Harbor Life Ministries

What a blessing it is to share in communion with the residents in our home.  Praise God that we get to see her spiritual growth.

The little one that we have with us, 20 months old, decided that during her bath tonight she would poop in the tub.  She was then scared to death at seeing the poop floating around near her and just screamed.  While all the adults tried not to laugh.  Everyone poops, sometime, and someplace.

Lots of tears today,  many BIG decisions need to be made today for mom and baby.

Chelsy, 15, is from west-central Ohio, and arrived Monday, September 28, 2009.

Her baby is due to arrive in February 2010.

Chelsy is a freshman and has already gotten back into the swing of school as she’s enrolled in Ohio Virtual Academy.

Chelsy is hoping to parent her baby but will begin looking at the alternative choice of making an adoption plan, so that she can plot a course for herself that gives both her and the baby the best life possible.

Please keep Chelsy and her baby in your prayers.

Hannah is now just a few weeks away from her due date of September 7.

A doctor’s visit revealed today that her body is getting ready and the birth canal has begun to dilate.

Please keep her and her baby in prayer and we’ll be sure to keep news on Hannah posted regularly here.

?Redeemer? is a classic praise song that was written and recorded by Nicole C. Mullen in the ’90s. The original song featured powerful vocals that made the song stand out among other praise songs at the time, and are still difficult to emulate.

With permission of the song’s author, Hannah has determined to sing it as a preview of a music CD that will be available at Walk for Life ’09. With Kara Eberle accompanying her on acoustic guitar and sung from the front porch of Harbor House Norwalk, Hannah shows that, even at (just turned) 16 years old, God has given her a beautiful but equally powerful voice.

The CD is still in the works, but it’s shaping up to be an inspiring collection of songs and hymns, and our hope is it inspires our supporters to worship our Lord God the Creator through Christ Jesus our Redeemer.

Songs From the Porch on Linwood Avenue from Harbor Life on Vimeo.

Pledge forms are available at WalkForLife09.com; the music CD will be given away as an incentive…

Unlike Chrissy Hynde and the Pretenders, Natasha returned to Ohio and her city was here. Along with the temporary home and family she had for most of last year.

What had changed was that Tasha was no longer pregnant nor showing signs that she had been. She has been busy back home taking ballet lessons and showed off some of her moves.

She doesn’t have a boyfriend, either, which was one of the stipulations for living back around the crowd who were her friends at the time she got pregnant.

She’s not even hanging around them. Instead of going back into a brick-and-mortar school and seeing hundreds of kids her own age during the school year, Tasha is learning online via a virtual charter school.

She also become very integrated into her church. She has a mentor who asks her hard questions on a regular basis.

Are her parents being too cautious?

“If my daughter got pregnant at 15, and had to go through all that Tasha had to go through, I’m sure I’d be maybe a bit more restrictive,” said Karla Eberle, housemother at Harbor House.

Does Natasha miss her previous before-pregnancy lifestyle?

“I miss being able to be by myself, I miss hanging out with out friends, but that doesnt’ mean it was good for me. Just because I did those things–it wasn’t right but that doesnt’ mean i dont miss it.”

For now, until the trust returns–which will happen eventually as long as Tasha obeys her parents and other authorities–she will have to live with restrictions. But life has restrictions and God wants us to learn that His restrictions are designed ultimately to benefit us. That’s one lesson that has stuck with Tasha after experiencing teen pregnancy.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV

Today is Hannah’s birthday as she turns “sweet” 16.

Please comment below if you’d like to wish her a happy birthday.

Her baby is due to arrive in September and she is working on what her plans will be after the baby is born.

Natasha is on her way back to Orange County, California, after living quietly for six months at Harbor House.

Coming all the way from the west coast?unwillingly at first?she was 15-just-turned-16, pregnant, and her parents needed some help. They wanted Tasha away from the peer influence that had helped turn their sweet Christian teen into a rebellious daughter they didn?t seem to know any more. Her parents, both Christian physicians, knew what might happen if they didn?t find help for her.

In Tasha?s own words:

?Before I came to [Harbor House] my life was a wreck. I had become sexually active with my boyfriend, intimate with other boys, abused alcohol, lied to my parents? To add to my mess I became pregnant?

“Thankfully, my parents loved me enough to send me to Doug and Karla?s [Harbor House] to get the help I need. After I came, my life got turned around. I learned to be independent from boys, my walk with God became stronger, my relationship with my parents is slowly healing and I am giving my body?and my life?the respect it deserves.?

Tasha gave birth on December 12 to Korbyn Alexzander, a healthy baby boy who she placed for adoption.

India is just thriving in shepherding care living with Craig and Connie McEldowney and their family in Russia, Ohio. This has been so good for both the McEldowney family and for India.

India has finished two of her three school subjects with 93 or better, and has only a bit to go in biology to finish?it should be completed next week?and is carrying a 98 in that!

She got to see her mother and brothers who came down from Chicago for a Thanksgiving visit.

She is still planning to parent and will begin ?Bootie Camp? after Christmas, per Connie?s request.

India is seeing a midwife (one who is prolife and is also adopted) from the Sidney, Ohio, area. She will deliver at Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney.

This has been a very busy and exhausting week! Thank you for your prayers.

Charlotte delivered Saturday night, Sept. 27, with her mother making it all the way from from California (yeah!!!). Charlotte spent time in the hospital with the baby and her mother.

When Charlotte was dismissed she came back to the house. We’ve kept her on bed rest–on the couch or in bed, with her feet up and only trips to the bathroom allowed. Her mother Rebekka stayed here too, helping Charlotte out and keeping her company.

The baby’s birthfather, Jordan, who is 18, also flew in from Calif. on Monday, checking in to a nearby motel. He got to visit with the baby and spend time with Charlotte too.

One of the secondary reasons Jordan came to Ohio was so he could have an adoption assessment done for the court. Normally a signature from the birthfather is all that’s required to place a baby. This is the first adoption we have done with the Huron County Court and they seemed overly suspicious of our motives. The court has required much more than any other court ever has.

John Huffman, our long-time friend and ally, a humble but brilliant Christian attorney from Lima with integrity and character as great as anyone I know (really!!!)–I could go on but I won’t–John told me that we needed to do everything the court asked, no matter what. We want to be able to work with Huron County on future adoptions so John wanted to prove to them that we won’t whine, we won’t squeal, we won’t try to sidestep or suggest alternatives, anything the court asked from us, we were willing to do. So that also included making sure Jordan was here so the court could see that the adoption was completely of the birthfather and birthmother’s own unfettered volition.

We had to not only get Jordan assessed, but also get psychological profiles on the adoptive parents. Social worker Peggy Dodds, a godly woman, a believer who we’ve worked with for almost 17 years, did the assessments and profiles. Poor Peggy does not really work full time doing adoptions, but she had to take the day off work so she could come to court, only to be asked three questions!!!

The adoption hearing went well, all the “I”s were dotted and “T”s crossed, and I think the court was impressed with us.

Baby Jayden is now at home tonight sleeping with his new family. Charlotte is on a plane back to California with her mother and boyfriend. It’s time to sleep for a day.

Charlotte had her regular doctor’s visit Thursday. Although her due date isn’t until October 3rd, her doctor had reasons to get her admitted to the hospital and possibly start inducing labor.

Charlotte has been in good spirits throughout the past few weeks, even though her feet have been swelling, causing discomfort when she walks or stands.

Charlotte’s mother Rebekka, after getting the news via phone call, arrived yesterday on a flight from California. She is staying at the hospital with Charlotte, allowing me to come home, get some sleep, and see everyone here.

I am now heading back to the hospital. Please pray. The word is Charlotte is now 3 cm dilated, they have broken her water, and hope is that things are on their way now… We have called the adoptive parents…

Babies don’t come easily and neither do baby blankets. Ask Natasha. About the blankets, that is.

Several times she’s started her baby blanket and then, just when things are going along at a nice pace…oops! Twice she had to unravel the entire blanket and start over from scratch. It was time to call in the calvary.

Volunteer Linda Paddock lives no more then 20 minutes away from the Norwalk house in Huron, Ohio, and she’s an excellent knitter. In fact, while her husband Russ “knits” wood pieces together in his hobby (called “intarsia”), Linda then finds time to knit. Both of them are retired and spend hours on their respective interests.

Linda was able to give Tasha some pointers to help her stay knitting. She also had a look at Tasha’s scarf she had knitted for her mother, and gave advice on how to keep the final product from rolling.

After December 8th, Tasha’s due date, we may be able to finally ask: which was easier, the baby or the blanket?

Both Charlotte and India will be going to the Ob/Gyn today, although India will not get to see the doctor yet. Charlotte has already made one visit and met with the new patient coordinator, filled out the necessary paperwork and gotten the “Now that your pregnant….” brochures and booklets, so she will get to actually have a doctor’s visit.

Sara will be going to Sandusky today for Job Corps orientation.