Hey all!
Just wanted to let you know how my last visit to the Mill was.
Laura came along with me on Saturday. It was wonderful getting to be on that battleground standing side by side with her.
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| Laura and I on the front lines. |
We met some more people who are passionate about saving the unborn.
Kelly, who is 27 and 7 months pregnant with her second child was
there. I LOVE that there was a pregnant woman there! She and her husband
alternate weeks they are there.
Laura and I also had an opportunity to talk with Ruth Yortson who
was the former director of Greater Columbus Right to Life (GCRTL).
I had emailed Ruth shortly after my first trip to the Mill. Because
GCRTL is an established Pro Life organization in Columbus, I wanted to
ask how they felt about different methods of ministering at the Mill. I
have come into contact with several people (via Facebook) who do a lot
of preaching at the Mill. They present the Gospel and warn women and men
about the severity of taking innocent life. They usually have a sound
system set up so they can speak and not yell at the people. They are
always kind and gentle when speaking/preaching, but they do not water
down God's Truth by any means. I really like that approach.
So I asked Ruth how they felt about that, and people reading aloud from the Bible.
She told me what they teach Sidewalk Counselors (SWC) in training
(Laura, Bonnita and I will be doing the training) is to talk about Mom,
Baby, then God. Ruth said it sounds backwards, but she's been doing this
for 20 ish years and has seen this to be the best approach. She said
only God can remove the scales from people's eyes, and when you come to the Mill reading from the Bible, 1. People don't know what you're
talking about and 2. it makes people think you're shoving it down their
throat, or being judgmental.
The baby is safe (at the moment) in mommy's belly.
The workers of the Mill will tell the women coming in there to
ignore the people on the sidewalk, that we're judging them, we lie to
them, we are not there to help them.
So that is one of the reasons that Ruth says we need to address the
women (moms) and talk to them about what is going on in their lives first, so that we can establish a relationship with the women, gaining their trust, and help them see we truly do want to help them.
After being out there the few times I have, I get that and can see the effectiveness of it.
SWC refer women 5 blocks down the road to a pregnancy crisis center
called Kinder Women's Care Center. Laura and I stopped by there to have
a tour.
It is BEAUTIFUL inside!!! It's SO inviting and cozy. The women
there are super nice and friendly. They are deliberate about making it an
inviting atmosphere. The women that come there from the Mill say it is
much more welcoming than the cold stone building they were just at.
They run on 100% donations!
The one awesome thing they do, that I find to be beneficial in future visits to the Mill:
If an abortion minded woman comes to Kinder that was referred there
by a SWC, and carry the baby to full term, Kinder will refund the woman
100% of the money she put down at the abortion mill!!! Anything you go
in for at the Mill is at least $50. And, if you're having an abortion,
they make you pay $100 up front.
Any money you can give to a crisis pregnancy center is well worth it!
And, Sarah Cleveland also introduced us to the idea of "Drop Cards"
She (I'm pretty sure) is the Director of Abolish Human Abortion
(AHA) society in Ohio. One of AHA's slogans is "We will be silent when
abortion is abolished".
When Sarah is not doing SWC at the Mill, or other various activist type things, she is using these "Drop Cards".
The idea is to expose the atrocity of abortion, to make people aware of it, in hopes they will join the fight for the unborn.
So when you're at the store, library, gas station or wherever- slip
a drop card by a bottle of shampoo at the store, or a book at the
library, or put it in the credit card swipey thing at the gas station.
They're $3 for 50 cards.
SO, this was a most informative trip!
WHILE ON THE SIDEWALK:
We had a small army there on Saturday! A catholic family of about 5
were there praying. At least 5 "trained" SWC, a couple others observing
along with Laura and I!!
It was beautiful so many people out there to help those women!!
There was a point where a group of us stretched quite a length
along the sidewalk in front of the building. After realizing how many
people we had, they dispersed to the side and back alley.
Laura and I were up at the front entrance for a while by ourselves
(well, aside from the catholic family praying). That's the first time I
had not been with a trained SWC. It was a bit intimidating, but my heart
swelled for those women and the babies they were carrying. Laura and I
were calling out to them, offering the help that is available at Kinder 5
blocks down the road, pleading that they not go in to that place. There
were men dropping off the women, and coming out of the building. Most
of them I didn't feel comfortable talking to, but the Lord gave me
courage to speak out one man. I told him he was a father and it was his
duty to protect his baby. He just kept on walking.
Most people ignored us.
A mom that brought her daughter there, came outside to smoke. She
was looking around, trying to figure out where to go so she didn't have
to hear our cries. Sarah pleaded and pleaded, but then the woman walked
down the street.
One girl came out of the aborutory and we offered her some
information. She looked at us and said that she didn't "get it done." I
never saw her go in, she went straight to her car- I hope the Lord
changed her heart. But I have no other information, which is why I can't
be 100% on her situation.
There was another woman who came out of the building in the back
yelling at whoever she was on the phone with. She definitely looked
pregnant. It was hard to make out everything she was yelling, but we
think she didn't have all the money to pay for her abortion. I hope she
didn't, I hope she left there, baby still safely in her womb.
There were a lot of hardened hearts that day.
Please continue to pray that the Lord will bring more people to the
Mill to minister to the women and men. Pray for the end of abortion,
that the church will rise up and be an advocate for those who cannot
speak or defend themselves.
*Sidenote*
Laura had a good idea- There are quite a few Planned Parenthoods in
Ohio, but only 2 do abortions. The rest just provide birth control,
contraception, pregnancy tests and abortion referrals. I just kind of
ignored those and focused on the locations that do the abortions.
BUT, Laura, being the smart woman she is, found out there was a PP
in Circleville, and it might be worth it to stand outside that location
to try and refer those women to Elizabeth's Hope. Just a thought.
It looks like they're only open 10-4 on Mondays. I suppose any other time they would be open is by appointment only.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this! I had LOTS to share, and I didn't intend for it to be this long.
To God be All Glory, Forever!
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