FLUTTER INC AND AFRICA CARES FOR LIFE DONATE AN ULTRASOUND MACHINE TO TSHEPHO WOMENS HEALTH 

Earlier this year, at the Africa Cares for Life Conference, I met Karla Sutter, founder of Flutter Inc, based in the U.S.

Karla was one of the fantastic speakers at the conference this year and is also the author of a few books, including Flutter - a children's book with a strong pro-life message.

Flutters vision statement is that every girl, in every nation, should have the right to an ultrasound during her pregnancy.  It is for this reason, that Karla and her team, bring unused ultra machines from America, to countries in Africa.

Karla donated a machine to Africa Cares For Life this year, who then chose to give it to Tila Maganyane from Tshephos Women's Health.

It was a very special moment to witness how the machine was received with such gratitude. I have no doubt in my mind that this ultrasound machine will prevent many abortions. According to Life News, 78% of pregnant women who see an ultrasound of their baby reject abortion.

Below is a video of how Tila received her ultrasound machine at the Africa Cares for Life conference.

Visit www.flutter-effect.com or follow them on social media!

March for Life 2019 Radio Interviews

Leading up to the March For Life South Africa 2019, I had the privilege of interviewing two very influential people in the Pro-Life movement here in South Africa. 

Earlier this year I was asked by GNCR if I would like to be a presenter on their station, and how could I say no?
(More shows will be available early next year!)

I spoke to Liza from Doctors For Life, and Graeme Schnell, CEO of Focus on the Family Africa. 

Below are the links to the interviews, I hope you enjoy getting to know Liza and Graeme as much as I did!

https://soundcloud.com/user-210646615/graeme-schnell-from-focus-on-the-family-interview

https://soundcloud.com/user-210646615/liza-from-doctors-for-life-interview-on-gncr

On the 20th of August, my friend Youandi and I flew to Johannesburg for four days to attend the Africa Cares for Life conference.
 

Africa Cares for Life is an umbrella body and support structure for pregnancy centres in South Africa. Africa Cares for Life also offers various development programs to empower pregnancy centres in South Africa.

Each year, ACFL has a conference to refresh, encourage and empower pregnancy centre leaders and volunteers. 

While most pregnancy centres are actual centres in a physical building, there are a few online counselling helplines and organizations that offer online pregnancy help. 

Youandi Gilain from Open Arms SA, and Nina McNeil from 11th Hour are both online pregnancy support counsellors. 

I represent my organization, Project Life, and do most of my pregnancy help and post-abortion counselling on Whatsapp, with the odd person contacting me on Facebook. 

The majority of clients who contact me, contact me for post-abortion counselling, but now and then, I do receive a client seeking pregnancy counselling.

Daniele Gradwell, director of ACFL put together an exceptionally inspiring conference, and world-class speakers shared their stories and passion for assisting girls and women in unplanned pregnancies.

Karla Sutter, Ellen Foell, Grant Edkins, and Lusanda Dhlamini are some of the fantastic influencers that spoke at the conference.

Each day, we had the option of attending wonderfully informative workshops. One of the workshops that particularly stood out to me was Breaking Soul Ties, by Joyce Ray. 
 

I also had the privilege of seeing the movie Unplanned at the conference. The film is powerfully moving, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will change and challenge many hearts on the topic of abortion. I imagine that many lives will be saved because of this movie.

I will be planning a screening for the movie Unplanned in Cape Town towards the end of October, so keep an eye out for the details. 

On the last evening of the conference, Daniele organized a banquet, and we were encouraged to dress up. The theme for the conference was BOLD, so I wore a brightly coloured dress and painted my face like a warrior, symbolic of my passion to boldly fight for what I believe is right.
My heart was so full of joy to be surrounded by people with the same passion, who are on the same mission that I am on. 

I would like to say a special thanks to you to Daniele for putting together an amazingly informative and motivational conference.  
I have been inspired to take bold steps and to keep moving forward. I have been inspired to be courageous.

#NOTALLMENARETRASH

On Saturday, I had the honour of speaking at a High Tea for moms and their teenage sons. 

Due to the extremely violent crimes commited against women and children that have been reported in the news recently, a  popular hashtag here in South Africa right now is #menaretrash.

I titled my speech #notallmenaretrash, in an attempt to encourage and motivate these boys to be better men.
I told the story of how I know men who have behaved like trash, but also men who are of great value to this world. The opposite of trash is something valuable, and the main message that I hoped to get across to these boys, is that they have a choice between these two.
To be trash, and to make the world ugly and dirty. 
Or to be of value to this world, and to do great things and leave a legacy. 

I have been hurt by men who treated me like I was trash.
I have been sexually harassed, abused, abandoned and used. 

But, I have also been respected and protected by men out there who are not trash.

My grandfather, a respectable and kind man, is not trash.

My husband, a man of integrity, who honours me and my children, is not trash.  

My sons, Dominic, and Quade, are not trash.
And I will do my best to raise them up to be good men.

Perhaps, instead of calling all the men out there trash, we can try to speak life over the ones who are not. It is not fair to call young boys trash. Children will grow into what we speak over them.

To the men out there, the good ones, thank you.

Thank you for being a man of value. 

And please. Please protect us.

Teach your sons to respect women, and don't make fun of women.
Don't share content on your social media that is inappropriate. Don't encourage your friends to act violently. And stop watching porn- it is highly addictive, and studies show that it teaches men to dehumanize and objectify women. There is strong evidence that men who rape and sexually abuse women, watch pornography before committing the crime. So just don't.

Be the man that you wish your daughter could marry.
Add value to the world and make it a better place.
Be that guy. 


#notallmenaretrash
#protectus

August Speaking Opportunities:

Me, sharing my story at New Beginnings Church.

On Friday the 10th of August I had the honor of speaking at a woman's event at the New Beginnings Church in Phoenix.

I shared my testimony at the event, of how God spared my life after I almost died, after giving birth to my son Quade, three years ago. I also shared my abortion story and how abortion negatively affected my life. 

At the event, I met Loaraine Moonsamy, who invited me to speak at her church the next day.

Me, sharing my story at Calvary Chapel.

 I wanted to embrace the opportunity to share my testimony once again, so on Saturday the 11th of August, I spoke at the Calvary Chapel Woman's event. I shared my story and offered free online post-abortion counselling to anyone who felt that they might need it. I had ladies come to me after  I spoke to share their stories of how they have lost children to abortion. Many women do not seek therapy and counselling after an abortion, and many women struggle with feelings of loss, regret and sadness, after having an abortion. 

I feel so privileged to have had two opportunities to speak. 
I love being a speaker and am so thankful for the opportunities that God gives me to share my story of His grace. 

If you would like me to visit your church, to raise awareness on abortion and baby abandonment, and for me to share my testimony, send an email to melissahertzmusic@gmail.com.
Many blessings!

At the Calvary Chapel Woman's event with two of the other speakers.

Interview with Chantelle Blokdyk from Original Design

Meet Chantelle Blokdyk, co-founder of Original Design, an organization that aims to educate and empower people about sexuality and decrease sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Chantelle has written a book called Parents In Pursuit Of Purity, and she has appeared on television and radio and has spoken at schools and churches. She has even visited and spoken in the U.S. 

Together with her husband, Morne, they speak out against pornography and try to raise awareness of the dangers of watching pornographic material.

Studies show that pornography is highly addictive and can have negative social and psychological effects on society as a whole. It has been scientifically proven to alter the structure of the brain and can even cause erectile dysfunction. 

I met with her to speak about the Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum proposal endorsed by UNESCO and many other UN affiliates. 

The comprehensive sexuality education curriculum aims to educate school-going children on sex and sexuality but has been heavily criticized for many reasons.  The early sexualisation of children, promoting abortion, undermining family and ethical values, and alienating children from parents on the topic of the child’s sexuality, are some of the many reasons that people are petitioning against this. And how interesting that the curriculum is largely influenced by the International Planned Parenthood Federation. 

According to research, the curriculum is ineffective at equipping children to make informed decisions about their sexual health.

Studies show that it has a negative effect on the participants’ sexual health. Studies show an increase in sexual initiation, STDs, and decreased condom use. 

Rape and paid sex also increase statistically. 

I met with beautiful and glowing Chantelle for an interview in Muizenberg. She wasn’t difficult to miss with her absolutely gorgeous style and trendy, edgy pink Cleopatra bob. 

Here is the link to the petition. Don't forget to sign the petition and share!

https://www.comprehensivesexualityeducation.org/stop-cse-petition/

Here is our interview. I took a video of Chantelle that can be found on my YouTube Chanel.

Illinois passes a bill far worse than New Yorks

Just two days ago the state of Illinois passed a bill so extreme that thousands marched to the capitol to protest against it and make their voices heard. 

The bill is even more extreme than the New York Health and Reproductive Act, passed in January this year. 

HB2495 would virtually eliminate all protections for preborn children, allow infanticide, remove conscience protection laws for health care workers, allow taxpayer funding for abortion, and more. HB 2467 would repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, making it so that minors can obtain abortions without parental notification. 

So, if you are thinking that this doesn’t affect you because you do not live in the state of Illinois then listen up. 

It can.

This does have the ability to affect you even if you are in another state or country. 

There is a saying that when America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold. 

Trends that are started in America are easily picked up by the rest of the world. 

I live in South Africa and we have some of the most liberal laws surrounding abortion, in the world. But there are a few things that you can do, no matter where in the world you live, to try to keep the brakes on the laws regarding abortion.

Information. 

People cannot make informed decisions without information and women and girls cannot make informed decisions about their reproductive health if they are not empowered with information. Information can be easily shared on social media and just taking a few moments to share an article regarding pro-life issues could be really helpful to someone who is needing it at that moment. Visit our Facebook page Project Life Pro-Life SA, and follow us on social media. Take the time to share articles.

Petitions 

Don’t just ignore petitions. 22000 signatures speak louder than 32 signatures. 

Know your stuff.

Make yourself aware of the laws surrounding abortion in your country. 
Understand the scientific view of aborton and how it supports the fact that life begins at conception. 
You will be challenged if you share your views, so be prepared to inform people and defend your point of view. Using a scientific and logical argument is more effective as not everyone you meet is religious, and pointing out the dangers to a womans health, both physically and mentally, is a great argument against abortion too.

Unite

Weather you are a Baptist or a Catholic, the Church needs to stand together if we are going to be an effective voice for the unborn.

Pro-Life Muslims, pro-life Christians, pro-life Atheists, and everyone in-between need to unite for the cause and fight for the rights of the unborn together.

Be brave

Do not be afraid to speak out against abortion and share your views. 
Be brave and speak up, even if your voice shakes.

Unplanned banned in Canada

Unplanned is the true story of Abby Johnson, the youngest director of Planned Parenthood, who witnesses something during an abortion procedure that dramatically changes her life forever.


Despite the fact that the movie contains no foul language, no nudity, and no sexuality, it has been banned in Canada.
The distributors found the content ``offensive."

Offensive? 

Wait... If an abortion is just the removal of a clump of cells then why would Unplanned be banned? 


To make matters even worse, Google refused any pre-release adverts and banners of the film and many major television networks refused to promote the films release.
Twitter suspended the Unplanned Twitter account and cut their Twitter "followers" dramatically.

           








Johnson however is not despondent and is as passionate as ever and says 
"I wonder what they have to be afraid of?"

She has encouraged Canadians to raise their voices and to speak up for the unborn.   

"You gotta stop being so dang polite. 
Life is on the line. Children are being killed, dismembered by their mothers wombs. There is nothing pro-life about abortion and it is time for us to stop cowering to a liberal media, to your liberal parliament, enough is enough."

Already the movie Unplanned is making waves and there have been testimonies of women and girls who went to see the movie, who were not sure if they would keep their baby or not, who then chose life for their baby.

Abby Johnson has done an amazing thing and although Unplanned is not yet available in South Africa, I am so excited to see such a controversial, impacting and incredible story of a woman who was not afraid to speak the truth.

The moment I find out about a screening here in South Africa I will be sure to let people know!

Baby Savers South Africa

Over the past year Project Life has donated four baby savers to organisations- three in Cape Town and one in Durban.

Mandukas Formwork, a local formwork and scaffolding company helped to create these baby savers and sponsored the materials for them too.

Ashley Hertz, director of Mandukas Formwork with the welders who created the box.

We then had the help of an electrician to help build the technology onto the box that triggers a lock to lock the door of the baby saver and to send a message to a response team that a baby has been placed into the saver. 

The first baby saver was given to an organization in Bellville called Inceba Saving babies.

The official launch of the Inceba Saving Babies baby saver was on 17 October 2018 and a team of paramedics from ER 24 were there to show their support. A baby was placed in the saver to demonstrate how the baby saver works and among others, CNI security, who is also providing their services for the baby saver, came to show their support on the day.

The Inceba Saving Babies baby saver is located in close proximity to the Bellville station and is located in Quarry street Bellville, next to the big AGS church building. 

Demonstration of the saver.

ER 24 paramedics showing their support at the launch.

A letter left in the saver to offer words of comfort to a mother in distress.

The second baby saver was donated to Lucinda Evans from Philisa Abafazi, an organisation doing a range of community work to assist vulnerable women and children in Cape Town. 

The saver is located at 69 Hillary drive in Lavender Hill.

Lucinda Evans, founder of Philisa Abafazi and her team receiving their baby saver.

The precious feet of the first baby placed in the Lavender Hill baby saver.

                                                                                                   

                                                                                            
                                                                                                      


The first baby to be placed in the Lavender Hill Philisa Abafazi baby saver was placed in the saver during the early hours of 30 March 2019.


The baby girl, just two days old, was left with a letter from her mother. 
The baby girl is currently in foster care until she is placed with a forever family.

The third baby saver was given to Katherine Brink from Little Brinks and they are still in the process of finding a location for the baby saver as the location is vitally important.

The baby saver that was donated to Durban was given to Youndi from Open Arms SA and they too are in the process of having it installed. They have a location- it is being put into their wall of their home but are in the process of finding a builder to install.

We are very excited to see how God will use these baby savers to help women who feel that they have no other option but to abandon their baby. May many lives be saved!

I am also sad to say that Project Life will not make any more baby savers. The project was incredibly stressful and challenging and my children are too young at this point for me to be putting as much time into Project life as I was. As many of you know, I have made the decision to commit to homeschooling my children as long as they would like to be homeschooled. 

It was my dream to become a supplier of baby savers in South Africa, that are cost-effective and also locally made. Making the savers made us realise that other organisations making baby savers are putting a mark upon their savers, and I wanted to change that and supply something that organisations could actually afford. 

If you would like to purchase a saver contact Baby Safe International who I'm sure will gladly assist you.