Meet Audra Shim

In short, I grew up in a polytheistic home that didn’t value children or men. I got pregnant when I was 16, and upon finding out my mom quickly scheduled my abortion and organized payment with my boyfriend. I reluctantly aborted 3 days before my 17th birthday. My baby was 10 weeks in the womb.  I gave my life to Christ 3 years later after joining the Air Force.

Fast forward 10 years and two children later, I began volunteering at the pregnancy care center in Ogden, Utah. Here, God revealed to me the spiritual bondage I was living in and the unforgiveness I was harboring against my mother. After completing the post abortive counseling and education class (PACE), I experienced freedom for the first time!

During this past Released Retreat, to be honest, I had no expectations going in and wasn’t sure until the last night of the retreat why God had me there. When Sherrie taught on “mantles,” I finally understood why I had clung to certain women throughout my adult life, why I had served in the children’s ministry for so long, and why I was passionate about speaking into the lives of children. It was because of the value those women had placed on the seed.  A value that wasn’t present in my family lineage for as far back as I knew.

When leaving the prophetic session, I received the word “Forgiven.”  I have to admit…I was a little bummed with my word.  I knew I was forgiven, but I also knew it was not by accident that I received that word.  So I started praying that God would reveal it to me. There was excitement in the air that night when I joined my small discussion group.  Everyone talked about their prophetic “words” and came into agreement with them.  Except me…I kept mine tucked away in my bag. The next day at lunch my sister-in-law asked me what my word was and with little excitement I said “Forgiven.”  I pulled it out of my bag and my group read it, reread it, and sat there perplexed. “That word wasn’t meant for you. It was meant for you to give to someone else,” said a member of my group.  This statement was the first piece of the puzzle that God would start fitting together.

Later that afternoon while packing up to return home, my sister-in-law brought up her local pregnancy resource center and how my brother (a pro-choice advocate) was now serving on the board. His lack of statistical knowledge on how many abortions happen due to rape and incest fuels his belief that women should have a choice.  On the car ride home, my testimony was brought up, which included my own abortion and how God had delivered me from the spiritual bondage I had placed myself in as a result of having it.  I told my group that I knew there would be a different outlook on abortion if women started speaking out about their own bondage.

 

The day after the retreat I found myself in a place of prayer about my word, “forgiven.”  If I’m going to be truly honest it was more like sulking.  Asking God “Why couldn’t I have had a cool word like beloved, vessel, or treasured one?” (all words my group members had received).  As quickly as I asked the question, God laid all the puzzle pieces together. The reason for my revelation on the mantle of valuing the seed, the numerous discussions on abortion over the weekend, the prophetic word I had received - “I want those women to know they are FORGIVEN.”  Talk about a gut punch!  God actually wanted to use me!  After the sobbing subsided, I was ready to JUMP.  I’m ready for God to use me and my testimony to set women free from the strongholds of abortion, so that they can fully live in the freedom that comes in Christ. 


**Audra's "JUMP" was to facilitate a Women's Study called "Surrendering the Secret."  We encourage any woman who has experienced the trauma of abortion to attend one of these studies as they come available in the future! **

Sincerely,

Audra Shim