Registration for Camp Joshua is Open!

Registration for our second annual Camp Joshua, held at the Short Journey Retreat Center in Smithfield, is now open!

What is Camp Joshua? Quite simply, an exciting pro-life weekend camp for high school students! At Camp Joshua, we train teens to be pro-life leaders now and in the future. We know that college-age women are the largest demographic receiving abortions, and it's essential that we teach our teens what being pro-life means, why being pro-life is important, and how they can be effective pro-life leaders in their communities. In short, they need to be able to defend their pro-life beliefs. 

Our goal is to teach the basic facts of pro-life issues like abortion and euthanasia, as well as the skills to communicate these facts well. As our website says, "Just as Joshua brought down the walls of Jericho, the young men and women of Camp Joshua will lead their generation in bringing down the walls of the culture of death. They will be Be Joshua to our world in need." 

So what can you do to help these young leaders-in-training?

• Promote! Do you attend a school, church, or homeschool group that would be willing to send students to Camp Joshua? Promoting our camp in your community is a great way to help us expand this awesome program. We can provide posters, flyers, and even a speaker!
  
• Attend! Send your teens to Camp Joshua! They'll learn a lot, make new friends, and have a wonderful time. We're also in need of college-aged volunteers to help as counselors at the camp.
  
• Donate! Unfortunately, camps don't run themselves, and your generous donations ensure that we can continue this program now and in the future. All funds raised go towards student scholarships, basic materials like binders and T-shirts, and overhead administrative expenses. 

If you have any questions about Camp Joshua, our mission, the camp schedule, or how to be more involved, please don't hesitate to contact Erin at ncrtl.erin@gmail.com. 

Camp Joshua 2014 will be July 18-20 in Smithfield, NC. Cost is $95 per student, which includes food and lodging, materials, and a T-shirt. 

Upcoming Student-Friendly Events

Have you ever wanted to get your teens more involved in pro-life activities? North Carolina Right to Life offers many opportunities for you and your family to learn about and participate in the pro-life world. Below are descriptions of some of our upcoming events, and we’d love to see you at some!

Prayer Breakfast for Life (January 18): Every January, NCRTL sponsors a morning of fellowship and prayer in Downtown Raleigh on the day of the local March for Life. Guests enjoy a buffet-style breakfast, hear from a featured speaker, and are led in prayer for an end to abortion. This is a great opportunity to meet other pro-lifers, hear from famous speakers, and receive inspiration for the coming year. This year’s featured speaker is Steven Mosher, President of The Population Research Institute. 

Tickets are required for this event, and can be purchased here. Guests will have the opportunity to buy a resource book, which can also be purchased here (order soon, as quantities are limited). Books will also be available after the March for Life. 

Rally and March for Life (January 18): Washington, D.C. is famous for its huge annual March for Life, but for those who can’t or don’t want to travel, we have one in downtown Raleigh! Join us at Nash Square at 1 o’clock (right after the prayer breakfast, and only 3 blocks away) for a short rally, followed by a march through the streets. Families, youth groups, and church groups especially enjoy this event. Of course, the national March isn’t until the 22^nd, so you can come to both if you like!

Pro-Life Essay Contest (deadline January 22): Attention students in grades 7-12! The annual National Right to Life Pro-Life Essay Contest is accepting submissions through January 22^nd. Each essay should address the subject “Why I Am Pro-Life” in 300-500 words. Not only is this a great chance to practice writing skills, it’s also a good time to learn how to articulate one’s pro-life beliefs. As an added bonus, the top three essays in each category receive monetary prizes! What’s there to lose?

Pro-Life Oratory Contest (May 17): Every May, NCRTL sponsors a statewide oratory contest in Greensboro. Winners receive a certificate, free admittance to Camp Joshua, and the opportunity to attend the National Right to Life Convention to compete on the National level. Please note that a short application must be submitted by April 15^th in order to participate.

Camp Joshua NC (July 18-20): Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to attend this fun weekend camp to learn more about pro-life issues and meet like-minded peers. Students attend educational workshops on abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research, as well as leadership sessions to learn how to share the pro-life message effectively. The goal of Camp Joshua NC is to send young people back to their communities with the knowledge and confidence to promote the pro-life message.

NRL Academy (Summer 2014): College students interested in furthering their pro-life education should seriously consider attending the Right to Life Academy, a five-week program held at National Right to Life’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. A self-described “pro-life boot camp,” the NRL Academy gives students the unique opportunity to learn from some of the country’s top pro-life leaders and earn college credit. Every year, students attend the Academy and come back with the knowledge, education, and support necessary to make a difference. North Carolina is privileged to offer the Scholarship for Life; this scholarship covers the Academy tuition and lodging for one NC student each year.

As you can see, there's lots going on for young people in North Carolina!

Tales from Camp Joshua, Part Three

[This is the third installment of our Camp Joshua 2013 series. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.]

Dr. Mistrot's presentation

Saturday night, we welcomed Dr. Jacques Mistrot, a retired surgeon, to speak about stem cell research. While many of us hear about stem cell research in the news, most people don't know much about it, so his talk was one of our favorites. Dr. Mistrot, who has devoted much of his retirement to speaking on bioethics, told us how stem cells can be broken into two main categories, adult and embryonic. Adult stem cells are taken from sources such as bone marrow or umbilical cord blood, and they have been used to treat over 70 diseases to date. Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, are taken from living embryos, destroying those lives in the process. Not only does it take many thousands of embryos to conduct research, but no illnesses have been successfully treated using embryonic stem cells. This, he explained, is why adult stem cell research is better from both a scientific and ethical standpoint, because it has effectively treated all kinds of diseases without destroying embryonic human lives. 

The students enjoying a bit of free time together.

Saturday was such a busy day that everyone was ready for a relaxing evening. The teens grabbed their blankets and pillows, threw on comfortable clothes, and settled down for a movie night complete with popcorn and candy. We watched October Baby, a powerful pro-life film following the journey of Hannah, a young woman who learns she was born after a failed abortion. Because Hannah hadn't even known she was adopted, she struggles to reconcile the life she thought she knew with the one she now has. It's a great movie...even when, despite your best efforts, your DVD player and projector inexplicably show it in black and white with Spanish subtitles! 

The next morning we were up bright and early for the optional church services and breakfast. Afterwards, Sarah Zagorski (Louisiana Right to Life) motivated everyone with her "Pro-Life Activism" presentation. Since the earlier sessions focused on learning the facts and rhetorical tools for effective pro-life persuasion, this one was all about actively using those skills. Our goal is that these students will return to their families, schools, churches, and communities and share what they have learned! 

The next few hours were occupied with lunch, evaluations, and packing. We couldn't believe how quickly the time had gone! It wasn't quite time to go home yet, though. In the afternoon, Dr. Melinda Snyder spoke about euthanasia and how it is a growing problem in the United States. For some vulnerable elderly or disabled adults, basic food and water is often considered extraordinary care, meaning they will die slow, painful deaths by starvation. She pointed out that even though it's a lot easier to defend the rights of a cute little baby, we'll all be elderly someday and in need of just as much love, care, and protection. The teens seemed interested in what she had to say; like stem cell research, the facts about euthanasia and end of life issues aren't as well known or understood. 

Camp Joshua NC officially ended with a small closing ceremony. We told the students how impressed we had all been with their attention, respect, and attitude, and also how glad we were that they had come! We reminded them of their responsibility to use what they had learned, to talk to their friends and family, and to share the pro-life message in whatever way they could. We also told them that the relationships they had formed while at Camp Joshua are absolutely priceless, and to rely on each other in times of discouragement. Finally, we called each student up and gave him or her a certificate of completion. We are so proud of them!

After our closing ceremony

Our first experience with Camp Joshua was so wonderful! We are grateful to all the people who helped make it happen, especially the adult volunteers and, most of all, the teens who sacrificed a weekend of their summer to come. They were an ideal group to work with, and we can't wait to do this again next year!

If you or someone you know might be interested in Camp Joshua, please, tell them about it! We can always use volunteers to help promote our camp, not to mention teens to attend! We will be posting updates as to our progress on our website, our camp website, Facebook, Twitter (@ncrtl), Pinterest, and this blog. Check back often for more details about next year's camp! 

Tales from Camp Joshua, Part Two

Saturday afternoon, everyone returned to the classroom for the next workshop, The Impact of Abortion. The session overview describes it as follows:

This session will highlight people whose lives have been directly impacted by abortion – abortion survivors, women who have had abortions, former medical professional who have performed or promoted abortions and men who have lost children to abortion will be a part of a panel to express the personal impact of abortion.

While any personal story about abortion is bound to be moving, Hannah Rose Allen, from Raleigh, has an especially beautiful and powerful experience. If you do nothing else today, listen for yourself.  She has a real gift for storytelling, and you will be as spellbound as we were. 

Hannah Rose Allen on the "Impact of Abortion"

When Hannah Rose was only 19, she found herself pregnant. Ashamed and alone, she chose to have an abortion. Her depression and pain brought only more bad decisions, and mere months later, she was pregnant again. Although she scheduled another abortion, God touched her heart and gave her the courage to choose life for her child, whom she named Lily Katherine, meaning purity. Lily, she knew, was the innocent vessel that God used to bring Hannah Rose back to Him. After a normal pregnancy, Hannah Rose went into labor, only to hear her doctor tell her that her baby's life was already gone. Although she still grieves both her children (she named her first baby Luke Shiloh), Hannah Rose is grateful for the time she had with Lily, and marvels at how a person who never took a breath could change her life so much.

By the end of Hannah Rose's talk, many of us were in tears, so we took a short break before moving onto our next session, Abortion Alternatives. Michelle Reeves, a pregnancy resource center director, did an awesome job describing what resources they offer pregnant moms who come to them for help. Michelle clarified North Carolina's adoption laws, explained some of the myths and stigmas surrounding adoption, and passed out a list of "positive adoption language" that we can use in conversation. Every pro-lifer knows that the language we use matters, and adoption is no exception. For example, telling someone she can "put her child up for adoption" makes it sound like a process she has very little control over. Instead, telling her she can "make an adoption plan" helps her to feel involved in the decisions she's making for her child. Michelle emphasized that while adoption is a wonderful choice, it's always a painful sacrifice for the birth mother and shouldn't be downplayed.

The afternoon ended with another group discussion, a presentation about pro-life legislation from our president, Barbara Holt, and a group photo. Everyone looked great in their green Camp Joshua T-shirts! We were glad to have an official camp photo, especially since we still couldn't quite believe the camp was actually happening! We are so glad it did. 

Camp Joshua NC, 2013
This was such a wonderful group of people!

If you missed it, make sure you read Part One in our Camp Joshua 2013 series, and watch for our next post soon!

Tales from Camp Joshua NC, Part One

What a busy few weeks it’s been! Besides all of the excitement at the legislature, NCRTL was pleased to host its first Camp Joshua July 19th-21^st, and we are finally able to tell you all about it! 

Camp Joshua was such a success, and so much fun for everyone involved! The weekend kicked off on Friday night, when the campers arrived, settled in, and got to know each other at dinner. Then they played a game of “Pro-Life Jeopardy,” which led right into their first workshop, Abortion 101. Afterwards, we had a long group discussion about abortion and fetal development. The students asked such thoughtful questions!

Some of the prize-winning posters!

Although we’d only been there for a few hours, after our discussion we were all ready for a little bit of fun. Commence the poster contest! The teens really blew us away with their enthusiasm and made more posters than we anticipated. Although it made our classroom look great when they were all hung up, it also made judging much harder, too! We gave out numerous prizes for the winning posters of categories like “Most Artistic” and “Best Message.”

On Saturday, the real work began. Because Camp Joshua is only a 48 hour weekend camp, the students have a lot to learn in a short period of time. They all did a fabulous job of staying alert, paying attention, and asking questions. We couldn’t ask for a better group! The main focus of the morning was the art of pro-life persuasion and how to effectively convey the pro-life message. Speaker Sarah Zagorski, from Louisiana Right to Life, explained how to address the questions from their most basic root: Is the unborn a living human person or not? She also shared her moving personal story about her troubled childhood in an abusive home and her eventual adoption into a loving family. She reminded students that we all have a personal story that we can use to win hearts for the pro-life cause, but it must be supplemented with sound knowledge about the life issues.

Having been equipped with the facts and tools for effective dialogue, the students took to the stage. Each team performed a skit showing off their understanding of the material they had learned. Practice is the key to mastery of a concept, and we are confident that these students have it down! One team focused on a dramatic presentation of a conversation about life outside of an abortion facility, while the other team took a more comedic approach and staged a scene at “Planned Pizzahood.” Needless to say, everyone was impressed with them both!

Team 2: Their "Planned Pizzahood" skit 
had us all giggling.

Team 1: The scarf represented this young woman's
shame and uncertainty due to her unplanned pregnancy.

We were all excited by our first Camp Joshua’s great start! As you can see, it was a busy weekend and one blog post just won’t do it justice. Click here to read Part Two, and visit our Facebook page to see more pictures from our camp!

Five Reasons You Should Come to Camp Joshua

1. All the cool kids are doing it

Everyone at Camp Joshua is going to be there because they’re passionate about life issues and want to learn more. Where else will you meet like-minded teens from all over North Carolina? You’re going to make friends that will last a lifetime, and they’ll be a great support network for those times you get discouraged by the tragedy of abortion (but also when you need someone to celebrate a victory with you!).  

2. Learn from the experts

At Camp Joshua, you will learn about all kinds of life issues like abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research from experienced pro-lifers. They are so excited to share their knowledge with enthusiastic teens like you!

3. It’s fun

Who doesn’t want to go to summer camp? Bring your friends and enjoy time away from home with lots of people your own age! It’s not all fun and games, of course, but in between workshops there will be lots of time for crafts, movies, outdoor games, and other activities.

4. Learn to be effective pro-life activists

Where else can you learn how to be a teen activist? Camp Joshua is geared towards you and other people your age, so we’ll have lots of advice for how to get involved in your schools and communities.

5. The world needs you

We live in a culture that values “quality of life” rather than LIFE. Our world’s unborn children, people with disabilities, terminally ill patients, and elderly adults need your voices to speak for them! While you will be told that you are the future leaders of the pro-life movement, you are leaders now! Camp Joshua is a good, safe environment for you to practice using your voice for the vulnerable among us, and you can take these skills out into the world.