Dear Friend of Life:
Sometimes we have 5 seconds.
Yes, in sidewalk counseling — due to the set up of the abortion facility and location of the public right-of-way — we may only have a few precious moments to say hello and offer help to abortion-bound women and men.
In that case, what we have to hand them becomes even more important. It can speak for you when you can no longer speak to them.
I remember one morning when I went to sidewalk counsel here in Dallas. It was the 2011 anniversary marking Roe v. Wade, and we had just experienced one turnaway (or life saved). Soon after, a pick-up truck drove through the alley. And even though I waved and smiled and reached my hand out to give them literature, the car didn’t want to stop. Instead, they slowed down enough to grab my pamphlet and kept on driving right into the abortion center parking lot.
The windows stayed up, and I saw the man begin to read. (Want to know what he was reading? It was one of my most favorite pregnancy help brochures called “Were Here for You,” by Pro-Life Action Ministries. See here) After a few minutes, he began to cry and motioned for me to come to the car.
“I’m so sorry, I can’t cross the line. Can you come to us?” I gently asked.
Soon after, the man, his wife and their teenage daughter got out of the car together and decided to talk to us …and that teenage girl chose life!
I am convinced that this would not have happened if we didn’t have inviting, concise, woman-oriented pregnancy help literature that clearly told them where they could go for help and spoke to the beauty of choosing life!
And I’ve experienced dozens of other stories like that.
In fact, the abortion industry knows how powerful pregnancy help literature can be in reaching a woman’s heart and helping her and her companions to choose life. Most abortion facilities will not let a client take pro-life literature inside. It’s not uncommon — after we hand out literature to a woman-in-need — for the abortion center security guard to insist that she leave it in her car. So much for choice, right?
In Sidewalk Advocates for Life, we emphasize the importance of offering help right away, knowing our time may be limited. Not only that, but we teach little tricks and tips that are helpful for getting literature into the hands of those who need it the most.
In fact, we have been blessed to get incredible feedback from some of our Program Directors who say they are handing out more literature than ever before!
Ernie in Pensacola, FL recently told us, “I have handed out more literature in the past 7 weeks than I have in the past 7 years!”
And Kathy in Columbia, MO said, “I am passing out about 6 times as much literature as before!”
WOW! PRAISE GOD!
What is it that is working for them? It has to do with approach and sometimes, your initial line in offering literature. And we have a few ideas that have proved very effective in encouraging people to walk all the way across a large parking lot or converse through the fence, as well.
Are you struggling with what to say and hand out in those few seconds with clients at the abortion facility? We’d love to be a blessing to you!
Applications to bring Sidewalk Advocates for Life to your local community THIS SUMMER are open through FRIDAY, MAY 23!
QUESTIONS? Feel free to email us at info@sidewalkadvocates.org!
Know that we are praying for YOU!
As we head into Week 8 of our current program, let’s go to the Midwest and say hello to one of our programs who sidewalk counsels at an abortion-referral facility …and continue to pray together with this week’s devotional!
Joey and Rosie co-direct the Sidewalk Advocates for Life Sidewalk Advocacy Program in Fishers, IN!
While they do not have an abortion facility in their community, they do recognize the importance of being out in front of the local Planned Parenthood abortion-referral facility, where women are still considering abortion. They also have numerous opportunities during the week to help those in abusive relationships, share the message of chastity, provide healthcare alternatives or aid post-abortive women and men.
In fact, Former Planned Parenthood Manager Ramona Treviño — who used to manage an abortion-referral facility for 3 years — says it’s vitally important that we be in front of these facilities, as well!
See Ramona’s testimony in this regard, here: http://vimeo.com/85645528
Joey has been dialoging with a variety of clients going into Planned Parenthood. In fact, one Saturday, he was able to challenge each of the 18 clients going in, admonishing them to think about where their money was going — notably, to the largest abortion provider in the United States! But besides challenging their pocketbook, he was able to offer a more life-affirming health care alternative in each case with resources in their local community.
Most recently, he helped a woman who said she was getting sick from the birth control pill and needing another option to regulate her system; he offered the help of local pro-life Ob/Gyns who had pledged their help to anyone servicing Planned Parenthood, and she was very grateful. In fact, she was so thankful for the information that she asked to share it with the other women in her family.
When asked why they decided to start Sidewalk Advocates for Life in their local community, Joey said, “I wanted to be part of an exciting new initiative that would make a big impact. I wanted to become a better sidewalk counselor and normalize sidewalk counseling in our churches to change the negative image. Now I understand a lot more of what women need before they enter the abortion facility.”
And his experience thus far with Sidewalk Advocates for Life?
He says, “The training and support is excellent. Don’t be afraid to start small and build — just get out there!”
And one more exiting “fruit” from their training: one of their trainees recently decided to go out to a nearby abortion facility …and she helped save a life! What a blessing!
THANK YOU, JOEY & ROSIE!
WEEK 8 DEVOTIONAL: God Can End Abortion
by Lauren Muzyka, Executive Director, Sidewalk Advocates for Life
Verse(s): “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” — Matthew 19:26
Reflection: 40 years. 56 million children. Millions of women and men wounded. Apathetic churches and a dismissive culture.
Sometimes it feels like abortion is really here to stay.
But our Lord tells us in His Word that he has conquered ALL sin and death — and the grace to end this scourge is already available through the power of His cross and resurrection.
He gives us the prescription in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Right away in this verse, God is getting our attention! We are His people, called by his name.
He first asks us to humble ourselves. And here’s something we must face: if we gathered all of our gifts and talents, political prowess, media connections, and financial resources, we still wouldn’t have enough to end abortion! We’ve been trying to do it for 40 years, right?
In the next part, God tells us to pray and seek His face in everything we do. Yes, we’re not the answer — HE is the answer!
And we must turn from our wicked ways. We must repent of those things we have done wrong — and the righteous things that we have failed to do. And I submit to you that abortion would not still be the law of our land BUT FOR the silence of God’s people.
But here’s the good news… THEN.
God tells us that if we turn to Him with our whole selves, THEN he will hear from Heaven, He will forgive our sin, and He will heal our land!
That’s the prescription that ails your community, your country and our world. And if we build our hope on that, He promises that we will never fail! We must press forward in faith, believing that these words are true!
Call to Action: Do you really believe God can end abortion? If not, why? Take that to prayer and ask God to give you His vision for respecting and defending human life. Then, believe and trust in the power of His grace to do anything …even end abortion! Ask Him how He wants to do that through YOU!