Miracles happen when you believe

Change can happen when you least expect it.

Rachel Boothby of Ireton had no idea what change would come to her life after seeing a flyer at the Orange CIty Public Library in 2018 on Guiding Star Siouxland.

Six years ago she and her husband, Pastor Michael, had recently moved to northwest Iowa from Missouri as Michael had taken a call to lead St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ireton. Rachel was pregnant with their fourth child – the first to be born in Iowa.

“I’ve always been really interested in the natural side of pregnancy and childbirth but I wasn’t sure what was available, if anything, in the area,” she said. “Then while I was at the Orange CIty library, there was a flyer for a natural childbirth class at Guiding Star Siouxland, a women’s health and wellness center. My husband and I signed up for that class through which we learned a lot of great techniques for the end of my pregnancy and that I used throughout my delivery.”

During a break in the class, Rachel took a moment to tour the facility and read other information Guiding Star had out for visitors.

“I realized this place was amazing,” she said. “It had so many wonderful resources. I knew I was going to use more services than just that class.”

Shortly after the arrival of her first child, Rachel found support through The Attic, a donation recycle shop for maternity and baby clothes. Her continued interest led her to come to the 2019 Gala and later that year say “yes” to becoming a board member.

“What I value most about Guiding Star is that it really portrays what it means to be pro-life and that such advocacy is more than a cliche,” she said. “Our  mission – to build a culture of life – is working to counter the current culture of death. Society tells women that our bodies are broken, that our natural functions are something to be ashamed of, and that to accomplish our goals, we should alter our natural functions. For us to truly change our culture to a culture of life, we believe that all women deserve to be educated and supported so that they can understand, embrace, and love their natural bodies – love their four superpowers! Young women deserve to be taught that their bodies have been created good and that there is a divine purpose in their creation and their natural functions.

“I was so excited to be part of an organization that provides such in-depth education.”

Yet, with the nonprofit’s previous executive director stepping down that same year followed by the coronavirus pandemic reaching Northwest Iowa in March of 2020, Rachel was part of the board who made the tough decision to close the physical location.

“Then the Lord made us wait,” Rachel said. “We hired Kaleigh as director in June 2020 but fundraising and donations took a hit because of the pandemic. Closing the facility was the right step financially but there were so many unknowns. We had to ask if Guiding Star had served its purpose. We were on the brink of asking The National Guiding Star Project about closing when God spoke to us through three miracles that happened close together.”

The first was that a new donor reached out with a large gift the nonprofit was not anticipating. Secondly, a member of Centerpoint Church in Sioux Center brought up the idea of using their basement as a temporary location and the board began talking about that option.Third, an abortion vulnerable mom in her second trimester had questions and reached out to Guiding Star Siouxland.

“She said we were the only resource she could find in the area when searching online for a place that could possibly answer her questions,” Rachel said. “It was a surreal moment of seeing the Holy Spirit work through those three things all at once. Being able to witness God opening these doors, letting us know Guiding Star doesn’t just have a mission but a much needed role to fill in the community. That was the answer to prayer.”

Guiding Star was blessed to open February 2022 and be based out of Centerpoint for about a year and a half before purchasing its own space in August. Moving into its own space allowed Guiding Star to re-start and add to the medical portion of its services.

“The joy and excitement of being in a building again was a really exciting time,” Rachel said. “Since then it’s been so amazing to see all that God has done, from additional staff to the additional services that we offer to the new clients we’ve added. It’s been a blessing to be a part of this story of building a culture of life in Northwest Iowa. It’s been nice for me as a stay-at-home mom to have something outside my family to be a part of but also at the same time to be a part of something so directly linked to the future that I want for my children.”

Rachel Boothby is chairman of the Guiding Star Siouxland Board of Directors. To learn more about Guiding Star Siouxland call 712-266-3282, visit www.guidingstarsiouxland.org or email info@guidingstarsiouxland.org.