Pregnancy center has record year

2020 was a record year for A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center of Northeast Colorado, and the work of the nonprofit was celebrated at its annual banquets last weekend.

One of the four banquets was hosted in Holyoke on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Phillips County Event Center with overflow at First Christian Church.

More people were served by the center in 2020 than in any other year, said Faye Barnhart, executive director.

The center helped 132 women and 61 children and shared in the births of 28 babies.

The services — which are available to six counties through four locations and a mobile medical van — include pregnancy tests, adoption referrals, ultrasounds, counseling, free infant items, parenting support and post-abortion care. Presentations are also available for classrooms and communities.

“Thank you for standing with us for the most vulnerable and most innocent among us,” said Barnhart to a large crowd of people who support the center through donations, prayer and volunteer hours.

After the banquet dinner, attendees were entertained by JJ Jasper, a comedian, on-air radio personality and best-selling author.

Jasper got the audience laughing from the get-go and featured some funny tales from his book “Moses was a Basketcase.”

But all jokes aside, Jasper’s own life story undoubtedly left an impact on all those in attendance.

“You don’t know what you have until you lose it,” he said. Everything was perfect for him and his family on a Friday evening at their farm, and the next morning he was at the funeral home picking out a casket for his 5-year-old son.

Jasper was driving a go-kart — the one they picked out because of all the safety features — and Cooper was riding along. They flipped, and Cooper broke his neck despite being strapped in.

“This is not a wound that will heal. This is an amputation,” said Jasper.

Recognizing the fact that many married couples split after tragedies like that, Jasper wrote a book called “Losing Cooper: Finding Hope to Grieve Well” and was part of a DVD project called “Flame On” to encourage other people with a biblical perspective on shock, loss and grief.

“I’d rather believe what the Bible says than what the world says,” he said.

After losing Cooper, Jasper and his wife were shocked and excited to find out they were expecting twins. But a few days after their birth, tests revealed that Bode had Down syndrome.

Jasper shared the “bad news” with his older children. After commenting on how huggable and lovable children who have Down syndrome are, one of the girls asked, “So what’s the bad news?”

He couldn’t have been more proud of his family!

Jasper told the audience that many Down syndrome babies are aborted before they’re ever born. Bode, however, has already given the family so much joy and love in his 5 years of life, and he’s even credited with naming his new nephew.

Children are a gift from God, said Jasper. He expressed his deep sorrow for the abortions taking place each year, emphasizing that “this is a modern-day Holocaust.”

The evening closed with a song called “Not Forgotten” sung by Kala Yost and Susan Baker.

The Holyoke site of A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center is open for walk-ins on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. at 246 S. Interocean Ave., No. 204, and can be reached at 970-854-4335. The site director is Marie Tamasy.

For more information on the center, its services and training opportunities, visit acaringpregnancy.org or email office@acaringpregnancy.org.