In This Issue

Pregnancy and Birth
     Surprising Controversy Surrounding HIV/AIDS
About Babies
     Why Short Cat-Naps Are Not Good Enough
Food For Thought
     Kids and Food Colors
Our Charis Family
     Sammantha Lugmayer
Charis Cuisine
     Groovy  Guacamole
Letters To The Editor
     Comments From Our Readers
Charis Around the World
     Tidbits from Ebony
     Life in Ukraine

To enjoy past newsletters, visit the archives:
Newsletter Archives
 

Charis "Teaching Birth" Workshop
Saturday, February 21, 2009
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Breath of Life Birth Center
1900 E Bay Drive
Largo, FL 33771

For childbirth educators, doulas, midwives, or anyone who would like to improve their ability to communicate with and educate expectant families.

At our workshops, learning is interactive, hands-on, fun, and interesting. All Charis workshops are taught from a Christian perspective, giving God the glory for His marvelous creation and how He so wonderfully created women to bear children.

You will spend the day making new friends and becoming more skilled in preparing effective introductions, asking powerful questions, creating a learner-friendly environment, capturing the attention of learners, helping clients embrace their responsibility of making informed decisions, and so much more.

In addition to the valuable skills acquired at the workshop, you will also take home with you an assortment of visual aids and other valuable teaching tools to enhance your future students’ learning experience.

A delicious lunch will be provided for all the workshop attendees to enjoy as you get to know each other better during a midday break.

The cost is $200 for Charis members and $230 for non-members (includes one-year Charis membership).

To register, complete the registration form
and mail it, along with payment, to:
5857 Babian Road
North Port, FL 34291

Click here for Registration Form
Must be received before January 28, 2009.
Register early… Space is limited.

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Our Director's Heart

The Charis Midwifery Scholarship Fund

Training Midwives to Change the World

The impact a birth professional has on a woman’s life can potentially be one of the most profound of her lifetime. This is true in the richest, most industrialized nations in the world, as well as in the poorest of third world countries. Glenn Martin, a missionary friend in the Dominican Republic, once shared with me that if a person does not begin a relationship with Jesus before the teen years, the next time he or she is statistically most open to the Gospel is during childbearing. Childbearing is such a critical time in people’s lives—and what an incredible opportunity birth professionals have!

God is strategically positioning Christian women as midwives in communities all around the world because of the incredible influence a midwife can have on each family she serves. Midwifery provides a unique open door into the lives and homes of people that is not opened to just anyone. What a beautiful, powerful way for God to show His love to the world!

Charis Childbirth is committed to the Great Commission, to doing our part to help as many missionaries, humanitarian workers, and foreign nationals as possible to become trained, skilled midwives through our uniquely-designed distance midwifery school so that they will be well-equipped to serve the world’s families during pregnancy and birth. As Charis midwives serve their communities with excellence, birth outcomes greatly improve and people's lives are blessed!

A scholarship fund is being created so that every missionary or foreign national who wants to serve her community as a midwife will be able to get an excellent education regardless of her ability to pay tuition. Many missionaries simply do not have the support to cover midwifery school, and women in impoverished countries who want to make a difference in their communities will never have this opportunity without financial help! Our goal for 2009 is to raise enough funds to offer scholarships to 10 midwifery students.

Tuition for one midwifery student for one year is $3,500.

$875 will cover one quarter,

$292 will cover one month,

$68 will cover one week,

and $10 will cover one day.

As you plan for your charitable giving for 2009, would you consider sponsoring a Charis Midwifery Student? You will be helping to positively impact individual families’ lives—both physically and spiritually—and changing the world as a result! (No amount is too great or too small and all gifts are tax-deductible.)

Feel free to share this giving opportunity with your churches, social groups, coworkers, and friends. Perhaps your office, club, church congregation, or home group would like to collectively sponsor a midwifery student! Spread the word far and wide… who knows who might catch the vision and want to help these aspiring midwives get their education!

Mail your check made out to "Charis Childbirth" to
Midwifery Scholarship Fund
5857 Babian Road
North Port, FL 34291

Thank you so much for linking arms with Charis Childbirth as we make a difference in the world, one birth at a time!

Blessings to you and your family during this Christmas season!

~Kristin Schuchmann
Executive Director, Charis Childbirth

Exciting Announcement!!!

It is time for Charis to begin translating our materials into other languages!!!

So far, all of our students have been fluent in English, but we knew eventually we would have students who need the books and materials in other languages.

So the first language translation will be …(((drum roll)))… Russian! There are currently two Ukrainian ladies who want to go through the Charis doula training, so it is time to translate! That takes time and money.

If you are excited that we have the opportunity to take the Charis ministry into Russian-speaking countries, please help us out! Send your tax-deductable donations to Charis Childbirth at 149 Business Park Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Please write on a separate note (not on your check) that your donation is for the Russian translation project.

THANK YOU!!!!!

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not intended to take the place of medical care and advice from your health care provider.