When you stand vigil with your local 40 Days for Life campaign, you're not just the last sign of hope before a woman has an abortion...
...you're also the first sign of mercy if she goes through with it.
Our outreach director and former Planned Parenthood manager Ramona Trevino recently visited Beaverton, Oregon, where she met a woman who found healing after passing by the local vigil.
"A volunteer handed her a gift bag that contained information on a post-abortion healing retreat," Ramona recalled. "This prompted the young woman to attend!"
The vigil participant who provided the retreat information had no idea the woman had suffered the trauma of abortion.
But God did.
"We never know how God will use our physical presence on the sidewalk to help everyone who passes by," Ramona reflected.
About 30 prayer warriors joined Ramona at the vigil prior to a campaign rally at a nearby church. Their presence drew abortion workers' attention.
"While we prayed, two Planned Parenthood employees peeked down at us from the top floor," Ramona observed. "The employees are ALWAYS aware of our presence."
Make abortion workers aware of your loving presence by signing up to pray at your local vigil:
Manila, Philippines
The 40 Days for Life campaign looks a little different in the Philippines.
Abortion is illegal, and there are no providers. Even the stand that sold abortifacient herbs in a city plaza has packed up and left.
But Filipinos want to make sure their country stays abortion-free, so they continue to stand vigil in the public square.
They've also made outreach and education a key component of their efforts. "We will reach thousands...at schools," wrote Edgardo, who heads up the campaign.
Greenland, New Hampshire
The Greenland, New Hampshire, abortion facility's response to the local 40 Days for Life campaign shows what abortion is really about: money.
The abortion business describes faithful prayer warriors as "a bunch of losers...outside the clinic with anti-abortion signs."
But the abortion facility also acknowledges a need "to offset any community impact" of 40 Days for Life.
A strange video accompanying the plea for cash closes with abortion advocates shouting, "Yeah, abortion!"
It all goes to show that your peaceful presence outside abortion facilities is bad for business.
And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
--Luke 2:49-51
Lord, we trust that you are always with us even as we encounter the mysteries of life, both great and small. Please give us the grace to accept your will for our lives, especially in the moments when we cannot fully understand how your plan will work together for good.
