Janice Chan is a new volunteer at Choose Hope Women’s Center. She shares her life story as a testimony to what God has done in her life and as encouragement to others.
In her youth, Janice made unfortunate choices and suffered consequences. As a teenager, she dated and eventually married a man who was addicted to steroids and very volatile. Because this man adamantly did not want children, Janice aborted two pregnancies. After divorcing him, Janice married another man, an alcoholic who was verbally and physically abusive. This marriage also ended in divorce.
Years later, Janice’s life began to improve. Her third marriage, to her husband, Paul, provided her with the love and stability that her earlier relationships lacked. Although she had once given up on the idea that she would ever be a mother, Janice and Paul have two children together. When Janice became a Christian, she came face to face with the reality of her abortions and found peace with God as she learned to forgive herself and to accept God’s forgiveness. This experience planted a seed in her which eventually led her to volunteer at Choose Hope Women’s Center.
Although Janice is new to Choose Hope Women’s Center, she is not new to serving others. She has served in the U.S. Navy, taught children with special needs, cared for her own children as a stay-at-home mother, and volunteered as the mission team coordinator for Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries, an orphanage and school in Honduras. In the last few years, she has felt a pull to help women who are considering abortion to understand that they have better options. Here at Choose Hope Women’s Center, Janice has found a place to “love, serve, honor and support women and men who are in dire circumstances,” without judgment. Janice desires to help other women escape the emotional and spiritual consequences of abortion that she suffered, while helping them realize the gift of life they have been given.
Janice’s advice for others considering volunteering at Choose Hope Women’s Center: “Do it! If you feel led to be serving with love and compassion and to pour out hope, then this is the place to do it.”