Be Our Guest / Anita Moody

At Gabriel Project, God works through the goodness of people

As Christmas approached, I could not imagine how the void created by the death of my mother was going to be filled. I was dreading the holiday season.

Although our family always focuses on the spiritual side of Christmas, my mother had always been such an important part of it all. I couldn’t imagine getting through it this year without her.

After the death of my mother in January of 2006, I had more free time on my hands so I volunteered and became the area coordinator for the Gabriel Project.

Volunteers called “Angels” serve women who find themselves in crisis pregnancies either because of financial difficulties, lack of family support or a sundry of other reasons. We offer spiritual, emotional and material support in any way we can.

I have enjoyed my work with the Gabriel Project, but in December things seemed to take on a special significance.

I received a call for help from a young pregnant woman who had packed up her two toddlers with as many personal items as she could load in her car and left her husband, who had become addicted to drugs and had become abusive to her.

She told us that she did not want to leave him and that she is praying that he will find God and get help. She believes in prayer—not divorce, but a drug counselor had encouraged her to move away for the safety of herself and her children.

She ended up in a motel in Indianapolis with very little money. I got so involved in helping her work through her problems that I forgot mine!

I saw repeatedly how God works through the goodness of people as more and more people came to her assistance. It was still touch and go as to where we were going to place her when everything fell into place. We now have her and her children in a home for women in crises pregnancies. We will stay in touch with her, continue to give her emotional support and keep her in our prayers.

In addition to the above story, we have had four referrals this month from sidewalk counselors who pray at the four abortion centers in Indianapolis and tell women that they deserve love—not abortion, that God loves them and that the Gabriel Project will help them and their families.

It has been so gratifying to see that all the prayer and effort at the abortion centers is producing such abundant fruit. More than 130 women have walked away from abortion at these centers since January of 2006.

What I had dreaded became one of the most fulfilling Christmases of my life, and somehow I felt the presence of my mother even more closely than when she was on Earth.

If you are moved to get involved, there are many things you can do. We need prayer for the success of the Gabriel Project and for our mothers and their children. We need more “Angels” (both men and women) to give direct care to our mothers or be good, encouraging listeners on the phone. We need people willing to collect gently used baby items at your parish or from your friends and neighbors. We need your financial support.

To find out more about the Gabriel Project or to find out if there is a Gabriel Project near you, send an e-mail to me at amoody19@yahoo.com or call me at 317-918-0997. You can also visit our Web site at www.ProjectGabriel.org.

If you want to help someone and feel fulfilled, please call us and we will welcome you and find a place for you to help in this beautiful ministry.

(Anita Moody is a member of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish in Indianapolis.) †