Day 16… Thank you to Lincoln Place Church of the Nazarene and all who came to pray and witness today!

These words ring true from the Gospel of John. Jesus is the Light of the World, Creator, Sustainer of all living things. He is in control and has everything in the palm of His hand. Nothing is ever hidden from His sight. We know His Word says in John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. A lot of us have this verse on our 40 Days For Life shirts. The darkness sometimes seems to be all around us at times but Jesus’ light comes shining through brightly in all who come to pray and witness on the sidewalk with us. We see it in the faces of Moms who stop by with their children and babies in strollers. In the little conversations we have with passersby on the sidewalk. It is in sharing the help and resources that the Pregnancy Resource Centers like Birthright, East Liberty Women’s Care Center and Women’s Choice Network provide. The free ultrasounds that are available. It seems that most people are ignorant to the help that is out there. We only know what we know until we learn something different or Jesus changes our paradigm. The conversations on the sidewalk are such a blessing. God always provides us opportunities to pray for all those who pass by us. How beautiful that we can love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. The persecution may come in words and gestures, but we don’t take it personally. Our response is to pray for those who are being led astray by the enemy and father of lies, Satan. In John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. How great is our God! In this culture of death, His light breaks through and shines brightly. It truly is a blessing to be on the sidewalk. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard and we can have many excuses not to go but we go. The weather will not be great tomorrow but my prayer is that it will hinder those going in to PP. So we weather the storm and persist and persevere. Not in our own strength but the strength that Jesus gives us. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Will you join us to save lives? Abortion is the modern day holocaust. It’s hard to fathom that 64 million babies have been aborted since 1973. A lost generation. How sad our Lord must be. When our grandkids are grown and realize the atrocity of abortion and ask us, “What did you do to stop this?” we can confidently say we stood on the frontlines in this battle with the Armor of God. We know the battle belongs to the Lord. We care more about pleasing and glorifying God than man. We do NOT believe the lie that abortion is health care. How absurd is that! Health care is about saving lives, not taking them. Common sense isn’t so common anymore. According to a recent write up form Women’s Choice Network, the abortion pill accounts for more than 55% of abortions now. How can that be safe for women at home with no medical oversight? Abortion IS an attack on women. Come and join us on the sidewalk. God will bless your yes.

Heavenly Father, you are the light that pierces the darkness. Nothing is hidden from your sight. You are Sovereign over all and our times are in your hands. We give you glory for this work you have called us to for such a time as this. Forgive us for the times we choose comfort over obedience. Help us to step forward in confidence knowing you go before us, beside us and behind us. Lord we are in awe of the revival that broke out in Asbury and the parallels from the Asbury revival in the 70’s. The similarities are astounding that the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in the 70’s and then revival broke out and here we are in 2023, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl again, Asbury Revival broke out, and then the Jesus Revolution movie was released. We know that is your hand. Lord let this revival continue and spread to the secular colleges & schools. Let it spread across our land and to each and every heart. Let it be so, Lord. Thank you for this young generation of believers who are on fire with the Holy Spirit. We pray that the church would be true to You and not cower to please man. Lord we pray that the church would not disregard people the enemy has slandered. We know you use the most unlikely people to accomplish your purposes. May we glorify you in all we say and do this day and everyday. We ask all this in the Mighty Name of Jesus, our Rock, Redeemer, Defender and Friend on who we can always depend. Amen.

~Donna

Conrad M & Sue D 7-9

A cold morning opened up to a beautiful sunny day on the sidewalk. Conrad and I said the Rosary and Divine Mercy. Many workers entered the building. A couple that was offered help and alternatives to abortion…and several single women. A lovely homeless couple stopped and requested a rosary. They stayed to pray one decade with Conrad and I and we chatted a little with them. Anthony was downtown and also stopped to pray the first two decades with us. The next shift arrived and our time seemed to end quickly today.

Meredith & Lincoln Place Church of the Nazarene 9-11

Fortunately, my friend Karen joined me for a second time this week as shift manager Judy S was called away for an emergency. 

Chuck, who many of you know, joined us, as did Maggie.

Karen got to speak to a client who was there for a gynecologist appointment. The woman said she hadn’t thought about how her visit there supported their abortion business. Planting seed!

I spoke to a young man on his way back to Planned Parenthood from getting drinks somewhere for himself and the woman he was with. He was not supportive of her plan to abort and said he was still trying to talk her out of it. I sensed God’s Spirit strongly as we prayed fervently for him to succeed.

We had a surprising amount of support from passersby today.

Grateful for the sunshine even though it was cold!

Don’t give up! I watched a documentary called The Voice of John yesterday. And I felt encouraged by the testimony of Carol Everett, former abortionist. Who knows if Kim and others from our local Planned Parenthood won’t be called out by God.

Lisa K, Beth Ann & Friends 11-1

Today was an eventful shift.   We arrived to learn of a couple who was inside, so we prayed for them.  Several people went in and came out of PP, most of whom were polite and not angry.  Beth Ann and Angi even heard a passerby say to his friend something like, “Can you believe they can’t stand inside the circle?  Isn’t that the dumbest thing you ever heard?”  We kind of chuckled at how right he was.  Then late in our shift, a young man came by and unexpectedly knocked over the fetal models.  He spoke angrily to Beth Ann and Angi on one side, and to Maggie and me on the other.  His words were threatening (he said he was going to “REALLY mess some stuff up”) so we alerted the security guard.  Unfortunately, a passerby started calling things out to him that he probably thought were helpful, but it just made the young man angrier.  The young man then went into PP’s lobby and ranted there for a while at us.  When he came back out, the security guard told him he had to place the fetal models back onto the table.  The young man did it, all the while spouting angry words that showed his misunderstanding of what the models were.  He then yelled various insults at us as he slowly made his way down the sidewalk, but he was not really going away, until the security guard told him he needed to leave.  The four of us women remained calm and silent and took photos and video.  All of us were safe.  We later learned that he was headed back toward PP after we left.  I’m not sure what transpired at the next shift.

Carolyn, Cecilia & Friends 1-3

Thanks to Ed & Maggie for joining us today! Fortunately I could get this picture in before my phone died.

Since Ed was doing a great job handing out material on his side, I stayed on the other side to hand out material.

Maggie and I had the chance to get into conversation with a young lady who at first shamed us for not accepting that a woman can make her own choice. She slowed down and then stopped to talk with us when we tried to engage with her.  In our Bible study today we just talked about how many women are pressured to abort their child and so it’s really not her choice. So I told this lady how we are there to let her know that we will help and support her. She softened up and Maggie was able to rattle off statistics along with other helpful information before the lady had to leave. Thanks, Maggie!

God bless Father Jim who was willing to come down to the vigil on his own, but I didn’t want to leave him Carolyn hanging…

An angry tall thin man poured a liquid over our sidewalk materials as he quickly walked by. We wiped things down and will keep him in prayer. So many hurting people…

Thank God for a beautiful sunny day!

Pete, Nikki, Christina & Barbara 3-5

Beautiful blue sky above, calm with no wind and sunshine! Another beautiful time to pray and witness! Thank you so much to Pete and Barb for being here during the last shift of the day. We pray that seeds were planted, and our prayers were heard.