death penalty?  You speak of how you care about women, well, I’m a woman!  Now tell me, what good are any of my rights as a woman if I don’t have my right to life?!  You cannot answer that question because all other rights are worthless if you don’t have your right to life.

I co-founded Hope After Rape Conception, using my expertise as a family law attorney to create model legislation and to testify before legislative bodies to pass laws which protect rape survivor mothers from the rapist having parental rights.  We’ve been getting our model legislation – The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act -- passed all over the United States, and even in Congress, using the “clear and convincing evidence” to terminate the parental rights of rapists.  I suggest to anyone who actually cares about pregnant rape victims – focus your efforts on something positive for rape victims and their children instead of seeking to punish the innocent child, leaving the rape victim yet vulnerable to the rapist.

Women who are post-abortive after rape overwhelmingly express that it was far more difficult to overcome the abortion than it was the rape.  The abortion is just more violence in her womb after already having been traumatized.  After the abortion, she’s no longer dealing just with what was done to her, but now she has to suffer with what she knows she did to her own child. 

Studies here in the United States have shown that a rape victim is four times more likely to die within the next year after the rape.  They have a higher murder rate because the abortion often helps perpetuate an abusive relationship.  They also have a higher suicide rate, drug overdose, depression, domestic violence and on and on.  Dr. David Reardon from the Elliott Institute wrote a book called Victims and Victors which cites much of this research.  So if you really care about a pregnant rape victim, you should want to protect her from the rapist, and from the abortion – and NOT the baby!  The baby is not the scary enemy, and I resent being characterized as such.  A baby is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a rape victim – an abortion is.

Just know that anytime you target a people group for destruction as President Bachelet is doing in Chile, you are sending a message to every child born – and to every mother raising that child – that the child is worth less than everyone else in your society.  If you heard that some other nation passed an abortion ban, “except in cases of Hispanic babies,” what message would that send to every person in Latin America about the value of your lives?  Would not such a measure be met with absolute outrage?  President Michelle Bachelet has
placed gun sites – crosshairs -- over the lives of every innocent child conceived in rape or given a diagnosis of “fatal fetal abnormality” – many of which in fact end up not being fatal.  President Bachelet, take them off – put down your weapons and stop targeting my people group!  Don’t create an open hunting season on people like me.  My life matters every bit as much as yours.

Today, my birthmother and I are both thankful we were both spared the horror of abortion.  She says that I’m a blessing to her.  I honor her and I bring her healing.  On my birthday 2-1/2 years ago, my birthmom called to wish me happy birthday and to tell me my grandmother died.  I was born on my grandma’s anniversary, and she died on my birthday.  My birthmom and I had a long heart-to-heart conversation.  At the end of our phone call, we were about to hang up and she stopped me and through her tears told me – “Rebecca, Rebecca!  I just want to say, I’m so glad I had you.”  That was the best birthday gift ever!!!  Don’t destroy the hope and beauty that a child brings and that the future holds.

 UPDATE:  On Tuesday, Sept. 6th, the Senate Health Commission voted this abortion bill out of committee.  Right now, Chile needs the full support of the entire international pro-life community!

 http://www.salvarel1.blogspot.com/2016/03/presidente-bachelet-baje-sus-armas-y.html

BIO:  Rebecca Kiessling is an international pro-life speaker, writer and attorney, as well as a wife and mother of 5 – two adopted and three biological children, as well as another adopted child born with special needs who died in her arms at 33 days old.  She’s the founder and President of Save The 1, co-founder of Hope After Rape Conception, co-founder of Embryo Defense, and on the Executive Committee of Personhood Alliance.
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Thursday, March 3, 2016

Conceived in Rape, Saved by God, Protected by Rwanda Abortion Law, by Claude Cyubahiro

I am Claude Cyubahiro from Rwanda, Africa.  I was born in 1993 -- one year before the genocide which struck my country in 1994. I am now 22 years old, but going back in my history, I grew up living with my grandmother from when I was a baby up to 11 years old when she passed away in 2005.  I grew up believing that she was my mother.  She cared about me so much and I never asked her where my father was.  Everything that I wanted, I got it, and those materials needs being met were followed with a lot of care and love.

I got to know my biological mother at 4 years old.  She was sick and I went to take care of her.  I spent many days helping her and getting to know her much better.  Actually, she used to come to visit us at our grandmother’s house, but I didn’t know her as my mother at that time.

After the death of my grandmother, I went to live with my mother.  She was married and had other kids (my brothers and a sister.)  Once I moved in, I felt at home and enjoyed life with Dad and Mom like other kids.  At that time, I took that man who was married to her as my father because I could call him Dad and it was no problem.

One day he came with Mom to pick me up at school. I was in high school, in grade 3.  Then we stopped at a supermarket and Mom got out to get some stuff.  While in the car with Dad he asked me, "Did your mother tell you about your dad?”  I was surprised by this question and I replied “No.”  Then he suggested to me, “Why don’t you ask her?” A few minutes later, Mom came back and we continued on the road to home.  I didn’t say anything.  I didn’t even ask her about what Dad said.  I was just choked and confused. 

I buried that story in me hoping that it was a dream, but the story came back in my head and politely I asked my mother, "Who is my dad and what is his name?" She didn’t tell me a lot about what happened, but I could quickly understand what it was all about. She wrote the name of my father on a piece of paper and gave it to me.  After that, I wanted to know if anyone in his family or my father were alive so I can see them.  I wanted to know who they were and was hoping that I would get a clear story from them -- of how I was conceived and born, and what had happened.

With the favor of God, I did meet some members of his family and that’s where I got a clear story of my beginnings. At first my mother had told me before that my father had denied me -- saying that I am not his. But the story behind it all is that my mother was a friend of my father’s.  They all worked in the same company and Mom was a beautiful lady with two sons -- twins.  My father asked her for a night out, then drugged her and raped her. 

My mother later found out that she was pregnant with me.  She tried to talk to my father, but he sent her away and rejected her request for help. Abortion was a consideration for my Mom because she had a fiance and together they had two boys, so abortion would have been a solution to save her relationship. She was 25 years old when she was raped. 

The 1977 law prohibited abortion "except when the continuance of the pregnancy seriously endangers the health of the pregnant woman," requiring a second medical opinion and the abortion to be performed by a State physician or physician approved by the State in a public hospital or a private hospital approved by the State, but many were willing to provide abortion if a woman was raped.  Sadly, in June, 2012, the law was changed in Rwanda to allow abortion in cases of rape and incest.  So I was protected by Rwanda abortion law in 1993, but I know that God protected me.

At my birth, my Mom went alone to the hospital to deliver me.  I was born normal and healthy, so she didn’t even spend any days at the hospital.

Going back home, she passed by my father’s house and wanted to go there and drop me there.  Stopping at his house, my father and his family rejected her again. They sent her out calling her a prostitute while she was carrying a baby in her arms – me, with only hours on earth.

Getting to her home, my grandmother received me and gave me a name.  She said, “This baby boy who was rejected is mine.  I will raise him and he will become a man." My life was saved in that moment, and I thank God for that gift of life!

A few months after that, the war strikes in my country -- "genocide," and my biological father who was a Tutsi was killed, along with many other members of his family.  But as for me, I was with my grandmother who protected me and I survived.

Learning about all of this choked me so much.  I was alone and I had no one with whom to share all of this.  I even started fearing others, thinking that if they knew who I am, they would hate me for that. I felt unwanted, rejected and alone.  I went into a period of deep depression, and even wanted to commit suicide.  I lost all the hope that I had!  I didn’t go into drug abuse during my depressed time, but I faced another kind of addiction.

When I learned about my past and got into a deep depression, I started hating myself.  I couldn’t even talk to anyone -- always thinking that they know “who I am” -- that I was conceived in rape and that my father rejected me.  My performance at school changed and my attitude did the same.

I was born into a Christian family.  My grandmother helped me to become a Christian, and returning that foundation is what helped me to learn my dignity and my value -- that even if I was born unwanted, rejected at birth and unplanned in the sight of my family, I now know that God loved me and he cannot reject me because He wanted me and chose for me to be born in that way so that He can proclaim His glory through me.

I started watching many documentary movies and read many books about people who overcame many struggles, and my role model is Jesus.  I learned a lot from the story of Pope John Paul II, abortion survivor Melissa Ohden, and Rebecca Kiessling who was also conceived in rape. Once I knew all about my own story, I wanted to meet someone with the same one, who has the same story as mine so we can share and help each other to stand.  Surprisingly, Rebecca Kiessling all the way in the United States is the first one I met.  We connected through Facebook and she introduced me to many others from Save The 1. From these stories – that is how I got my hope back.  I cannot feel alone anymore!

In Rwanda, children who were conceived as the result of the genocide have been called the “pregnancies of war,” “enfants non-desirés” (unwanted children) or “enfants mauvais souvenir” (bad memories children.) 

I give honor to my brothers and sisters’ babies who were not born because they were aborted, or who were rejected and died.  I am here to speak on their behalf!  I want to become a voice for unborn and rejected babies. I want to help many babies who will pass through this situation -- to give them hope and to be there for them.  I want to encourage others to go against abortion no matter how the baby is conceived, in rape or in any other unwanted way.

I am currently a 2nd-year university student studying biomedical laboratory science at INES Ruhengeri, Institute of Applied Sciences, with the hope of attending medical school.  I've considered medical schools outside of Rwanda, and I just got my passport approved, despite not having my biological father named on my birth certificate.  By God’s favor, I just got it from the immigration office. I was asked to change the name of my father, and surprisingly, I explained my case to the caseworker in the immigration office, and after sharing my whole story, he helped me. I was able to use only my baptismal card to prove the paternity!

After knowing the truth behind my life, I decided to become a doctor where I can save many lives and stop abortion where I can, and also help those who are dying to go in peace and with hope.  That is what I want to do, and I really want it very much!  After asking myself why I survived, I just came out of it that God saved my life for a purpose, and I also now am compelled to save many lives, through medical assistance and through giving hope to the hopeless because I know how it feels to be hopeless.

When I asked my Mom what she thinks of me now, she recited Psalm 118:22:  "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.  The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad."  Then she told me to ask her the meaning of this verse. . . .  My Mom is proud of me.  She's very happy that I want to attend medical school, but also worried because she cannot help me to pay for it. Even so, I know God has a plan for my life, and I want to be used.


BIO:  Claude Cyubahiro is a university student and a blogger for Save The 1 from Kigali, Rwanda.
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