Elizabeth Schmeidler
Hays, KS 67601

A Tiny Ripple Brings a Giant Truth
This past August I had the delightful privilege to be part of the Midwest Catholic Family Conference held in Wichita Kansas. It was a wonderful weekend—like an oasis in the desert. Cliché, I know, but I’m not kidding. It was completely refreshing to be with so many wonderful people and families who believe as I do, and who are proud of our Catholic faith!
I have often said that everything in this world has a “ripple” effect--both the good and bad. Our actions always affect others—it’s a given. During the conference and for weeks afterward, the many good things at this conference rolled through my spirit like a giant, but gentle, wave—lifting and carrying me. I felt as though I was adrift in peace. Not only did I feel touched by the good people and big families who came to the conference, but I was touched by my fellow speakers and entertainers, as well as the staff and merchants who had booths. A devout Catholic could have easily found any teaching material or spiritual gift they desired that weekend. Surprisingly, one of the greatest gifts I received came to me in the form of a tiny, tiny baby.
The booth next to mine was the Kansans for Life booth. The darling little girl (probably about 10-11 years old) working there was a real go-getter. I got such a kick out of her—it tickled me to see her passion! While I was busy setting up my booth, she was hard at work approaching everyone who walked by. She didn’t let anyone slip by without talking to them and offering something from the basket she was carrying. It only took a smile from me to bring her my way. Before I even realized what was happening, she had placed a tiny twelve-week- old baby model into my upturned palm. The baby, made out of a very soft rubber, felt amazingly real. As a staunch pro-life mother of four—three sons and a baby that I miscarried, one would think that seeing a baby model would be nothing new to me. On the contrary—I had lost my baby at twelve weeks – the exact stage of development of the baby in my hand, but realized, only at that moment, how perfectly formed my baby might have been. The baby’s arms were crossed over his tiny chest, his legs curled tightly to his small body. Tiny fingers and toes fascinated me as much as the angelic sleeping face. Like most people, I had seen pictures of fetal development, but having this tangible model in my hand set my heart on fire with love. The word “CHOICE”, which sounds so freeing to many, became an even dirtier word to me.

Anyone who knows me would say that it is not possible to keep me quiet about my passionate pro-life stance. So now, a fire had been ignited inside me, and no matter how busy I became, the Holy Spirit kept reminding me of that little baby. An idea quickly blossomed during my prayer time. I contacted David Gittrich from Kansans for Life and ordered about three hundred baby models to take with me to our Catholic high school, Thomas More Prep-Marian. After Mass at the school, I was able to hand them out and to speak to the entire student body about the “Choice” they held in their hands.
In a world that has become largely fantasy for young people—television, computer, video games, movies, and iPods, I handed them a dose of truth. Ah…now there’s a word we don’t hear enough about—truth. As they sat in their chairs holding the tiny babies in their hands, for some, the heavy veil of misinformation, lies, and denial fell away. Truth crystallized before their eyes. The students could see how perfectly formed a twelve-week- old baby is in the womb. They could feel the weight of life in their hands.

I was able to share with them the story of a young, post-abortive woman I know who had tearfully said to me, “I just didn’t know.” I passionately told the students, “I don’t ever want any of you to have to ever have to say, ‘I just didn’t know.’ Now, you do know. We, as a society, can call a baby a number of things… an embryo, a fetus, a pregnancy, a blessing, a mistake, an inconvenience, or a CHOICE, but we will never change what it is…a baby. A rose by any other name is still a rose, and a baby by any other name is still a baby and God’s creation. The truth is still the truth--whether you choose to believe it or not. Now, you know the truth. When you hear someone say they are pro-choice, they are actually saying, ‘It is my choice to decide whether a human being lives or dies.’”

The ripples of goodness from the conference, and the actions of David Gittrich and his team, served to put tangible evidence and truth in the hands of nearly three hundred young people. I do not kid myself and think that every heart in the room was changed that day. Unfortunately, there will always be those who do not have ears to hear and eyes to see. But, my hope is that one day, at least one young person will retrieve the baby model out of a glove compartment or a purse and gingerly place it in the hand of a confused young woman or man, a head-strong politician, or a “Cafeteria Christian”, and gently, but firmly, say,

“This is a baby…not a CHOICE. Now you know.”

“This day I set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life that you and your children may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

Thank you to all who made the Midwest Catholic Family Conference possible!

Hey Folks,

I thought you might want to read this letter from a Marine friend of mine. I met him about two years ago, first through email. His fiancée and her mother are Catholic. They called on me to help bring him “Home to Rome.” We first emailed and then we met in person in Wichita, Kansas, at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference. I spent an extended amount of time with him, answering his questions about the Faith. His fiancée bought about everything we had at the table there! And we have been in touch ever since. I hadn’t heard from him for a while until today. See below: This is what it’s all about. This is why we exist here at Catholic Answers. To see this brave young Marine come to the Faith makes all that we do worthwhile and it should inspire us all to double our efforts in this life for our Lord and Holy Mother Church. Check it out:

God Bless,

Tim Staples

Tim,
Sorry I haven't wrote back in quite awhile.  I have finally answered the calling from the Eucharist on Nov 25, receiving confirmation and having my first Communion.  I have never felt so fulfilled as well as humbled as I take the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion.  I have started reading those books that are asterisked in your catholic survival guide and hope that one day the knowledge will help lead my family (Southern Baptists) and friends to Rome.  Please pray for my fiancée as I am heading for Iraq in March with the 2nd LAAD as a Plt Cmdr.  I will be gone 7 months and she and I need a lot of prayer as we are making some difficult choices. We are planning on getting a civil marriage before I go so that if anything were to happen to me she would be taken care of. When I get back we will have a church wedding in December and consummate the sacrament of marriage then. I hope that all is well with you and your family and I hopefully will see you at another Catholic Seminar in Wichita when I am back or if I don't see you again I’ll party with you, JC and the saints in heaven.
God bless brother and Semper Fi,
Nate Waters
Hey Nate,

It is great to hear from you! Be assured you are in my and my wife’s prayers. You made my day with this news! Take notice: this letter is a free dinner with Tim Staples chit. When I see you again, dinner is on me. Take care of yourself so you can be sure to cash this in!

If you don’t mind, I am going to pass this around the office to get the whole Catholic Answers Regiment praying for you and your fiancée!

Semper Fi,

Tim - BTW – Everybody here at Catholic Answers is proud of what you guys are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan! Say hello to Bin Laden and the boys in good Marine Corps fashion!

"Thank you for all the hard work that went into this convention. Our family looks forward to it every year. We always come away with a lively faith. God bless you all for what you do."

"We recommend the conference to our friends with small children because we know you run a good program."

"Our kids were especially pleased with this year's talks in the High School program."

"As a vendor, booths were well set up and people were very friendly."

"Excellent conference!! We LOVE it!"

"We loved the whole conference."

"All of the conference - Masses, etc... were great."

"They were all very good!"

"All a hit!"

"All were excellent!!"

"All were extremely wonderful and of great need to hear for all ages."

"All were excellent!! Thank you. Will be here next year."

"I can't pinpoint. The great selection of speakers every year always amazes me."

"Energetic speakers - choir was amazing!"

"Music was excellent."

"Enjoyed presentations very much - very high quality."

"Please keep bringing the conference back."

"Every session we attended was excellent - it is obvious the Holy Spirit works thru those in charge of this."

"A million thanks for all you do for families!"

"I've attended all the conferences the past 4 years and I can't say enough good about them. Keep up the good work - the conferences are Wonderful."

"Have so enjoyed these 5 conferences! Already looking forward to next year's. They are such a spiritual boost."

"I thought the liturgy was beautiful and the music at Mass exceptional. It's not often that our children are exposed to the beautiful heritage of our Catholic music.

"It meant so much to me to hear and experience the beautiful music of our heritage and to be able to show my children that we Catholics have a proud history of excellent music . . . Kudos to the choir and orchestra for their hard work in preparation for this liturgy - I cannot thank them enough. I was weeping tears of joy by the time they finished singing their last notes after the conclusion of the Mass."

" Loved it! The panel discussion was excellent."

"Mass was awesome!!"

"This was our first year and we were very impressed and are making plans for next year."

"The atmosphere here is amazing. Love being here to learn and meet these great people"

"I really appreciate the care of all the children that the workers and people provide. It really helps the parents."

"My kids can't wait to come back each year. Last Sunday, they started a daily countdown to the conference "

"Thank you for having this great conference each year. I like coming to the conference because it's like a family reunion each year - only not my blood family, but my church family!!! It gives us fire to keep going each year!"

"Kids loved it!"

"Kids really enjoyed the songs, and loved the nuns being their teachers."

"I appreciated the opportunity to purchase so many books/tapes/items from the vendors."

"Very organized and efficient."

"Our Pastor attended this year's conference. We asked him what he liked best about the conference. His response was that the weekend gave him so much hope in the Church today . . . just to see Catholic families so alive in their faith. He said his priesthood was "renewed."

"Very enjoyable, well-organized weekend! Thanks!!"