Frequently Asked Questions

• Anxiety/Anguish
• Guilt/ Regret, Nightmares /Flashbacks
• Intense Grief
• Low Self-Esteem
• Sadness/Sorrow, Anger/Rage
• Feeling of Loss/ Bitterness
• Self-Destructive Behavior, Drug and Alcohol Abuse
• Eating Disorders
• Suicidal Impulses
• Feelings of Rejection
• Difficulty with Relationships
• Shame/Secrecy
• Unable to forgive yourself and or others
• Depression/ Bouts of Crying

A time away from your daily life provides an opportunity to deeply enter the grieving process and identify all the ways your abortion may have affected you. Rachel’s Vineyard has a number of powerful exercises that allow you to speak out your grief and sorrow. The exercises help to connect participants to each other, and to the love of God. They also help participants to accept forgiveness for themselves and others.

The retreat is a lot of work, but if you are willing to journey through your grief you will experience healing. You will find meaning in what has happened and allow God to transform your experience into something that gives hope, freedom, and reconciliation.

Rachel’s Vineyard is meant to help you try to make sense of the very normal manifestation of grief. Mourning and grieving are necessary milestones that must be reached so that your life can have a new meaning. When this process is complete you will experience a fresh perspective on life. Through an intimate encounter with God, there is an opportunity to explore your life and come to know that you are loved.

Our retreats are provided free of charge. We have donors who cover the cost of each retreat. We believe at New Heart of Texas that healing should be free.

We have retreats that start on Thursday evening and end on Saturday afternoon. We also have retreats that start on Friday evening and end on Sunday afternoon.

We hold the retreats in a beautiful and secluded 10 acre Christian retreat center where the rooms and all the meals are included. We keep the location confidential to protect your privacy.

We typically have 9-11 participants and 7-8 team members that consist of a facilitator, pastor, professional counselor and other caring individuals who have experienced healing through Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats.

Please bring a set of twin sheets, your own towels and toiletries. We provide food, drinks and snacks throughout the retreat. Just let us know if you have any special dietary needs.

Please call 254-383-1717 or email [email protected] and we discuss the retreat experience with you and send the necessary forms.

Ten days before the retreat we will mail you the information about your upcoming retreat and the confidential directions to the retreat center.

Some women experience these negative effects immediately. For others, the symptoms occur years after the abortion. Sometimes women do not experience this for 10, 20, or 30 years because they are unable to deal with the deep or suppressed emotions resulting from the abortion.

Although it is natural to focus on the mother, the man who fathered the child is often overlooked. His involvement may have been direct (insisting on the abortion) or passive (allowing it to happen), or he may have been excluded from the abortion decision altogether. Many times, the natural process of grieving has been suppressed for the man whose child has been aborted. Unable to accept his part of the loss, he cannot begin to experience healing and forgiveness.

We would encourage you to call us if you have experienced any of the following symptoms after the loss of a child to abortion–

• Emotional: Unresolved feelings of grief, guilt, sadness, anger or unchecked rage
• Psychological: Difficulty making/keeping commitments, discomfort around babies or small children, sexual addiction, extramarital affairs
• Behavioral: Multiple job changes, alcohol or substance abuse, disengagement from church or social involvement.
• Spiritual: Sense of separation from God, loss of interest/avoidance of religious services, diminished contact with church friends

You can help in one of two ways:

• Donate today to New Heart of Texas Ministries
• Sign up to volunteer at one of our retreats