On Monday mornings during 40 Days for Life campaigns, we always like to start off the week with great news. And today is no exception.
In response to your prayers and sacrifices, God has answered with grace and mercy. There have been … … 38 babies — that we know of — spared from abortion since this campaign started last Wednesday!
Praise God! Here are just a few of the stories behind that number.
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DALLAS, TEXAS
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The first day of the 40 Days for Life vigil, three mothers chose life for their babies!
In the words of the Dallas prayer coordinator, “There was a steady powerful prayer presence non-stop as people came ‘passing the baton.’ The prayer chain was unbroken.”
Earlier in the week, nearly 300 people joined in the nearby park to raise their voices in praise and worship during the Dallas kickoff event.
Ramona Trevino shared her journey from Planned Parenthood manager to pro-life witness. “Ramona’s testimony lit up the night as a shining example of what God’s people can do when they show up and put their trust and faith in God almighty,” said another member of the Dallas leadership team.
“Thank you to all those who have sacrificed, prayed, fasted and come to the sidewalk for their little brothers and sisters who are yet to be born. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for moving hearts so miraculously and so wonderfully.”
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SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
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Syracuse also reported a life saved in the campaign’s early hours.
“On this very first day of our fall campaign, one of our faithful prayer volunteers ministered to a woman coming to Planned Parenthood,” said Jeanie in Syracuse.
The woman had come for an abortion. But following her discussion with the 40 Days for Life volunteer, the woman chose life for her baby and accepted an invitation to go to a pro-life pregnancy care center.
“Praise God! To Him be the Glory!” said Jeanie. “May we continue to be vessels of His love and mercy!”
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HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA
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“We had a blockbuster first day,” said Major in Huntsville. Prayer volunteers were at the clinic all day — including 20 who joined a local pastor for prayer early in the afternoon.
“That’s an excellent showing,” Major said, “but it gets better.”
One of the counselors on the sidewalk struck up a conversation with a woman who was thinking about abortion. It turns out the woman was married and had a son who was not quite two years old.
“The counselor was finally able to convince her to keep her baby,” he said. “She accepted one of our baby gifts. Her husband came and picked her up and they left. Glory be to God! What a great first day!”
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FLINT, MICHIGAN
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From time to time, we talk about the fact that many people don’t realize there’s an abortion facility in their community. That’s probably the case in Flint.
Joe went to pray at the abortion center for the first time as part of the current 40 Days for Life campaign.
“I wondered if I had the right place,” he said. “The address was correct, but there was no other indication that this was the place.”
So he got a bit closer to the building, and could then see that this was indeed the vigil location. “I could see the words ‘Women’s Health Clinic’ on the second door just inside the first. Doesn’t seem like they are real proud of the work they do there.”
This is one of the reasons the prayer vigil is so important. The women with appointments and the abortion center staff certainly need our prayers. But people passing by also need to know what is going on — often in secret — right in their own home towns.
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MONTREAL AND QUEBEC, QUEBEC
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40 Days for Life is in 15 cities in Canada this fall — the most ever — from coast to coast. Two of the locations are in the province of Quebec, where French is the primary language in most areas. This is the sixth 40 Days for Life campaigns for Montreal, but the first for the province’s capital city of Quebec.
The teams In Montreal and Quebec City have produced a video to promote their efforts — with an English version and a French version. They both show the spirit of 40 Days for Life — in English, “pray for an end to abortion,” and in French, “prions pour la fin de l’avortement.”
(Okay, here’s the link to the English version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2G-o6eFkow )
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LONDON, ENGLAND
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Robert in London reports 40 Days for Life apparently touched a nerve with a young woman on a bicycle. The London campaign is taking place in Bedford Square — an area he described as “genteel.”
For a brief period at lunchtime, however, that genteel atmosphere vanished.
The woman repeatedly drove her bike into the 40 Days for Life banners and boxes, Robert said, “overturning them whilst shouting in a hysterically high-pitched voice, ‘You are disgusting! Shame on you!’ All attempts to calm her down were futile and she drove off in a rage.”
Robert said he was reminded of the line attributed to Ghandi: “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”
