“Present yourselves to God… as weapons of righteousness.” Romans 6:13
When praying at an abortion mill, you may not think much about your effectiveness. There are days when maybe you don’t see any fruits of your labor. But this passage from St. Paul encourages us to realize that as long as you present yourself to God, He will use you as a “weapon of righteousness.” Some translations have the word as “instrument,” but those of us who engage regularly at the mills recognize that it is indeed a battle worthy of weapons. But even if you are not at an abortion mill today, you can still be a weapon used by the Lord to free people from darkness. In “The Word Among Us” the author writes, “So today, put your whole body to work for the Lord. Use your eyes to be on the lookout for anyone who needs encouragement. Use your tongue to speak words of kindness. Use your hands and arms to embrace someone who is feeling alone or overwhelmed. Use your feet to offer quick assistance with any problems you run across. Offer your ears if someone needs to ‘vent’ about a problem. Most important, offer your mind to understand the best way you can help the people around you. Whether you realize it or not, a spiritual battle is going on around you - a battle for the souls of God’s children. And while God is certainly big enough to fight his own battles, he offers you the privilege, the honor, and the calling to join him.” www.wau.org News from the last two Thursday Forest View vigils: ** On Thursday, October 17, we estimate that ONE child was lost to abortion at Forest View. ** ONE couple chose LIFE! A young couple pulled into the lot at 8:15 am. The man exited, but the woman sat in the car. The man refused to talk to Terry, our early morning sidewalk counselor. But our faithful prayer warriors, Kate and Yvonne, stayed strong. They stood on the sidewalk in view of the girl in the car holding up a sign for free help and one of a beautiful baby and they prayed… hard! About a half hour later the couple drove off without ever having entered Forest View. Glory to God! ** On Thursday, October 24, we estimate that EIGHT women made a “choice” that will change their lives forever. ** One young black man, Michael, stopped to talk to Laura after his girlfriend rushed towards the clinic. He told her that they were just there “getting information” because the girlfriend’s mom wants her to get the abortion since they already have a 4 month old baby. However, Michael wanted to keep the baby. Laura gave him counseling materials and encouraged him to “get information” from the Women’s Center where they will get real choices. He walked to his girlfriend who was waiting at the door and a loud exchange could be heard. Sadly, they entered the clinic and were not seen again until 3 ½ hours later. The woman was completely out of it and could barely walk. Michael looked shell-shocked, but thanked us for our concern. ** We were able to pass out 3 Project Rachel (www.hopeafterabortion.org) brochures that day. One was to a sobbing teen girl. I approached the car as they exited. Her mother was driving and the girl was crying uncontrollably. I told her that God still loves her and gave her a rose with the Project Rachel brochure. The mother sat stone-faced, but I reached out to her saying, “You’re going to help her through this, right?” The mom acknowledged with a nod. I pray that the “help” she gives in the future won’t be to drive her daughter to kill a baby. ** A 4th Project Rachel was almost accepted thanks to one of our faithful prayer warriors who has been willing to stay past 1:00 pm for those who leave later. Gary reported that the young woman appeared to be in pain and both were quiet, “almost as if they were in shock.” Thank you for being there as one of God’s powerful weapons, Gary. Even though they did not stop, you showed them love and hope. PRAY FOR THESE FOREST VIEW EMPLOYEES - Nancy: Office manager and post-abortive woman - Dr. Goyal: owner and operator of Forest View and 4 other suburban and 1 Chicago abortion mill - Samantha: Was “just answering phones” as a way to make money for culinary school 3 years ago when we first met her. Now she has quit school and appears to be thoroughly invested in the business of abortion. - *Carmen: New employee, cashier, Catholic - *Amber: New employee, Nurse’s assistant, Phlebotomist, Finds abortion “interesting,” refused abortion for her own unplanned pregnancy. - Brenda: Her boyfriend told us she does not want to work there anymore and is looking for a new job. - *Unknown “nurse:” She has been sarcastic to us in the past, often sent out to bring back couples back in. *Three starred have a copy of the Abby Johnson letter.
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“Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)
The Psalmist does not add “except in cases of rape” and neither can we. Unfortunately, in our culture, children conceived in rape are considered anything but a “gift” or “reward.” They are considered a problem to be gotten rid of; their humanity is completely ignored. I felt compelled to speak out about this after two weeks in a row I was asked the same question from passers-by at the Thursday vigil, “What about rape?” As pro-lifers we get this question a lot, and we need to be ready with a compassionate and factual response. Father Pavone wrote a brief article which you can read here: www.priestsforlife.org/articles/rapeandabortion.html. To summarize, we have great compassion and concern for the well-being of the rape victim. It is exactly this concern that drives our pro-life view. An abortion does not “un-rape” the victim or take away the emotional trauma. On the contrary, it only adds to the damage, because now she has become the perpetrator of another crime against an innocent human. Research shows that as much as 98% of rape victims who have an abortion regret their decision. “In Victims and Victors (Acorn Books, 2000), a book written by David Reardon, Amy Sobie, and Julie Makimma, 192 women were interviewed. These women had had abortions after they became pregnant from rape. Nearly all the women said that they regretted the abortion, and over 90% said they would discourage other rape victims from choosing abortion.” www.angelfire.com/nj3/rebekah8370 . Through the Psalmist, God makes it abundantly clear how He views ALL children; they are a gift, a reward. As pro-life advocates, we must share this truth and the truth about how abortion harms women, especially those most vulnerable women who have been victims of rape. Here is a link to an organization devoted to shining a light on the tragedy of killing children because of the crimes of their father: www.savethe1.com News from the last three Thursday Forest View vigils: ** On Thursday, September 26th, we estimate that TEN babies died by “choice” at Forest View. ** Our 7:00 am counselor, Terry, was able to talk to many of the people who arrived, but sadly, no one would take him up on the offer of a free ultrasound and free help. ** We met a new employee named Carmen. She was happy to talk on her way out of Forest View. She is young (20ish) and putting herself through school. She told me that she is only the cashier. I pointed out that the money she accepts is blood money from the deaths of children. This made her pause. I gave her one of the HLA newspapers and the Abby Johnson letter for clinic workers (http://www.attwn.org/wp-content/themes/attwn-child/images/attwn-onepage-lightbackground.pdf). I believe that God is using us to open the hearts of these employees. Our goal is to “pray” them out of the clinic. To this end, we will be providing a list of the employees we have had contact with, so you can help pray them out! (See below) Thank you! ** It is so important to be there for the employees. We have been blessed that most of the employees of Forest View have been kind to us. Read about how the kindness of prayer warriors at an abortion mill converted Norma McCorvey (“Roe” from Roe v. Wade) here: http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/4419-an-interview-with-norma-mccorvey-in-the-diocese-of-austin-tx ** On Thursday, October 3, we estimate that FOUR women paid to have the lives inside them ended. ** Vera came out after her abortion and stood waiting for her ride. Laura approached her to ask how she was doing. She was very appreciative as Laura gave her a Project Rachel brochure and information about the Women’s Center for the future. We consider it a very important part of our ministry to be there for the post-abortive women who too often feel abandoned and worthless. **On Thursday, October 10, we estimate that FIVE unrepeatable lives were lost. ** A young couple arrived, the girl ran immediately to the door of Forest View. The young man sat in the car appearing distraught. Laura called out repeatedly to him, but he ignored her and walked in. A few minutes later they both came out. They talked tearfully at the door while Laura continued to offer hope and help. Unfortunately, a woman we believe is a nurse came out of Forest View and brought them back in. They were not seen again until 2:00 pm looking very sad and quiet. ** Remember Amber, the new employee I spoke to a few weeks ago who finds the procedure “interesting”? She came out to enjoy the beautiful weather last Thursday. I began talking to her about fetal development and inquiring at what point, in her opinion, abortion is wrong. She chose 15 weeks because “they can sometimes tell whether it’s a boy or girl” at that stage in development. I told her that the gender is actually determined at the moment of conception whether we know it or not and gave her a brochure on the milestones of early life. I left her alone as she sat there reading it intently. Then I felt called to approach her one more time to share an article in the HLA newspaper about how abortion hurts women. She was very open to accepting the newspaper and again sat there reading it. I praise God for the opportunity to reach out to her and pray that seeds planted will grow and flourish. PRAY FOR THESE FOREST VIEW EMPLOYEES - Nancy: Office manager and post-abortive woman - Dr. Goyal: owner and operator of Forest View and 4 other suburban and 1 Chicago abortion mill - Samantha: Was “just answering phones” as a way to make money for culinary school 3 years ago when we first met her. Now she has quit school and appears to be thoroughly invested in the business of abortion. - *Carmen: New employee, cashier, Catholic - *Amber: New employee, Nurse’s assistant, Phlebotomist, Finds abortion “interesting,” refused abortion for her own unplanned pregnancy. - Brenda: Her boyfriend told us she does not want to work there anymore and is looking for a new job. - *Unknown “nurse:” She has been sarcastic to us in the past, often sent out to bring back couples back in. *Three starred have a copy of the Abby Johnson letter. Visit the web page http://www.attwn.org/for-sidewalk-counselors/ for a copy. |
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