NRL News
Page 18
July/August 2009
Volume 36
Issue 7-8

Justice Loves Babies, and You Will Love Darlene and Danielle
By Dave Andrusko

Almost exactly a year ago, “Justice Loves Babies” was lovingly embraced by pro-life audiences. The flood of responses puts that interview/book review among the most warmly received stories of all time. Not hard to understand why.

Written by twin sisters Darlene and Danielle Wibeto, this pro-life children’s book is almost as kind and generous and loving as the young women themselves. Our readers sensed that, and inundated my inbox with responses, both when the story appeared in Today’s News & Views and later when it ran in National Right to Life News.

(You can order Justice Loves Babies at Amazon.com, or at http://www.fotb.com/Store/Products/1000011762/All_Products/Books/General/Childrens_Resources/Justice_Loves_Babies.aspx.)

In June I renewed acquaintances with the Azusa Pacific University graduates at the National Right to Life Convention in Charlotte. I interviewed them at their booth and attended their workshop.

It is impossible not to feel better after talking with the 24-year-olds, so deep is their faith and so passionate is their conviction that God gave them this book to help raise a generation that knows that life is precious and a gift from the Author of Life.

When I wrote about the 37-page book last July, I thought I pretty much knew the full story. Boy, was I mistaken! As miraculous as the composition (and eventual publishing) was, that is only part of the story which gives new meaning to the term “Godincidences.”

The word “abortion” never appears in their book, beautifully illustrated by Sarah Atkinson. But the story of a little African-American boy named Justice, who is eagerly awaiting the birth of his baby sister, Destiny, provides children with the raw materials out of which to build a lifelong commitment to treasure life and to understand that life begins in a mother’s womb.

When we first met, Danielle explained how the idea of writing a children’s book about abortion came to her. She was sitting in her Children’s Literature class at Azusa Pacific University and they were discussing the enormous impact children’s books can have on youngsters.

“God put this book on my heart,” Danielle said. She immediately knew not only the characters and the basic storyline but also the sure knowledge that Darlene was to write the book.

They both fasted, Darlene said. “I woke up from my sleep five nights in a row and wrote the book.” That was September 2005.

The plot is deceptively simple but immensely powerful. Justice’s mother is pregnant and she tells him that his baby sister, Destiny, “is getting ready to come out any day now.” His dad is a doctor and will deliver Destiny. “Justice’s dad always tells him that each baby is one of God’s dreams.” Before he goes to bed Justice prays with his parents for Destiny and “while they pray, Justice puts his hand on Destiny.”

That night he has a nightmare and wakes up crying. He tells his mother that he dreamt “someone was trying to steal Destiny out of your belly.”

That “someone” was a man dressed the same way his physician daddy dresses, Justice explains, but “he took them out of their bellies and never gave them the chance to live.” Frightened, Justice asks for reassurance that his mother will not allow anyone to take Destiny.

She assures him she will protect Destiny but confirms that “not all babies get the chance to live like Destiny does.” His mother tells him “never stop praying for the babies.”

Unable to sleep Justice prays to God, telling him that he loves his little unborn sister and asks God to “save the babies.”

The next morning his dad tells him it is time. Justice leaps from his bed. “I’m going to help bring Destiny into the world!” he says. Soon, “Justice will be holding Destiny.”

The Wibetos conclude the book with a dedication to the parents who have lost a child to abortion. They told me it is their hope that the book will “bring healing to parents who’ve experienced the pain of abortion.”

What I didn’t fully realize was how it seemed as if the book was destined never to see the light of day. Darlene and Danielle are the first to tell you they are not marketing whizzes, and for the better part of over two years it seemed as if the book would never find a publisher or, once it had, would never roll off the presses.

As I listened to a CD of workshop, more than once a chill ran up and down my spine. Clearly this was the “rest of the story.”

Darlene explained that at a key juncture the girls were separated (Danielle had already graduated) and Darlene grew discouraged.

“There was a moment where I was about to give up on the whole thing,” Darlene told the workshop. “I was saying ‘Lord, Lord, give me one reason to push this book further because it’s such a burden.’ I’m so tired of it. I just want to rip it up and throw it into the ocean. I remember saying this to him, ‘just give me a reason.’”

At that point, the CD began to loop. Over and over again, you hear Darlene say, “it’s such a burden.’ I’m so tired of it. I just want to rip it up and throw it into the ocean. I remember saying this to him, ‘just give me a reason.’”

[Okay, Lord, I said, I get the message.]

Shortly afterwards, they were at their parents’ house for Mother’s Day, and their mother began to cry. “What’s wrong?” they asked.

“She tells us they had never planned on telling us, but that they had had an abortion before we were born,” before they were saved, Darlene said. “When we heard that it ripped our hearts like a dagger. ... Our parents had gone through years and years and years of pain.”

Although Darlene did not explicitly make the connection for the audience, it was clear to see why they now knew Justice Loves Babies needed to be written and published and distributed.

There was a lengthy series of “Godincidences” and especially lessons in timing. Darlene talked about how they found their illustrator. They knew nothing about Sarah and she knew nothing about the book.

Sarah arrived an hour late to their meeting, her little baby in tow. (Her babysitter had been unable to make it.) When she read the book, Sarah wept and wept and quickly agreed to illustrate Justice Loves Babies.

Then there is the fact that the book was originally scheduled to be printed July 7, 2007, but wasn’t. Then it was to be the very last day of 2007, but it was delayed yet again by a bomb threat at the printing company.

So when was this book whose central characters are an African-American family finally printed? The following month—to be exact, the day when the nation commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth!

“He was a voice” for African-Americans, Darlene said. “We want to be a voice” for unborn children.

As I listened to the CD, I marveled at how Darlene read their story with directness and such an almost trembling urgency that it pierces your heart. Once again, I was struck by how these two young women possess a gift that I have rarely seen surpassed. You listen to them, and nothing becomes more important than saving the lives of unborn babies.

Besides ordering the book itself (see above), you can order their workshop CD by calling either (202) 378-8842 or (202) 626-8809. And, yes, the looping problem was only in the initial duplication.