Now, the promised status update from the mill:
This morning started off with a well-intentioned man getting on the mic who signed the statement of faith Lisa gave him, but who we do not believe truly agrees with the doctrines of Christianity, due to a number of reasons. It is always difficult when we work for the same cause, but our ultimate cause (the Gospel) is different! We were all very concerned with the situation, but praise the Lord he did not deviate from the facts of abortion into shaky theological territory or outright heresy. Pray that God would win these kind people from other religions into his "fold" and that we could all be completely of one mind and one spirit in Jesus Christ!
Next on the list of events was a car that Annalise was able to stop. She and a man named Dan were able to talk to the girls inside for a minute until Lazarus, the bouncer, came tearing out of the parking lot and pulled up beside them. He was yelling at them, then got out and shoved Dan a couple times and held a fist in his face. We called the police and filed papers for the assault, while Lazarus fled somewhere (likely in the building), leaving his SUV in the parking lot. On the positive side, we didn't have to deal with his loud music the rest of the morning! The police officer strongly hinted that Dan should press charges, so pray that this would be one more crack in the foundation of this evil place. God WILL bring it down in His time! Many of us who minister together feel this very strongly in our spirits and are praying for this.
I watched the car drive down the road, praying that it would just keep on going, but a minute or two later I saw it come back and pull over. I walked very quickly down the road to meet with the girl as she got out. I asked her if she was there for an abortion and she replied that she was. I asked, "Can I pray over you before you go in there?" I put my arm around her and prayed that she would not go through with the abortion and that she would realize it was murder. The Holy Spirit moved me to gentleness, so every truth spoken with love was in a gentle tone. She was appreciative, but set in what she was about to do. She told me she had a child and no money for another. I told her about all our resources, about adoption, etc., but that was not what she wanted to do.
As she determinedly walked down the sidewalk toward the slaughter house, I asked if she knew it was murder, to which she replied, "yes" in a tone that said she couldn't think about that ugly reality and then she asked me to just not show her any pictures because she "had a weak stomach". So, naturally, I showed her pictures! I showed her the reality of abortion by confronting her with the truth...the picture of a tiny baby not much bigger than a dime, cut into tiny pieces. She was disturbed, but would not be moved. Pray for that girl that the conviction she feels would not go away until she repents. (This was one of my first "real" counselling moments and I was nervous! I'm usually on the mic. How is it that a microphone doesn't intimidate me but talking to someone one-on-one does? God equips us each for different jobs, I guess! But he wants us available for whatever He needs us for at the moment.)
Another lady and her daughter took a booklet from Wendy and were receptive, but unsuccessful in getting the lady they brought to come out. As far as we know, she went through with the abortion. Pray for this lady.
Finally, we had a very interesting conversation with a psychology major who just wanted to talk to us because he "respected what we were doing" even though he disagreed...at least that is what he claimed. But his body language and his tone of voice betrayed his conscience and we could hear the cognitive dissonance (all the rest of us being former psych major or minors ourselves ;) ) spilling out of him! Even Konur (11) told me later that he didn't seem to believe his own words. Pray for him to stop ignoring his conscience and believing the lies he knows he is accepting! He had brought his girlfriend. We asked why she couldn't give the baby up for adoption and were told she wouldn't care for her baby while pregnant the baby would end up with fetal alcohol syndrome. He said a baby like that should not live, to which Lisa replied that her own daughter, Annalise, has FAS. She brought her over and introduced her, asking "Pete" if he believed she didn't deserve to live. It was an uncomfortable moment for Pete. ;) There were many other interesting moments in that conversation, including a brief deconstruction of relativism, as he claimed all our reasonings were just "your truth, but not mine", to which I replied that his green shirt was red because that was MY truth.
Well, one last "finally", actually. As we drove home and "debriefed", praying for all the varied situations we encountered today, we nearly got in another car accident in the SAME spot as last time! It's a very bad entry onto the highway that runs right into an exit ramp and another car couldn't decide what lane to be in and nearly caused an accident! I'm thankful I was alert enough to get out of the way and that God protected us.
Now this, my Christian friends, is what an exciting Friday looks like! Who wouldn't want to experience these stories? Are they tragic? Yes, many are. But the excitement of the one or two saves or hopeful cases outweighs it all! And even in the tragedies, when you know you are planting seeds and you truly have real hope in Jesus Christ, you know that you ARE making an eternal impact, whether you see it or not. If we focus on the death of babies, we are giving into Satan and allowing him to discourage us from this ministry. Our focus, even in the midst of so much death and tragedy, is the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15)! It is the hope that is offered for these young moms, regardless of whether or not they go through with murder, that we have to cling to. And even the one or two saves a day which seem so insignificant compared with the losses will multiply, as those babies will someday have babies of their own. Who will we meet in heaven someday who is there because we stood up for life today? Praise the Lord he uses weak ones like us to do abundantly more than we could ask or think!
