Peru (MNN) — Unborn life was a “hot topic” in Peru in recent days, following a United Nations court decision that garnered international attention.
(Photo credit Steve9091 via Flickr)
Life Matters Worldwide and its in-country partners are continuing the discussion about unborn life with a conference later this week. They’ll also be talking about the value God places on life at all stages.
Life Matters President Tom Lothamer explains, “We’ll have pregnancy care center workers from around four or five countries in South America [attend the conference]. It’s a lot of training, a lot of networking, and fellowship, and encouragement, [and] counsel.”
According to Lothamer, this conference is a core aspect of their life-saving ministry. Association of Baptist for World Missionaries (ABWE) missionaries Dave and Evelyn Stone have partnered with Life Matters to hold the conference for more than 15 years.
Protecting unborn life in Peru
(Photo courtesy Peruvian partner of Life Matters Worldwide)
As explained here, the Latin American Pro-Life Summit 2016 will take place in Lima, Peru, on January 29 and 30. The conference generally attracts 200 or more people from all around South America.
Last year, missionary Stephanie Garcia and ten of her associates traveled to Peru from Chili. They wanted to learn about and embrace the work that pregnancy centers supported by Life Matters were doing. Because of their visit to the conference, they were stimulated to start up Chili’s first-ever pregnancy center.
“We’ve had the privilege…of providing some funds to help get that established,” Lothamer adds.
While Life Matters is thrilled to educate women, they’re more excited for the ministry opportunities the conference and their pregnancy centers provide. Staff get to share about the unending love Jesus has for women and their unborn child, and the death He suffered on the cross to buy their freedom.
Protecting senior lives
This year’s conference won’t just focus on unborn life, says Lothamer. Training will also be given in Life Matters LIFT (Living in Faith Together) program, which teaches churches how to aid its elderly and terminally ill members. Lothamer explains that much of the proposal came from Stone.
“As Evelyn has learned more and more about the LIFT ministry, it just came up this past spring…. She said, ‘I think we should do a LIFT part to this conference.'”
The addition of LIFT at the Peru conference will help encapsulate and round out the idea that life–both the beginning and the end of it–truly matter to Jesus.
Keep updated during the conference THIS week by going to the Life Matters Facebook page. Also, please pray for attendants to feel rejuvenated in God’s work.
