Dear Friend of Life:
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” – Psalm 118:24
This is a historical day for all of us at Sidewalk Advocates for Life! Today, April 1, 2014, begins our international Sidewalk Advocacy program!
We’re on the brink of an incredible adventure …and even though we have NO IDEA what to expect, we know it will be amazing, simply because the Lord is behind it!
As you know our MISSION is to “to train, equip, and support local communities across the United States and the world in ‘sidewalk advocacy:’ to be the hands and feet of Christ, offering loving, life-affirming alternatives to all present at the abortion center, thereby eliminating demand and ending abortion.”
So, today — or soon after — Sidewalk Advocates in our 22 locations hit the pavement, in hopes of peacefully and lovingly encouraging abortion-bound mothers & fathers to CHOOSE LIFE for their preborn children!
Here’s what you can do to help!
1. Once-a-week, we will be sending out a beautiful story or introduction to one of our local programs around the world, as well as sharing an inspirational devotional from one of our staff members or Program Advisors (also available on our website at www.sidewalkadvocates.org under PRAY or BLOG)! Please consider taking a moment to pray with us through the devotional.
2. If you are near one of the participating locations (see www.sidewalkadvocates.org/
3. Pray daily for Sidewalk Advocates for Life – for our Sidewalk Advocates, National team, Program Advisors, local teams, locations and all of the clients they will come in contact with. Pray for lives to be saved, hearts to be transformed, workers to leave the business and abortion facilities to close!
Meanwhile, let’s take a peak at what’s going on at one of our SAFL locations …and let’s start this journey together in PRAYER!
Kathy Forck is one of the most well-known pro-life leaders in the Midwest, due to her great leadership of the Midwest March for Life and 40 Days for Life-Columbia, MO. We are so blessed to have Kathy as the new Program Director for SAFL-Columbia, MO! Kathy prays and sidewalk counsels several days a week in front of her local Planned Parenthood facility, offering loving, life-affriming alternatives to abortion and Planned Parenthood. Because of God’s grace and Kathy’s YES, she has witnessed to many lives saved and many hearts transformed over the years!
We asked Kathy a few questions about why she decided to get involved with Sidewalk Advocates for Life and how it has already blessed her! Here’s what she had to say…
1. How did you hear of Sidewalk Advocates for Life and why did you decide to join us?
“I decided to join because I felt that our sidewalk counselors needed more training …this seemed to be right up our alley! I have had conversations with Lauren about different techniques, and I was taken by her calm and friendly way of getting to the heart of the woman!”
2. What makes you most excited about this new program? How do you think it will bless and complement your current pro-life efforts?
“I am most excited about the program because it has given me and my team a whole new perspective on sidewalk counseling. We were doing the same thing and needed to up our game a little bit. The DVDs were so interesting and held our attention. We could not believe that the four hours were up! It left us clamoring for more and left us eager to get out on the sidewalk and try what we had learned. No one said that they couldn’t do it, instead everyone was excited about the prospect of trying out the techniques.”
3. What is one blessing you’ve already experienced as a result of joining Sidewalk Advocates for Life?
“This will definitely bless and complement our current pro-life efforts …we have a presence at the sidewalk each day Planned Parenthood is open. With this DVD (training), I know that I will be able to garner the attention of others who will also want to become Sidewalk Advocates. I am already scoping out some of our new recruits to the sidewalk and offering them the opportunity to do more with the gift of being part of Sidewalk Advocate for Life!”
“The whole training gave us such confidence and was easy to follow. We saw results right away in the increase of clients taking our information and we have referred several to the pregnancy resource clinic across the street.”
UPDATE: Kathy and her team have already experienced two confirmed babies saved and many more who left the abortion facility for the local pregnancy center! She says they are now giving out about six times as much literature as before!
4. What would you say to others who are considering the program? How do you think it could help them save lives and transform hearts?
“I would encourage everyone who has a heart and passion to do more for the unborn and has been thinking about getting involved more deeply to consider this program. It is one of the best I have ever seen. It tells one pretty much all they need to do and it is a replicable method that is very easy and will yield results. I know that it will help them to save lives and transform hearts because we have seen it already on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood.”
5. Anything else you’d like to share?
“I can see the vision Lauren & SAFL has of having trained sidewalk counselors in front of every abortion or abortion-referral facility as a real, achievable goal. The pro-life community is moving — thanks be to God — and this program fits right in. I know all of you want to see abortion end in our country and we all know that no matter how many laws are passed, abortion is still legal. The heart of the woman has to be changed — and with this method that Lauren has developed with her team, I know that hearts will be converted and many many lives saved. I can only imagine what God could do with this in front of every clinic. The power of our God is unrestrained and He wants to work through us. Say ‘yes’ to Him and watch the culture change!”
THANK YOU, KATHY!
WEEK 1 DEVOTIONAL: LET US BEGIN
by SAFL Executive Director, Lauren Muzyka
Verse: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” — Psalm 118:24
Reflection: You. Me. This day.
It’s time.
56 million children lost to abortion in the United States alone …who can fathom such a number? 2.5 million classes of Kindergarten children gone because of so called “safe and legal choice.” Not to mention, millions of women wounded, fathers pushed away and families torn apart.
What can we do in the face of such a travesty?
Know that the Lord has made THIS beautiful day — the very beginning of this new international sidewalk counseling venture — and called us to end abortion and transform hearts through love.
We can do it because Christ who has saved us has conquered sin and death.
The work is the Lord’s and the victory is His alone, but He has mysteriously called us to cooperate with the grace available to end this scourge on our nation and our world. And we are His people, sent to proclaim a new day because of His love and grace.
To help make real the day that no more women cry and no more children die. To see the day when people of faith come together to bless, help and assist women in unplanned pregnancies so much that demand for abortion becomes obsolete. To help each woman-in-crisis to see their dignity and worth …and the dignity and worth of the life that they carry within them.
You and I can do so incredibly much to end abortion and help women-in-need through prayer and action because of love.
And if we believe in the story of the Cross and we believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (cf. Phil 4:13), then we should believe — with no doubt — that God can end abortion. All we need to do is to SAY YES to cooperating with His grace.
What part will you play? A Sidewalk Counselor or Advocate? A Prayer Volunteer? A Pregnancy Center Counselor? A Donor? A Friend available to take in a woman-in-need?
What are YOU called to do?
The call is a universal one to “speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves,” but the YES is yours.
How will you help end abortion?
Faith Challenge: Pray for an end to abortion, believing that “with God, all things are possible!” Pray for the start of the brand new Sidewalk Advocates for Life program — for our Sidewalk Advocates, local teams, locations and all of the clients they will come in contact with. Pray for lives to be saved, hearts to be transformed, workers to leave the business, and abortion facilities to close.
Then, pray and ask God how YOU are called to be involved in ending abortion.
Let us move forward in faith, knowing the Lord will do mighty things through us IF WE SAY YES!
Blessings,
Lauren Muzyka
Executive Director
Sidewalk Advocates for Life
lauren@sidewalkadvocates.org
www.sidewalkadvocates.org