Sidewalk Advocates in Pennsylvania have taken their commitment to serving on the sidewalk to the next level.
At an abortion facility where they were initially conducting outreach (before it closed, praise be to God!), the Advocates felt like people were “fall(ing) through the cracks” because they didn’t have ultrasound support on the facility’s busiest day.
In response, Program Leader Becky worked with her team to fundraise and purchase a mobile ultrasound unit dubbed the “Little Bee.” Little Bee was so named because it was the team’s plan B – a necessary departure from their original dream to buy a big, brand new mobile unit with all the bells & whistles. Instead, they were able to purchase a smaller, pre-owned vehicle and convert it into a mobile ultrasound unit. With their plan “Bee” the team is saving lives—and taking business from abortion facilities.
In the first year after launching the unit, the team served 127 clients on board. Looking back, Becky jokes that she must have been “pretty nuts” to take the leap and undertake the significant fundraising to purchase and outfit the vehicle. But as her team continued to participate in community events, awareness of the group and their mission grew over several years. Donors began to invest until at last, they were able to purchase a used 26-foot long vehicle, design the interior to accommodate a mobile ultrasound, and hire a professional to make their vision into a reality.
“It took this guy a month, him and his team, to outfit it,” Becky recalls. “We flew out and drove it back across the country. … It’s been a pretty amazing journey.”
Now Little Bee’s reputation has grown so much that a number of clients have climbed aboard simply because they heard about the mobile unit from a friend.
You could say that sidewalk advocacy was Becky’s plan “bee,” too. A culinary school graduate, she had dreamed of opening a little café. But her own abortion experience eventually caused her to change plans. Becky shared:
When I was finally obedient to God’s prompting that I needed healing, after my retreat, I started speaking in public places about it. It’s hard to tell your most terrible sins to people you don’t know, but that was helping me on my healing journey.
The people who have had abortions and survived it need to speak to give others hope that there is a tomorrow. God wants you to be healed. God wants us to be whole and work for Him, for His kingdom. We can’t do that if we’re still broken.
Thanks to the leap of faith by Becky and her team, more moms will continue to find the help and hope they need to escape the brokenness promised by abortion.
Submitted by Sidewalk Advocates for Life-Harrisburg, PA
If you would like to help train and equip more Sidewalk Advocates to help moms and save lives, please visit sidewalkadvocates.org/donate.