Teens Speak Out

If you think that teenage pregnancy only affects girls... think again.  Adam Radloff's life seemed
to be perfect.  He was a varsity wrestler, playing in the band, had a great girlfriend, and was doing
well in school.  His life was headed in the right direction.  Then, his girlfriend got pregnant and his once picture perfect world was shattered.  When
he found out, he was surprised and his parents were devastated.  Adams time is now consumed with planning for the family he will soon begin.  His world is no longer "all about me" Adam knows that there will be a lot of rocks and bumps in the road ahead of him, but he accepts the responsibility of the choices he has made

At 14 years old the last thing you want to think about is becoming a mother.  Your life is all about boys, sports, dances, and the latest trends.  For Kerah Lerdahl, these are the very least of her concerns.  Kerah will give birth to a baby boy, Jacob Ryan Lerdahl, in may of 2002.  Her greatest fear is not being a good mother and being an expectant teen has forced Kerah to grow up at a very young age.  Throughout Kerah's pregnancy, her family has been very supportive.  Kerah used to look at pregnant teenage girls and think that their situation was sad and that they shouldn't have been having sex in the first place.  Now, Kerah knows first hand what it's like to have other "people look down on you, when they don't even know the whole story."  Kerah is living proof that you can get pregnant the first time you have sex.  Kerah planned to remain abstinent and know she knows that would have been the best choice.  Her advice to teens? "Wait.  No matter what, you could get pregnant the first time or the last time."

As a senior guy who is a talented varsity football player, Kelly Wohlwend is no less than familiar with the temptations and opportunities to have sex outside of marriage.  Thanks to the encouragement from his family and the religious influences in his life, Kelly had been able to overcome these temptations.  Kelly is currently involved in a relationship that has been going on for almost 5 years.  He and his girlfriend have set very strict physical boundaries in their relationship to protect themselves from the temptations that every teenager faces.  Kelly knows that if he puts himself in a situation where he would be tempted that he would more than likely give in to his hormones and do something he would regret forever.  He believes that sex was designed by God for reproductive purposes and for a husband and wife to enjoy within the marriage covenant.  Kelly doesn't feel like he is missing out on anything.  "I know that sex will be so much better when I'm married, because I will be rewarded for waiting," Kelly said.  Most of Kelly's friends respect his decision to wait.  He says, "if they don't respect me it's because they are jealous of my decision to wait, and they wish they had waited.  If my kids make the decision not to wait, they must be able to handle the long and heavy consequences of raising a child."