Ramona Treviño - Redeemed by Grace: A Catholic Womans Journey to Planned Parenthood and Back

REDEEMED BY GRACE

A Catholic Womans Journey to
Planned Parenthood and Back

Ramona Trevio
With Roxane B. Salonen

Foreword by
Lauren Muzyka
Executive Director, Sidewalk Advocates for Life

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

Except for Mass readings, Scripture quotations have been taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, Second Catholic Edition, 2006 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The author changed the names of some of the individuals in her story in order to protect their privacy.

Cover photograph by Lorena A. Jasso

Cover design by Riz Boncan Marsella

2015 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-1-58617-914-4 (HB)
ISBN 978-1-68149-403-6 (E)
Library of Congress Control Number 2014902186
Printed in the United States of America

To my husband, Eugene, and our children,
Lorena, Savannah, Elijah, and Philip.
You make my life complete and fill every crevice
of my heart with joy.
I love you .

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

God always writes the best stories. I know, because I had the privilege of being a small part of one of his best, namely, this story about my dear friend and former Planned Parenthood manager Ramona Trevio.

On April 23, 2011, my husband, Peter, and I were attending the Easter Vigil Mass at Saint Marks Church in Plano, Texas, and it was particularly moving because of news about Ramona that I had recently received.

The readings of the Easter Vigil start at the very beginning of time, when God creates night and day, the earth, water and land, the plants and animals, and finally, man and woman. The readings continue, with glimpses of salvation history throughout the Old Testament, and while they are proclaimed, interspersed with the singing of psalms, the entire church is dark and everyone is holding candles, as if to say, We wait for the light to come.

When the readings turn to the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as told in the New Testament, the lights are thrown on in a sudden burst of brightness, the choir erupts into strains of Glory to God in the highest, and one cannot help but feel that everything is different. Its usually then that tears form in my eyes. Yes, everything is different because Christ has entered the world.

The turning of darkness into light especially tugged at my heart that night. Just a couple of months earlier, I had accepted a position with the 40 Days for Life national team as campaign strategist. My job was to advise our campaigns in North America. As a young attorney who loves grassroots pro-life work, I was elated to accept a position that would allow me to use my education, training, and background to serve people who pray in front of their local abortion centeron the front lines, you might say.

In that new capacity, I offered my prayers, support, and advice to the leaders of that forty-day spring campaign, March 9 to April 17, and was constantly in awe of all the amazing things that were happening through Gods gracefrom babies being saved to facilities closing to workers leaving the abortion business and coming to Christ. But nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful story I was about to watch unfold in the life of one Planned Parenthood abortion-referral worker, Ramona Trevio.

On April 17, the last day of the spring campaign, Gerry Brundage, the director of the 40 Days for Life in Sherman, Texas, invited me to speak at his groups closing celebration. Since Sherman is only about a forty-minute drive from my home in Dallas, and I had developed a friendship with Gerry over the phone during the campaign, I was excited to join his group.

When I arrived at the Planned Parenthood abortion-referral facility in Sherman, I was met by this incredibly kind, warmhearted, and down-to-earth man who shook my hand and welcomed me and my husband with great love. Before the event began, Gerry proceeded to share the many blessings of that campaign. Oh, by the way, he added, the manager of this facility and her coworker are thinking about leaving and have already asked us for prayers.

Wait... what? This wasnt something that happened every day. If both women left, it could mean the entire Planned Parenthood facility would shut down. I marveled that Gerry informed me of this development so matter-of-factly, with such faith, as if to say, Well, we prayed. Of course this would happen. I, however, knew this was something special. I was so excited and filled with hope that after the celebration I immediately texted the good news to our national director, David Bereit, and our campaign director, Shawn Carney.

In the days that followed, Gerry and I talked about how I might help. He forwarded me the rsums of both workers, which I proceeded to share with a small, trusted, pro-life circle in the Dallas area. Ill admit I was a bit nervous, knowing all that former Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson had gone through in her exodus from the company, as detailed in her book Unplanned . Visions of a lawsuit came to mind. After several days of circulating the two womens rsums, however, nothing seemed to pan out jobwise. I prayed and waited to hear the Lords guidance for what might be next.

It came that following Saturday night, the night of the Easter Vigil, when the church went from darkness to light. In that moment of illumination, I heard one message very clearlyone I could not ignore: What could you possibly have to be afraid of? Lauren, I want you to do more . Recognizing Gods voice in my heart, I responded from that same quiet place: Okay, Lord. I promise to do more. But I ask just one thing. Please protect me . I felt the Lords assurance, and assuming the two workers were ready, I made a commitment to do what I could to help them leave Planned Parenthood.

Gerry, what if I were to call both women to see if I could help? Would you be okay with that? I asked a few days later. He responded that he had been praying about how to move forward but hadnt gotten an answer, until that moment. Receiving the green light, I immediately turned to my friend and coworker Shawn Carney for insight. After all, he had helped Abby Johnson and would know how to proceed.

Our focus at that point was on the director, Ramona, who seemed more motivated to leave than her coworker. Shawns advice was simple but vital: Just let her talk. He encouraged me to listen carefully in order to discern whether she really wanted to make a move.

Within a few days, I was talking with Ramona by phone. Miraculously, by the grace of God, she chose to leave Planned Parenthood about a week and a half later. The Lord had already been moving in Ramona, and it did not take her long to say yes to his promptings. My role was to be a supportive sounding board as the Lord nudged her out of Planned Parenthood and into the new, abundant life awaiting her.

Because of Ramonas choice to leave and the timely decision of Texas to defund Planned Parenthood, that facility closed its doors a little more than three months later. The prayers of the 40 Days for Life in Sherman were answered beyond anything we had even dared to hope.

In the months that followed, I watched Ramona search for, sometimes struggle with, and finally find her true calling in the pro-life movement. By permitting me to be a small part of her inspiring journey, Ramona became a friend and a sister.

Ramona Trevio, you are more than just a former Planned Parenthood manager. You are a wife, a sister, a mother, a friend, and a precious daughter of God. Thank you for being courageous enough to share your journey not only with me but with the rest of the world.

I know you struggled with writing the pages that follow, but you did it because of your great hope that it could touch others who might be wondering if something better awaits them, too. No doubt many insights will come to those who read your story. And in the end, I am most proud of the fact that you did this for the glory of God. I look forward to seeing what the Lord does next in your life.