16 4JSUS  

 

“Pam’s Story”

 

Pam knows about the pain of considering abortion. More than 21 years ago, she and her husband, Bob, were serving as missionaries to the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink.  She entered into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant.

 

Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted.

 

The doctors "didn't think of it as a life, they thought of it as a mass of fetal tissue," Pam said.  While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband, "If you will give us a son, we'll name him 'Timothy', and we'll make him a preacher."

 

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and, eventually, gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987.  Pam's youngest son grew into a healthy young man. He is indeed a preacher.  He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father's ministry in the Philippines.

 

I will also mention that Pam’s son also plays football.  You see Pam's son is Tim Tebow. Last year, the University of Florida 's star quarterback, became the first sophomore in history to win college football's highest award, the Heisman Trophy.  This year Tim Tebow and the rest of his University of Florida teammates won the college football’s National Championship. Tim's notoriety and the family's inspiring story have given Pam numerous opportunities to speak on behalf of women's centers across the country.

 

She was the keynote speaker at the Oct. 23, 2008, benefit banquet for two Louisville ministries. A Woman's Choice Resource Center offers such services as free pregnancy tests, post-abortion counseling, adoption information, and material support. Nicole's Place is a companion ministry that provides support services for women in need.

 

Several Louisville, Kentucky-area Baptist churches and the Long Run Baptist Association help support both ministries. A Woman's Choice board chairman, John Schmitt, reported at the banquet that in the 20 years since the resource center opened, 4,500 children have been saved from abortion -- 400 in this year alone.  Speaking of the thousands of lives saved, Pam Tebow said, "That just blows my mind. Every little baby you save matters."

 

I know that abortion is a very sensitive issue. I will never pretend to know or understand the weight of that decision. I do believe that a baby is a human at moment of conception. I also believe that God creates that baby for a special purpose.  I want to encourage you or someone you know who is contemplating abortion to consider adoption if keeping the child is not an option.  

 

Brian Hoover