Swimming Up Stream

By Emily Limbaugh

“Free condoms, free pizza” was the chant echoed through the hallway as I walked into a dorm at a local university. I was there to speak on the topic of STDs, but it was at that moment that I realized I really had no idea what I was up against.

Over the last four weeks, this particular university had hosted forums about a myriad of topics related to sex. Each week the students are given free condoms and pizza as an incentive to participate. I had the fortune of speaking the week after a representative from a local abortion clinic spoke on the importance of contraception. She was a big hit. The presenter made condom balloons and passed out truck loads of free contraception. At the time, I thought to myself, “How was I supposed to follow that? Great, I was about to tell them how ineffective their precious condoms are and how ‘safe sex’ is truly a myth. I was about to be the ‘Debbie Downer’ who was there to put a damper on their sex parade. It was inevitable. They were going to kill me. I just knew it.”

I have to be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve been afraid to make a presentation. I eat this stuff up! “Please don’t let them laugh at me,” became my prayer as I cried out to God. “There’s not one person in this room who believes what I am about to say. Please give me the strength to speak this message and not back down.”

I grew more discouraged as I listened to the organizers openly talk about their own sex lives and the importance of contraception, with no regard to marriage or the consequences of sex outside of marriage. They actually joked as students grabbed condoms by the fistful. “Oh, I didn’t know Suzie was having sex.”

As I set up my laptop and Power-Point projector on a pool table, I had to gently move piles of condoms, spermicide and personal lubricants to make room for my equipment. The irony was incredible as I began to speak about a change in mind-set instead of an influx of contraception while my projector lay resting on a pile of pina colada flavored condoms. This was going to be an interesting night.

To my surprise, the students actually seemed receptive. Some students appeared to be slightly confused as I negated some theories that previous speakers presented as ‘truths.’ Still, the majority of the students appeared eager to know more. The organizers, however, appeared to be thinking, “Who called her??!”

Following the talk, one girl approached me and shared that her friends had been pressuring her to go ahead and have sex with her boyfriend. “Emily, I’m not ready yet,” was her plea to me. I reassured her that she was making an excellent decision to wait and she thanked me for coming. I honestly don’t know what kind of impact I made that night, but that one comment was enough to make me feel that God had been glorified.

As you can see, we, as Christians, have our work cut out for us. Please continue to pray for the Best Choice Sexual Integrity Program here at the Pregnancy Resource Centers as we dive into the pool of sexual depravity in our local middle schools, high schools and universities in order to speak the truth about premarital sex to young people.

Emily Limbaugh is the Best Choice Sexual Integrity Program Coordinator for the St. Louis Pregnancy Resource Centers. To find out more about the Best Choice Abstinence Education Program and how you can help in this ministry call (314) 783-3040 X-229 or e-mail her at emilylimbaugh@prcmo.net.