We have some incredible news to share! Some of our Sidewalk Advocates in the Southeast just witnessed to the first confirmed abortion worker who left the business!
Here’s the beautiful message that came in from that location…
“Today was the clinic worker’s official last day! She gave everyone on our side big hugs. She said keep doing what we are doing because women are changing their minds! Praise the Lord!”
How wonderful! Thank you, Lord!
And even though this location has experienced multiple known babies saved, they believe — from hearing this worker’s words — that there’s no doubt many more women who have changed their minds than even they know about!
As reports continue to roll in from around the country, it’s no doubt that God is doing miraculous things in the lives of those in the abortion industry through these wonderful sidewalk counselors on the front lines every day. We know of more workers who are thinking about leaving, and we refer them to one of our Program Advisors, And Then There Were None abortion worker ministry, to find great support for their transition (see www.abortionworker.com). Let’s keep praying for everyone in the abortion business — that they will come to see that the Christian community loves them and wants to help them leave the business for good!
As we head into Week 10 of our current program, let’s say hello to one of our programs in the deep South …and continue to pray together with this week’s devotional, written by Program Advisor, Tina Whittington, Vice President of Students for Life of America!
Jacki serves as the Program Director for Sidewalk Advocates for Life in Charleston, SC!
When Jacki launched their program — with the help of the local Diocese — she had so much interest that she could barely keep up! She holds the record for training the most individuals in the country!
When asked why she got involved with Sidewalk Advocates for Life, here’s the beautiful testimony that she shared with us (and though it’s lengthy, it’s worth reading every word!)…
“Over the course of several years, God brought me through some experiences that prepared me for this ministry. He gave me a passion for serving and caring for ‘the least of these’ (cf. Matthew 25:40) …I had also become a mother to a beautiful daughter through an unexpected pregnancy during my time in college. This pregnancy allowed me to experience the ‘crisis’ of a crisis pregnancy.”
“Even though I chose life at the very last moment, I can relate to the panic that most women are feeling when they are faced with an unexpected pregnancy. I understand the need for a peaceful and loving woman-oriented approach to sidewalk counseling. If I had been approached by someone yelling out to me what a horrible person I was and that I should stop being selfish and think about my baby, I may have gone through with the abortion.”
“All I could think about was …What about me? What about school? What about a place to live? What will people think of me? I was always such a good girl. Why was this happening to me? If a sidewalk counselor had informed me of my options in a peaceful and loving way, I may not have gone as far as I did (in considering abortion). I think its important to realize the mental state of the women we encounter on the sidewalk. They are women who feel broken, embarrassed and guilty. They want a quick fix.”
“Abortion seems like that quick fix. …The women we encounter on the sidewalk don’t have the ability to see past a few days. At that time, I wasn’t able to see past the end of that week either. I wasn’t able to see the reasons why I faced my unplanned pregnancy or the career change, but now I can. I can see very clearly the hand of God that had always been on my life. He was preparing me for the day when I would say ‘Yes, God!’ and serve the community of women here who are in desperate need of love and for us to meet them where they are.”
“The peaceful, woman-oriented approach that Sidewalk Advocates for Life has developed is the best way to approach the abortion-minded woman and her family when faced with a crisis pregnancy. Whether a woman has entered the clinic with intention of an abortion or exits the clinic after one, Sidewalk Advocates are taught how important it is to be the first sign of God’s LOVE and grace! Even though the (abortion facility) does offer other ‘services’ as well, being women-oriented means offering alternatives that empower women to choose safer options for their preventative gynecological healthcare. Educating women on the truth about all of her options during a crisis pregnancy empowers her …Focusing on the woman allows us to love her where she is at by helping with whatever her immediate need is and offering her life-affirming options without giving the abortion center business. It also allows God to use us as a tool and to work through us at a time in that woman’s life where she may otherwise ?have never seen or felt the love of Jesus Christ.”
THANK YOU, JACKI!
WEEK 10 DEVOTIONAL: A GOD OF VICTORY
by Tina Whittington, Vice President of Students for Life of America & SAFL Program Advisor
Verse(s): “Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’ Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’ So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.'” – Judges 6:11-16
Reflection: I know that God has planned victory over abortion — I know this to the core of who I am. These are, after all, His children whose lives are being lost through the act of abortion. And these children are also “the least of these” among us who Jesus called us to love.
Yet, in the past I found myself like Gideon – hiding in my winepress threshing my wheat so that I would not be discovered by the enemy. Sometimes, in the case of abortion, I have even found myself hiding from my friends, not wanting to enter into a difficult conversation or confrontation.
When I first felt the calling to enter into pro-life work I even questioned the Lord like Gideon: I am not the most equipped, I am not the most eloquent, and Lord, I am weak. Please consider sending someone else. I think I felt this way because I did not understand one basic principle of God’s victory over abortion: it is His. This victory will be His victory, in His timing, in the way that He sees fit.
We are called to be vessels of that victory – to obey and act in love towards mothers-in-crisis and their preborn children, to the fathers of those children who are oftentimes confused and afraid to act, and even to those inside the abortion clinic doors whose misplaced compassion or past-abortion experience has compelled them to offer abortion as the solution to a family-in-crisis.
Just like Gideon, you may be feeling weak. Maybe you are questioning your calling to the preborn, maybe all you can see is the Goliath of abortion instead of a path to victory.
But I want to encourage you today. Because I believe the Lord has said to us, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat abortion.” You see, because He is with us when we are on the front lines in prayer, sidewalk counseling a young woman or talking to the clinic worker, abortion will be defeated.
If you continue reading in Judges, you will find that Gideon was called out of hiding and into leadership – his victory over the Midianites was not man’s victory but the Lord’s. He did not succeed because of power, might, or a large army; he succeeded because God was with him and gave him the right men to fight and the right plans for victory.
Call to Action: As you stand in prayer today and advocate for life on the sidewalks outside of death’s doors, you are a vessel of God’s victory over abortion — and I hope your faith is both stretched and strengthened! Thank you for getting out of the winepress and onto the front lines where the Gospel of Life and Love most needs to be shared. Be bold and trust in His victory!