7: At Life Choice with Barb

**Ben** (0:17)
Great, okay, thanks for tuning in to The Chopping Block. We're excited to be here. This is episode seven coming at you from Life Choice Ministries, and we're here with our dear friend, Barb Sanderson. So just a few words about Barb. So this isn't just someone who works at Life Choice Ministries. This is our friend, Barb. So she's involved at New Hope Church, where Tallgrass Church came from, and she's been super supportive of us, especially a year ago, praying for us, being a prayer, I assume she's a prayer warrior based on her interactions with us a year ago.
And she's really engaged with the international student community as well, especially through helping international students, perhaps a later chopping block, not today's topic.
And so we're very thankful to be able to come in and check in here on site and hear more about Life Choice Ministries. So, Barb, thanks for doing this.

**Barb Sanderson** (1:06)
Thanks for coming.

**Ben** (1:07)
Can you share just a little bit about yourself with us?

**Barb Sanderson** (1:10)
Yeah, well, like Ben mentioned, I'm Barb Sanderson. I'm the assistant director here at Life Choice Ministries, and I've been on staff here for six, seven, seven years now.
And I am a registered nurse and just kind of transitioned into Life Choice Ministries after being a volunteer for many years. Just have a heart for women and for babies. And yeah, that's kind of how I ended up here. Been in Manhattan for 25-plus years.

**Ben** (1:38)
Great.
Well, can you give us the rundown just in general? What is Life Choice Ministries all about?

**Barb Sanderson** (1:43)
Yeah, Life Choice Ministries has been around for over 30 years, and it was actually founded by an OBGYN here in town who just saw the need for help for women who were experiencing challenging pregnancies. So really what we do here is we do free pregnancy testing.
We do options counseling for women who are mostly geared towards if they're having a challenging pregnancy. Unexpected pregnancy, maybe just at a time of life, they weren't expecting it, maybe just hard physical things.
But whatever the circumstances we offer counseling, just helping them explore their options, helping them to maybe see the value of life and how that can really, it does fit, and they can make that work. But also not just that choice of life, which that's what we hope they choose, but providing support in that decision. So through their pregnancy and through their walk in early parenting, we do also offer private, facilitating private adoption. So I don't have a lot to do with that. Our director does. That's a small piece. Just if that's something that would help, you know, someone to be able to see that choice of life is more doable for them. But we also offer lots for the community. We have a clothing room. We get donations in all the time. Families that are in need can come get clothing, items that they need for their babies. And what we do most of my job actually here is teaching.
It's an education with prenatal education, childbirth education, walking through women, just helping them to see that it's doable to have a baby, to be able to choose life, and to just empower them and equip them to be parents.

**Ben** (3:24)
Great. Quick follow-up question, off script.
So you had mentioned facilitating private adoptions. That's a small piece, but if someone's listening and they're interested in pursuing that, here locally in Manhattan, what would be the next step for them?

**Barb Sanderson** (3:39)
The next step for them would be just to call. Just to call our office, ask whatever questions they have. There is an application process. There's a preliminary application, then a pretty lengthy application, just because we're, I mean, it's legit. It's not just like, you know, it's not agency. It's very different than an agency adoption, but the process would be just call us up, ask questions.
There is an application process to be, then put in our profiles to be considered for adoptive parents. Great.

**Ben** (4:11)
So, what would you love for us to hear about Life Choice Ministries? Obviously, it's not just a job for you. You're here, you're passionate about it, so share your heart with us.

**Barb Sanderson** (4:21)
That's a great question. I guess the reason I'm so passionate about Life Choice Ministries is it's not just coming to work, or we utilize a lot of volunteers.
It's not just trying to get people to make a decision and to move on and get them out the door, but it's really walking through them and building relationships with young women and with families, too.