The biggest Lenten 40 Days for Life campaign yet is finally here! February 14-March 25

40 Days for Life ^ | 02-14-18 | Shawn Carney and team

[Salvation]

Iztapalapa, Mexico

February 23, 2018

Is the Marie Stopes abortion center in Iztapalapa about to shut down?

40 Days for Life volunteers say they’re seeing hopeful signs around this facility in the Mexico City area.

“When we arrived for their kickoff event, the building was completely dark,” said Lourdes Varela, 40 Days for Life’s Latin American Affairs Coordinator. “The following day there was almost no activity there.”

It was soon confirmed that the facility, which once had stayed open until 9 pm, was now closing at 4 pm – or even earlier on some days.

During an evacuation alert after an earthquake, only two people were seen leaving the building – the secretary and a security guard.

“That means that even if they’re open, they might not be providing abortions anymore,” Lourdes said. “We hope that the center will close soon. Please pray!”

[Salvation]

DAY 11: Not a happy ending

February 24, 2018

We often share beautiful stories in these updates. But I’m not going to sugar coat this.

Not every story has a happy ending.

That’s especially true on Saturdays – the busiest day of the week at many abortion businesses.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Good news often comes from 40 Days for Life vigils. But far too often, the volunteers see sadness and despair.

One volunteer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin recounted what happened last Saturday at the vigil.

“A man came out looking sad and said, ‘She already did it.'” Then a woman left the abortion center “with eyes glazed over, not seeming to be fully aware, but listening about going for follow-up help.”

Other women left the building and just kept walking, not saying a word.

“The sadness on many of their faces is hard to forget,” the volunteer said. They are hurting and in pain.”

Yes, it’s hard. But it needs to be done.

“The men and women coming to the clinic need to see your witness,” said one campaign leader, “to show them that there are people there to help them on their journey. The decision of having an abortion isn’t just one day but will be with them their whole life.”

Keep praying … and join them on the sidewalks!

[Salvation]

Dayton, Ohio

February 24, 2018

There’s good news from Dayton, where people have faithfully prayed at 40 Days for Life vigils twice a year for ten years now.

The abortion center was closed unexpectedly … on a day of the week they’re usually open.

“Workers came in but neither abortionist nor patients were present,” said one of the vigil participants. “May this be a foretaste of things to come.”

This volunteer thanked God that no lives were lost this day, and was thankful that “the women who are considering abortion have extra time to think about their babies and make the decision for life.”

[Salvation]

San Fernando Valley, California

February 24, 2018

“Cold” is a relative term. But when the temperature in the San Fernando Valley suddenly dropped 30 degrees, people noticed.

“By California standards,” said Patti, the local coordinator, “it was really cold and windy.”

But that didn’t stop volunteers from the Knights of Columbus and one of the local churches from coming to pray outside the abortion center.

When a car pulled up right next to them, it seemed a bit curious. But the driver jumped out and smiled. “God bless you all for standing out here in the cold!” she said. “I brought you all some hot coffee!”

Just what they needed on a cooler-than-normal evening!

[Salvation]

DAY 12: “But nobody’s there”

February 25, 2018

Many people are praying at 40 Days for Life vigils on Sunday.

It’s part of what one local campaign leader calls “an unbroken chain of prayer.”

Forty days of uninterrupted vigil is a sign of faith … a sign of commitment … and a sign to the community.

• A sign of faith: You believe that God can – and in fact will – end the scandal of abortion in your city.
• A sign of commitment: You’re out there day and night … regardless of the weather. Ending abortion is important to you.
• A sign to the community: You want your neighbors to know that abortion does happen in your town. Not all of them know. And not all of them know where it takes place. And some of them may only drive through that area at night or on the weekend.

It can also be a blessing … to you! So many prayer volunteers say the vigil is a time of personal spiritual growth – and that can be enhanced in the solitude of a quiet hour on Sunday after church.

[Salvation]

West Covina, California

February 25, 2018

“I loved being there in the evening,” said one of the 40 Days for Life volunteers in West Covina.

“There was a type of peace,” the vigil participant said. “Maybe because the clinic was closed!”

That evening, emergency vehicles were seen heading to the nearby hospital. It felt good knowing the medical teams were doing their best to save lives “while we were doing the same on the sidewalk.”

“The abortion place looks desolate at night,” said one of the campaign coordinators, who also offered another great reason to go pray when the abortion center is closed:

“To be out there praying, it gives you the sensation of how it will feel when that place closes for good!”

[Salvation]

Grand Rapids, Michigan

February 25, 2018

Laura, the 40 Days for Life coordinator in Grand Rapids, wanted all the volunteers to know their “prayers on the sidewalk in front of Heritage Abortion Clinic are having a quiet, but positive, impact on our community.”

The vigil is attracting more people to pray who had never done anything like this before. People are stopping to pray as they walk past. Others simply stop to ask what’s going on.

“Word of 40 Days for Life is spreading,” Laura said. “As a result, more people are becoming concerned about the killing in our midst. More people are wanting to get involved.”

So keep praying! Your presence does make a difference.

[Salvation]

DAY 13: “We didn’t do it!”

February 26, 2018

If you want to see some happy people … be at a 40 Days for Life vigil when the joyful news starts to spread that a mom has rejected abortion at the last minute!

Local campaign leaders tell us that so far, since Day 1 on February 14, they can report

103 babies saved – that we know of!

Praise God!

That makes 14,101 spared from abortion since 40 Days for Life started in 2007! You can meet a few of the 14,101 in the short video posted above.

[Salvation]

Video link: https://youtu.be/Jsxuz3mm7iM

[Salvation]

Lansing, Michigan

February 26, 2018

Cecilia in Lansing just got a very encouraging note from the director of a local pregnancy help center.

The director got a phone call from a woman asking for abortion information for her teenage daughter. She was going to take the girl to Planned Parenthood … but she didn’t want to go in with all the “protesters” there!

(That would be the 40 Days for Life vigil participants.)

So the mom brought her daughter to the pregnancy center for a free ultrasound.

The director says this family still needs lots of prayer … but it was clear that hard work and prayer do have an impact … and lives do get saved.

[Salvation]

Atlanta, Georgia

February 26, 2018

Over the first weekend of the 40 Days for Life campaign, the team in Atlanta learned of at least three babies spared from abortion.

One couple drove into and out of the abortion facility’s parking lot several times … each time refusing to accept pro-life literature.

But when they drove out for the last time, the man smiled as he rolled down the window, and said, “We don’t need that. We didn’t do it!”

Volunteers often have to deal with aggressive tactics from the abortion center’s escorts. As soon as clients accept literature from the vigil participants, the escorts demand that the clients hand it over to them.

Nevertheless, one couple stopped to reconsider … and then changed their minds about abortion.

“Then moments later another couple came driving out,” one of the volunteers said, “and with big smiles said they had changed their minds too!”

[Salvation]

DAY 14: Planned Parenthood’s monster

February 27, 2018

Just got back from a great event outside the largest abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere … with 40 Days for Life leaders from around the world.

The location is the huge — 78,000 square foot — Planned Parenthood abortion mega-center in Houston, Texas.

Through the efforts of two international 40 Days for Life leaders, there are now more than 50 campaigns in their home countries – and others in nations in their regions of the world!

Ante Caljkusic (top photo, second from the right) brought 40 Days for Life to Zagreb, Croatia. It has since expanded to 28 cities in that nation.

Ante talked about meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican – and introducing him to a baby saved through 40 Days for Life. The pope kissed the child and said, “You are doing the best possible work!”

Lourdes Varela (on the right in the top photo) brought 40 Days for Life to Mexico City. There are 25 campaigns currently in progess in Mexico

Lourdes, who now serves as 40 Days for Life’s Latin American Affairs Coordinator, compared the campaign’s growth to the parable of the mustard seed.

KSHJ Radio broadcast live from the event, with the station’s Joe McClain interviewing us on the sidewalk.

The leaders who joined us for this rally spoke of the light that we bring to this dark place when we simply stand on the sidewalk and pray.

And God uses that witness to save lives!

[Salvation]

Centralia, Washington

February 27, 2018

One of the local pastors always says, “It’s a perfect day to pray!”

To the vigil participants in Centralia, it seems like every day is perfect.

“Rain, snow or shine, we’ll be on the sidewalk outside Planned Parenthood in peaceful, prayerful witness for the unborn,” said Caroline, the local 40 Days for Life leader.

One volunteer made it out to the vigil with her family on one of the chilliest days yet. “It was absolutely bitterly cold and snowy, and some sweetheart of a woman, a total stranger, bought coffee.”

[Salvation]

Bristol, Tennessee

February 27, 2018

Bristol is a city on the Tennessee/Virginia border that is taking part in 40 Days for Life for the 18th time.

Linda emailed us to share some good news: “We had a baby saved here at the Bristol 40 Days for Life!”

The mom had taken some pro-life information and had a conversation with one of the team on the sidewalk before she entered the abortion facility.

“Later,” Linda said, “she came out and said she did not do it though she had come for an abortion. Praise the Lord!”

[Salvation]

DAY 15: “How come I don’t have a say?”

February 28, 2018

Far too often, when women need real men … they only get cowards.

Some men will try to wash their hands from responsibility, once they hear a baby is in the mix. That was heard loud and clear from an unborn child’s father, in the midst of a rant outside an abortion facility:

“How come I don’t have a say in this?”

The only “choice” he wanted to hear about was abortion.

The abortion industry claims to be all about “choice,” but the reality is that many women are pressured into having an abortion … and often go through with it because they feel they had no choice.

But thankfully, mothers in this situation find can the courage – often with the support of the volunteers at 40 Days for Life vigils outside the abortion centers – to reject abortion.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

As 40 Days for Life volunteers in Ann Arbor prayed, a man and woman walked into Planned Parenthood.

They came out a short time later … and began to yell angrily at each other. “We prayed for them even more,” said one vigil participant, as the couple ended their argument and went back inside.

After 30 minutes or so, the man came back out. “He was on the phone screaming and swearing at the top of his lungs, kicking the air, jumping.”

“How come I don’t have a say in this?” he screamed. “I’m only 18! I can’t believe she’s keeping it! She shouldn’t get to make that choice for me too!”

A volunteer offered to help, but the young man got into his car and began crying and pounding the steering wheel before driving away.

Almost lost in this display was the news that the young woman who had gone to Planned Parenthood wants to spare her child from abortion. Please keep her – and her situation – in your prayers.

[Salvation]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 28, 2018

One of three 40 Days for Life vigils in Philadelphia is at a Planned Parenthood facility in the northeastern section of the metro area.

Volunteers there met a young woman who accepted their pro-life literature as she was driving away.

She was nine weeks pregnant, she explained, and had come to Planned Parenthood for an ultrasound. But they would not offer her one.

“She does not want to go through with the abortion,” a vigil participant reported, “but feels pressured because of the guy she is with right now.”

She promised to contact a pregnancy help center the volunteer suggested. “Please pray for this sweet woman that she chooses life.”

[Concentrate]

bookmarked

[Salvation]

DAY 16: Abortion chops down a family tree

March 1, 2018

We have many, many stories of saved babies to report … but can’t get them all in one email!

So we’ve just recorded an episode of the 40 Days for Life podcast to share some of the beautiful reports of saved babies.

Meanwhile … a man who visited the 40 Days for Life vigil in San Luis Obispo, California gave the team there something to think about.

He stopped at the vigil in front of Planned Parenthood and shared his story with the volunteers. He was adopted as a baby … all he knew was that for some reason, his birth mother was not able to raise him.

The man is now the father of 5 … and grandfather of 16.

“He was happy to pray with us,” said Teresa in San Luis Obispo, “thanking God for his bountiful family tree, made possible because a woman in crisis found the help she needed in a community of love.”

Abortion’s impact is not just the child who’s aborted, but “the generations that were to come that will never be … abortion chops down a family tree.”

Teresa added that “two more family trees sprouted” later that same day … two mothers rejected abortion and chose life for their babies.

[Salvation]

Nairobi, Kenya

March 1, 2018

“For the times we have been outside the Marie Stopes headquarters,” said Japeth in Nairobi, “their operations have stalled.”

As the local 40 Days for Life coordinator, Japeth is encouraged by the growth of the Nairobi campaign.

“The number of people attending the prayers has been increasing consistently. The mood and the support we are getting from the residents of the city is really amazing.”

Their objective is a bold one: to instill a pro-life mentality in the entire city.

Japeth tells of a young couple that was about to enter Marie Stopes … but they turned around and left “after noticing the crowd and the intensity of our prayers.”

[Salvation]

DAY 17: They couldn’t care less

March 2, 2018

Abortion is not safe. It is only considered successful if a baby dies.

But it is a myth to think abortion is safe for the mothers. Thus far in this 40 Days for Life campaign, we know of nine ambulance calls to abortion facilities.

In one instance, a woman who’d left an abortion facility passed out while she was waiting for a bus. It was the 40 Days for Life vigil participants who called for help … not the abortion center.

When the abortion staff saw what was going on, they got angry and said they’d take over … and that the woman didn’t need an ambulance. Thank God for the volunteers! The staff couldn’t care less.

The ambulances seldom have their sirens or lights flashing and they are often asked to enter though the back of the abortion facility. The abortion centers don’t want anyone to know there’s been a problem.

“More interested in their reputation, so it seems, than the well-being of the women who visit them,” said the local 40 Days for Life leader.

Abortion is safe? Never.