“My name is Darrin Nixon, and on Nov. 16, 2018, I arrived at my very first PULSE Immersion Weekend camp! When I arrived, I was eagerly greeted with tremendous amounts of love and compassion. During the duration of the camp I acquired a vast amount of knowledge, ranging from what it really means to be pro-life, how to engage in a conversation about the topic of abortion, different methods of abortion, and personal testimonies from post-abortive women. If I had to choose what I enjoyed most, it would be when one of the adult leaders, Dustin, shared his personal story about being a child born in the case of rape. It allowed me to understand more in depth how to approach the subject of rape when someone brings it up in conversation. I would highly recommend anyone to attend a PULSE Immersion camp regardless if they’re pro-choice or pro-life, because the experience and vast amount of knowledge you leave with is guaranteed to be life changing!”
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The first Southwest Louisiana PULSE Weekend Immersion held Nov. 16-18 was a huge success! Forty high school and college students were present at our first event at Dry Creek Baptist Camp.
The weekend kicked off with talks about Pro-Life Culture, exposing and combating some stereotypes about the pro-life movement. Fetal development, intrinsic human value, and abortion procedures, shedding light on what the abortion industry does to the unborn and their mothers, were also discussed.
Afterwards, students were introduced to small group leaders, college students and graduates who love serving at the camps. After introductions, small groups came up with chants and designed posters with their group names, which they used in our delightfully competitive Pro-Life Game of Games.
Saturday morning featured Pro-Life Persuasion training, complete with plenty of practice time with students and leaders. Students volunteers illustrated pro-life/pro-abortion dialogue by role playing in front of the whole group. There was also a persuasion breakout session for college students on bioethics, particularly discussing physician assisted suicide.
And with beautiful grounds and weather, students were able to enjoy small group time sitting outdoors as they processed Pro-Life Persuasion with their leaders and peers.
Saturday afternoon was packed with a panel on Women’s Resources, presented by Care Pregnancy Center (DeRidder), New Life Counseling (Lake Charles) and Life After Choice Abortion Recovery. Students learned about what pregnancy centers provide for women in need, not only throughout their pregnancy or with young children, but even after abortion. They heard from the pregnancy center representatives themselves and heard the testimony of a woman who had been helped at New Life Counseling!
Additionally, there were sessions on Sidewalk Counseling, Campus Activism, and Chastity. Students learned how to best compassionately talk to abortion-minded women and which resources to provide. They also learned about various forms of education and service they could provide on their high school or college campus as a pro-life club, including stories on starting clubs with school-pressure obstacles. They discussed the need for detachment from our society’s hook up culture and how to approach relationships even in a secular world. This discussion was enhanced by separate Pro-Life Men’s and Women’s sessions, with great PULSE role models! This busy day ended with a picturesque bonfire beneath strung lights, where students played games, music, danced, made s’mores, and even stargazed with one of our own astronomy enthusiasts.
Sunday morning ended with a final Impact of Abortion session and a Commissioning Ceremony. Five compelling speakers shared their testimonies on how abortion entered their lives, whether with being post-abortive or with a family member, and how they healed. Many students were moved to tears, as their hearts grew even bigger for the pro-life movement out of love of individual human beings – not just statistics. The Commissioning Ceremony followed with each student introducing themselves again to the group and attending families and speaking about what they planned to do for the pro-life movement post-PULSE, based on what they learned throughout the weekend.
We are so happy to hear that so many of our students had a truly life-changing experience and to see them inspired and activated for the pro-life cause. We hope to see them bring their friends and encourage others from their community to attend one of our PULSE Immersion Weekends in the Spring, or our PULSE Leadership Institute in the Summer! ProLifePulseLa.com
– Krista Corbello and Alex Seghers
