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In This Issue
Our Charis Family
Bethany Stricker
Charis Cuisine
Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup
Charis Around the World
Childbirth in Kenya
Tidbits from Ebony
To enjoy past newsletters, visit the archives:
Newsletter Archives
Mark Your Calendars
Childbirth Preparation Classes
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Presented by: Birth InSight
Christi Jones (CCE, CD) and Aimee Roberts (CCE, CD)
Weekly Series
October 23-December 4, Thursdays 7:00-9:00
January 8-February 12, Thursdays 7:00-9:00
February 26-April 2, Thursdays 7:00-9:00
April 16-May 21, Thursdays 7:00-9:00
May 28-July 2, Thursdays 7:00-9:00
Weekend Series
November 7 & 8 (6:30-9:30) and (9:00-3:30)
February 20 & 21 (6:30-9:30) and
(9:00-3:30)
For more information and to
register visit our
website
or call 757-270-0437
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Attention Aspiring
Midwives!
You will love the flexible, thorough, distance academics
course offered through Charis Childbirth!
Check it out!
Want to serve childbearing families as a Certified Doula or Childbirth
Educator?
Become trained and certified through Charis Childbirth!
Take a look
at our unique certification process!
If you seek a school that offers the convenience of self-paced distance
learning, personal mentors for each student, a commitment to the highest
excellence in education, a family-like network of students and birth
professionals, and education from a Christian perspective, Charis may be just
the right fit for you!
For more information
Visit the
Charis Web site
for course description and outline.
"The doctor of the future will give no
medicine, but instead will interest his patients in the care of the human frame,
in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."
THOMAS EDISON
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Our Director's Heart
An emotional anniversary…
This month marks 25 years since I experienced one of the most dramatic
heartbreaks of my lifetime. Two and a half decades ago, my little sister gave
birth to her first son. At sixteen, she was still very much a child herself and
didn’t feel she was ready for motherhood. She had seen firsthand my struggles as
a teen/single mom and decided that she wanted something different for her son.
She chose to place that sweet baby for adoption so he could have a father and a
mother and have a life she didn’t feel she could offer him.
The day he was born, I saw courage, strength, and love I had never before seen
in a human. My little sister labored and birthed a baby she would only hold for
a short time, not knowing if she would ever see him again.
A little while after delivery, the adoptive parents were invited into the room,
and that is when my heart shattered. My sister, holding the most adorable,
dark-haired, bright-eyed baby boy, said, with unwavering voice, “I want you to
meet your mom and dad,” and she handed him over to relative strangers, never to
cradle him in her arms again.
My mom and I had to turn our backs and look out the window so we could cry.
Until that moment, we hadn’t fully realized how painful it must have been for my
own birth mother to hold me for the last time, or how lonely it must have been
for her to leave that hospital empty-armed.
A little while later, Mom turned to me and, displaying the same courage,
strength, and love my sister embodied that day, said to me, “I think your birth
mother would like to know you. Why don’t you try to find her.” For Mom, she had
just opened the door to the unknown. What would happen if I met my birth mother?
Would she be lovely, or would she hurt us? Would Mom remain mom, or would she be
replaced? I think she knew deep down that she could never be replaced in my
heart or in my life, but she realized that there was an empty place in someone
else’s heart and life that needed to be filled.
My story is not a secret and I have shared the details many times (sometimes in
this newsletter), but today I feel that my sister and my two mothers deserve to
be recognized for the heroes that they are. I love all three of them so very
much.
My sister’s story is not yet finished. I pray for the day when she and her son
are finally completely reunited and our family can show him how much we love
him.
Blessings,
Kristin Schuchmann, CPM, LM
Executive Director, Charis Childbirth, Inc.
P.S. We had a WONDERFUL workshop this month! Be on the lookout for the workshop
report in next month’s newsletter.
Update
Charis Membership
We at Charis are extremely grateful for our wonderful members. This past
year, your dues have made it financially possible for us to creatively
correspond with people in areas of the world where internet is spotty at best.
Having all forms of communication available for us is essential if we are going
to successfully train birth professionals in the far reaches of the earth.
As our community of members grows, there will be more funds available for even
more world-impacting outreach. Thank you!
Membership is due every December 31 for the coming calendar year. So, if
you became a member on or before December 31, 2013, your dues should be mailed
by the middle of December, 2014, to be sure it is received in time. If you
become a member sometime in 2014, then your membership renewal is not due until
December 31, 2015.
You can send your membership form and $30 dues to:
Charis Childbirth
P.O. Box 6900
North Port, FL 34290
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