Please help bring Return to Zero to theaters!

Dear Friends & Family, 

As you may already know, I have volunteered to be a "local leader" to promote the new film, Return to Zero. This film, starring Minnie Driver, is the first ever created with stillbirth as its central theme. The writers/producers have created a beautiful and touching film that will change how people view stillbirth and the effect it has on parents, relationships, families, and communities. The story is very similar to ours. A happy couple loses their child right before he's supposed to be born and they must overcome their grief to save their relationship and build a family together.

As a local leader, I am spreading the word to help bring this film to theaters. While the film will be shown at many popular film festivals, the writers/producers have to "prove" that there is an audience large enough to justify bringing it to theaters. This is where YOU can help! Below is a link to make a "pledge" to see this film when it is released. You are not being asked to pledge money, just to pledge to see the film opening weekend (which has yet to be determined). The goal is to have 150,000 signatures by June 20th. Your signature will help bring the film to theaters and provide an avenue of healing for many.

Here are some thoughts from the writer/producer's wife:

"I think this film is turning out to be an opportunity for healing. I never connected with any support groups after losing our son, but now I am seeing the similarities in experiences with others who have lost babies, and I don't feel so alone. I am now committed to bringing awareness and education to the community so that change can happen. I hope you too will find connection with others that will help you heal."
~ Kiley Hannish

Please watch this three minute video to learn more about Return to Zero and then click the link below to make your pledge!

Watch the three minute video about RTZ here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gq7OL-0fs4&feature=youtu.be

Make your pledge to see RTZ in theaters here:*
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HqU43R7iij8WJt1bavZkmjhmPdci56qakUUKt2VfvWg/viewform?pli=1
*Please list me, Emily Werner, as your local leader (even if you don't live near me, it helps RTZ track how you heard about the film!)

By pledging to see Return to Zero in theaters on opening weekend when it shows in your community, you will prove to Hollywood that that there is an audience for a film about this difficult, but important, subject matter.

In their memory!

~ Emily

To sign up to be a local leader in YOUR community, click here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jQsys3eU7ZndUgbdMvcDiqrgQPmREFRmb_1kvl0YhWw/viewform?pli=1

Visit RTZ on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/returntozerofilm

Visit the RTZ website here:
http://www.returntozerothemovie.com/

Eighteen Months Home

Eighteen months!  We have been home eighteen months today and Galina is absolutely thriving!  She is such a miracle!  We are so proud of her and how well she has transitioned, first, to her new family and, then, to her new city.  We have had some bumps, but overall she is doing great and we couldn't be happier!

We have settled into life in Wyoming and Galina has two new very special friends here, also adopted from Russia, who have been such a blessing in her life.  We are in awe at how God set up their friendship.  These two little girls are like big sisters and dote on her every chance they get.  Here they are at church together on a Sunday morning (Galina has a mint in her mouth, lol):

Incidentally, this weekend is Mother's Day, which, if I'm honest, is actually my real motivation for writing today.  Ben, Abby, Zach and Galina "Hope" all made me a mom and changed my life forever.  I am truly amazed when I think about it.  God has done such a miracle in our lives through each of our children and I am so, so thankful for all of them.  I hope someday to share my whole story, but it seems almost impossible to put into words everything God has done.  I know He will give me the words when the time is right.  Instead, I'd like to share some thoughts about Mother's Day ...

Mother's Day is a very difficult time for many women.  This is something close to my heart.  For years I ached to be able to stand up in church when all the mothers were recognized and I struggled through the lonliness of infertility and then, again, the heartache of my first few Mother's Days after Abby died.  Here is a little something I wrote and shared in church one Mother's Day in the early years of in my grief.  Please read and pray about what you can do for the women in your life who need a special touch this year:

Mother's Day is a celebration of motherhood, but for some it is a painful reminder of what they don't have. Whether due to miscarriage, stillbirth, death of a child at any age, giving up a child for adoption, or even abortion, many women hurt deeply on Mother's Day over the loss of a child. Some mothers hurt today because their children have chosen a life of drugs or abuse or have simply rejected them. And then there are the motherless children, young and old, who hurt because they are missing their mothers today. Some hurt because their mothers have died and others hurt because their mothers are merely absent from their lives. Either way, it is painful.

There is another category of those who hurt on Mother's Day that is often overlooked: those who long to be mothers, but are struggling with infertility, or even those who are single and long to be married so they can start a family, but are forced to wait because they haven't found "the one". Needless to say, for many, Mother's Day is a painful time. A lot of these women choose to avoid going to church on Mother's Day for this reason. And the brave who do come often feel isolated and invisible in their pain. It is important that we remember those who are missing their children or mothers today, for whatever reason, and those who long to be mothers but feel like that day will never come. We remember and honor you today.

When my daughter died, the Lord gave me many verses to comfort me. One of them was Psalm 56:8, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." I also remembered that Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with the bitterest grief. He knew my pain and longed to comfort me. But Isaiah 53:3-5 says, "We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way when He went by. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrow that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped and we were healed."

God lost His own Son. At times that didn't comfort me. I thought, "He is God! He can handle it. I'm human. It's different." (And He got his Son back pretty quickly). But a close friend, who also lost a child at birth, made a very good point that proved that God does know the deep pain of losing a child -- every person who rejects Him is lost to Him forever -- a precious child who will be separated from Him for eternity. I will see my daughter again and there will be no more tears and no more pain on that day. Those who reject Him, He loses forever.

No matter what your situation, God sees your tears. He knows your heart. He hears your pain. And He longs to comfort you. Lamentations 3:31-33 says, "For the Lord does not abandon anyone forever. Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion according to the greatness of His unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow." He loves you and wants to care for you. I pray today that you will give your pain and sorrow over to Him and allow Him to be your strength.

Some tips for helping hurting moms and others who are grieving on Mother's Day (or for yourself, if you are grieving a loss):

*Create an online memorial or scrapbook (or offer to help create one)
*Buy a special gift in memory of the lost loved one (gifts with the lost loved one's name are especially meaningful)
*Keep the lost loved one's memory alive through pictures, stories, memorials, etc. and keep talking about him/her 
*Plant a tree or flowers in memory of the lost loved one
*Pray for the person who is grieving, even if it is yourself
*Reach out and volunteer in your church or community or do random acts of kindness in the lost loved one's memory
*Send an email to Heaven (name@heaven.com) and print it to give to the lost loved one's family to show that you remembered
*Celebrate the lost loved one's life and do things to keep their memory alive such as remembering special dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)
*Wear something special to remember the lost loved one
*Send an email or card to those you know will have a difficult Mother's Day
*Mention the lost loved one's name and don't be afraid to bring up the loss
*Encourage the grieving to talk and be willing to listen and care

For more tips on how to help grieving moms (and dads), please visit:

http://www.firstcandle.org/grieving-families/friends-relatives/

In Memory of Abigail Graceland Werner 

♥ November 29, 2006 ♥

www.abigail-werner.memory-of.com

And our tiny baby, Zach,
miscarried on June 24, 2008
Never forgotten!
♥♥♥